Food Conrd, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp.

195-203, 1998
0 199X Elsevier Science Ltd
All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain

ELSEVIER PII: SO956-7135(97)00077-7 0956-7135/98 $19.00+0.(W)

PAPER

Dynamic simulation and

control of direct rotary dryers
J. R. Pkez-Correa, *: F. Cubillos,+ E. Zavala,+
C. Shene* and P. I. Alvarez+
Adaptive and conventional control of a direct rotary dryer has been assessed
through simulations. A dynamic model of the process was developed specifically
for this purpose. The model is based on mass and energy balances and includes
a drying kinetic derived from mass transfer principles. In the modelling process,
ten discrete perjectly mixed elements were considered for the dyer with each
containing four difSerentia1 equations. A well tuned discrete PID and an adaptive
algotithm were used to control the outlet solid humidity. Both controllers can
regulate the controlled variable for diRerent disturbances, although the adaptive
controller is more eflective. 0 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
Keywords: dynamic modelling; water content control; temperature control; adaptive control

NOMENCLATURE h Humid enthalpy of moist solids, kJ kg-’

ho Lifter volume per drum length, rn,’ m- ’
Lower case letters h, Heat transfer coefficient, kJ s- ’ “C ’ m -3
Parameters of a linear dynamic model 4 ’ Delay operator
a,, 6,
b Parameter of drying model t Time, s
Specific heat of dry air at constant pres- 4 Average falling time of the particles in the
5
sure, kJ kg ’ “Cm ’ drum, s
c, Specific heat of dry solid, kJ kg ’ “C ’ s Slope of the drum, mm ’
c,, Specific heat of wet air at constant volume, U Manipulated variable
kJ kg ’ “C ’ U, Positive roots
Specific heat of liquid water, kJ kg ’ “C ’ V, Axial solid velocity, m sm’
cc,
c/z Specific heat of wet solid, kJ kg ’ “C ’ v,: Axial gas velocity, m s 1
C “c Specific heat of dry air at constant volume, Y Measured variable
kJ kg ’ “Cm’
C Pb Specific heat of vapour at constant pres- Upper cuse letters
sure, kJ kg ’ “C ’ A Drum cross section, m2
Specific heat of vapour at constant volume, A, Parameter in drying model
cv,
kJ kg ‘“C ’ A.5 Heat transfer area, rn’
Average particle diameter, m B, Biot number
4
e Control error, kg kg- ’ D Drum diameter, m
D,, Effective diffusivity, m2 s ’
*Departamento dc Ingcnieria Quimica y Bioprocesos, Pontif- -6, Parameter in drying model, K
icia Universidad Catcilica de Chile, Casilla 306, Santiago 22, Fourier number (D,#/R2)
F,,
Chile, +Departamento dc Ingenieria Quimica, Univcrsidad de
Santiago de Chile, Casilla 10233, Correo central, Santiago, G Mass flowrate of dry air, kg s ’
Chile and *Departamcnto de Ingcnicria Quimica, Univer- H Humid enthalpy of gas phase, kJ kg- ’
sidad dc La Frontcra, Casilla 54-D, Tcmuco, Chile. 6To H,., Enthalpy of saturated vapour, kJ kg- ’
whom all correspondence should be addrcsscd. K Proportional gain

Food Control 1998 Volume 9 Number 4 195

Direct rotary dryers: J. R. Pbrez-Correa et al.

