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Computational fluid dynamics simulation and energy analysis of domestic direct-type multi-shelf solar dryer

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Abstract

Solar food drying is a well-established food-conserving process in India. Various researchers had developed solar dryer models which were usually validated using experimental observations and numerical simulation processes that are time-consuming and money-consuming. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation software facilitates the simulation of the models and gives same results in a comparatively small frame of time. This research paper is focused on CFD simulation, validation of design, energy analysis and numerical computation for domestic direct-type solar dryer for which experimental observations were performed at Ludhiana in November 2006. The design and simulation of the domestic direct-type multi-shelf dryer at no load condition are performed using ANSYS Fluent 14.0 software. The temperature of the air inside the dryer is found to be 326 K, which validates the design and purpose of the domestic direct-type multi-shelf dryer. The embodied energy of the constituents used in the construction of dryer is obtained as 339.015 kWh, and the energy payback time and carbon credit are found to be 7.57 years and INR 2055, respectively. The convective heat transfer coefficient for the dryer varies from 2.4 to 2.8 W m−2 °C−1. Coefficient of determination is estimated to be 0.98 under no load condition which shows the fare agreement between predicted and experimental value.

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Abbreviations

a :

Coefficient of absorption

s :

Direction vector of sun

r :

Position vector

\(\sigma_{\text{s}}\) :

Scattering coefficient

s′:

Scattering direction vector

I :

Radiation intensity

n :

Refractive index

σ :

Stefan–Boltzmann constant

\(\phi\) :

Phase function

T :

Local temperature

\(\Omega ^{{\prime }}\) :

Solid angle

I :

Solar radiation intensity in W m−2

\(\tau\) :

Transitivity

α :

Absorptivity

\(T_{\text{S}}\) :

Maximum stagnation temperature

\(T_{\text{a}}\) :

Ambient temperature

E d :

Daily thermal output for the dryer

\(\eta_{\text{d}}\) :

Daily efficiency of system

M :

Mass of evaporated moisture in kg

Λ :

Latent heat of vaporisation

E in :

Daily input energy

N d :

Number of sunshine days in a year for a crop

I m (t):

Mean incident solar radiation on the solar dryer in W m−2

A :

Aperture area of solar dryer

N hr :

Daily sunshine hours

E an :

Annual thermal output

X :

Total CO2 mitigation from the system

D c :

Price of carbon credit

\(\eta_{\text{ith,dryer}}\) :

Instantaneous thermal loss efficiency factor

h cvt :

Convective heat transfer coefficient

\(\eta_{\text{ith,holes}}\) :

Loss of instantaneous thermal loss efficiency from the holes

\(C_{\text{df}}\) :

Coefficient of diffusion

\(Q_{\text{hlf}}\) :

Heat loss factor

T ab :

Absorber plate temperature

T sc :

Dryer cabinet temperature

∆P :

Partial pressure of air

Ρ :

Density of air

P (T):

Saturated vapour pressure of air at temperature T

A h :

Area of holes

A t :

Area of heat wall

n :

Number of holes in the dryer

I g :

Global solar radiation intensity

X :

Peak temperature inside dryer

S:

Stagnation

a:

Ambient

d:

Daily

in:

Input

m:

Mean

hr:

Hours

an:

Annual

cvt:

Convective

th:

Thermal

df:

Diffusion

ab:

Absorber

h:

Holes

g:

Global

p:

Predicted value

e:

Experimental value

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Acknowledgements

Authors are highly thankful to Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal (India), for providing basic support to execute this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Energy Centre, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, Bhopal, 462 003, India

    A. Jain, M. Sharma & A. Kumar

  2. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Amethi, 229304, India

    A. Sharma

  3. PSU Energy System Research Institute, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand

    A. Palamanit

Authors
  1. A. Jain
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  2. M. Sharma
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  3. A. Kumar
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  4. A. Sharma
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Correspondence to A. Kumar.

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Jain, A., Sharma, M., Kumar, A. et al. Computational fluid dynamics simulation and energy analysis of domestic direct-type multi-shelf solar dryer. J Therm Anal Calorim 136, 173–184 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-018-7973-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-018-7973-5

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