Numerical study on the effect of the stenters’ nozzle structure on fabric drying rate and surface heat-moisture distribution characteristics

Abstract

Stenters play a crucial role in the post-treatment of fabric dyeing and finishing, which is mainly used for drying and heat setting. However, the influence of the orifice structure on the heat-moisture distribution characteristics of the fabric surface is not clear when the air duct sprays high-speed airflow. In this paper, the drying rate of fabrics under four different orifice types (circular orifice, elliptical orifice, square orifice, and slits orifice) are analyzed using numerical method, then the distribution characteristics of heat and moisture on the fabric surface are explored by accurately describing the gas-liquid conversion process. The results show that the elliptical orifice jet has the best heat-moisture distribution on the fabric surface and has a moderate drying rate compared to other orifice types, the decrease of jet height and the increase of orifice size will lead to the increase of fabric drying rate, the thermal action distance of the control region of elliptical orifice jet is obtained. Furthermore, multiple nonlinear methods were used to conduct regression analysis on the changes in fabric moisture content under the influence of the above factors. The numerical results have been verified by experiments, and the relative deviation is within 10%. The research is important for optimizing the air supply system of stenters and improving fabric product quality.