Parameter of drying model, s ’ control plays a key role in improving process opera-
Mass flowrate of dry solid, kg s ’ tion and product quality. However, long response
Lifter length, m delays and dead times, the variable composition of
Drying velocity, kg kg s ’ raw materials and lack of adequate on-line instru-
Number of lifters in the upper half of the mentation are all factors that hinder the development
drum and implementation of efficient control systems for
NR Rotation speed, s ’ direct rotary dryers.
Nu, Nusselt number Now that it is simple and inexpensive to implement
R Particle radius, m sophisticated algorithms in computers, it is possible
Rep Reynolds number to overcome many of the difficulties, to a degree, by
T Temperature, K using advanced control algorithms. In order to test
7” Reference temperature for internal the effectiveness and limitations of such algorithms, it
energy, K has become convenient to develop a simulator that
7-d Derivative time, s can reproduce the main dynamic characteristics of
T, Integral time, s the process.
TO Reference temperature for variable diffu- The modelling of a rotary dryer includes mass and
sivity model, K energy balances applied to a process that exhibits the
T,, Sample time, s combined effects of mass and heat transfer. There
U‘, Heat transfer volumetric coefficient, are several published papers that deal with steady
kJs-’ “C-1 m-7 state modelling of a rotary dryer. These models are
u Vapour internal energy, kJ kg ’ used to predict humidity and temperature profiles of
X Dry base solid moisture content, kg kg ’ both phases inside the dryer. They differ in the way
xc, Dry base initial solid moisture content, the drying kinetic, the retention time and the heat
kg kg~m’ transfer are described (Shofield and Glikin, 1962;
X* Dry base equilibrium solid moisture Kamke and Wilson, 1986; Shene et al., 1996).
content, kg kg -’ However, there are few papers dealing with dynamic
Y Dry base gas moisture content, kg kg ’ modelling of rotary dryers. Among the latter we
Z Axial distance, m should mention the paper of Balchen and MumeC
(1988), where four partial hyperbolic differential
Greek letters equations are obtained.
h Vaporisation enthalpy at T = T”, kJ kg ’ While this mode1 used a constant drying velocity it
P Ts+To, K did not include varying the solids’ flowrate. The equa-
Y D,,lR=, s ’ tions were solved with a finite difference method.
62 Length of a discrete element, m Tihua (1986) developed a dynamic model to study
& Internal energy change due to vaporiza- the performance of an adaptive Dahlin controller.
tion, kJ kJJ’ The model also includes four partial differential
+ Retention time, s equations, but with constant coefficients for heat and
PR Apparent density of the solid, kg mm.’ mass transfer; the method of lines was used to solve
P,J Particle density, kg m 3 the equations. Najim (1989a) and Wood et al. (1986)
analyzed the performance of advanced adaptive
Subscripts controllers also using phenomenological models.
k-l Inlet in dryer mode1 However, these models include simplified mass and
k Outlet in dryer model; time interval in heat transfer relations that are of limited applicability
discrete control algorithm in practice. This is especially true when the solid has
g Gas phase heterogeneous characteristics, like fish meal or other
s Solid phase products of biological origin.
This work, like the articles mentioned above, also
Superscripts deals with the dynamic modelling and control of
d Delay time rotary dryers. However, it includes several new
n Order of a linear dynamic model features, like varying solids’ flowrate, drying kinetic
obtained from first principles and the evaluation of
an extended horizon adaptive controller (Perez-
INTRODUCTION Correa et al., 1995) with the latter particularly suit-
able for processes with large and varying dead times.
Rotary dryers are usually employed to dry large
volumes of economically significant products, such as
fish meal and mineral concentrate. The complexity of MODELLING
the interaction among mass, heat and momentum
transfer phenomena, make it very difficult in practice The model is obtained from dynamic mass and
to operate a direct rotary dryer well. Automatic energy balances applied upon a discrete element of

196 Food Control 1998 Volume 9 Number 4

 Direct rotary dryers: J. R. Phez-Correa et al.

