Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and

Environmental Effects

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ueso20

Comprehensive analysis of a Solar Dryer with a

Natural Draught

Alok Dhaundiyal, Gedion H. Gebremichael & Divine Atsu

To cite this article: Alok Dhaundiyal, Gedion H. Gebremichael & Divine Atsu (2021):
Comprehensive analysis of a Solar Dryer with a Natural Draught, Energy Sources, Part A:
Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, DOI: 10.1080/15567036.2021.1951899

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ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2021.1951899

Comprehensive analysis of a Solar Dryer with a Natural Draught

Alok Dhaundiyal , Gedion H. Gebremichael , and Divine Atsu
Department of Energy, Institute of Process Engineering, Szent Istvan University, Godollo, Hungary

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

A solar dryer has been examined critically by using a constant drying model. Received 15 May 2021
The effect of the dynamic losses, intrinsic properties such as thermodynamic, Revised 25 June 2021
hydrodynamic and psychometric factors, and natural draft during the prac­ Accepted 30 June 2021
tical application of the solar drying unit has been investigated. Carson and KEYWORDS
Moses, and the dynamic and static pressure correlations with the flow field Thermal; heat transfer;
have been used to determine the flow pattern inside the collector, the drying hydrodynamics;
chamber, and the chimney. The energy allocation throughout the drying psychrometry; solar; drying;
process has been evaluated by a Sankey diagram. The psychrometric calcula­ collector
tion has been made by applying the steady-state-steady flow conditions
(SSSF) on the carrier fluid (air). The average drying rate for the given design
is 0.31 kg·h−1. The overall drying system efficiency is found to be 19%. The
net static-regain (S.R) in the ducting system due to the sudden expansion is
2.22 N·m−2. The plume height for an efficient dilution of outgoing hot air is
1.17 m in addition to the given design. The flat plate collector efficiency for
the sandwich arrangement of the carrier fluid between the glass and the
copper plate is 26%. The surface temperature of the specimen should not be
more than 321 K during a constant rate period. The pressure loss due to
sudden contraction was found to be 73.48% lower than that of sudden
expansion. Drying consumed 0.3% of total radiant for the drying purpose,
whereas 57% of net absorbed energy was absorbed by carrier fluid. The
study encompassed the variability in the input that influence the perfor­
mance of the solar collector since quantitative workout might not be effec­
tive unless the rheology is considered.

Introduction
Solar crop dryer is one of the oldest drying methods using the sun’s radiation as an input energy source. It
also serves as a promising method of reducing post-harvest losses (Sreekumar, Manikantan, and
Vijayakumar 2008). Drying by convention is the process of removing excess moisture from a product by
the application of heat and mass transfer over the product. The basic principle of any solar dryer design is to
reduce the water content of the products to the required level to prevent spoilage and to decrease the weight
and volume of agricultural products for cheaper transportation, storage and retain quality. The economical
aspect of solar dryer based on payback period and CO2 reduction was reviewed and it was suggested that
the solar dryer could save around 780 USD/month and curtail carbon dioxide emission by 6400 kg/month
if the hydrodynamic characteristic of solar dryer is altered (El Hage et al. 2018). Another study suggested
that the gamut of drying process could be further extended if different aspect of solar drying is simulta­
neously examined. The drying process can be classified as direct and indirect solar drying. The indirect
solar energy thermal sources are the ones that involves the coupling of special collectors with solar dryers
(Belessiotis and Delyannis 2011). The economics of solar drying system is also one of the most important
factors that makes it more competitive than another conventional drying scheme. However, economic
effectiveness of solar dryer mainly depends on the quantity of material dried and psychrometric condition

CONTACT Alok Dhaundiyal [email protected] Institute of Process Engineering, Szent Istvan University, Godollo,
Hungary
© 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
2 A. DHAUNDIYAL ET AL.

