A reliable performance evaluation procedure for natural convection mixed mode solar dryer
by Yusto Yustas; Cuthbert Z.M. Kimambo
International Journal of Postharvest Technology and Innovation (IJPTI), Vol. 5, No. 4, 2017

Abstract: Evaluation of solar dryer performance is an essential step in the selection process of the most efficient and effective solar dryer design for a particular application of solar drying. The evaluation of solar dryer performance can be carried out in various ways and there are no standardised performance evaluation procedures available for the solar dryers. This paper describes the application of an evaluation procedure of solar dryer performance, which is based on the procedure that was initially developed by Leon et al. (2002) and arguably one of the most reliable among existing ones. The procedure was validated by the use of a scaled down solar tunnel dryer model. The solar tunnel dryer was tested alongside with open sun dryer as a control measure on drying wet cassava grates. Tested parameters of dryer were based on the dryer's physical feature, thermal performance and cost analysis. The test results confirm the reliability of the procedure used to evaluate performance of the scaled down model of the dryer. Therefore, the procedure of performance evaluation demonstrated is recommended for application in similar situations.

Online publication date: Thu, 21-Jun-2018

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