Development of An Efficient Solar Drying System

QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Thesis final report

Development of an efficient solar drying system
Erond Perez
N7341113
Supervised by: Dr. Zakaria Amin and Dr. Azharul Karim

Erond Perez n7341113
Table of contents
1. Research topic ..................................................................................................................................... 3
2. Background ......................................................................................................................................... 3
3. Outline of the Project.......................................................................................................................... 6
4. Statement of work .............................................................................................................................. 6
5. Solar drying system components ........................................................................................................ 9
5.1 Solar air collector .......................................................................................................................... 9
5.2 Thermal storage tank .................................................................................................................. 10
5.3 Blower ......................................................................................................................................... 11
5.4 Auxiliary Heater........................................................................................................................... 11
5.5 Drying chamber ........................................................................................................................... 11
5.6 Dehumidifier ............................................................................................................................... 11
5.7 Ducts and mixing chamber ......................................................................................................... 12
6. Mathematical model formulation..................................................................................................... 12
6.1 Mathematical modelling of the solar collector........................................................................... 13
6.1.1 Thermal network.................................................................................................................. 14
6.1.2 Energy balance ..................................................................................................................... 15
6.1.3 Heat transfer coefficients .................................................................................................... 16
6.1.4 Matrix method solution for a double-pass counter flow v-groove ..................................... 21
6.2 Mathematical modelling of the thermal storage tank................................................................ 22
6.2.1 Nodal element temperature ................................................................................................ 23
6.3. Mathematical modelling of mixing tank .................................................................................... 24
6.4 Mathematical modelling of the heater ....................................................................................... 26
6.5 Mathematical modelling of the drying chamber ........................................................................ 26
6.5.1 Material model..................................................................................................................... 27
6.5.2 Equipment model................................................................................................................. 28
6.6 Mathematical modelling of the dehumidifier............................................................................. 29
6.7 Mathematical modelling of system pressure loss ...................................................................... 30
6.7.1 Pressure loss in the solar collector ...................................................................................... 30
6.7.2 Pressure loss in the storage tank ......................................................................................... 31
6.7.3 Pressure loss in the ducts..................................................................................................... 31
6.8 MATLAB Simulation .................................................................................................................... 32
1

7. Simulation results and discussion ..................................................................................................... 32
7.1 Solar air collector ........................................................................................................................ 33
7.2 Verifying simulation model of solar air collector ........................................................................ 38
7.3 Parametric study of the solar air collector ................................................................................. 41
7.3.1 Solar radiation ...................................................................................................................... 41
7.3.2 Mass flow rate...................................................................................................................... 42
7.3.3 Inlet air temperature ........................................................................................................... 43
7.3.4 Length of solar collector ...................................................................................................... 45
7.3.5 V-groove height.................................................................................................................... 46
7.3.6 V-groove gap to glass cover ................................................................................................. 48
7.3 Parametric study of the solar air collector ................................................................................. 53
8. Problems encountered ..................................................................................................................... 59
9. Project plan ....................................................................................................................................... 61
10. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 65
References ............................................................................................................................................ 66
Parametric values used for simulation ................................................................................................. 69
Nomenclature ....................................................................................................................................... 70

Thesis Final Report

By: Erond Perez
1. Research topic
One of the most potential applications of solar energy is the solar drying of
agricultural products. The drying of fruits and vegetables demands special attention, as
these are considered important sources of vitamins and minerals essential for mankind.
Most fruits and vegetables contain more than 80% water and are, therefore, highly
perishable. The post-harvest losses of agriculture products in the rural areas can be reduced
drastically by using well designed solar drying system.
A new solar drying system is developed in this project which has higher efficiency
and more reliable. By incorporating the high efficiency solar collector configuration found by
Dr Azharul Karim, a more efficient and high capacity thermal storage, an optimized air
condition at the inlet of the drying chamber for faster drying and higher quality product, and
a dehumidifier at the outlet of the drying chamber for air recirculation, a new solar drying
system is produced. Furthermore, this design is able to operate even at times of low
sunlight or night time thus enabling the system to be used for long hours.
2. Background
World population will continuously increase and around 80% of the world population
will be living in developing countries. In effect, population-food imbalance will also continue
to increase. To keep up with the demands of the fast growing population, agricultural

production must also increase. However, extending agricultural lands might not be possible
in the next decades and will be difficult to maintain. Another solution to the worlds food
problems will be by greatly reducing the food losses which occurs throughout the food
production, harvest, post - harvest and marketing. Nearly 10 to 40% of production in
developing countries never reaches the consumer due to various reasons such as spoilage,
waste and pest [1]. Food losses can be reduced by using various preservation techniques
such as food drying.
Drying is a basic operation in various industries. Due to the latent heat of
vaporization that must be supplied, thermal drying could be the most energy intensive of
the major industrial processes [2]. It accounts for up to 15% of all industrial energy usage
[3]thus improving its efficiency even by a bit can lead to significant operational savings.
Drying is the process of moisture removal due to simultaneous heat and mass transfer [4].
One of the oldest applications of solar energy is drying by exposure to sun [5]. Food drying is
one of the oldest methods of preserving food for later use and even from prehistoric times,
solar energy is used to dry and preserve all necessary foodstuffs for winter time [5] [6]. Most
fruits and vegetables generally contains 25 to 80% water thus making them highly
perishable [5] [7]. Once the moisture content is reduced to a certain level, it restricts the
growth of enzymes, bacteria, yeasts and molds [4] which are causes of spoilage, thus
increasing its shelf life and enables it to be transported over long distances.
Small farmers in developing countries who produce more than 80% of the food only
have access to traditional sun drying techniques [1]. Traditional sun drying is a slow process
and reduces the quality of the product. This is due to insect infestation, enzymatic reactions,
microorganism growth and mycotoxin development. And since sun drying is done under the

open sky, spoilage of product due to adverse climatic condition such as rain, wind, moist
and dust, deterioration of the material by decomposition, insect infestation and fungal
growth may occur. It is also labour extensive, time consuming and requires large area. On
the other hand, the use of mechanical drying using fossil fuel or electricity will solve quality
problem with traditional sun drying but is highly energy intensive and expensive.
Furthermore, most small farmers cannot afford this technology and fossil fuel [1] [4] [8] [9].
These drawbacks can be solved by the use of solar dryer except the initial cost, thus to get
successful investment returns, the solar dryer needs to be efficient [5] [8] [9].
As mentioned previously, solar drying offers almost no disadvantage except its high
initial cost for the dryer, the collector field and all necessary auxiliary equipment such as
ducts, pipes, blower, control and measurement instruments and perhaps a skilled operator
of the drying process [5].
To successfully develop an efficient solar drying system, it is important to design an
air collector of high efficiency since it is one of the main components and would lead to a
better performance of the system [10]. Flat plate air collectors are widely used however, out
of the three collector plates (namely flat plate, v-corrugated and finned air collectors)
studied in [7], v-corrugated collector has higher efficiency thus considered to be better for
the solar drying system. The efficiency is further increased in double pass operation and
optimal flow rate is determined to be 0.035 /2 [7].
A need arises to consider a new design approach and to enhance what was
previously done. This project will be based on the previous work of Dr Azharul Karim.

