Optimizing Solar Drying Systems: A Comprehensive Study on an Innovative Design, Simulation, and Performance Assessment
Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 410001, Nigeria.
2 Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 410001, Nigeria
3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 410001, Nigeria
10.22059/jser.2024.374033.1389
Abstract
Solar drying is a sustainable and environmentally friendly method for preserving food and agricultural products. This paper presents the design, development, and performance evaluation of an innovative solar dryer that incorporates three solar collectors spatially arranged at angles of 900 from each other on the horizontal plane for enhanced performance and phase change material (PCM). A passive solar dryer with three solar heat collectors has been designed and its performance simulated. It aims to improve the efficiency and reliability of solar drying processes, reducing post-harvest losses and energy consumption. Results from the system simulation using Ansys 2023 show a drying temperature range of 45-58oC and air velocity flow of 10-15ms-1, these distinct parameters necessary for effective drying are higher than the values reported in the literature. Also, the plots of the scaled residuals presented in this study suggests better convergence trends in the simulation and indicates how close the numerical solution is to a steady state and proves that this new design is a promising replacement for the old variants of solar dryers with one FPSC. In the final section, generalization of the study findings and possible design improvements have been pointed out.
Keywords
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