Folids average residence time

Alvarez and Shene (1994) developed a model for
residence time using data obtained in a 3 m long pilot
rotary dryer of 0.3 m diameter. This model considers
both the feedstock physical properties and the drum
characteristics:
0.0~659.d~;“~2.p~“‘” 41 l.d~ll.Oh5.,,~Kl2
+= +
SOLID F.NR(18.95s+ 1) 27.22.~ + 1
Figure 1 Control volume for mass and energy balances
6 5.G” 5

the dryer (see Figure I). In addition, the following (5)

-29.19.s+1
design simplifications are included:
where s is the slope of the drum (m m-l), d,. (m) is
adiabatic dryer
the average particle diameter; pe (kg m - ‘) is the
negligible radial gradients
apparent density; F is the dry solids flowrate (kg s-l),
constant average residence time of solids along
G is the gas flowrate (kg s- ‘) and NR is the rotation
the drum
speed (rotations s-l).
negligible radiation, diffusion and conduction
effects
constant gas hold-up Physical properties
Humid heat of moist solids:
constant physical properties
negligible pressure drops c,, = c, +xc,, (6)
Humid enthalpy of moist solids (dry basis):
Mass and energy balances
h = c,,T, (7)
Applying mass and energy balances to both phases in
a discrete element of volume, as shown in Figure I, Saturated vapour enthalpy based on liquid water at
the following equations can be obtained for each ‘k’ 0°C:
element (Cubillos, 1992): H,., = c,,T,+ h.Y (8)
Solid moisture content, X: Specific heat of wet gas at constant volume:
c, = c,<+c,:Y (9)
(1) Enthalpy of wet gas:

Gas humidity, Y: H = (c,+Yc,,,) T,+h.Y (10)

Internal energy of vapour:
(2) U, = c,,(T-~‘)+E*Y (11)

Solid temperature, T,: Heat transfer coefficient

The modelling of heat transfer in cascading rotary
dryers, can be approached using an average heat
hd transfer coefficient for all the suspended particles at a
given instant within the drum. Shofield and Glikin
(1962) defined a heat transfer coefficient, h,, using
(3) the following equation:
Q, = h, A, AL,. (12)
Gas temperature, T,: Langrish et al. (1988) estimated the heat transfer
area, A,, using a mass balance on the material
entering the upper half of the drum, resulting in:

Note that for the gas
balance is inappropriate
internal energy balance
(Perez-Correa and Farias,
(4)
phase a dynamic enthalpy
(Denn, 1986). A dynamic
has to be used instead
1995).
6
A, = N,.h,,*p,,N,.t,.L;p (13)
p,a&
In rotary dryers the amount of gas that bypasses
the solid particles may be significant, especially for
small ones. Under this condition, it is reasonable to
use the heat transfer relationship proposed by Kunii
and Levenspiel (1991) for fluidized beds:

Food Control 1998 Volume 9 Number 4 197

Direct rotary dryers: J. R. Pkrez-Correa et al.

0.25 Table 1 Operating variables and parameters of the pilot rotary

dryer
I . Data I l

0.20 -0.03.R:;,, Mean particle diameter 0.0012 m

0.034.Re I * Particle density 12OOkgm ’
.
Dry solid flowrate 0.017kgs ’
015 Inlet solid moisture content 0.27 (kg of water)/(kg of dry solid)
.
. Inlet solid temperature 50 “C
z Inlet flowrate of dry air 0.0304 kg K ’
. 1
0.10 Inlet air moisture content 0.005 (kg of water)/(kg of dry air)
Inlet air temperature 150°C
. 1. .
. Drum diameter 0.3 m
0.05 . Rotation velocity 9 rpm
Drum length 3m
Solids residence time 480 s
0.00 I I
10 20 30 40 50 60
Re
Figure 2 Validation of heat transfer coefficient correlation
F,, = Fourier number = D$ (19)
Nu I’ = 0 .03 Re”’I’ (14)
In the present model, the ‘experimental’ value of Zavala and Moya (1994) calibrated the variable
Nu,, was obtained from an energy balance in each diffusivity drying kinetic model, with experimental
section of the drum (Zavala and Moya, 1994). Figure data obtained in a pilot rotary dryer (Table I) with
2 compares the values of Nu,, obtained from energy soy meal as the substrate. It was found that the
balances with those given by the fluidized beds corre- effective diffusivity (D,,) follows an Arrehnius type
lation. It can be seen that the data show too much function, as suggested in Crank (1975):
dispersion, caused by measurement difficulties.
However, the least square fit of the experimental
) = K,, exp( -; ) (20)
values gives a slope slightly different (0.034) from
that of the Kunii and Levenspiel correlation (0.03).
Moreover, if those experimental values that deviate In order to calibrate this model properly, several
more are not consider in the least square fit, the experiments were carried out where operating condi-
slope gets quite close to 0.03. Given this, it seems tions, such as inlet air temperature, inlet air flowrate,
reasonable to apply equation (14) to estimate the inlet solid water content and inlet solid flowrate, were
heat transfer coefficient in the rotary dryer model. varied over a wide range (Zavala and Moya, 1994).
Measurements were taken at steady state every 30 cm
Drying kinetics along the length of the drum. As an example, Figure
3 shows the steady state profiles for T, = 25O”C,
Two drying models based on mass transfer principles T, = 24”C, L = 0.0202 kg s ‘, G = 0.076 kg s-’ and
were used here; the variable diffusivity model and the X=0.477kgkg~‘.
combined resistance model (Shene et al., 1996). Both In the drying kinetics model (equation (18)), the
models were successfully applied in describing the coefficient h was set to - 10, which yielded a reason-
drying kinetics of a wide spectrum of particulate solid able approximation over a wide range of operating
materials. conditions. The Arrehnius type model for y (equation
Combined resistance’s model: 20) was fitted with ‘experimental’ data for different