of the air; therefore, it becomes inevitable to examine the impact of air quality on the drying system (Tayeb
1986).
A mixed-mode solar dryer to evaluate the effect of mass flow rate and interval time of discharge on the
rate of drying was designed (Kunze 1987). It was observed that the maximum overall efficiency of the
drying system was 21.24% at an average drying air temperature of 55°C. In another study, a quadruple-
pass solar air collector was coupled with greenhouse dryer (GD). It was estimated that air flow rate of
0.008–0.010 kg·s−1 would increase the thermal efficiency of the system to 71.63–80.66% (Tuncer et al.
2020). In another important study, a turmeric blanching was carried out in a solar cabinet dryer (SCD).
The study involved experimental and mathermatical modeling of the blanching process. A scheffler
system was used to generate steam. The drying efficiency of SCD was estimated to be 1.62%. Without
asssitance of steam generator system, a remarkable change in the SCD was noticed. The efficiency of SCD
system was noticed to be increased by 49.76%. A drastic drop in moisture content of turmeric was
noticed while carrying using drying in the SCD. The time taken to dry the sample was curtailed by
17.39% as compared to open sun drying (OSD) for the same moisture level (Nukulwar and Tungikar
2021). However, the study did not involve the psychometric analysis of the medium used for drying.
A direct-type natural solar dryer joined with a biomass burner was proposed (Bena and Fuller 2002).
The drying cabinet was fabricated using radiate pine and was covered with polyethene film. They
concluded that the overall thermal efficiency of the dryer was calculated to be 8.6%. It was investigated
the heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of a novel solar collector built with micro-heat pipe
arrays consisting of a separate heat collection section, and transfer and air ventilation and heat exchange
section. Experimental results under quasi-steady conditions were compared to the simulation results.
Results showed an average efficiency of 69% for a flow rate of 290 m3/h and a frictional coefficient varying
from 0.05 to 0.18 within the range of the airflow rate used for the test (Banout et al. 2011). A comparative
study of the influence of inserted devices on the heat transfer of flat plate collectors was undertaken (Zhu
et al. 2017). The isothermal pressure drop test was applied to determine the friction factor. They found
that the moderately rough wire coil insertion recorded the best results (Zhu et al. 2017).
Operational performance assessment and the evaluation of components and materials of solar
drying units enhance the optimization of the system efficiency. To design efficient solar drying systems
or to improve their performance efficiencies, the Second law analysis or Exergy analysis is usually
conducted to determine the available energy to be exploited for the drying process as well assessing the
losses that are incurred during the drying process (García et al. 2018). Energy analysis of solar dryers
reveals the needed energy as well as the quality of energy through which thermodynamic processes and
directions and their causes are analyzed (Kumar, Babu, and Mohanraj 2016). In a study to examine the
energy and exergy performance of a solar drying unit, a tunnel dryer was designed and fabricated
(Mustayen, Mekhilef, and Saidur 2014). Results of their research presented an average overall
efficiency of the air collector ranging from 22.95% to −23.30%. A comparative assessment of different
airflow configurations of solar drying systems was conducted (Rabha, Muthukumar, and Somayaji
2017). In their research, an active indirect solar dryer was proposed to dry banana whiles varying the
airflow rate from 0 to 3 m/s. They observed that the bottom flow produced a chamber temperature of
2.5% higher than the top flow. Also, 27.5% efficiency was determined for the top flow configuration
compared to 38.21% efficiency provided by the bottom flow configuration (Panchal and Shah 2013d).
Flat plate solar collectors’ use in solar dryers has low thermal efficiency, which is one significant
shortfall in its efficient application in solar drying units. This is caused by the reduced heat transfer
coefficient that usually exists between the collector absorber plate and the heat removal fluid (air), and
the low thermal conductivity of the transfer fluid (air). In the attempt to remedy the aforementioned
sources of inefficiencies and improve the heat transfer coefficient created between the absorber plate
and the air, investigations have been conducted to increase the number of fluid passages for the
collector (Chauhan and Rathod 2018) and provide roughness on the collector plate surface (Kumar,
Babu, and Mohanraj 2017).
To further promote the dissemination and utilization of solar thermal collectors, understanding the
basic principles underlying their operation is critical. The influence of various factors on the thermal
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 3

