The Simulation of Fluid Flow with a Vortex Generator 35°

toward the Y-axis to Heat Transfer in Spray Dryer

Pratomo S1, Rani Anggrainy, Nugroho G Yoga, Yuga F N Syamsy, and Oryza F Hidayat
Department of Mechanical Engineering Education, Universitas Negeri Jakarta
Jl. Rawamangun Muka, Jakarta 13220, Indonesia
Email : 1psetyadi@unj.ac.id

Abstract. The Spray Dryer is a spray drying machine used to change liquid into dry powder.
The spray drying machine works can be defined by the drying process in a cylinder, utilizing
air heated in the heater and then flowing through a blower connected to a vortex generator with
an angle of 35° to the Y-axis. The vortex generator causes the formation of a turbulence of air
flow. Heat transfer occurs between the hot air flow and the milk droplets so that the liquid milk
becomes a dry powder. This research aims to see the vortex phenomenon, namely the
turbulence intensity, airflow velocity, heat flux, and temperature distribution in a cylinder,
compared with an experiment that used four conditions of temperature inlet. There are 80°C,
90°C, 100°C and 110°C. The liquid used in this research is dairy cow's milk mixed with water
and maltodextrin, which has a density value of 1056 kg/m 3 and a specific heat value of 3930
J/kg K. The cylinder of the machine used has a diameter of 0.5 m with a wall thickness of 1 x
10-3 m and a height of 2 m with a capacity of 1.27 l/hour with drying time of 80 minutes. The
airflow of this machine into the cylinder has a speed of 16 m/s with a cross-sectional diameter
of 9.5 x 10-2 m and a thickness of 1 x 10 -3 m which has a debit of 0.11 m 3/s. In addition, the
injector used has a diameter of 2 x 10 -4 m and has a speed of 13.54 m/s with a flow rate of 4.5 x
10-4 kg/s which has a spray angle of 45°. Besides that, the results of the analysis show that the
turbulence area of the airflow is in the form of a vortex so that the drying process of heat
transfer that occurs between the product material and the airflow becomes faster.

1. Preliminary
The drying process is a method that makes foodstuffs more durable without reducing the quality of
these foodstuffs [1]. This drying process is widely used in the industrial sector both large, medium,
and small because of its advantages and benefits for managing foodstuffs [2]. The Spray Dryer
machine has a working principle of spraying the product material into the drying chamber, the purpose
is to evaporate the product material into fine grains that occur due to the forced convection of heat
transfer by the flow of hot air with the product materials [3]. In designing and operating the Spray
Dryer machine, several problems are difficult to take into account, including the most important is the
shape of the fluid flow and its effect on the temperature distribution in the drying chamber [4]. The
drying process that occurs for too long will make the product material overheat which can make the
quality of the product material less good, on the contrary, if the drying process takes place too quickly
it will result in many product materials failing in the form of deposits or wet product materials [5]. To
create a fluid flow that has a good turbulence intensity in the drying process, the Spray Dryer machine
uses a Vortex Generator. A vortex Generator is a tool that can accelerate the change of fluid flow
 from laminar flow to turbulent flow [6]. Fluid flow forms are generally divided into 3 forms, namely
laminar, transitional, and turbulence, based on the value of the Reynolds Number. The Reynolds
number in general can be interpreted as a dimensionless number which is the value of the comparison
between the incision force and the viscous force [7]. Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation is
needed on the Spray Dryer machine that can observe the shape of the fluid flow that occurs in the
drying chamber and its effect on the temperature distribution that occurs. Computational Fluid
Dynamics is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve or
analyze related fluid flows [8]. In general, the stages of the Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation
can be broken down into 3 processes, namely pre-processing, solver, and post-processing [9]. The
method used in this fluid flow simulation uses the Eulerian Particle Tracking method with a Dense
Discrete Phase Model [10]. Eulerian Particle Tracking is particle movement by focusing on the
volume control and this method can solve problems in particle movement over continuity equations
under turbulent flow conditions. In this simulation, the heat transfer that occurs between the droplets
of the product material and the fluid flow in the form of hot air flow is convection, more precisely
forced convection. Forced convection is the transfer of heat whose fluid flow is forced to drain a solid
surface [11]. Based on the problems described above, this study aims to determine the shape of fluid
flow to the distribution of temperature in the drying room that occurs in the Spray Dryer machine
using Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation through the Ansys Academic Fluent 2022 software.
The simulation results are in the form of a fluid flow that will be formed as a result of the Vortex
Generator which has an angle of 35° to the Y-axis.

