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* Corresponding author. Fax: #44-1328-711-155.

E-mail address: sjt01@globalnet.co.uk (S. J. Temple)


Control Engineering Practice 8 (2000) 165}173
Monitoring and control of #uid-bed drying of tea
S. J. Temple*, S. T. Tambala, A. J. B. van Boxtel
Tea Research Foundation (Central Africa), P.O. Box 51, Mulanje, Malawi (current address 6 Copys Green, Wighton, Norfolk NR23 INY, UK
Tea Research Foundation (Central Africa), P.O. Box 51, Mulanje, Malawi
Department of Agricultural Engineering and Physics, Wageningen Agricultural University, Bomenweg 4, 6703 HD Wageningen, Netherlands
Received 2 November 1998; accepted 10 August 1999
Abstract
Tea processing requires new technology for improving quality management and process control. A data logging system was
developed to monitor and control tea processing lines. The quality of the manual control of the drying operation is limited because of
the time taken to reach stability. A model for #uidized-bed tea drying is used for the development of a new control strategy. The
#uidization requirements and the drying kinetics for this model are established in experimental studies. The model is simulated in
MATLAB and allows various control strategies to be studied before being implemented in practice. 2000 Elsevier Science td. All
rights reserved.
Keywords: Data logging; Model; Simulation; Process control; Agriculture; Food processing
1. Introduction
The largest producer of black tea in the world is India,
with an annual production of around 770,000 tonnes. Sri
Lanka, Kenya, Turkey, Indonesia and China produce
between 100,000 and 300,000 tonnes each. Argentina,
Bangladesh, Iran, Malaysia and Malawi produce in the
region of 50,000 tonnes, and there are other smaller
producers in Southern and Eastern Africa (International
Tea Council, 1997). In the manufacture of black tea,
shoots of `three leaves and a buda are withered to ap-
proximately 72% moisture content wet basis. They are
then macerated to release the cell contents and produce
a desired particle size; the macerated shoots are known as
dhool. The cell contents are encouraged to react aerobi-
cally (`fermentationa), until an optimal chemical com-
position is achieved. The reactions are halted by drying,
when the moisture content is reduced to about 3% in
a period of 20 min or less.
As most tea factories are located in countries with low
labour costs, process control and automation of produc-
tion were a minor priority in the past. New pieces of
equipment were developed from qualitative experience,
and in most factories, control and data collection is done
manually. With increasing demand for quality manage-
ment, the role of automation, process control and engin-
eering have gained importance. Nowadays, factories ask
more and more for quantitative engineering models, feed-
back controllers and information management systems.
This request is strongly a!ected by the cost level in the
tea producing countries. Investment in highly sophisti-
cated equipment is often not economically feasible. Sup-
plies of equipment, spare parts and customer support by
the manufacturers of control equipment are hindered by
large distances and local procedures. There is very little
concerning tea manufacture discussed in food engineer-
ing papers. Some papers report results on tea in a state
ready for sale, but information on engineering aspects of
processing is scarce and should be established in the tea
production regions. Hence a signi"cant part of the pro-
cessing and automation equipment has to be developed
locally, and the investigation of tea processing properties
has to be carried out close to the factories.
Tea processing is mainly based upon skills and
qualitative knowledge. Innovation needs quantitative
information and tools such as process modelling and
simulation to use this information. Firstly, this paper
gives a description of a data logging system that has been
introduced in a number of African tea factories for
gathering relevant process data. Then a description of the
0967-0661/00/$- see front matter 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 6 7 - 0 6 6 1 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 1 4 5 - 8
Nomenclature
a air mass #ow, kg/s
A air mass, kg
c constant
C
N
speci"c heat, kJ/kg 3K
h enthalpy #ow, kJ/s
H enthalpy, kJ
H
T
latent heat of evaporation, kJ/kg
J evaporation rate, s\ (kg/s per kg dry matter)
k drying rate constant, s\
bed depth, m
m #ow rate of dry matter, kg/s
M dry matter mass, kg
temperature, 3C
t time, s
u super"cial air velocity, m/s
w water, mass #ow rate, kg/s
= water, mass, kg
X moisture content, decimal d.b. (kg water/kg
dry matter)
z
@
bed area, m
density, kg/m
Subscripts
a air
b bed
d dhool
e equilibrium
h weir
i in
m dry matter
o output
w water
process modelling activities for tea dryers is given, which
"nally results in an application of the model design and
an exploration of the alternatives for controlling
#uidized-bed tea dryers by simulation.
