Thermal-Fluidic Study of Drying Chamber of Photovoltaic-Powered Forced Convection Solar Dryer Using Finite Element Method

Forced convection solar dryer has been widely used for effective drying of agricultural products because it permits better ventilation which makes it less dependent on weather conditions and removes moisture faster, hence preventing stagnation. Though the solar dryer has proved its usefulness, its major obstacle in its applications is the optimization of its performance. For the future sustenance of the solar dryers, the design, development, and optimization must depend on thorough theoretical tools. Hence, the current study presents the finite element analysis simulation of forced convective heat transfer in a photo voltaic-powered solar dryer. For performance optimization in the solar dryer analysis, the effects of the following factors such as blower speeds, the chamber ratio of the solar dryer, on the pressure and temperature distributions as well as the velocity in the drying chamber were investigated. From the results, the performance of the drying chamber increases as its aspect ratio decreases and as the blower speed increases. The results of this work could therefore be used in the design of an optimized Photovoltaic-ventilated forced convection solar dryer.

Keywords:

Finite Element Simulation , Drying chamber , Thermal-fluidic , Forced Convection , Solar dryer