3. Outline of the Project

The ever increasing demand for food calls for an increase in food production. One
way to meet up with this demand is to reduce the losses in production which are estimated
to be 10 to 40%. To reduce the losses, drying is a preservation technique which reduces the
moisture content of the material, consequently increasing its shelf life and allows it to be
transported over long distances.
This project aims to
Contribute on the existing knowledge in solar drying and provide new insights in
effective and efficient designs
Aid in the reduction of production losses due to lack of proper solar drying facilities
in developing countries
Successfully develop an efficient solar drying system that yield high quality product
Propose design approach and construction method of the developed solar dryer
Build and test the performance of the developed solar dryer
4. Statement of work
A background research and literature review was done on existing literature

regarding solar air collectors and their applications in food drying. Journal articles with
topics about mathematical modelling and performance simulation of solar dryer are looked
upon. References [9-16] are particularly useful at this stage because of their discussion of
mathematical equations needed for modelling the air collector. S. Janjai [11] examined
various solar dryers in terms of drying performance, product quality and economics in the
6

rural areas of the tropics and subtropics while R. Tchinda [12] investigated the mathematical
models for predicting the performance of solar air heaters. Various mathematical models to
analyse the heat transfer process involved are reviewed and classified based on the air
collector characteristic. Papers by R. Smitabhindu et al [13] and K. E. J. Al-Juamily et al [14]
constructed a drying system and tested its drying performance. It is then compared to their
mathematical model. From their tests, the resulting dried materials were confirmed to be at
required standards.
The solar air collector being investigated is a double-pass counter flow v-grove air
collector in which the inlet air initially flows at the top part of the collector and changes
direction once it reaches the end of the collector and flows below the collector to the
outlet. This configuration of air collector is found by M. N. A. Hawlader M. A. Karim [10] to
be more efficient than a single pass however, the pressure drop was not considered during
the investigation but it is expected that a double-pass configuration will have a higher
pressure loss which would lead to requiring a larger air circulator compared to single pass
thus increasing electricity consumption.
In creating a mathematical model for a double-pass counter flow v-groove,
numerous literature were investigated and the analytical models of the most relevant
papers [13-16] are referred to and combined since there is no published paper that showed
the simulation model for double-pass counter flow v-groove. The configurations that were
found were about two-pass parallel flow flat plate [15], single pass v-groove [16], two-pass
parallel flow v-groove [17], and double-pass counter flow flat plate [18] [19].
The energy balance equation used for the simulation is obtained from [15] which
investigated a two-pass parallel flow flat plate. Energy balance for parallel flow is also valid

for counter flow since the equations are independent of the air flow direction [18]. Then the
equation for calculating Nusselt number, heat transfer coefficients and other variables that
defines a v-groove collector is obtained from [16] [17], then the equation to calculate the
instantaneous temperature of the air along the length of the collector is found in [18].
Matrix method is used to solve for the temperature and heat transfer coefficient of the air
collector similar to what is used in [15]. Once the temperature and heat transfer coefficients
were determined, the performance of the air collector can be predicted.
The output air of the solar collector then goes to the branched section in which the
air flow is divided. The amount of air flow in each branch depends on the current setting of
the valves and condition of the air. If the output air of the solar collector exceeds the
current requirement at the drying chamber, higher percentage of the air will go through the
thermal storage tank. If the air condition is just enough for drying, then higher percentage of
the air flow will flow straight to the drying chamber. Otherwise, a 50-50 flow will be set and
some air flows to the thermal storage and some will flow straight to the drying chamber.
Varying the air flow leads to a more flexible system that is more reliable and operates at
optimum conditions. At times of low sunlight or when it is night time, the stored energy in
the thermal storage will be discharged thus allowing the air to be used for drying. The
auxiliary heater at the inlet of the drying chamber is used for back up heating or in keeping
the air temperature at the inlet of the drying chamber constant. At the outlet of the drying
chamber, the air is expected to have higher moisture content due to the drying process thus
for air recirculation purposes, a dehumidifier is added. Later in this report, a parametric
study will be presented and it was determined that increasing the inlet temperature at the
solar collector increases the outlet temperature but reduces the efficiency. Thus a trade-off
exists. If the temperature at the outlet of the solar collector is higher, the use of the
8

auxiliary heater is minimized however the efficiency of the collector is lower and more solar
energy is left unutilized. To determine the optimized operation, a MATLAB simulation of all
the components and the whole system must be developed. Once a system simulation for
the solar dryer is achieved, the performance of the system can be predicted and optimized.
5. Solar drying system components

The principal components of solar drying systems are solar air collector which is used for
heating ambient air, a drying unit where the drying of material takes place and air extracts
moisture from the product and the air handling unit which circulates the air [20]. And
additionally a thermal storage tank is added to store energy for later use. Presented in this
section is each component of the solar drying system explained in detail. The description
and designs are taken from Dave Moldes report.
Figure 1. Solar drying system components
5.1 Solar air collector

The solar collector is the main component of a solar drying system. It transforms the
radiant energy from the sun into usable heat [21]. The design of efficient and suitable air
collectors is one of the most important factors controlling the economics of solar drying [7].
The efficiency of the solar drying system is greatly affected by the efficiency of the solar
collector [9]. Therefore it is important that the collector to be used in the system has high
efficiency. In response to this requirement, a double-pass counter flow v-groove is selected
for the system in consideration since according to the studies done by [17] [10], this kind of
configuration will yield the highest efficiency.

The main components of the air collector are the glass cover, the absorber plate, the
back plate and insulation. The air will pass on the top of the absorber plate first then once it
reaches the end of the collector, a bend directs the air to flow at the bottom and opposite
its initial direction. Through this process the air absorbs energy thus increasing its
temperature.
5.2 Thermal storage tank

Energy storage plays a very important role in conserving energy and improving the
performance and reliability of a wide range of energy systems especially if the energy source
is intermittent such as solar [22]. Thermal storage provides balance on the supply and
demand of heat over a certain period of time [23].
Both sensible (i.e rocks) and latent (phase change materials, PCM) heat storage
materials can be used for thermal storage units in solar systems [24]. The heat storage
medium used for our system is a rock bed thermal storage which uses rocks to store energy
from the air when passing through the system. To make the energy transfer more efficient,
a conical geometry for the storage tank is selected instead of the traditional cylindrical
shape. According to experiments done by Zanganeh G. et.al [25] this type of configuration
provides better efficiency and heat transfer thus it is adopted for our drying system. The
heated air flows from the solar collectors into the thermal storage tank from the top which
consequently transfers thermal energy and charges the rock bed. The stored energy is
recovered by reversing the air circulation flow in the storage tank [22].
10

5.3 Blower
The blower is used for circulating air around the system. This component pulls air
through the collector, creating a slight negative pressure inside the collector. The flow rate
is controlled by controlling the fan speed and adjusting the dampers [9].
5.4 Auxiliary Heater

The purpose of the heater is to increase the temperature of the air to the desired
temperature before entering the drying chamber. It assists in maintaining the air condition
at the drying chamber to optimum condition thus keeping the air temperature ideal for
drying at all times.
5.5 Drying chamber

The materials to be dried are placed in the drying chamber. This is where the process
of drying takes place and where the heated air extracts moisture from the material [20]. The
purpose of a dryer is to supply the product with heat by conduction and convection from
the surrounding air more than that available under ambient conditions at temperatures
above that of the product, or conduction from heated surfaces in contact with the product
[26]. The chamber must be able to contain heat with minimum losses to maximize the
drying effect, thus insulation are added. Some rules of thumb in the design of drying
chambers is that there should be at least 50mm distance between trays and that each
square meter of tray area should contain 5 to 10kg of material to be dried [27].
5.6 Dehumidifier
The performance of the dehumidifier in terms of moisture removal will vary with the
condition of the incoming air [28]. The air that will leave the drying chamber has higher
moisture content compared to the condition of air beforehand. The dehumidifier removes
11

the moisture absorbed by the air at the drying chamber for recirculation. Recirculating the
air at the chamber outlet increases the inlet air temperature of the solar collector which
affects it performance.
5.7 Ducts and mixing chamber

Ducts are used to transport air from one component to the next. A flexible circular
duct s used in the system. The mixing chamber is a simple device which evenly mixes the air
that enters through it. There are two inlets to the mixing tank. One is from the thermal
storage tank and one is directly from the solar air collector. The mixing chamber, although
simple, has an important role in ensuring efficient and reliable performance of the solar
drying system.
6. Mathematical model formulation

Defining the behaviours of real world processes are complicated and difficult. And to
describe them with sufficient accuracy, the difficulties arising from lack of knowledge about
parts of a process have to be overcome [29]. Therefore, a necessary step in understanding
and predicting the performance of the solar drying system is to formulate mathematical
models that will represent the performance and characteristics of each component.
Furthermore, with the help of mathematical models, it will be possible to determine how
the system performance will be if the operating parameter of a component is changed thus
allowing the opportunity for system optimization. Performing a mathematical model of the
system before construction of the solar dryer prototype is very important. It can assist in
minimizing or eliminating mistakes in the design that may inversely affect system
development.
12

In this section, the mathematical formulation that defines the thermodynamic

performance of each component will be presented in detail.
6.1 Mathematical modelling of the solar collector