2. Data logging systems
Until recently, all measurements and data manage-
ment in tea processing were made manually, with the
potential for mistakes and omissions. A data logging
system initially designed for research purposes was de-
veloped into a new system that could perform tea factory
data logging economically, using computers that have
already been used in the factory for "nancial calculations.
The system is called SLOGGER, a contraction of
Serial LOGGER, as it consists of microprocessor-based
satellite units connected into a network by RS485 serial
communication wiring. The standard unit (see Fig. 1) can
handle up to eight analogue inputs, either voltage or
thermocouple signals. The current value of the eight
signals going into each unit is shown on a liquid crystal
display on the unit.
In addition to the standard module, alternative mod-
ules are available to monitor pulse inputs, to display
values from another module in graphical form (8 channel
bar graph), and to convert a shaft speed signal into
a fermenting time.
Each unit is able to work as a stand-alone device, but
full utility is gained from the system when it is connected
to a computer. Software is available to run under MS-
DOS, carrying out the data logging in the background
while the user executes other DOS programs.
Alternatively, a Windows program may be used. Both
sets of software collect data to disk "le, and can display
the data as a graph or a table. The Windows software
is also able to display selected variables on a mimic
diagram.
The system can handle up to 31 modules, potentially
248 data channels. The standard analogue unit is de-
signed with control functions in mind, and an eight-way
digital output connector is an optional "tting. This can
drive relays, and has been used for air#ow control and
a simpli"ed PD controller operating heater units. This
has also been used for the sequencing and control of
a batch #uid-bed dryer and data logging from the thin-
layer test rig, both described below.
Basic components of the system were assembled in
Malawi in the con"gurations required for speci"c factory
installations. The microcontrollers are programmed with
the code required for these installations; as one-time
programmable chips are used, a new device must be used
to upgrade the "rmware but the cost of the devices is low.
Erasable chips were used during development. Systems
have been installed in two-thirds of the tea factories in
Malawi as well as for research applications within the
Tea Research Foundation (Central Africa).
3. Fluid-bed drying of tea
Fluid-bed dryers used in tea production are continu-
ous, and attempt to work in the plug-#ow mode. A rec-
tangular bed is used, and the layout is illustrated in
Fig. 2. There are generally three zones with di!erent air
temperatures and #ow rates. These zones are set to
handle the varying moisture contents of the drying tea.
A high inlet air temperature of 120}1403C is used in
the "rst stage, and the exhaust air conditions will be
around saturation as the drying rate is very high. The
middle section uses air at 100}1203C, and the dry end
90}1003C, the objective being to achieve maximum
drying rates without overheating the product. Exhaust
air in the middle section rises rapidly from saturation
166 S. J. Temple et al. / Control Engineering Practice 8 (2000) 165}173
Fig. 1. Schematic of a simple SLOGGER system.
Fig. 2. Fluid-bed dryer schematic.
temperature to near 903C. There may be a thermostatic
control of the air heaters, or they may be on manually
operated steam valves. Air#ows are highest at the wet
end ("rst stage).
There is always a weir at the discharge end, and there
may be weirs between stages. The weir height is normally
under manual control. The higher the weirs the greater
the degree of back mixing in the dryer and the greater the
deviation from plug #ow.