250
N= --$ =6(&,-X*) i A,ufe-ufF,,
,=I (15)
200
where,

A = (SW,) -w COS(~,))~
(16)
’ d,(u, - sin(u,) cos(u,))
and U, the positive roots of the equation,
U, = (1 -B,) tan(u,) (17)
Variable diffusivity model:

(18) +x +Ts+Tg
i
Figure3 Experimental steady state profiles in the Pilot Rotary
with, Dryer

198 Food Control 1998 Volume 9 Number 4

 Direct rotary dryers: J. R. PBrez-Correa et al.

-6.0 -
-6.6 .__.______;. . . . . . ..i i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i ._._._..; __......
-8.4 _......___; . . . .._.. i ._._._..i _----.-. h...is
-9.0 T
26 29 30 31
B temperature
o data - model
Figure 4 Calibration of drying kinetic model
solid temperatures as shown in Figure 4. Here, the
‘experimental’ value of y was obtained from the inte-
gration of equation (18), using a value of b = - 10
and measured values of X. The calibration param-
eters were K,] = 1.066 [s- ‘1 and E, = 2440 [K].
The dynamic model of the rotary dryer, which
includes all of the above equations, describes the
evolution over time of the following variables: X, Y,
T, and T,. Table I displays the specifications of the
pilot rotary dryer. Through trial and error, it was
determined that a model deploying 10 discrete
elements could represent the behaviour of the rotary
dryer sufficiently accurately (Zavala and Moya, 1994),
without consuming too much computing time.
CONTROL
Manipulated and control variables
There are several strategies for automatic control of
direct rotary dryers. Inlet gas temperature, gas flow-
rate, solids feedrate and rotation velocity of the drum
can be considered as manipulated variables. The
usual control objective is the product moisture
content. However, it is seldom measured on line.
Other plausible output objectives are the outlet gas
temperature and humidity, and outlet solid
temperature.
Under normal operation, the solids’ feedrate and
rotation velocity is fixed by the operator in order to
avoid overheating resulting from poor solid/gas
contact. In addition, these inputs affect the controlled
variables too slowly. Consequently, these are rarely
used as manipulated variables. Although the gas flow-
rate is easily manipulated and has a strong and fast
effect in the output variables, it is also not normally
used as a manipulated variable. This is because its
operating range depends on the characteristics of the
solids, and therefore a fluidynamic analysis has to be
performed to estimate the quantity of particles
discharged by the gas. Furthermore, the effect of the
gas flowrate on the output variables is highly
dependent on the drying mechanism. If drying occurs
mainly through water evaporation from saturated
surfaces, the gas flowrate will strongly influence the
moisture content of the product due to changes in
both the heat and mass transfer surface coefficients.
However, if the water has to diffuse from within the
particle, the gas flowrate will not appreciably affect
the moisture content of the product. The majority of
industrial fish meal dryers, for example, use the inlet
. . . . . . ---.-.-.. gas temperature indirectly as an input variable, by
manipulating the fuel flowrate (JerCz and Peters,
1990).
32 33 34 35 It is assumed, in this paper, that the inlet gas
is manipulated directly and the solid
moisture content is measured on-line.
1
Control algorithms
Two digital control algorithms were tested, a PID and
an extended horizon selftuning regulator (PCrez-
Correa et al., 1995). The PID is the most widely used
control algorithm in the process industry, and is
particularly useful in controlling linear systems with
non varying dynamics (constant process gain and time
response). The control action is computed in an ideal
PID according to;
de (4
e(t)dt+ T,,- (21)
dt
where u is the manipulated variable (inlet gas
temperature) and e the output error (X,-X,,,). Here,
the design is restricted to finding appropriate values
of the control parameters K,, T, and T,, and is known
as control tuning. However, as this algorithm cannot
be directly implemented in a digital computer, equa-
tion (21) is discretized giving the following algorithm;
(22)
where T,, is the sample time and the subscript k
refers to the time interval.
Normal industrial processes are non linear and
exhibit varying dynamics. As a result, the PID algo-
rithm does not always work properly and requires
periodic tuning. In these situations adaptive control-
lers would perform better, as they follow the process
dynamics through using on line estimation of model
parameters. An adaptive controller consists of a
process model, a control algorithm and a recursive
parameter estimation. A typical process model is of
the form;
Nq ‘>yl = B(q--‘)u, (23)
where y is the observed variable, u is the input vari-
able, k refers to the time interval and q-’ is a delay
operator (q ‘yI =yk~ ,). A and B are polynomials in
9 ‘;
A(q ‘)= l+a,q-‘+ag2+...+a,,q -‘I (24)