The following assumptions [16] are taken to simplify the modelling of the collector
The collector is at steady state
The temperature drop through the glass cover, absorbing plate and bottom plate is
negligible
The heat flow is one-dimensional at the back insulation and flows perpendicular to the
air flow
The sky is considered as a blackbody for long-wavelength radiation at an equivalent sky

temperature
Front and back surface are exposed to the same ambient temperature thus having equal
heat losses
Dust and dirt and shading has no effect on the collector
Thermal inertia of the collector components is negligible
Operating temperatures of collector components and mean air temperatures in air

channels are all assumed to be uniform
The collector is free of leaks
Thermal radiation of the insulation are assumed to be negligible
A straight-forward, analytic solution does not exist yet to solve for the temperatures
1 , 1 , 2 , 2 and 3 as can be seen later since to calculate the temperatures, the heat
13

transfer coefficients must be determined which depends on temperature. Also, to define

the performance of the collector, the efficiency must be known which is also dependent of
temperature. Therefore, to calculate these parameters, numerical iteration is necessary.
The solution from [15] will be used to calculate the temperatures where iterative matrix
method is involved. First, a guess temperature is used to calculate the heat transfer
coefficients and losses. A matrix is set up and inverted to calculate new temperature. These
new temperatures are compared to the initial guess and if the difference is greater than
0.01 , the matrix inversion is repeated using the new calculated temperature until the
difference is less than 0.01 . Once the difference is at the acceptable level, the iteration
stops and the calculated temperature is considered to be each components temperature.
6.1.1 Thermal network
The thermal network for the v-corrugated collector is illustrated in Figure 1.
14

Figure 2. Cross section and thermal network of a double-pass v-groove solar air collector
6.1.2 Energy balance

Energy balance equations based on the thermal network from Figure 1, for the glass cover,
first pass fluid, absorber plate, second pass fluid and back plate are given in equation (1) to
(5).
The energy balance in the top plate is given by
1 + 21 2 1 + 1 1 1 = 1
(1)
For the fluids first pass,

2 2 1 = 1 1 1 + 1
(2)
15

Energy balance in the absorber plate is

2 = 3 2 2 + 2 2 1 + 23 2 3 + 21 (2 1 )
(3)
For the fluids second pass,

3 2 2 = 4 2 3 + 2
(4)
4 2 3 + 23 2 3 = (3 )
(5)
For the bottom plate,
6.1.3 Heat transfer coefficients

The set of equations given in this section is laid out in the sequence as on how they
appeared in the energy balance equation presented in equations (1) to (5). It is important to
identify the values of the heat transfer coefficient to determine the performance of the air
collector.
Variables in 1
The incident solar radiation in the glass cover is calculated by [15]
(6)
1 = 1
The convection heat transfer due to wind is [15] [16]
(7)
= 5.7 + 3.8
The radiation heat transfer coefficient between the glass cover and sky is [16]
= 1 2 + 1 (22 + 12 )
(1 )
(1 )
(8)
16

The overall top heat loss coefficient is calculated using an empirical equation developed by
Klein [30]
1
3
+
3 + (32 + 2 )
+
2 + 1 + 0.133
1
+ 0.00591
+
(9)
= 1 + 0.089 0.1166 1 + 0.07866

= 520 1 0.0000512 for 0 < < 70. Use = 70 70 90
= 0.43 1
100
3
The radiation heat transfer coefficient between the glass cover and absorbing plate can be
predicted by [16]
21
22 + 12 (2 + 1 )
=
1
1
+
2 1 1
(10)
The conductive heat transfer coefficient between the glass cover and the first pass fluid is
determined by the equation developed by Hollands [31]
1 = 12
(11)
However, the developed area of the plate is greater than the area of the bottom channels
by a factor of 1/sin
(/2) thus the value of 1 as calculated must be divided by sin
(/2)
to account for this difference [32]. Therefore the actual value of the conductive heat ransfer
coefficient is
17

1 = 12
1
sin 2
(12)
Where is the included angle of the v-groove plate and is the hydraulic diameter of the
airflow channel and is calculated by 4*Area/Wetted perimeter. For the first pass, is
derived as
1.155(2 + 2 )
(13)
3 +
The equation for the Nusselt number is dependent on the flow inside the channel. First is to
calculate the Reynolds number and determine which Nusselt number equation should be
used. The Reynolds number is calculated by =
but is equal to
where b is
. Therefore, the Reynolds number may be expressed as [32]
(14)
If < 2800 [32],
12 = 2.821 + 0.126
(15)
If 2800 < < 104 [32]

12 = 1.9 106 1.79 + 225
(16)
If 104 < < 105 [32]

12 = 0.0302 0.74 + 0.242 0.74
(17)
Variables in 1
18

The conductive heat transfer coefficient between the first pass fluid and the absorber plate
is assumed to be equal to the conductive heat transfer coefficient between the glass cover
and first pass fluid [32] [13] thus,
(18)
2 = 1
The amount of heat transferred in the first pass fluid is calculated as [15]
1 = 2 (1 )
(19)
Variables in 2
The incident solar radiation absorbed by the absorbing plate is [15]
2 = 1 2
(20)
The radiation heat transfer coefficient between the absorbing plate and the bottom plate
can be predicted by [16]
23 =
22 + 32 (2 + 3 )
1
1
2 + 3 1
(21)
The conductive heat transfer coefficient between the absorbing plate and the second pass
fluid will be calculated similarly to the previous coefficient except that the hydraulic
diameter is = 2/3 [16].
3 = 34
1
sin 2
(22)
Variables in 2
19

The conductive heat transfer coefficient between the second pass fluid and the bottom
plate is assumed to be equal to the conductive heat transfer coefficient between the
absorber plate and second pass fluid [13] [32] thus,
4 = 3
(23)
The amount of heat transferred in the second pass fluid is calculated as [15]
2 = 2 (2 1 )
(24)
Variables in 3
The heat loss coefficient at the bottom plate is given by [15]
1
+

(25)
The following empirical equations (26) to (28) can be used to estimate air density, thermal
conductivity, and dynamic viscosity for from 280K to 470K [16].
= 3.9147 0.016082 + 2.9013 105 2 1.9407 108 3
(26)
= 0.0015215 + 0.097459 3.3322 105 2 103
(27)
= (1.6157 + 0.06523 3.0297 105 2 ) 106
(28)
And finally, the output temperature and collector efficiency can be determined by
= +
(1 + 2 )

(29)
20

(0 )
(30)
6.1.4 Matrix method solution for a double-pass counter flow v-groove

Rather than performing complicated algebraic manipulations to solve the energy equations,
a matrix method solution is applied. It is significantly easier to perform with the help of
computers and provides a straight forward approach. To simplify the expression, equations
(19) and (24) can be expressed as [15]
1 = 1 (1 )
(31)
2 = 1 (2 1 )
(32)
1 = 2
(33)
where
By rearranging the energy balance equations (1) to (5) in terms of temperature, the
following expressions can be obtained;
1 + 21 + 1 1 1 21 2 = 1 +
(34)
1 1 1 + 2 + 1 1 + 2 2 = 1
(35)
21 1 2 1 + 2 + 3 + 21 + 23 2 3 2 23 3 = 2
(36)
1 1 + 3 2 3 + 4 + 1 2 + 4 3 = 0
(37)
23 2 4 2 + 23 + + 4 3 =
(38)
Equations (35) to (39) can be arranged into a 5 x 5 matrix in the form

= []
(39)
21

(1 + 21 + )
1
1
1 + 2 + 1
21
2
0
1
0
0
21
2
2 + 3 + 21 + 23
3
23
0
0
3
3 + 4 + 1
4
0
0
23
4
23 + + 4
1
1 +
1
1
2 =
2
2
0

3
The mean temperature can be determined by using array division

=
[]
(40)
The newly calculated value of temperature will then be compared to the previous value of
temperature. The process repeats until all the temperature difference of the newly
calculated temperature and previous temperature is less than 0.01 .
6.2 Mathematical modelling of the thermal storage tank

The thermal storage tank improves the performance of the solar drying system and
allows continuous operation even at period of low or no solar radiation. Energy is
transferred and stored on the rock element and used by reversing the air flow direction.
To model the storage tank mathematically, the length of the storage tank is
divided into several nodal elements as depicted in Figure 3. The value of is small and
only exaggerated in the figure. Schumann [33] derived a differential equation to describe
the temperature along the bed at any location. For a one dimensional transient analysis, it is
assumed that
Properties of both solid and fluid are constant
No heat loss to the surroundings
22

No mass transfer
Conduction from the fluid to the rocks is negligible.
Figure 3. Conical thermal storage tank (left) and element m of the tank
6.2.1 Nodal element temperature