The dryer is in e!ect a cross-#ow dryer, which will give
the highest drying rates. High thermal e$ciency can be
achieved by recycling the exhaust air from the dry end of
the dryer, which will be far from saturation, through the
inlet to the heaters at the wet end, after removing any
eluted particles.
High drying rates are important at the start of the
process, as the `fermentationa reactions are accelerated
by an increase in temperature until the point where
enzymes are inactivated. This point must be reached as
quickly as possible. A maximum tea particle temperature
of less than 1003C is important for tea quality, so this is
the reason for low temperatures at the dry end. In well-
operated dryers, the mean residence time may be below
12 min; in others mean residence times of up to 1 h have
been recorded (Johnson, 1989).
Tea moisture content at the end of the dryer should be
controlled by adjusting the air inlet temperatures; cur-
rently moisture is controlled manually. Feedback of mea-
sured moisture values is a logical option, but because of
the price of suitable (infrared) moisture sensors this is not
very attractive. Other indicating variables should be used
for feedback control. In order to make a proper choice
for indicating such variables, a physical process model is
used. The model design involves the following steps:
determination of the #uidization properties (in order to
explore the possibility of control with air#ow rates),
estimating the drying kinetics, modelling and simulation,
and "nally the evaluation of the control strategies by
simulation.
3.1. Fluidization
Fluidization requirements set the dryer's possible air-
#ow rates. For a given moisture content there is a very
narrow range of super"cial velocities that produce good
#uidization with the minimal elution of the light fraction
of solids. A series of experiments was undertaken to
determine the minimum #uidization velocity for tea par-
ticles, and other parameters of the bedplates and tea. The
apparatus used for these tests was a small-scale batch
S. J. Temple et al. / Control Engineering Practice 8 (2000) 165}173 167
Fig. 3. Fluidization test rig.
Fig. 4. Comparison of saturated-salt and dewpoint-meter equilibrium
moisture content.
Fig. 5. Thin layer test rig.
#uidized-bed dryer as shown in Fig. 3. One side of the
exhaust duct was "tted with a transparent cover, so
#uidization could be observed almost down to the bed
plate level.
Experiments were carried out with four di!erent types
of bedplates, representing those typically used in the
industry. Two had slotted and two round holes.
For each bedplate in turn, a sequence of increasing bed
loads of dry tea from 3 to 18 kg/m was used. The mean
particle size of the sample used was 0.8 mm diameter as
determined by sieve analysis. The minimum #uidizing
velocity for all tests was found to be between 0.9 and
1.1 m/s for dry tea. The bed was found to expand rapidly
once the minimum #uidizing velocity had been reached,
and signi"cant quantities of light particles were eluted at
air velocities little greater than the minimum #uidizing
velocities. As tea dries rapidly even under test conditions,
it was not possible to "nd the #uidization velocity for wet
tea with the test equipment. From the measurements on
a continuous dryer it was found that good #uidization
was found for air velocities 1.3, 1.1 and 0.9 m/s at the wet,
mid and dry sections, respectively. As the #ow rate is
critical for #uidization (minimum and elution #ow rates
di!er only slightly) the #ow rate cannot be used as
a control variable.
3.2. The physics of drying
The limit to drying under any set of ambient condi-
tions is the equilibrium moisture content of the product
under those conditions. Therefore, modelling the drying
process requires a knowledge of the equilibriummoisture
content of tea under various drying conditions. Previous
studies were restricted to near ambient conditions that
occur during storage. Results have now been extended to
conditions that occur during drying.
Experiments using a chilled-mirror type of dewpoint
meter gave data for moisture contents from 3 to 40% wet
basis, and for temperatures just above ambient to over
903C. For temperatures over 1003C the measurements
were not necessary because International Standard (In-
ternational Standards Organisation, 1980) de"nes the
moisture content at 100}1053C as zero.
Results of this study did not di!er signi"cantly from
those of other work on tea using saturated salts, includ-
ing Hampton (1992), Jayaratnam and Kirtisinghe
(1974a,b), Dougan, Glossop, Howard and Jones (1978)
and unpublished work. Fig. 4 shows a "t to the dewpoint
meter data (DPM) averaged over the temperature range
studied, and to all saturated salt data (avg salt).