performance of corrugated metal packing of solar air collectors in the temperate climates of China was
studied (Matheswaran, Arjunan, and Somasundaram 2018). They investigated the effects of para­
meters like the inlet temperature, packing width, and fluid velocity on the thermal output of the
collector. According to their results, the gap between the inlet and outlet temperatures increased with
increasing corrugated packing width. The reason, according to (Matheswaran, Arjunan, and
Somasundaram 2018) was the enhancement of the convective heat transfer between the corrugated
packing and the heat transfer fluid. The increasing packing width, however, negatively influenced the
air velocity and weakened the heat transfer. The findings showed efficiencies ranging between 47%
and 66%.
Investigation of the thermal and dynamic performance of perforated corrugated plate solar
collector in the Tianjin region of China was performed by Zheng et al. (2017a). The thermal efficiency
ranged between 60% and 67%. By comparing the perforating corrugated plate collector with the slit
perforated collector and the corrugated packed collector, results showed that the perforating corru­
gated plate collector was more suitable for the cold regions of China used a mathematical model to
assess the thermal output of the slit perforated solar collector (Zheng et al. 2017b, 2017a).
Experimental results were used to verify results from the simulation. The findings showed that the
height of the collector absorber plate had the most significant impact on the thermal performance of
the collector. The efficiency was 67.83% at an air velocity of 1.14 m/s (Zheng et al. 2017b).
Transpired solar air collectors are becoming a possible option over the flat plate solar collectors in
temperate climates because of their relatively higher convective transfer coefficient and minimal heat
loss (Li et al. 2014; Zhang et al. 2018). The transpired solar air collectors are either glazed or unglazed.
A study by Zheng et al. (2016) on the impacts of wind velocity on the unglazed transpired solar
collector revealed that increasing change in the speed had a corresponding effect on the thermal
efficiency. The effects of solar collector glazing on the convective and radiative heat transfer coeffi­
cients were studied by Fleck, Meier, and Matovic (2002). The results showed that the absorbed
radiation by the glazing had a more significant effect on the heat transfer coefficients of the double-
glazing collector than the single glazing collector.
In some of studies, the packed bed material was used between glass cover and the absorber plate and
heating the air through convection. The net thermal output was slightly increased, but the change in
heat transfer coefficient was insignificant (Akhtar and Mullick 2012). Some other structural changes in
the design of collector model were performed with the help of corrugated surface (Karwa and
Chitoshiya 2013; Ramadan et al. 2007). And drawing recirculation channel in differently configured
solar collectors (Dović 2012). In some cases, the absorber plate was replaced by a wire mesh. Each air
conduit consisted of seven steel mesh layers (4 mm2) coated with black color. It was suggested that the
increase in thermal efficiency of the solar collector was proportional to increase in the air passages (Ho,
Yeh, and Hsieh 2005a), but the effect of wire mesh on thermal solar collector system was excluded. The
impact of medium used for drying was not covered by them (Akhtar and Mullick 2012; Dović 2012;
Ho, Yeh, and Hsieh 2005a; Karwa and Chitoshiya 2013; Ramadan et al. 2007). However, hydrody­
namic effect of air was considered (Dhaundiyal and Atsu 2020). It was noticed that the orientation of
the air influenced the thermal field formed on the surface of the energy system; however, air
characteristic was also overlooked in their work. The flow pattern of air inside the collector was
studied (Hu et al. 2020). It was reported that the active and passive flow would both contribute equally
to improve thermal efficiency growth rate (TEGR). It was suggested active swirling might increase
TEGR by margin of 23.83%, whereas it would be around 16.03% for passive swirling (Hu et al. 2020).
The literature reviewed showed that most researchers dwelled mostly on the quantitative analysis of
collectors. It is a well-known fact that fins improve the solar collector efficiency, and the baffle
influences the synergy angle. However, the basic assumption made in the literature considered air as
dry and omitted the intrinsic factor related to the input (Akhtar and Mullick 2012; Dhaundiyal and
Atsu 2020; Dović 2012; Ho, Yeh, and Hsieh 2005a; Hu et al. 2020; Karwa and Chitoshiya 2013;
Ramadan et al. 2007). Thus, most of the work is based on extrinsic properties and their influence on
the system. The diversity of seasonal lag and air temperature influence shows that the quantitative
4 A. DHAUNDIYAL ET AL.

