CFD Modeling of Flotation Dryers

This paper presents the results of a numerical and an experimental study of the effects of air bar and web interaction on the efficiency of the web design in flotation ovens.Two types of CFD modeling were developed and physical testing was conducted to verify these models.The physical testing showed that the air bar uniformity is generally less then 2.5% cross machine direction and less then 5% machine direction.The original modelling showed that the air leaving the air bars was completely uniform, and the new modeling showed some air non-uniformity.However, to get more accurate CFD modeling several more iterations will need to be done and the time required to get an accurate model will be greatly increased with each iteration.