A further study of thin-layer drying provides an under-
standing of the drying rate and the important parameters
used to predict drying. Tea particles are unlike most
other agricultural produce, as the cell structure is disrup-
ted; so, there will be a much lower internal resistance to
moisture movement. The thin layer drying apparatus
shown in Fig. 5 was designed to give a similar ratio of air
to tea as in a #uid-bed dryer. Because of the high drying
168 S. J. Temple et al. / Control Engineering Practice 8 (2000) 165}173
Fig. 6. Input/output model.
rates the equipment di!ers from that commonly used in
studies on the drying rate of grains. In those studies the
air#owis turned o! for some time before taking a balance
reading (Woods & Favier, 1993). Instead in this case,
a balanced liquid seal system was used to reduce the
in#uence of air pressure on the balance reading.
The moisture loss was determined by the continuous
measurement of the weight loss. Data from the test rig
were logged using a Slogger described above, and data
from the balance was acquired through the balance serial
port. All runs used a constant air#ow for each run, and
the balance tare was set with an empty bedplate at
operating temperature and air#ow. Typical drying times
ranged from 5 to 60 min, matching those found in
practice.
A series of 170 experiments using fermented tea (`dhoola)
macerated in di!erent ways, of di!ering source plant
varieties, with varying air#ows and temperature, gave the
value of the drying coe$cient k of
k"(0.00028;u;(!45)#0.00067) (1)
in the Lewis drying equation (Parry, 1985)
dM
dt
"!k(M!M
C
), (2)
where u is super"cial air velocity (m/s), is temper-
ature of air (3C), M is moisture content (decimal dry
basis) and M
C
is equilibrium moisture content (decimal
dry basis).
It is remarkable that the drying rate is highly depen-
dent on air#ow. Thin-layer drying studies on grain do
not report such a strong relationship and many workers
report that their results are independent of air#ow (for
example Woods & Favier, 1993). However, Diamante
and Munro (1991) consider this an oversimpli"cation at
air velocities of 2.5 m/s or less. The explanation for tea is
likely to be found in the breakdown of cell structure
(Harris & Ellis, 1981), which reduces the resistance to
movement of moisture within the particle until the resist-
ance of the air boundary layer becomes signi"cant.
Furthermore, in contrast to studies on grain drying,
which is described by three phases of drying (constant
rate, "rst falling rate, and second falling rate), only
a single falling rate period was found to describe the
whole process for tea. However, in some industrial
equipment a constant rate period seems to appear, but
this is a result of the limited evaporative capacity of
the air. In such cases, the constant rate period is a prop-
erty of air supply rather than a drying property of the
material.
A further set of 10 experimental runs was performed
after the data analysis, to validate this model on new
data. Validation of the model for these independent data
using both a spreadsheet and a MATLAB/ SIMULINK
model yielded very satisfactory results.
3.3. Model of yuid-bed dryer (continuous drying)
Equations were developed for air, dry matter and
water mass balance, energy balance, bed load and evap-
oration rate based on the input/output model shown in
Fig. 6. State variables were bed dry matter mass, bed
water mass and bed temperature. Evaporation is cal-
culated from the thin-layer drying equation subject to
two constraints. Firstly, evaporation must be less than or
equal to the amount of water the air can hold before
reaching saturation (the evaporative capacity of the air).
Secondly, the latent heat available is the energy remain-
ing after providing enough sensible heat to raise the
dhool to the exhaust temperature. In de"ning the model,
the following assumptions were made about the bed.
E The #uidized bed is open to the atmosphere, so the top
is at atmospheric pressure.
E The pressure di!erential across the bed is small, so
drying is at constant pressure.
E No energy is gained or lost in the drying section, so the
drying process is adiabatic.