Food Control 1998 Volume 9 Number 4 199

Direct rotary dryers: J. R. PBrez-Correa et a/.
B(q-‘) =q-“(b,+bq-‘+...+h,,q-~‘I”)
The data used in this model can be the full value
of the variables or the difference between the present
and past values. In the first case, the model is called
positional while in the second it is called incremental.
There are several control laws that can be used in
adaptive control, however an extended horizon
controller is easy to use and robust to disturbances
and variable time delays, as shown in Kershenbaum
and Perez-Correa (1989). The basic idea is to obtain
an output predictor and then select a control
sequence that drives the output to the reference at a
pre-specified future time. If the parameters of the
output predictor model are directly estimated on-line,
the control algorithm is called implicit. On the other
hand, if the parameters of the output predictor model
are calculated from on-line estimates of the process
model parameters, the algorithm is known explicit.
In this work, a recursive least squares with variable
forgetting factor (Fortescue et al., 1981) is used for
parameter estimation, and an explicit/incremental
extended horizon algorithm for control computation.
A brief version of this controller is given in the
Appendix; a complete derivation can be found in
Jadrijevic (1991). The algorithm has three tuning
parameters: the model order, the control horizon and
the memory length of the estimator.
The tuning of the PID parameters was based on
the classic ultimate response rule to obtain a first
approximation, and then adjusted by trial and error
with the simulator. Although the tuned parameters
do not produce tight control, they ensure stable
operation for all kinds of disturbances. The adaptive
controller was tuned by increasing the model order
and the time horizon from 1 on, until proper control
was achieved. Next, the memory length was varied
from 10 7 to lo-“, and an optimum value was finally
selected. An average step response time in the actual
pilot dryer is T, = 800 s, and consequently
adequate sample time was found to be 100 s (Najim,
1989b). Table 2 summarizes the control parameters
used in the simulations.
RESULTS
It was found that the model reproduced the main
features of the observed process dynamics well, those
such as the inverse rlsponse in the water content of
the outlet solid stream. On the other hand, a model
Table 2 Tuning paramctcrs
PI11
Y 500
T,
T,
Adaptive
N 2
771
z,.
200 Food Control 1998 Volume 9 Number
(25) sensitivity analysis (Zavala and Moya, 1994), showed
the highly non-linear characteristics of the process,
with three fold variations in some parameter values
(see Table 3).
To compare the performance of the control algo-
rithms mentioned above, the simulated controlled
process was subjected to three consecutive step
disturbances in those variables, that from industrial
experience, most affect the operation of the dryer.
Hence, inlet solids flowrate, moisture content, the
velocity inside the drum (which represents changes in
particle size distribution) and set point changes were
considered, as shown in Table 4. Other perturbations
like inlet solid temperature, physical properties (Cp,
