Experimental and Numerical Characterization of the Radio-Frequency Drying of Textile Materials (II)

The experimental and numerical characterization of radio-frequency drying oftextile materials drawn at a constant speed throughanRF drying chamber is investigated here. The study focuses onmode ling, via a numerical simulation of the electromagnetic phenomenology, of the experimentally determined thermal and electrical behavior of a 1110 scaled version of a prototype industrial drying system. A wet textile fabric (35% cotton 65% polyester) is drawn parallel to a 21 element electrode array contained within an approximately rectangular metal structure. Internal dielectric drying of the material is induced by molecular motion, which produces heat caused by rapid electric field reversals. The experimental system is designed to facilitate efficient power transfer using a 10-Kw, 22 MHz power generator. The drying rate of the fabric is experimentally determined as afunction of throughput speed and position. Afinite element routine serves as the basis of the computer modeling. The results show good agreement between the simulated and experimentally determined data.