E For a constant weir height, bed loading is constant
while dhool is being fed at a greater rate than evapor-
ation and the bed load is at weir height. When no
dhool is being fed, bed loading will fall.
E There is plug #ow of dhool from inlet to outlet of the
bed, but each subsection for computation is well
mixed. This assumption can be modi"ed for each dryer
by changing the size of the subsection.
E There is complete mixing of air and dhool particles,
and heat exchange between particle and air is com-
plete. This implies that the air exhaust temperature is
the same as particle temperature. Practical measure-
ments con"rm that this equilibrium is reached in as
little as 10 mm above the bedplate.
3.3.1. Mass balances
The "rst part of the model concerns the material bal-
ances of dry matter and water in the bed.
Dry matter balance:
dM
@
dt
"m
G
!m
M
, (3)
S. J. Temple et al. / Control Engineering Practice 8 (2000) 165}173 169
where M is mass of dry matter, kg, m is the #ow rate of
dry matter, kg/s and subscripts b, i and o represents the
bed, input and output, respectively.
Water balance in dhool:
d=
@
dt
"w
BG
!w
BM
!M
@
J, (4)
where =is mass of water, kg, w is the mass #ow rate of
water, kg/s, the subscript d represents dhool and N is the
evaporation rate, s\.
Water balance in air:
w
?G
#M
@
J"w
?M
. (5)
Air mass balance:
dA
dt
"a
G
!a
M
, (6)
where A is mass of air, kg and a is the mass #ow rate of
air, kg/s.
As the process operates at atmospheric pressure, and
the volume of air in the control volume is much greater
than the volume of dhool, then the air mass may be
considered constant:
dA
dt
"0 (7)
3.3.2. Enthalpy balance
The total enthalpy #ux in the system, i.e. of air and
product, is given by
dH
dt
"h
GB
#h
G?
!h
MB
!h
M?
, (8)
where H is the enthalpy, kJ and h is the enthalpy #ow.
Each term of h will consist of a component for dry air or
dhool and a component for water. Therefore, from the
point of view of external #ux, enthalpy will be transferred
in dhool in and out of the control volume, and air in and
out of the control volume:
dH
dt
"(C
NK
m
G
#C
NU
w
GB
)
GB
#(C
N?
a
G
#C
NU
w
G?
)
G?
!(C
NK
m
M
#C
NU
w
MB
)
MB
!(C
N?
a
M
#C
NU
w
M?
)
M?
"C
NK
(m
G
!m
M
)(
M
!
GB
)#C
NU
(w
GB

GB
#w
G?

G?
#(w
MB
!w
M?
)
M
)
#C
N?
(a
G
!a
M
)(
M
!
G?
), (9)
where C
N
, is speci"c heat, kJ/kg.
Within the bed the enthalpy changes will be due to the
temperature change of the bed, mass change in the bed
and evaporation:
dH
dt
"
d(C
NK
M
@
#C
NU
=
@
)
@
dt
#
d(C
N?
A
?
#C
NU
=
?
)
?
dt
#M
@
JH
T
"(C
NK
M
@
#C
NU
=
@
)
d
dt
#
@

C
NK
dM
@
dt
#C
NU
d=
@
dt
#M
@
JH
T
, (10)
where H
T
is the latent heat of evaporation of water,
kJ/kg.
If the system is adiabatic, then Eqs. (9) and (10) may be
combined. Translating into temperature terms, and as-
suming
?M
"
@
"
M
where is temperature, 3C, then
(C
NK
M
@
#C
NU
=
@
)
d
M
dt
"C
NK
(m
G

G
!m
M

M
)
#C
NU
(w
GB

GB
#w
G?

G?
!
M
(w
MB
#w
M?
))
#C
N?
a
G
(
G
!
M
)
!
M

C
NK
dM
@
dt
#C
NU
d=
@
dt
!M
@
JH
T
. (11)
3.3.3. Bed load
If bed depth , m, is equal to weir height
F
and
evaporation is less than the dhool feed rate:
m
GB
#w
GB
#w
G?