density, etc.) or gas flowrate, were not considered
here as they do not cause control problems or are
almost constant under normal operation.
Control performance was measured using the
following indices;
Summation Time Absolute Error
6sman
= STAE = ,;, k.ABS(e,) (26)
Summation Square Error
k “I.,\
= SSE= 1 e’,
k=, (27)
Summation Square Control U
I l”ilX
= ssu = ,;, (L&-24- ,)L G-9
Table 5 gives the values of the normalized control
indices for all the simulation runs.
Figure 5 shows the evolution of controlled and
manipulated variables for both the system controlled
with PID and that with an adaptive controller, under
disturbances in the solids’ feedrate. The adaptive
controller (AC) keeps the output closer to the refer-
ence, but requires stronger control action. The first
an disturbance causes a deviation in the output with the
PID control mode that is not observed with the adap-
tive mode. For the other two disturbances, the PID
mode generates larger output deviations than the
adaptive mode. The control action appears much
stronger with the adaptive controller. The indices
(Table 5) confirm what is seen in the figure; the error
indices (STAE, SSE) are, respectively, four and eight
times higher for the PID and the control index (SSU)
is six times higher for the adaptive algorithm.
The most difficult disturbance to attenuate is the
inlet solid moisture content, where input and output
responses are given in Figure 6. Here the adaptive
controller clearly outperforms the PID, with consider-
ably smaller overshoots and shorter settling times.
kg/(kg “C) ’
100 5
Again, the cost that must be paid is that of stronger
loo s control action. The error indices are three times
lower for the adaptive controller and the control
action index is eight times higher.
3 Figure 7 shows the system response for disturb-
10 ’
ances in solids’ velocity. Here the adaptive controller
4
 Direct rotary dryers: J. R. PBrez-Correa et al.

Table 3 Transfer function parameters for inlet air tcmpcrature disturbance

output (I (s) T (s) K [kg/(kg “C) ‘1

X 27.5<0<44.1 8Y.4<r<l63.1 -5.05~10 l<K< -2.99.10 ’

Y 1.4<0<2.4 23.h<r<83.6 0.18~10 ‘<K<2.09~10 ’
T 4.1<11<9.9 3’).4<r<Y7.1 0.16<K<O.54
TV 1.0<0<2.4 3Y.Y<s<8X.2 0.24 < K < 0.65

0.22 450
keeps the output closer to the reference than the
PID, specially after the first disturbance. However,
0.20
the PID controller responds smoothly and the adap-
tive controller very actively. According to Table 5, the
0.18
error indices are 2-3 times lower and the control
index is over 10 times higher with the adaptive algo- B ijl
rithm compared with the PID. 3 0.16 250 e
25 P
As shown in Figure 8, both controllers respond well X
for set point tracking. Although, the control action 0.14

with the adaptive algorithm looks more oscillatory. 150

There is no clear difference between the algorithms 0.12

in terms of output regulation, In Table 5 the PID

exhibits a 15% higher STAE index, a 10% lower SSE 0 10 50
0 25 50 75 100 125 150
index and a 20% lower SSU index than the adaptive Time [min]
controller.
Figure 6 Outlet solid m&ture control under inlet solld moisture
dlsturhances
Table 4 Apphcd disturbances

