The analysis of the drying process on unsteady forced convection in thin films of ink

High velocity impinging air jets are commonly used to accelerate the evaporative ink drying process due to the high heat and mass transfer rates which are developed in the impingement region. Comparative heat transfer studies are given to establish the optimum variables such as nozzle shape, size and pitch, nozzle distance from surface, to minimize the capital and-running costs of the drying plant. At the present, when energy cost are high, designs which require large quantities of high air jet velocity and high air temperature are unattractive. In order to provide data for designers of industrial dryers, at program of research has been implemented to study the analogy between the heat and mass transfer processes which constitute the ink drying process. Different fuels for ink drying are compared on a common energy available basis. The most economical case for fan power and heating power was found to be natural gas as fuel. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.