*w
M?
, (12)
then bed loading will be constant and determined by weir
height. Therefore, under these conditions the combined
mass of dry matter and water in the bed will be constant:
dM
@
dt
#
d=
@
dt
"0 (13)
and, combining Eqs. (3)}(5) give
m
GB
#w
GB
#w
L?
!m
MB
!w
MB
!w
M?
"0. (14)
Then using the bed density the total load can be deter-
mined:
M
@
#=
B@
#A
@
#=
?@
"
z
@
;
F

K@
, (15)
where z is area, m and
K
is mean density, kg/m.
As the mass of air, and moisture in the air, are very
small compared to the mass of dhool, then
M
@
#=
B@
"
z
@
;
F

@
. (16)
170 S. J. Temple et al. / Control Engineering Practice 8 (2000) 165}173
Fig. 7. Batch dryer experimental validation of model.
If bed depth is less than weir height, (
F
or evapor-
ation is greater than dhool feed rate:
m
GB
#w
GB
#w
G?
'w
M?
, (17)
then there will be no discharge, and the bed depth may be
determined from the mass #ows and considering the bed
as a whole, the bed depth will be
"
M
@
#=
B@
z
@
;
@
. (18)
3.3.4. Evaporation rate
Subject to the constraints below, the drying rate of the
dhool will be
J"k(X!X
C
), (19)
where k is given by Eq. (1).
It should be noted that the exhaust air qualities are
di!erent to the inlet, and a more sophisticated model
would take into consideration the temperature and air
moisture content gradient across the bed.
The evaporation rate cannot be more than the evapor-
ative capacity of the air. The energy available to supply
the latent heat required is that remaining after raising the
dhool to the exhaust temperature of the air.
3.3.5. Simulation model
Using the data from the studies of drying and #uidiz-
ation, a MATLAB model simulates the dryer as a whole.
Integrators are used for the calculation of the state vari-
ables of water, dry matter and product temperature from
the mass and energy balances. Two models were built,
one for the simulation of a batch dryer or a well-mixed
continuous dryer, and a second for a near-plug-#ow
continuous #uid-bed dryer. Various inlet temperatures
were realized in the continuous dryer model simulation
by using three main sections in the model, each with
a distinct inlet air temperature. Each of the main sections
were composed of three subsections, each of which was
considered to be well mixed.
During steady-state operating conditions, the horizon-
tal gradient of temperature and moisture content cannot
be directly derived from the equations given, due to the
many interactions involved. Numerical simulation is
then essential in order to describe the action of the dryer.
Particular care had to be taken in the startup phase of
operation, which is of practical importance. As the "rst
dhool enters the dryer the product layer is built-up until
the dryer is "lled to weir height. In this phase there is an
excess of drying capacity, due to the air velocity required
for #uidization, and as a consequence it takes some time
before a stable moisture pro"le and stable discharge is
achieved.
In addition to validating the results on the thin-layer
drying apparatus, tests were carried out on a small-scale
batch #uidized-bed dryer (maximuminitial charge 0.6 kg)
developed from the #uidization test rig (Fig. 3), with
temperature and air#ow controlled by a Slogger unit.
Near infrared moisture monitoring was employed during
this pilot plant experiment.
The results of one of the validation runs are shown in
Fig. 7; the thermal inertia in the experimental apparatus
is not considered in the model. In all validation runs, the
experimental and predicted curves coincide after drying
to less than 15% moisture. The largest discrepancies
between the experiment and model were found in the
middle of the drying range; this is due to uneven drying
and the limited moisture measurement accuracy in this
range.
Fig. 7 shows that the enthalpy content of the air is used
to heat the product during the "rst few seconds. In the
following phase up to about 105 s, the product transfers
so much water to the air that the exhaust air is close to
saturation. In this phase, the moisture content of the
product falls with an almost constant rate. From 105 s
onwards, the water transfer to air falls along with the
moisture content of the product. The exhaust air temper-
ature starts to increase, until at the end of drying it
approaches the inlet air temperature of 903C.