Input Dlsturbancc 1 Disturhancc 2 IXsturbance 3

L 0.020 0.0150 0.017 0.22 450

X 0.30 0.23 0.27 PID

0.20 -AC
k 0.00830
0.150 0. IYO
O.OOf~25 0.1 x2
0.00500
350
0.18 +
G
s 0”
mu 0.16 250 e
Table 5 Normalized control performance indlces Y l-

Input PlD Adaptwe

150
3 STAE SSE ssu STAE SSE ssu 0.12

L 0.33 1 0.222 O.OI 5 0.077 0.027 O.OYh

X l.(HK~ 1 .ooo 0.124 0.301 0.313 1 .ooo 0.10 ' 1 50
Ii 0.157 0.020 O.007 0.059 0.020 0.101 0 25 50 75 100 125 150
Set point 0.467 0.X67 0.305 0.406 0.Y52 0.482 Time [min]
Figure 7 Outlet solid moisture control under inlet solid velocity
dlsturhanccs

0.22 450
450
0.20
350
0.18 350
a
s
c1) 0.16 250 E
25 I- 0”
X 250 &
0.14 I-
150
0.12 150

0.10 50
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 50
Time [min] 0 25 50 Timlimb] 100 125 150
Figure 5 Outlet solid moisture control under inlet solid flowratc
disturbances Figure 8 Outlet solid moisture cwtrol under set point disturbances

Food Control 1998 Volume 9 Number 4 201

Direct rotary dryers: J. R. Pbrez-Correa et al.

CONCLUSIONS Najim, K. (1989a) Modelling and learning control of a rotary

phosphate dryer. International Journal of Systems Science 20(9),
1627
The dynamic model developed here can reproduce Najim, K. (1989b) Process Modelling and Control in Chemical
the observed qualitative dynamic behaviour of indus- Engineering. M. Dekker Inc., New York
trial and pilot rotary dryers. The main feature of this PCrez-Correa, J. R. and Farias, F. (1995) Modelling and control of
behaviour is the presence of long dead times and a spray dryer: a simulation study. Food Control 6(4), 219-227
time responses in the solid phase, with much quicker Perez-Correa, J. R., Septilvcda, F. R. and Duarte, M. A. (1995)
outputs associated with gas phase responses. The Adaptive control in a heating vessel: a comparative study. Inter-
national Journal of Adaptive Control and Signal Processing 9,
process is extremely non-linear since the transfer 183-197
function parameter values are highly dependent on
Shene, C., Alvarez, P.I., Cubillos, F. and Perez-Correa, J. R.
the point at which it is operated. (1996) Modeling and simulation of a direct control rotary
Simulation results showed that both PID and dryer. Drying Technology 14( lo), 2419-2436
adaptive control algorithms are able to regulate the Shofield, F. and Glikin, P. (lYh2) Rotary dryers and coolers for
main outputs when the dryer is subjected to the kind granular fertilizers. Transactions of the Institute of Chemical
of disturbances normally found in industrial plants. Engineers 40, I83

However, the adaptive controller yielded error
performance indices 3-8 times lower than the PID,
although it also presented 6-10 times higher control
action indices. Of course these results are tuning
dependent, but less tuning effort was spent on the
adaptive controller than the PID. The good regula-
tion performance of the adaptive controller is due to
its capacity to detect the changes in the dynamic
behaviour of the dryer.
Tihua, W. (1986) Modelling and design of an adaptive control
system for a rotary dryer. Proceedings of IASTED, Geneva,
Switzerland
Wood, H., Jawuanda, K. and Sokhansanj, S. (1986) Simulation and
control of the dehydration process. Proceedings of IASTED,
Vancouver, Canada
Zavala, E. and Moyd, A. (1994) Simulaci6n DinBmica y Control de
un Secador Rotatorio Piloto de Contact0 Directo. Memoria de
titulo (in Spanish), Depto. Ing. Quimica USACH, Santiago,
Chile