2. Theoritical Review
A spray dryer is a machine that functions to produce products in the form of fine grains through a
drying process with the spraying method [2]. The dry spray method is already widely used in the food
industry, especially in powdered food because the drying process is short and easy to package [12].
The resulting product material becomes more durable because it can improve the energy balance in the
product material to minimize disturbances that will damage the product material [13]. In general, the
working system of the Spray Dryer machine is the product material to be dried and placed in a
reservoir, where the reservoir is connected to the pump, pressure gauge, and injector [14]. The fluid
flow is connected to the heater before entering the drying chamber which aims to create a stream of
hot air. The hot air flow is sucked by the blower into the drying chamber connected with the Vortex
Generator. The convection heat transfer that occurs can be improved by increasing the velocity of the
fluid flow using a Vortex Generator so that the heat transfer area becomes wider [15]. According to
the contact, spray dryers are classified as co-current, counter-current, and mixed flows [16].

2.1 Forced Convection

Forced convection is the convection transfer of heat in which the flow of fluid is forced to flow
through a solid surface [11]. The procedure for calculating the forced convection heat transfer starts by
looking for the Reynolds, Prandtl, and Nusselt Numbers to get the coefficient of convection heat
transfer values as follows :

2.2.1 Reynolds Number

The Reynolds number is a comparison between the inertial force and the viscous force which can be
broken down as follows [18] :
ρ. v . L (2.1)
ℜ=
μ
Explanation :
Re : Reynolds number
ρ : Density (kg/m3)
v : Velocity (m/s)
L : Cylinder Length (m)
 μ : Dynamic viscosity (kg/ms)
2.2.2 Prandtl Number
The Prandtl number is a dimensionless number comparing the thickness of the speed limit layer and
the thickness of the thermal limit layer. Can be stated as follows [18] :
μ .C p (2.2)
Pr=
k
Explanation :
Pr : Prandtl number
μ : Dynamic viscosity (kg/ms)
Cp : Specific heat (J/kg°K)
k : Thermal conductivity (W/m°K)

2.2.3 Nusselt Number

For the nusselt number value in the heat transfer process of convection of flow heat in the pipeline
- Laminar Flow
1/ 2 1/ 3
Nu=0.664 . ℜ . Pr (2.3)
- Turbulent Flow
4 /5 1/ 3
Nu=0.023 . ℜ . Pr (2.4)
Explanation :
Re : Reynolds number
Pr : Prandtl number

2.2.4 Coefficient of Convection Heat Transfer

Nu . k (2.5)
h=
D
Explanation :
h : Coefficient of convection heat transfer (W/m2°K)
Nu : Nusselt number
k : Thermal conductivity (W/m°K)
D : Diameter of cylinder (m)

2.2 Heat Generation Rate

Heat Generation Rate is the influence of heat from the outer boundary layer on the drying chamber
based on the volume of the drying chamber [10]. The equation can be stated as follows :
q konv
q̇= (2.6)
V
Explanation :
q̇ : Heat generation rate (W/m3)
q konv : The rate of convection heat transfer (W)
V : Volume of the cylinder (m3)
q konv =ṁ .C p . (T S−T ∞ ) (2.7)
Explanation :
q konv : The rate of convection heat transfer (W)
ṁ : Flow rate (kg/s)
Cp : Spesific heat of fluida (J/kg°K)
TS : Temperature of fluid (°K)
T∞ : Temperature of ambient (°K)
2.3 Vortex Generator
A vortex generator is a device that can accelerate the flow of fluid from the laminar flow to the
turbulent flow [6]. Using a Vortex Generator will increase the momentum significantly towards fluid
flow and can increase the area of airflow turbulence that occurs in the drying chamber.
Table 1. Properties of Air at 1 atm Pressure
 Temp Density Thermal Thermal Dynamic Kinematic Prantdl
Spesific Heat
. ( ρ, Conductivity Diffusivity Viscosity Viscosity Number
(Cp, J/kg°K)
(T,°C) kg/m3) (k, W/m°K) (α, m2/s) ( μ, kg/ms) (v, m2/s) (Pr)
80 0.9994 1008 0.02953 2.931 x 10-5 2.096 x 10-5 2.097 x 10-5 0.7154
-5 -5 -5
90 0.9718 1008 0.03024 3.086 x 10 2.139 x 10 2.201 x 10 0.7132
100 0.9458 1009 0.03095 3.243 x 10-5 2.181 x 10-5 2.306 x 10-5 0.7111
120 0.8977 1011 0.03235 3.565 x 10-5 2.264 x 10-5 2.522 x 10-5 0.7073