approach might not necessarily be effective at all locations. For the effective analysis of the system,
intrinsic factors such as psychrometric and hydrodynamic characteristics of the input and their
influence on the performance of the system must be applied. Since drying relies on the air quality
fed into the chamber, it thus becomes indispensable to talk about the behavior of the variability of the
input air. Moreover, fins may not always be effective since the heat transfer coefficient is a function of
intrinsic factors such as the thermodynamic and hydrodynamic factors.
This work aims to determine the effectiveness of a natural draft and its effect on the drying rate and
exergy of the collector. The overall thermal analysis of the solar drying unit has been carried out with
energy balance across the control surface. The share of solar energy utilized at the various stages has
been estimated by using the Sankey diagram. The momentum loss due to the variation in the passage
of the duct was investigated with the help of the dynamic coefficient for rectangular and circular bends.
The analysis of solar drying was based on the drying during constant-rate period. The drying
characteristic during falling-rate period is not investigated.

Material and methods

Experimental unit
The testing of a drying unit was carried out at the forecourt of the solar laboratory of Szent Istvan
Egyetem, Godollo, Hungary. The latitude and the longitude of the location are 47°35ʹ24” N and 19°
21ʹ36” E, respectively. The collector plate arrangement for the analysis purpose allowed the carrier
fluid (air) to flow onto its surface. The insulator used to back the copper plate is polystyrene, whereas a
plexiglass cell casting was used for glazing purpose. The surface of the collector plate was selectively
painted with black enamel paint. Complementary to the collector system, the drying unit was
connected to the solar collection unit via a ducting system. The orthogonal and the isometric sketch
(AutoCAD 2019, Autodesk) of the drying system are provided in Figure 1(a, b). The dimensional
details of the solar drying unit along with the thermal conductivity k (W·m−1·K−1), and optical
properties of the materials used, are provided in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. The psychrometric
and thermal assessments of the unit were conducted for 5 days: from September 25, 2019 to September
29, 2019. The convolution of solar radiation was done with a third-order polynomial equation using
the Savitzky–Golay method (MATLAB R2017b, USA). The thermocouple ‘K’ (Nickel-Chromium)
type was used to measure the temperature distribution across the combined unit. The allocated period
for testing was between 10 A.M and 3 P.M for each day.

Figure 1. Sketch of a dryer with a chimney (all the dimensions are in mm). (a) Orthographic. (b) Isometric.
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 5

The test was carried out in a severe month in which the length of sunshine hours was relatively low.
Investigating for the available period of solar irradiation in this month to ascertain the performance of
the solar dryer and its appropriateness for the drying process makes its performance even more certain
in the months of higher solar irradiation. Testing the unit for a shorter period may not provide the
necessary information required to assess the appropriateness of the designed dryer for use at the
testing site or in similar weather conditions.
The measured solar radiation data were retrieved using the ADAMS4018 interface. This interface
converts the physical measurement into a digital signal with the help of a data acquisition system. The
velocity of the carrier fluid at the inlet of the collector is measured by a digital anemometer that has an
accuracy of � 0:3%. The relative humidity for psychrometric analysis was calculated by using a
hygrometer. The description of equipment used during the measurement process is provided in
Table 3.

Analysis of the drying system

A comprehensive investigation of the solar drying system was carried out based on the component of
the drying unit. The collector, drying chamber, and chimney were separately analyzed. The steady flow