Validation has also been carried out on both a pilot-
scale and an industrial scale continuous #uidized-bed
dryer. Results from the industrial dryer are shown in Fig. 8
and are comparable to that of the batch dryer. Here the
position along the dryer corresponds to the drying time
in the batch dryer. Again the experimental and model
results are very close. Modelling the plug-#ow bed with
some back mixing as nine separate well-mixed compart-
ments (three main sections each composed of three sub-
sections) appears to be a reasonable assumption.
3.4. Model application
The model allows various control strategies to be
studied before being implemented in practice. The design
of the model allows almost any con"guration of #uid-bed
S. J. Temple et al. / Control Engineering Practice 8 (2000) 165}173 171
Fig. 8. Comparison of measured and predicted values of bed moisture
and temperature at equally spaced intervals along the dryer, Lauder-
dale Tea Factory.
Fig. 9. E!ect of weir height on discharge moisture content and resi-
dence time at two feed-rates, predicted from model.
dryer to be modelled, as the weir heights (maximum bed
load per section), temperatures and air #ows for each
section can be speci"ed separately.
3.4.1. Operational conditions and design variables
The model has already yielded some useful outputs
from a sensitivity analysis that produced Fig. 9 amongst
other results. The "gure gives an insight into a tea dryer
design problem where a compromise must be found
between a limited residence time (values too high will
result in product quality degradation), the desired moist-
ure content and the feed-rate (as high as possible). This
illuminates some of the complex interactions within the
dryer, which cannot be understood quantitatively with-
out a model. Moreover, a very important result gained
from the simulations is that the system is far more sensi-
tive to changes in feed-rate at constant moisture than
to changes in moisture content at constant feed-rate.
This fact has been used to instruct operators to pay
special attention to controlling the feed-rate and less
attention to the exactness of the moisture content from
previous processing steps. It also encourages the installa-
tion of equipment to control the feed-rate to the whole
process.
3.4.2. Control strategy
As moisture content after drying is the most important
variable to be controlled, feed back of its value is the
most logical option. However, equipment to measure the
moisture content of the dryer discharge is expensive and
not fully developed as yet. Therefore, alternative solu-
tions had to be found.
From observations on tea dryers it was found that
maintaining constant exhaust air temperatures by simple
feedback control could reduce the standard deviation of
the moisture content of the product. This result was used
to explore the e!ectiveness of temperature feedback
control by simulation.
The results demonstrated that the temperatures near
the middle of the dryer increases rapidly from near satu-
ration to near inlet temperature. Indeed, feedback con-
trol of these temperatures reduced the variations in
moisture-content signi"cantly, but some o!set and "nal
deviations remained. These were cancelled out by the
introduction of an inferential control scheme. Another
limitation to the quality of control was caused by heater
delay, but the consequences of this delay were minimized
by introducing a Smith predictor.
4. Conclusion
Slogger, a custom built electronic data logging, display
and control system with serial communication has be-
come an important part of the management system in
African tea factories. It has been installed in the majority
of factories in Malawi. Because of its simplicity, mainten-
ance is easy and unhindered by long delivery lines from
suppliers.
The combination of experimental "ndings with model-
ling and simulation has produced a sound basis for the
design and development of control systems for #uidized-
bed drying of tea. Sensitivity analysis revealed the most
important process disturbances and provides informa-
tion for manual control. Moreover, simulations with the
model allowed an exploration of alternative control
methods that result in a signi"cantly lower standard
deviation of the moisture content. In these new control
methods, inferential control and delay time compen-
sators were of major importance.
172 S. J. Temple et al. / Control Engineering Practice 8 (2000) 165}173
Acknowledgements
This study was partly "nanced by European Union
Stabex funds provided to TRF(CA) for a project on
Automation of Tea Processing.
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