The following governing temperature are used to evaluate the temperature distribution for
air and solid in the thermal storage tank [34].
(41)
,+1 = , + , , exp 1
1 =
,
= ,
=
;

+ 2 , , +1 3 ,
2 =
(42)
3 = 2
Neglecting loss to the surroundings, ,
becomes
23

= ,
+ 2 , , +1
(43)
6.3. Mathematical modelling of mixing tank

The section where the mixing of two stream of fluid takes place is commonly referred to as
mixing tank (Shown in Figure 4). The conservation of mass principle for a mixing chamber
requires that the sum of the incoming mass flow rates equal the mass flow rate of the
outgoing mixture. To model the mixing tank, the following are assumed [35]
No heat flow in or out
Any kind of work is not involved
Kinetic and potential energy is negligible
Figure 4. Mixing tank schematic [35]
Under the stated assumption, the equation at the mixing tank is
24

1 1 + 2 2 = 3 3
(44)
A psychrometric chart may be used to determine fluid enthalpy. However, to simulate it in

MATLAB, the following equations are used [36]
10 +
=
0.01
(45)
Where the variables are determined by its temperature range as indicated. An if-else
statement is used to handle this dependence in temperature

100
(46)
is saturation vapour pressure and is water vapour pressure both in kPa. Then to
calculate humidity ratio with Pa = 101.325 kPa
= 0.62198
(47)
Calculating enthalpy,
= 1.01 + 0.00189 + 2.5
(48)
Once enthalpy is known, equation 44 can be used to determine the enthalpy of the air
mixture. Then use equation 48 to determine its resulting temperature.
25

6.4 Mathematical modelling of the heater

Air flows through the heater with a known mass flow rate and inlet temperature. Assuming
a constant heat transfer and negligible heat loss to the environment, the performance of
the auxiliary heater is determined by the simple equation
= 2 1
(49)
6.5 Mathematical modelling of the drying chamber

The drying kinetics and quality of the product is significantly influenced by drying
temperature, relative humidity and air velocity [37]. With apple as material to be dried,
Menges and Ertekin reported a reduction of 50% in drying time when air temperature is 60C
to 80C [38] with 75C being the most favourable temperature [37]. Karim suggested an air
flow rate of 0.035 kg/m2 s [7] and Sturm, Hofacker and Hensel suggested 3.4 m/s for air
velocity [37]. Keeping the air humidity at low levels can also reduce the drying time. All
these suggestions by different researchers are taken as the optimum air condition in the
drying chamber that will minimize drying time and yield high quality dried apple.
The mathematical modelling of the drying chamber section of this thesis is mainly taken
from Dr. Azharul Karims paper [9]. In the model, moisture transport occurs by diffusion in
only one direction. Shrinkage is also considered in the calculations since it may have a
significant effect on mass diffusivity and moisture removal rate. The assumptions to simplify
the equations are as follows
One-dimensional heat and mass transfer with material as an infinite slab with
uniform moisture content and temperature
26

The drying sample is a composite material consisting of solid material and moisture.
No chemical reaction takes place during drying
Moisture transport occurs by diffusion from the interior and evaporation at the
surface
The material shrinks as drying progresses.

6.5.1 Material model
The moisture balance equation is
2
+
=
(50)
Temperature balance equation is
2
+
=
(51)
With initial condition at t = 0,

= 0 and = 0
Boundary condition at x = 0,
= 0 and
=0
Effective diffusivity is
Dref
Deff
b
0
b
(52)
Thickness ratio obtained by the following equation
27

M w s
b b0 w
w M 0 s
(53)
6.5.2 Equipment model

The next step in modelling the drying chamber is to determine the heat and mass balance of
the air passing through the chamber. The following assumptions are made in modelling the
equipment
Thermal properties of moisture and air are constant within the range of air
temperatures under consideration
Conduction heat transfer within the bed is negligible
Effect of condensation within the bed is negligible
One dimensional heat transfer
Uniform product size
Uniform distribution of drying product in the drying chamber
The energy balance at the drying chamber is

+ (1 )
(1 )
=
+
(0 )
(54)
The moisture balance is

(1 )
=
(55)
Boundary and initial conditions are

At x=0 and t = 0,
= 0 and = 0
28

= 0 and
=0
At x > 0 and t = 0,
= 0 and = 0
The differential equations are discretized and written in finite difference form before
performing simulation.
6.6 Mathematical modelling of the dehumidifier

An energy saving of 29-31% was realized by recirculating the hot air and varying the degree
of venting [39]. Though this finding couldnt be confirmed from simulations, it gives an
impression that air recirculation is beneficial. Air dehumidification is achieved by moisture
condensation by cooling the air exiting the drying chamber below its dew point
temperature. A schematic of this process is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Schematic for dehumidification [40]
The mathematical equations governing dehumidification are [40]

= (1 2 )
(56)
2 = [ 1 2 1 2 2 ]
(57)
29

6.7 Mathematical modelling of system pressure loss

This section discusses the equations used to calculate the pressure loss of the solar drying
system. It is assumed that pressure drop is negligible in other parts of the system except at
the solar collector, thermal storage tank and the ducts.
6.7.1 Pressure loss in the solar collector
Pressure drop for all types of internal flows (laminar or turbulent, circular of non-circular
tubes, smooth or rough surfaces) is calculated by [41]
(58)
Where is the Darcy friction factor which is equal to 4 where is the Fanning friction
factor
To simplify the equation to be applied in the air collector taking out the velocity term,
2
. The pressure drop can be alternatively expressed as
2
+
(59)
with equated to zero in the second pass. The total pressure drop in the air collector is the
sum of the pressure drop in the first pass and the second pass.
The value of changes with flow regime as follows [42]
= 0 +
(60)
For laminar flow ( < 2,800)
0 =
13.33
and = 0.65
30

For transient flow 2,800 10,000

0 = 3.2 104 0.34 and = 2.94 0.19
For early turbulent flow (104 < < 105 )
0 = 0.0733 0.25 and = 0.51
Since the solar collector is a double pass, the pressure drop at the second pass is calculated
in the same manner and added to the first pass pressure drop.
6.7.2 Pressure loss in the storage tank
The pressure drop in the packed bed is calculated by [25]
2 1
3 2
+ 3
+
(61)
Where = 217, = 1.83 and = 0.6. The equation above is solved for every layer after
every time step then summed in order to calculate the pressure drop across the packed bed.
6.7.3 Pressure loss in the ducts
The pressure loss in the duct is determined by
2
=
2
(62)
Where the friction coefficient is calculated by the Swamee-Jain equation as
0.25
5.74
log 3.7 + 0.9
(63)
is the surface roughness which is determined by the material and the Reynolds number is
31

6.8 MATLAB Simulation

The simulation codes for each component are prepared in MATLAB. The codes are written
so that the program runs in the sequence as shown in Figure 6. Each box represents
MATLAB codes. The codes are connected by function command to simulate the whole
system as a whole.
Figure 6. MATLAB simulation of the solar drying system
7. Simulation results and discussion

This section will discuss and demonstrate the capabilities of the simulation codes
produced in MATLAB. Particular focus will be given to the solar air collector since it is the
main component of the solar drying system and its efficiency greatly affects the efficiency of
the system. The simulation codes will be used;
To fully study and understand the solar air collector. It will also be used to optimize
different variables in the design of the collector.
To determine the effect of air recirculation and varying the degree of venting and
flow rate at different parts of the solar drying system.
32

To find the optimum operating condition of the solar drying system that will yield a
good balance between high efficiency and low operating cost.
7.1 Solar air collector

The mathematical solution presented in the earlier section is used to calculate the
temperatures and heat transfer coefficients in the v-groove air collector. These results are
then used to produce the graphs that will be used to assess the performance of the air
collector and assist in developing an efficient solar drying system. Values of absorptivity,
emissivity and transmissivity for the surfaces in the air collector are assumed values but are
identified to have a minimal impact on the result of the simulation. Small temperature
differences in the order of 1 or less could be obtained from modifying these values [15]
[16]. By using the matrix method solution for a double-pass counter flow v-groove shown in
the previous section, the temperature of the components of the air collector as well as its
efficiency can be determined. And to verify the simulation, parameters such as outlet
temperature will be compared to others experimental result where the simulation will use
the same meteorological condition and collector characteristics.
Figure 7 shows the hourly variation of solar irradiation and ambient temperature. At
this stage, hourly data of Singapore is used since the meteorological data of Brisbane,
Australia is yet to be obtained from the Bureau of Meteorology. Currently, the temperature
ranges from 298 K to 302.4 K, reaching its maximum temperature at 2:00pm. The solar
radiation value ranges from 0 to 552 /2 with its peak radiation occurring at 12:00pm.
33

