Conference Proceedings (Industrial Engineering)

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Design of cotton ginning dryer control system
(South African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2014) Maradzano, Isabellah; Nyanga, Lungile; Van der Merwe, Andre Francois; Dlodlo, Zwelibanzi B.; Chikowore, Takawira R.; Mhlanga, Samson
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The most important factor in preserving the quality of cotton during ginning is the fibre moisture content. At higher moisture content, cotton fibres are stronger but trash is harder to remove. Selecting ginning moisture content is a compromise between good trash removal and quality preservation. In the paper, inlet and outlet moisture content of cotton being fed into and out of the dryer are monitored at temperatures given in the dryer manual and literature. A mathematical model for drying cotton is then formulated by analysing the experimental results, cotton dryer historical records and dryer manual. The results show that there is a linear relationship between the initial moisture content, final moisture content and drying temperature. A control system integrating a Barionet controller to regulate and supply of heat to the system based on the initial moisture content is then proposed. The objective of the control system is to enable online monitoring of the dryer as well as giving early warning signs when the system is about to get out of control hencesafeguarding from overheating and avoid under-drying of cotton.