Improving the Airflow Distribution Within an Indirect Solar Dryer by Modifications Based on Computational Fluid Dynamics

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Successful drying requires a uniform heating of the product along the trays. This condition is a real challenge in the design of solar dryers. Studies show that a conventional solar dryer provides a nonuniform temperature distribution at the trays level. This paper seeks to remedy this problem by adding a second air inlet to the cabinet dryer in order to get a more homogeneous temperature. 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). Figs fruit was selected to be dried. The effect of the proposed configuration on the dynamic and thermal behaviors of the solar dryer has been discussed. The results revealed that using two opposite inlets can improve the drying process by reducing the fluctuation of the temperature to about 67% and increasing the mass flow rate by about 18%.

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