Figure 7. Solar radiation and ambient temperature vs Time
The simulation of temperature variation in the various elements of the solar air
collector using Singapores meteorological data (Figure 7) when = 0.035 /2 is
shown in Figure 8. The maximum values of mean temperature in the elements of the air
collector occurred at 1:00 pm where 1 , 1 , 2 , 2 and 3 are found to be 308.30 K,
306.07 K, 316.53 K, 308.51 K and 310.43 K, respectively.
34

Figure 8. Mean temperature variation in the air collector with respect to time
In Figure 9, the output air temperature in the double-pass v-groove air collector is
plotted against time. It also shows the temperature of the input air. It can be seen from the
graph the change in temperature of the air once it passed through the air collector. The
maximum output temperature occurs at 1:00pm which is approximately 315 K. It might
raise a concern that the temperature in Figure 8 of second pass air at 1:00pm is
approximately 308 K, however it must be understood that this temperature is the average
temperature in the second pass air over the length of the collector at that time unlike in
Figure 9 which is the actual output temperature. Knowing the temperature output of the air
collector is important since this will assist in determining the design of the dryer that will
satisfy the required temperature in the drying cabinet.
35

Figure 9. Simulated input and output air temperature in the air collector during operation
The temperature of air as it passes through the air collector is presented in Figure
10. The first pass of air is shown in the bottom part of the graph and the second pass is
shown in the upper part. There is a relatively high rise in temperature in the first pass of air
as compared to the second pass. The approximate temperature rise in the first pass is about
80% of the total rise in temperature. This is where a double-pass configuration is
advantageous; it interacts with a section of air twice thus the temperature is significantly
increased compared to a single pass configuration.
36

Figure 10. Temperature of air as it flows through the air collector
In Figure 11 is the efficiency curve from the simulation. In the x-axis, the most
common term for plotting against efficiency is ( )/ but this is not possible for the
model since it assumed that inlet air temperature is equal to the ambient temperature
which would result in a straight vertical line at zero. This kind of plot would not have any
significance for investigation. An alternative is to use ( )/ which will show the
relationship between change in fluid temperature and radiation to efficiency. As can be
seen, as the ratio of temperature difference and radiation increase the efficiency of the
collector also increase. Investigation of the efficiency curve is not part of this project but
from the study done by Karim [43], as the flow rate increase, the points in the graph will be
in a higher position which means that the efficiency is higher.
37

Figure 11. Efficiency curve
7.2 Verifying simulation model of solar air collector

The comparison of experimental results from references [9] and [18] to the
simulation model produced is shown in Figures 12 and 13. The solar radiation data, ambient
and inlet air temperature and the air collectors characteristics used to perform the
experiment are all inserted into the MATLAB simulation model to reproduce the
experimental result as close as possible and verify if the simulation model generate reliable
outputs. However, results variations have been observed from the graph and these may be
attributed to dissimilarity of the experiment set-up and the simulation codes since not all
detail of the set-up and the air collector are given by the authors where the experimental
results are taken. From Figure 12, the simulated results closely follow the experimental
result but a problem was encountered during simulation since the author used kg/s for mass
flow rather than kg/m2s. This problem is fixed by combining the original simulation code and
the solution procedure of [18] to solve the temperature output. Note that difference is
calculated from Kelvins unit temperature. A maximum difference of 1.2% is observed from
38

the results therefore considering the uncertainties from the input, the simulation model can
predict the performance of the air collector. This is further proven from Figure 13. Figure 13
shows the simulated result seems to deviate quite a lot from the experimental result,
however by performing a percent difference analysis on the results obtained, it was
determined that the maximum deviation between the two results is just approximately
10.3%, which is still acceptable considering the uncertainties from the input. Therefore
there is no significant difference in value between the two results but rather the deviation is
only more obvious because it does not follow the same trend. The deviation in trend in
Figure 13 is likely due to the introduction of an imaginary number during the solution
procedure. This type of problem arises when the inlet air temperature is assumed to be
equal to the ambient temperature. It does not significantly affect the result but caution
must be taken in assuming that inlet air temperature is equal to ambient temperature since
it may promote error in the results if dealing with high temperatures.
Figure 12. Comparison of simulated to experimental result using data from Reference [18]
39

Figure 13. Comparison of simulated to experimental result using data from Reference [9]
Air temperature along the length of the collector is shown in Figure 14 where it is
compared with the result from reference [18]. Similar to the previous simulations, the solar
radiation data, ambient and inlet air temperature and the air collectors characteristics used
to perform the experiment are all inserted into the MATLAB simulation model to reproduce
the experimental result. As can be seen from Figure 14, the two graphs very closely follow
each other for both first and second pass air. Thus, confirming that the simulation model
can predict accurately the temperature of air in the air collector at any instant.
Figure 14. Comparison of air temperature along the length of the collector from [18]
40

7.3 Parametric study of the solar air collector

An investigation of several parameters of the double pass v-groove air collector is
taken to see their effect on the output temperature and efficiency of the air collector. Also,
the absorber plate temperature is taken to allow comparison with the output temperature
and observe how it interacts within the system. The parameters considered are: solar
radiation, mass flow rate, inlet air temperature, air velocity in the collector, length, height of
the v-groove section and its gap from the tip of the vee to the glass cover, number of glass
cover and insulation thickness. A parametric study is also done by [16] where a single pass vgroove air collector is investigated. Constant reference with the results from [16] will be
done to compare the difference in the effect of the parameters under investigation to both
single and double pass configuration. The approach used to analyse the effect of each
parameter is to keep all parameter values of the air collector constant and only varying the
parameter of interest.
7.3.1 Solar radiation
The first to be looked upon is the effect of solar radiation to the output temperature
and efficiency when value ranges from 0 1000 /2 . The result of the simulation is
presented in Figure 15. It can be observed from the graph that both absorber plate
temperature and output temperature linearly increases as the radiation increase. However,
the temperature becomes lower as the mass flow rate is increased. Thus the lower the mass
flow rate, the higher the output temperature. On the other hand, solar radiation does not
have a significant effect on the efficiency and only becomes apparent on low values of mass
flow rate. The effect of mass flow rate to efficiency is opposite to temperature since as the
mass flow rate is increased, the efficiency also increase. Compared to [16], the trend of the
result between the two configuration is similar.
41

Figure 15. Effect of solar radiation to the output temperature and efficiency when I ranges from 0 to 1000
W/m2
7.3.2 Mass flow rate

The effect of mass flow rate to the output temperature and efficiency when value
ranges from0 0.1 /2 is shown in Figure 16. It can be observed that the effect of
mass flow rate at some point is becoming less and less significant for both output
temperature and efficiency. When the flow rate is less than 0.01 /2 , its effect is very
large but as its value increases, the effect becomes insignificant. Considering the absorber
plate temperature and output temperature, when the mass flow rate is less than
42

0.015 /2 , the output temperature is higher than the absorber plate temperature.
Once the mass flow rate exceeds this value, the trend switches. This is attributed to the high
radiation and convection heat transfer occurring at low mass flow rate. Compared to [16],
the trend of the result between the two configuration is similar.
Figure 16. Effect of mass flow rate to the output temperature and efficiency when m ranges from 0 to 0.1
kg/m2s
7.3.3 Inlet air temperature

The effect of inlet air temperature to the output temperature and efficiency when
value ranges from 280 340 is shown in Figure 17. It can be observed from the graph
that both absorber plate temperature and output temperature linearly increase as the inlet
air temperature is increased and it will be notice as well that the outlet temperature is
higher at low values of mass flow rate. On the other hand, as the inlet air temperature
increase, the efficiency linearly decreases. This indicates that the inlet air temperature has a
significant effect on the air collector. Therefore in choosing the optimal inlet air
temperature for the design, caution must be taken to ensure that a reasonable value for
inlet air temperature is selected. Compared to [16], the trend of the result is similar. Due to
this kind of effect of the inlet temperature, a further study about the possibility of air
recirculation is required. The increase in inlet temperature is provided by the recirculated
43

air. This air is processed by the dehumidifier to enable its use for drying. If the inlet
temperature is increased, the outlet temperature also increase which consequently lessens
the amount of heat required to be supplied by the auxiliary heater. However, this lowers the
efficiency of the solar collector. On the other hand, if the inlet temperature is low, the solar
collector will be more efficient but the auxiliary heater must provide more heat. A trade-off
exists and operational study is required to find an optimal condition where the efficiency of
the solar collector is maximized and the operational cost of the solar drying system is low.
Figure 17. Effect of inlet air temperature to the output temperature and efficiency when Tfi ranges from 280
to 340 Kelvins
44