3. Computational Fluid Dynamics

3.1 Pre Processor

At this stage, the first is Input Geometry. After success, then the next step is Extract Volume.
Furthermore, the meshing, element size used is 0.014248 so the number of Nodes is 100553 and
Elements is 511882. The Meshing Method used is Tetrahedron and Dense Discrete Phase Model.
After success, the next step is Named Selection. After that, set up the limit conditions and parameter
values, first on the General menu is to set a gravity value of 9.8 m/s 2 and type Solver. Next, in the
Multiphase menu, select Eulerian with Dense Discrete Phase Model. After that set Energy ON and on
the Viscous menu that is used, namely k-epsilon with realizable conditions and standard wall
functions. After that, set Injection Properties using an injector cone type with a diameter of 0.2 mm, a
spray angle of 45°, a speed of 13.54 m/s, and a flow rate of 0.00045 kg/s with a position of 0.15 m
above the bottom surface of the cylinder. After that, the silo material set is Stainless Steel 304 with a
density value of 8030 kg/m3, specific heat 502.48 J/kg°K, and thermal conductivity of 16.27 W/m°K.
For Inert Particle material, which is a mixture of water, milk and maltodextrin has a specific heat value
of 3930 J/kg°K obtained from the book Physics for Scientist and Engineering: Foundations and
Connections with Modern Physics by Debora M. Katz, the density value is 1056 kg/m 3 [20].
Furthermore, set the velocity inlet is 16 m/s and four temperature inlet free variables are 80°C, 90°C,
100°C and 110°C. Furthermore, in the Walls menu, the heat transfer coefficients are set based on
temperature inlet free variables, namely 107.6 W/m2°K, 105.9 W/m2°K, 104.32 W/m2°K and
102.84W/m2°K. Then set the ambient temperature to 30°C with a wall thickness of 0.001 m. Next set
Heat Generation Rate based on temperature inlet free variables, namely 22492.73 W/m 3, 22548.34
W/m3, 22605.06 W/m3 and 22695.68 W/m3.

3.2 Solver
The solver model used is Type Pressure-Based with Velocity Formulation Absolute and Time
Transient.

3.3 Post Processor

The simulation results are in the form of contouring the distribution of temperatures in the cylinder,
the shape of the fluid flow, the contour of turbulence intensity, and the contour value of the
convection coefficient.
Table 2. Material Properties
Material SS-304
Elastic Modulus (GPa) 193
Mechanical Properties Tensile Strength (MPa) 515
Yield Strength (MPa) 205
Melting Point (K) 1700
Thermal Properties Conductivity Thermal (W/m°K) 16.2
Specific Heat (J/kg°K) 500
Figure 1. Input Geometry Figure 2. Extract Volume

Figure 3. Meshing

Figure 4. Named Selection Figure 5. Solver Figure 6. 2D Spray Dryer

4. Results and Discussions

4.1 Temperature Distribution in Drying Chamber

Based on the simulation results, it can be said that the temperature distribution in the drying chamber
with variable free inlet temperatures of 80°C, 90°C, 100°C and 110°C increases when the temperature
of the inlet used increases.

Figure 7. Temperature Distribution Result (a). 80°C (b). 90°C (c). 100°C & (d). 110°C

4.2 Air Flow in Drying Chamber

The simulation results show a change in the air velocity value after passing through the Vortex
Generator, which is 3.5 m/s which before entering the Vortex Generator has an air velocity value of 16
m/s to 19.5 m/s passing the Vortex Generator.

Figure 8. Fluid Path Result (a). 80°C (b). 90°C (c). 100°C and (d). 110°C
4.3 Turbulence Intensity in Drying Chamber
In the results of the analysis, it can be seen that air turbulence occurs as high as 1 meter from the
bottom surface of the drying chamber with with value of turbulence intensity is 196%.. It can be
known that the overall area of airflow turbulence that occurs in the drying chamber is 196.25 m 2.

Figure 9. Turbulence Intensity Result (a). 80°C (b). 90°C (c). 100°C and (d). 110°C

4.4 Heat Flux

Based on the simulation results, it can be said that the value of the heat transfer coefficient will
decrease as the temperature of the incoming inlet increases. This happens because the value of the
density of the incoming air will drop as the temperature increases.

Figure 10. Heat Flux Result (a). 80°C (b). 90°C (c). 100°C and (d). 110°C

5. Conclusion
1. Based on the contour of result analysys that the temperature distribution in the drying chamber
shows more even and better when the temperature of inlet used increases.
2. The type of airflow that occurs inside the drying chamber is a turbulent flow and takes the form of
a vortex after passing through the Vortex Generator.
3. The airflow speed increased after passing through the Vortex Generator by 3.5 m/s, which before
entering the Vortex Generator has an air velocity value of 16 m/s to 19.5 m/s passing the Vortex
Generator with value of turbulence intensity is 196% and the large are of turbulence is 195,25 m 2.
4. There is a decrease in the value of the convection heat transfer coefficient when the temperature of
the used inlet increases. At an inlet temperature is 80°C a heat transfer coefficient value is 93.2
W/m2°, an inlet temperature is 90°C a heat transfer coefficient value is 79.5 W/m 2°, an inlet
temperature is 100°C a heat transfer coefficient value is 65.9 W/m 2° and an inlet temperature is
110°C a heat transfer coefficient value is 52.6 W/m 2. This happens because the value of the density
of the incoming air will drop as the temperature increases.
6. Acknowledgment
I would like to thank Yuga and Riza who helped the simulation and experiment, Mr. Nugroho Gama
Yoga who contributed on calculation and Mrs. Rani who do the proof reading. Hopefully, this research
can contribute to the fluid research.
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