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS APPENDIX

The authors wish to thank the support received by The explicit/incremental extended horizon selftuning
FONDECYT through projects 344/92 and 640/93. regulator
Preliminary computations
REFERENCES AYE=y,-yk 1, Au, = u, 1 -uk -2, vk =yk.-jZ (Al)

Alvarez, P. I. and Shene, C. (1994) Exerimental study of residence

time in a direct rotary dryer. Dlying Technology 12(7). $‘A., = [&-,,AY~ a...,&-,,+,;Auk. ,,...,k r,,-,,+,I
1629-1651
0’k ~, = [-a,,--a2,...,--a,,;h,,h2,...,h,~,+,,~,l
Balchen, J. and Mume& K. (1988) Process Control Structures and
Applications, Appendix L. VNR Co, New York where y is the measured variable, u is the manipu-
Crank, J. (1975) The Mathematics of Diffusion. 2nd edn. Oxford lated variable, v is the estimation error, d, is the data
University Press, Oxford vector and 8 is the estimation vector. The a,‘s and b,‘s
Cuhillos, F.A. (1992) Simulaci6n dinamica y control de secadores are estimated parameters.
rotatorios directos. M.Sc. thesis (in Spanish), Depto. de Inge-
nieria Quimica, Univ. de Chile, Santiago. Chile
Denn, M.M. (1986) Process Modeling. Longman Inc., London Parameter estimation
Fortescue. T. R., Kershenbaum. L. S. and Ydstie, B. E. (1981)
Implementation of self-tuning regulators with variable forget- V2k
ting factors. Automatica 17(b), 831 Wk= 4h ,,,Pk 14J3k-
,,,; n,=l-w,- - ;
Jadrijevic. M. (1991) Selecci6n de Controladores Adaptables ic i
Robustos. Memoria de titulo (in Spanish), Dpto. de lngenieria
Quimica, Univ. de Chile, Santiago, Chile n,+jnL,+4w, W’)
JerCz, J. and Peters, E. (1990) Practical aspects of automatic ?L, =
control. IAFMM Workshoo on Fish Meal and Fish Oil Oualitv _ i 2
and Processing, Island ’
Kamke, F. and Wilson, J. (1986) Computer simulation of direct
rotary dryers. AICHE Journal 32(2), 263 K =p” I@--I;, .
P 0, = 0, ,+Kkvk;
Kershenbaum, L. S. and Pkrez-Correa, J. R. (1989) An extended h,+w, ’
horizon feedbacwfeedforward self-tuning controller. AICHE 643)
Journal 35( 1 l), 183.5
P -K, K:(h,+w,)
Kunii, D. and Levenspiel, 0. (1991 FIuidization Engineering, 2nd pk= k-’
edn. Butterworths series in Chemical Engineering, Oxford hk

Langrish, T. A. G.. Raey, D. and Bahu, R. E. (1988) An investiga-

tion into heat transfer in cascading rotary dryers. Journal of P is the covariance matrix, C the memory length, h
Separation Procedures Technology 9, 15-2 the forgetting factor and K the Kalman gain.

202 Food Control 1998 Volume 9 Number 4

 Direct rotary dryers: J. R. PBrez-Correa et a/.

Control computations IX= Ii‘I’ k,f;, Vi = l...n+2T,,-2;

Au, =Y:+?;,- Y, r= Min{i-l,T,,-1); p = Max{O,i-n-T,,+l}

;K =y,+ ,=I
i a,Ayy,,+,-,
IL;. ,-I
,r+T,,- I fi = l- ,&%-,L Vi= l...T,I-l;pi=Max{i,n);
+ C PT,,+,Au~--r
,=I
fh= 1
@,= - ,=,c a&,,+,
~,-I> Vi= l...n; y* is the set point, Y is the predicted output based on
present data, and ol,‘s and p,‘s are the control
qi = Min{n,T,, - 1 +i} parameters.

Food Control 1998 Volume 9 Number 4 203