7.3.4 Length of solar collector

The effect of length to the output temperature and efficiency when value ranges from
0 5 is shown in Figure 18. It can be observed from the graph that length has some
effect on the output temperature and efficiency of the air collector but it does not
significantly affect the performance of the collector. This is in agreement to the results from
[16] where it is found that the length of the collector has negligible effect.
Figure 18. Effect of length to the temperature and efficiency when L ranges from 0 to 5 m
The effect of length to the Reynolds number is observed in Figure 19. It is known that
turbulence increases heat transfer. As can be seen, the Reynolds number increase as length
45

increases. Thus increasing the length has benefits of improved thermal performance. With
reference to Figure 20, at the laminar regime, the heat transfer coefficient can be observed
to be constant. At the transition regime, the heat transfer coefficient goes down then after
reaching a minimum, goes up continuously until the turbulent regime is reached. At low
values of mass flow rate, the heat transfer coefficient does not increase as much relative to
higher values of mass flow rate.
Figure 19. Flow regime in the first and second pass as the length increase
Figure 20. Heat transfer coefficient in the first and second pass as the length increase
7.3.5 V-groove height

The effect of the height of the v-groove to the output temperature and efficiency when
value ranges from 0 0.1 is shown in Figure 21. As the v-groove height increases, the
46

absorber plate temeprature is observed to increase but the output temperature decreases.
This phenomenon can be attributed to the decreasing heat transfer coefficient occuring as
the v-groove height increase. The efficiency is also affected by the v-groove height. As can
be seen in Figure 22, at low values of v-groove height, the flow is turbulent then approaches
laminar flow as the height increase. Consequently, the heat transfer coefficient is highest at
low v-groove height. However, the more turbulent the flow, the higher the pressure losses
which consequently means higher operational cost for the fan. Thus in selecting the vgroove height, it must be as low as possible with an acceptable value of pressure loss.
Figure 21. Effect of v-groove height to temperature and efficiency
47

Figure 22. Flow regime in the first and second pass as the v-groove height increase
Figure 23. Heat transfer coefficient in the first and second pass as the v-groove height increase
7.3.6 V-groove gap to glass cover

The effect of the gap between the v-groove absorber and glass cover to the output
temperature and efficiency when value ranges from 0 0.1 is shown in Figure 24.
The gap has negligible effect on the output temperature and efficiency of the air collector.
The absorber plate temperature varied slightly as the gap increases. This is due to the
change in flow condition in the channel. However, this variation is in close agreement with
the result from [16] where their absorber plate temperature remained constant. The
reasoning behind their variation is due to difference in configuratio. Thus for a double pass
v-groove air collector, the the gap between the v-groove absorber and glass cover will not
48

have a significant effect on output temperature and efficiency. However, the gap should be
kept at a reasonable value to avoid high pressure loss.
Figure 24. Effect of v-groove gap to temperature and efficiency
Figure 25 shows the flow regime in the first and second pass as the v-groove gap increases.
In the first pass, the flow regime is affected by the v-groove gap but in the second pass,
Reynolds number remains constant. Then considering Figure 26 which shows the heat
transfer coefficient graph, it can be observed that when the flow is at the transition regime,
the heat transfer coefficient increase slightly. A decrease is observed when flow is turbulent.
49

Figure 25. Flow regime in the first and second pass as the v-groove gap increases
Figure 26. Heat transfer coefficient in the first and second pass as the v-groove gap increases
50

51

52

7.3 Parametric study of the solar air collector

An investigation of several parameters of the double pass v-groove air collector is
taken to see their effect on the output temperature and efficiency of the air collector. Also,
the absorber plate temperature is taken to allow comparison with the output temperature
and observe how it interacts within the system. The parameters considered are: solar
radiation, mass flow rate, inlet air temperature, air velocity in the collector, length, height of
the v-groove section and its gap from the tip of the vee to the glass cover. A parametric
study is also done by [16] where a single pass v-groove air collector is investigated. Constant
reference with the results from [16] will be done to compare the difference in the effect of
the parameters under investigation to both single and double pass configuration. The
approach used to analyse the effect of each parameter is to keep all parameter values of the
53

air collector constant and only varying the parameter of interest.

The first to be looked upon is the effect of solar radiation to the output temperature
and efficiency when value ranges from 0 1000 /2 . The result of the simulation is
presented in Figure 15. It can be observed from the graph that both absorber plate
temperature and output temperature linearly increases as the radiation increase. On the
other hand, it does not have a significant effect on the efficiency. Compared to [16], the
trend of the result between the two configuration is similar.
Figure 27. Effect of solar radiation to the output temperature and efficiency when I ranges from 0
to 1000 W/m2
The effect of mass flow rate to the output temperature and efficiency when value
ranges from0 0.1 /2 is shown in Figure 16. It can be observed that the effect of
mass flow rate at some point is becoming less and less significant for both output
temperature and efficiency. When the flow rate is less than 0.01 /2 , its effect is very
large but as its value increases, the effect becomes insignificant. Considering the absorber
plate temperature and output temperature, when the mass flow rate is less than
0.015 /2 , the output temperature is higher than the absorber plate temperature.
Once the mass flow rate exceeds this value, the trend switches. This is attributed to the high
54

radiation and convection heat transfer occurring at low mass flow rate. Compared to [16],
the trend of the result between the two configuration is similar.
Figure 28. Effect of mass flow rate to the output temperature and efficiency when m ranges from 0
to 0.1 kg/m2s
The effect of inlet air temperature to the output temperature and efficiency when
value ranges from 280 400 is shown in Figure 17. It can be observed from the graph
that both absorber plate temperature and output temperature linearly increases as the inlet
air temperature increase and apparently, both temperature are increasing at the same rate.
On the other hand, as the inlet air temperature increase, the efficiency linearly decreases.
This indicates that the inlet air temperature has a significant effect on the air collector.
Therefore in choosing the optimal inlet air temperature for the design, caution must be
taken to ensure that a reasonable value for inlet air temperature is selected. Compared to
[16], the trend of the result between the two configuration is similar.
55

Figure 29. Effect of inlet air temperature to the output temperature and efficiency when Tfi ranges
from 280 to 400 Kelvins
The effect of air velocity to the output temperature and efficiency when value
ranges from 0 10 / is shown in Figure 18. Air velocity does not affect the output
temperature and efficiency significantly. It can be observed that the effect of air velocity
becomes insignificant for both output temperature and efficiency once it exceeds
approximately 1 /. This has a positive effect on the air collector performance thus the air
velocity should always be kept at values greater than 1 / to ensure higher output
temperature and efficiency. Considering the absorber plate temperature and output
temperature, when air velocity is approximately 2.9 / the output temperature is higher
than the absorber plate temperature. However, this will not occur but rather, the
temperatures will just diverge to absorber plate temperature as the air velocity increase.
This is due to the turbulent flow occuring inside the channels which consequently increases
convective heat transfer.
56

Figure 30. Effect of air velocity to the output temperature and efficiency when Uf ranges from 0 to
10 m/s
The effect of length to the output temperature and efficiency when value ranges
from 0 50 is shown in Figure 19. It can be observed from the graph that has some
effect on the output temperature and efficiency of the air collector. Its effect on output
temperature is a decrease of about 3 Kelvins and its effect on efficiency leads to a non-linear
decrease of about 10% as the length increased. Considering the absorber plate temperature
and the output temperature, it can be seen that the temperature difference between the
two increases as the length increase. This is contradictory to the results from [16] where it is
found that the length of the collector has negligible effect. This variation of result may be
attributed to the change in configuration of the collector. A single pass air collector only
goes through the collector one without undergoing any directional changes or turns.
However, for a double pass, the air has to go through the same section twice with not only
the change in flow direction and turn but also the flow section. Therefore the absorber plate
interacts with the same section of air along its length twice which consequently causes
convective heat transfer between the two medium.
57

