Mathematical Modeling of Heat, Mass, and Momentum Transport in MDF Fiber Drying

A 3D two-phase flow drying model for medium density fiberboard (MDF) fibers was developed and implemented in the Ansys-CFX commercial CFD software. The model was validated against measurement data([1]) with satisfactory results. A parameter study was done to study the effects of dryer temperature and mass loading of fibers. A realistic dryer geometry has been simulated and it has been demonstrated that the model can capture 2D and 3D flow phenomena that affect the drying results. The simulation results can be used to determine suitable ways for improving dryer efficiency.