A SIMPLIFIED METHOD FOR MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF A FIXED-BED DRYER

A simplified mathematical model was proposed for prediction of drying behavior of materials in a fixed-bed dryer. In this model, the fixed bed dryer was considered as a finite number of fluidized bed dryers in series. Finite difference method was used for solving differential equations. Then, they were compared with experimental data. In the modeling, a lumped model was used for heat transfer and a distributed model was used for mass transfer in the dryer. Results showed a good agreement between the predictions of the proposed model and the experimental data.