Figure 31. Effect of length to the output temperature and efficiency when L ranges from 0 to 50 m
The effect of the height of the v-groove to the output temperature and efficiency
when value ranges from 0 0.2 is shown in Figure 20. V-groove height has negligible
effect on the output temperature and efficiency of the air collector and the absorber
temperature generally decreases as the v-groove height increase which is in contrast with
the result from [16]. The reasoning behind their variation is due to difference in
configuration as stated previosly. Thus for a double pass v-groove air collector, the height of
the v-groove will not have a significant effect on output temperature and efficiency.
Figure 32. Effect of v-groove height to the output temperature and efficiency when Hg ranges from
0 to 0.2 m
58

The effect of the gap between the v-groove absorber and glass cover to the output
temeprature and efficiency when value ranges from 0 0.2 is shown in Figure 21.
The gap has negligible effect on the output temperature and efficiency of the air collector.
The absorber plate varies in temperature as the gap increases. This is due to the change in
flow condition in the channel. However, this variation is in contrast with the result from
[16]. The reasoning behind their variation is due to difference in configuration as stated
previosly. Thus for a double pass v-groove air collector, the the gap between the v-groove
absorber and glass cover will not have a significant effect on output temperature and
efficiency.
Figure 33. Effect of gap between absorber and glass cover to the output temperature and
efficiency when Hc ranges from 0 to 0.2 m
8. Problems encountered
Developing an efficient solar dryer is not an easy task. There are a lot of problems
encountered along the way related to the development of the simulation model as well as
problems encountered within the group. Some setbacks experienced during the project are
listed;
59

There are numerous air collector configurations that currently exist throughout the
world and there is quite a lot of literature written for each. One problem
encountered during the early stage of the project is selecting which air collector
configuration should be employed. The solar air collector is one of the most
important part of the solar dryer thus care should be taken. To solve this problem, a
lot of research effort was done by the team and from this research and literature
review, it was decided to use a double pass v-groove solar air collector.
Researching the equations to use for the configuration chosen was difficult since no
journal was found that provides the equation needed to create a simulation model.
Therefore, various literatures from different author which discusses about modelling
and experimenting the performance of an air collector are used.
There have been a lot of changes and revisions done on the simulation model.
During the early stage of developing the simulation model, the codes would not
function with reason that is difficult to figure. It gets quite frustrating. Then as the
project moves on, the problem became the codes themselves where a number is
mistyped or an equation is wrong. These types of problem were solved by doing a
comparison of the experimental result from journals and comparing it with the
simulation model. All in all, the most difficult part of the project so far is to ensure
that the model can accurately predict the performance of the solar air collector. A lot
of revision and changes happen but with each change, the simulation model gets
more and more accurate.
60

9. Project plan
The first part of the project is completed according to the timeline set during the project
proposal (see Project Timeline in the proceeding page). A group of 3 students are working
on developing an efficient solar dryer and each are assigned a different task. Everyone
managed to meet the deadline set and satisfy the timeline of the project.
The project task is divided into different categories and Parts 1 to 4 is completed.
Theoretical performance is done by Erond, Optimization is done by Anthony and design is
done by Dave.
61

62

Project timeline: Part 1 to 4 is to be completed during semester 1 and Part 5 to 7 is to be completed during semester 2
63

64

10. Conclusion
Overall, the first phase of the project is successfully delivered. The project progress is
as planned and all the necessary task needed to be done is completed. The simulation codes
created in MATLAB was able to predict the mean temperature of any component of the air
collector, the instantaneous air temperature at any section of the collector, the output air
temperature, and efficiency.
The simulation results were verified and it was found that the simulation has the
ability to predict the performance of the air collector accurately as proven by the
comparison of experimental result and simulation. The percent difference between the
results is, at maximum, approximately 7% only which is within the acceptable limit
considering some uncertainties in the input parameter values to allow comparison.
A parametric study was done and it was determined that inlet air temperature and
mass flow rate has a significant effect on the efficiency of the air collector. Other
parameters that were studied are the solar radiation, air velocity, length, v-groove height
and gap between the absorber and glass cover. These parameters have relatively less
significant effect on the output temperature and efficiency with the exception of solar
radiation. Along with the parametric study, a comparison is also made with the investigation
done by Tao Liu, et al., for a single pass v-groove. It was found that solar radiation, mass
flow rate and inlet air temperature has similar effect on the performance of a single and
double pass configuration. On the other hand, the effect of other remaining parameters
deviates significantly compared to the single pass configuration. This deviation is attributed
to the change in flow condition in the channel.
65

References
[1] W. Muhlbauer A. Esper, "Solar drying An effective means of food preservation," Renewable
Energy, vol. 15, pp. 95-100, 1998.
[2] T Kudra, "Energy Aspects in Drying," Drying Technology, vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 917-932, 2004.
[3] K.J. Chua, A. S. Mujumdar, M. N. A. Hawlader, S. K. Chou, and J. C. Ho, "Convective drying of
agricultural products. Effect of continuos and stepwise change in drying air temperature,"
Drying Technology, vol. 19, no. 8, pp. 1949-1960, 2001.
[4] S. M. Shalaby A. A. El-Sebaii, "Solar drying of agricultural products: A review," Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 16, pp. 37-43, 2012.
[5] E. Delyannis V. Belessiotis, "Solar drying," Solar Energy, vol. 85, pp. 1665-1691, 2011.
[6] J.A. Harrison and E.L. Andress. Preserving Food: Drying fruits and vegetables. [Online].
http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/uga_dry_fruit.pdf
[7] M.A. Karim and M.N.A. Hawlader, "Performance evaluation of v-groove solar air collector for
drying applications," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 26, pp. 121-130, 2006.
[8] S. VijayaVenkataRaman and S. Iniyan, "A review of solar drying technologies," Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 16, pp. 2652-2670, 2012.
[9] M.A. Karim, "Solar drying," 1999.
[10] M.A. Karim and M.N.A. Hawlader, "Performance investigation of flat plate, v-corrugated and
finned air collectors," Energy, vol. 31, pp. 452-470, 2006.
[11] S. Janjai and B.K. Bala, "Solar Drying Technology," Food Engineering, vol. 4, pp. 16-54, 2012.
[12] R. Tchinda, "A review of the mathematical models for predicting solar air heater systems,"
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 13, pp. 1734-1759, 2009.
[13] R. Smitabhindu, S. Janjai, and V. Chankong, "Optimization of a solar-assisted system for drying
bananas," Renewable Energy, vol. 33, pp. 1523-1531, 2008.
[14] K.E.J. Al-Juamily, A.J.N. Khalifa, and T.A. Yassen, "Testing of the performance of a fruit and
vegetable solar drying system in Iraq," Desalination, vol. 209, pp. 163-170, 2007.
[15] K. S. Ong, "Thermal performance of solar air heaters: Mathematical model and solution
procedure," Solar Energy, vol. 55, pp. 93-109, 1995.
[16] Tao Liu et al., "A parametric study on the thermal performance of a solar air collector with a vgroove absorber," International Journal of Green Energy, vol. 4, pp. 601-622, 2007.
66

[17] A.A. El-Sebaii, S. Aboul-Enein, M. R. I. Ramadan, S.M. Shalaby, and B.M. Moharram,
"Investigation of thermal performance of double-pass flat plat and v-corrugated plate solar air
heaters," Energy, vol. 36, pp. 1076-1086, 2011.
[18] J. E. Quinonez A. L. Hernadez, "Analytical models of thermal performance of solar air heaters of
double-parallel flow and double-pass counter flow," Renewable Energy, vol. 55, pp. 380-391,
2013.
[19] A. Gupta, R. Kumar B. M. Ramani, "Performance of a double pass solar air collector," Solar
Energy, vol. 84, pp. 1929-1937, 2010.
[20] M S Sodha and Ram Chandra, "Solar drying systems and their testing procedures: A review,"
Energy Convesion Management, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 219-267, June 1993.
[21] E. Aranovitch, "Heat Transfer Processes in Solar Collectors," Energy and Buildings, vol. 3, pp. 3147, 1981.
[22] Mahmud M. Alkilani, K. Sopian, M. A. Alghoul, M. Sohif, and M. H. Ruslan, "Review of solar air
collectors with thermal storage units," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 15, pp.
1476-1490, 2011.
[23] Pavel Charvat, Milan Ostry, Tomas Mauder, and Lubomir Klimes. (2012) A solar air collector with
integrated latent heat thermal storage. [Online]. http://www.epjconferences.org/articles/epjconf/pdf/2012/07/epjconf_EFM2011_01028.pdf
[24] P. Charvar, O. Pech, and J. Hejcik. (2013) Experimental investigations of the performance of a
solar air collector with latent heat thermal storage integrated with the solar absorber. [Online].
http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20134501127
[25] G Zanganeh, A Pedretti, S Zavattoni, M Barbato, and A Steinfeld, "Packed-bed thermal storage
for concentrated solar power Pilot-scale demonstration and industrial-scale design," Solar
Energy, vol. 86, pp. 3084-3098, 2012.
[26] Walid Aissa, Mostafa El-Sallak, and Ahmed Elhakem. (n.d.) Performance of solar dryer chamber
used for convective drying of sponge-cotton. Document.
[27] Human Info NGO. (n.d.) Solar food dryers: design theory. [Online].
http://hinfo.humaninfo.ro/gsdl/ureka/en/d/Jt0017e/6.html
[28] G.F. Hundy, A.R. Trott, and T.C. Welch, "Dehumidifiers and Air Drying, Refrigeration and AirConditioning," in Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning (Fourth Edition). Oxford: ButterworthHeinemann, 2008, ch. 26, pp. 321-324.
[29] Ekaterina Auer Andreas Rauh, Modeling, Design, and Simulation of Systems with Uncertainties.
New York: Springer, 2011.
67