Table 1. Detail for construction materials used for the solar drying unit.
Material Dimensions Thickness
Plexi Glass (Cell Casted) 1160 × 460 mm2 4 mm
Plywood box 1200 × 500 × 150 20 mm (side), 2 mm (bottom), 2 mm (reveals
mm3 approx.)
Copper plate 1160 × 460 mm2 1.2 mm
Polystyrene 1160 × 460 mm2 80 mm
Air space 1160 × 460 mm2 60 mm
PVC duct opening (rectangular) 200 × 45 mm2 3.17 mm
Polystyrene chamber 500 × 500 × 1000 50 mm (side), 5 mm (top and bottom)
mm3
Plywood frame with a rectangular aperture (wire mesh 400 × 450 mm2 0.56 mm diameter of the wire
tray)
Ordinary glass (closing door) 500 mm × 400 mm 5 mm
PVC chimney 7850 mm2 3.17 mm (material thickness)

Table 2. Thermal conductivity/Optical properties of the material used for the construction of a collector.
Optical propertiesa
Material αǁ α┴ τǁ τ┴ ρǁ ρ┴ k ()(W·m−1 · K−1)
Plexi glass 0.0798 0.0795 0.94 0.90 0.052 0.107 0.19 (https://www.emcoplastics.com/assets/pdf/plexiglas/Plexiglas%
20General%20Information%20and%20Properties.pdf)
Copperplate 0.62 - - 385 (Holman 2002)
Plywood - - - 0.13 (Pelsmakers 2019)
Polystyrene - - - 0.038 (The Building Regulations and Approved Documents. 2017)
aǁ and ┴ refer parallel and perpendicular to the plane.

Table 3. Accuracy of the equipment used for measurement.

Instruments Equipment Error/Resolution Specification
Anemometer EC-MR 330 Eurochron GmbH 0.1 m·s −1 0–30 m·s−1
Pyranometer CM-11, Kipp & Zonen ±0.6% for <1000 W·m−2 Max: 4000 W·m−2
Digital hygrometer Diyomore ±2% at 70% 10–99%
Data logger for temperature 4CH Temperature data logger – KRIDA Electronics ±0.5 °C −55 °C to 125 °C
Data logger for global radiation ADAM 4018, Advantech.co ±0.1% ±6 µV/°C
Thermocouple thermocouple ‘K’ (Nickel- Chromium) ±1.1°C −270°C to 1260°C
6 A. DHAUNDIYAL ET AL.

energy equation was applied at the inlet and outlet to determine the overall increase in the exergy of
the system. The net change in energy fluxes across the control volume (the open system) was assumed
to zero ( dE
dt ¼ 0Þ. To calculate the rise in temperature of the carrier fluid, the overall heat transfer
coefficients between the plate and the fluid, the plate and the insulation, and the fluid and the ambience
were determined. The heat transfer coefficient for the air flowing onto the surface of the glazing cover
was determined based on Reynold’s number and for a carrier fluid, it was estimated by the Rayleigh
number. The change in the dynamic viscosity of the carrier fluid with increasing temperature was
estimated with the help of Sutherland’s law (Dhaundiyal and Atsu 2020). Since the optical properties
are different at different incident angles, the change in the refraction angle was estimated by using
Snell’s law. The transmissivity, absorptivity, and reflectivity were also computed (Duffie and Beckman
2013). As the carrier fluid is flowing between the copper plate and the glazing glass, the effect of
spacing heating on the carrier fluid was also included. The dynamic pressure drop due to the sudden
contraction, bending, elbow joint, sudden enlargement, the change in direction, and the friction loss
due to relative roughness of the surface was examined based on the flow behavior of the carrier fluid
inside a duct. The specific humidity of moist air was examined by using the psychrometric chart at
DBT of 299.4 K, whereas the specific humidity (ω) and the relative humidity (ϕ) at the inlet of the
drying chamber were determined by using the steady-state steady flow equation (SSSF) (Arora 1981).
To determine the Grashof number for an inclined surface, it was multiplied by the cosine of the angle
of inclination (ϕ) of a surface from the vertical. The geometrical sketch of a solar collector connected
to a dryer is shown in Figure 2. The passage gap between the copper plate and the glazing cover is 60
mm. The effect of the reveals on the sunlight area is also included in the final calculation. The ratio of
the extended area to the area of the collector plate is considered to be unity. The time interval of
measurement is 6 hours, therefore 0s denotes 10 A.M, and 1600 s represents 3 PM in all the time-
related graphs. To determine the diffuse irradiance Id, the coefficient for sky radiation Cs was
determined by interpolating data (Stephenson 1967) Its value varies from 0.094 to 0.0977 from 25th
September to 30 September. The collector was inclined facing true south. To determine the limiting
¼
condition for the collector plate, the stagnant temperature was calculated at a given condition of mf 0.
The solar energy utilization during the processing of the carrier fluid was illustrated through the
energy diagram (IFU Hamburg Gmbh, Germany). Regarding the carrier fluid passage, it is to be noted
that the distance between the collector plate and the glazing cover determines the thermal perfor­
mance of the drying system. If you increase the passage gap, the convective heat transfer would also
increase, which is an essential requirement when the carrier fluid is air. But it also depends on the
humidity ratio of air since the local condensation of water vapor is also triggered by the increase in the
passage gap. The degree of saturation is decreased, and thus the capability of moisture carrying ability
increases. If the partial pressure of vapor decreases, the corresponding dew point at the particular
pressure also decreases. Therefore, the overall enthalpy of the air increases. If the enthalpy increases,
the solar collector efficiency also increases. The previous studies had shown that for a single pass flat
plate solar dryer with natural convection, the air gap about 50 mm to 60 mm produces the best heat
transfers and lesser heat losses (Abdullah, Abou-Ziyan, and Ghoneim 2003; Chen and Tian 2008;
Dhaundiyal and Atsu 2021; Kim, Park, and Kim 2014; Nahar and Gupta 1989),hence the selection of
the 60 mm for its suitability for the unit’s working conditions.
The transmittance, absorptance, and reflectance for the glazing cover can be calculated by the
following expression (Duffie and Beckman 2013):
� �
τ a ð1 rðÞÞ 1 r2 ðÞ
τ¼ (1)
ð1 þ rðÞÞ 1 τ 2a r2 ðÞ

