A NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF CHARACTERISTICS OF DOMESTIC CLOTHES DRYERS

수치 해석을 이용한 가정 의류건조기의 성능 분석

The characteristics of a condenser dryer and a vented dryer that are common types of domestic clothes dryers for home use are predicted and compared in an effort to improve the efficiency and to overcome economical and environmental problems due to its inefficient power consumption. In the present study, a drying system is simplified by assuming the mechanism is composed of several elements such as heater and drum and mathematical models using the mass and energy conservation of moisture and air through each element are defined. Based on this mathematical model, the computational tool is developed to predict temperature, humidity and enthalpy of moisture and air in a drum and remained moisture contents (RMC) in drying materials. The computational results are verified by comparing with experimental results from existing studies. In addition, the efficiency of a dryer is calculated using these predicted results for a given condition and the drying characteristics of a condenser dryer and a vented dryer are compared and analyzed.