[30] JA Duffie and WA Beckman, Solar engineering of thermal processes, 2nd ed.: Wiley, New York,
1991.
[31] K.G.T., Shewen, E.C. Hollands, "Optimization of flow passage geometry for air-handling plate
type solar collectors," ASME J. Solar Energy Eng, vol. 103, pp. 323330, 1991.
[32] Mahdi Hedayatizadeh et al., "Analysis of exergy and parametric study of a v-corrugated solar air
heater," Heat Mass Transfer, vol. 48, pp. 1089-1101, 2012.
[33] T.E.W. Schumann, "Heat Transfer: A Liquid Flowing Through A Porous Prism," Journal of the
Franklin Institute, pp. 405-416, 1929.
[34] R. Singh, R.P. Saini, and J.S. Saini, "Simulated Performance of Packed Bed Solar Energy Storage
System having Storage Material Elements of Large Size - Part I," The Open Fuels & Energy
Science Journal, vol. I, pp. 91-95, 2008.
[35] Yunus Cengel and Michael Boles, Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach, 5th ed. Boston:
McGraw-Hill College, 2005.
[36] Vaisala, "Humidity conversion formulas," Vaisala Oyj, Helsinki, Finland, 2013.
[37] Barbara Sturm, Werner Hofacker, and Oliver Hensel, "Optimizing the Drying Parameters for HotAirDried Apples," Drying Technology: An International Journal, vol. 30, pp. 1570-1582, 2012.
[38] Hakan Okyay Menges and Can Ertekin, "Mathematical modeling of thin layer drying of Golden
apples," Journal of Food Engineering, no. 77, pp. 119-125, 2006.
[39] I.A. McDoom, R. Ramsaroop, R. Saunders, and A. Tang Kai, "Optimization of solar crop drying,"
Renewable Energy, no. 16, pp. 749-752, 1999.
[40] ASHRAE, ASHRAE Handbook - Fundamentals (SI)., 2009.
[41] Yunus Cengel, Heat transfer: A practical approach. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
[42] K.G.T Hollands and E.C Shewen, "Optimization of Flow Passage Geometry for Air-heating, Platetype Solar Collectors," Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, vol. 103, pp. 323-330, November
1981.
[43] M.A. Karim and M.N.A. Hawlader, "Development of solar air collectors for drying applications,"
Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 45, pp. 329-344, 2004.
68

Parametric values used for simulation
600 W/m2
30 degrees
0.94
0.9
1 m
0.94
2 m
0.06
0.05 m
0.95
0.025 m
0.84
0.035 kg/m2s
1 m/s
69

300 Kelvins
5.67E-08 W/m2K4
300 Kelvins
9.81 m/s2
0.06 m
1 m/s
0.025 W/mK
Nomenclature
- specific heat of air (/)
, - hydraulic diameter of first and second pass ()
- gravitational constant (9.81 2 /)
1,2,3,4 - convection heat transfer coefficients (/2 )
- glass cover to sky radiative heat transfer coefficient (/2 )
21 ,23 radiative heat transfer coefficient (/2 )
- wind convection heat transfer coefficieny (/2 )
gap between v-groove absorber and glass cover ()
- height of v-groove ()
solar radiation (/2 )
- thermal conductivity of air (/)
- insulation thermal conductivity (/)
- length of the collector ()
air mass flow rate (/2 )
efficiency of the collector
N number of glass cover
1,2 - heat transferred to the air in first and second pass (/2 )
1,2 - solar radiation absorbed by glass cover and absorber plate (/2 )
1,2,3,4 mean temperatures of surfaces ()
70

- ambient temperature ()
1 ,2 mean fluid temperature ()
- sky temperature ()
- initial air temperature ()
- output air temperature ()
bottom heat loss coefficient (/2 )
- top heat loss coefficient (/2 )
- air velocity in the collector (/)
- wind velocity (/)
- width of the collector ()
- insulation thickness ()
1 - absorptivity of glass cover
2 - absoptivity of absorber
1 - emissivity of glass cover
2 - emissivity of absorber
3 - emissivity of bottom plate
1 - transmittance of glass cover
Boltzmann constant (5.67 108 /2 4 )
- air density (/3 )
- tilt angle of the collector (degrees)
- dynamic viscosity (/)
Drying chamber nomenclature

Area, m
Specific heat of air, J/kgC
Volumetric heat loss coefficient, W/m3 C
Length, m
Mass flow rate, kg/s
Number of bed elements
Ambient air temperature, C
71

, Inlet air temperature to bed elemen, C
, Mean temperature of bed element, C
Outlet air temperature of bed element, C
, +1
Time increment, s
72

Development of An Efficient Solar Drying System

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Оригинальное название

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Development of An Efficient Solar Drying System

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Thesis final report

Development of an efficient solar drying system

Development of an efficient solar drying system

Development of an efficient solar drying system

Thesis Final Report

Development of an efficient solar drying system

Development of an efficient solar drying system

Development of an efficient solar drying system

3. Outline of the Project

Build and test the performance of the developed solar dryer

A background research and literature review was done on existing literature

Development of an efficient solar drying system

Development of an efficient solar drying system

Development of an efficient solar drying system

5. Solar drying system components

Figure 1. Solar drying system components

5.1 Solar air collector

Development of an efficient solar drying system

5.2 Thermal storage tank

Development of an efficient solar drying system

5.4 Auxiliary Heater

5.5 Drying chamber

Development of an efficient solar drying system

5.7 Ducts and mixing chamber

6. Mathematical model formulation

Development of an efficient solar drying system

In this section, the mathematical formulation that defines the thermodynamic

6.1 Mathematical modelling of the solar collector

The collector is at steady state

The sky is considered as a blackbody for long-wavelength radiation at an equivalent sky

Dust and dirt and shading has no effect on the collector

Thermal inertia of the collector components is negligible

Operating temperatures of collector components and mean air temperatures in air

The collector is free of leaks

Thermal radiation of the insulation are assumed to be negligible

Development of an efficient solar drying system

transfer coefficients must be determined which depends on temperature. Also, to define

Development of an efficient solar drying system

6.1.2 Energy balance

For the fluids first pass,

Development of an efficient solar drying system

Energy balance in the absorber plate is

For the fluids second pass,

For the bottom plate,

6.1.3 Heat transfer coefficients

Development of an efficient solar drying system

= 1 + 0.089 0.1166 1 + 0.07866

Development of an efficient solar drying system

. Therefore, the Reynolds number may be expressed as [32]

If < 2800 [32],

If 2800 < < 104 [32]

If 104 < < 105 [32]

Development of an efficient solar drying system

Development of an efficient solar drying system

= 0.0015215 + 0.097459 3.3322 105 2 103

= (1.6157 + 0.06523 3.0297 105 2 ) 106

Development of an efficient solar drying system

6.1.4 Matrix method solution for a double-pass counter flow v-groove

Equations (35) to (39) can be arranged into a 5 x 5 matrix in the form

Development of an efficient solar drying system

The mean temperature can be determined by using array division

6.2 Mathematical modelling of the thermal storage tank