Applying CFD for studying the dynamic and thermal behavior of an indirect solar dryer: paramertric analysis

In this work, an indirect solar dryer integrated thermal storage for drying figs. (Ficuscarica) is studied numerically. Unsteady turbulent airflow and heat transfer through a two-dimensional model is carried out for a typical day of August under the climatic conditions of Tlemcen (Algeria). Effects of air inlet size and thickness of the packed bed on the dynamic and thermal behaviors of the dryer with and without packed bed have been discussed. The study shows that: (1) Increase the inlet size from 0.04 m to 0.10 m can accelerate the extraction of air by about 13% and reduce the maximum crops temperature by about 14%. (2) The packed bed can reduce the mass flow rate extracted by 22% and the fluctuations of air temperature by 1.3%. (3) A packed bed with a thickness of 0.15 m can extend the operating time of the dryer up to 23%.

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Opracowanie rekordu w ramach umowy 509/P-DUN/2018 ze środków MNiSW przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę (2018).