α ¼ ð1 τ a Þ ð1 rðÞÞð1 τ a rðÞÞ (2)

ρ ¼ rðÞð1 þ τ a τ Þ (3)
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 7

Figure 2. The solar collector retrofitted with a dryer. (a) Drawing. (b) Schematic diagram of unit.

Similarly, for the parallel components of transmittance, reflectance, and absorptance, the rðÞ is
replaced with rðÞ �(Duffie� and Beckman 2013)
KL
Here τ a ¼ exp cosθ r
and rðÞ ¼ sin2 ðθ θr Þsin2 ðθ þ θr Þ, rðÞ ¼ tan2 ðθ θr Þtan2 ðθ þ θr Þ
‘K’ represents the extinction constant for a medium (glazing); L is the path length; θr is the angle of
refraction, which can be determined by Snell’s law and ‘r’ denotes unpolarized radiation (Zheng et al.
2016).
The solar angles for each day are determined byEqs (4–6) (Arora 1981).
sin h
tanγ ¼ (4)
sin l cos h cos l tan d

Sinβ ¼ cos l cos h cos d þ sin l sin d (5)

8 A. DHAUNDIYAL ET AL.

�� ��
360ð284 þ N Þ
d� ¼ 23:4 sin (6)
365
The angle of incidence for an inclined plane tilted at an angle of ϕ from the vertical (Arora 1981)
cos θ ¼ cos β cos α cos ϕ þ sin βsinϕ (7)
The refraction angle is determined by Eq. (8)
� �
1 n1 sinðθÞ
θr ¼ sin (8)
n2
n1 and n2 are the refractive index of medium 1 (air) and medium 2 (glass)
The effect of the reveals on the sunlight area is estimated by the following expression (Arora 1981):
Asun ¼ ðL Rsecγ:tanβÞðW R tanðγÞÞ (9)
The relationship between the angle factor and the tile angle from the vertical is given by Eq. (10)
(Arora 1981).
1 þ sinϕ
Fss ¼ (10)
2
The direct and diffuse irradiance components of the incident solar radiation are computed through
Eqs (11) and (12) (Arora 1981).
ID ¼ IG cosθ (11)

Id ¼ Cs Fss IG (12)
The heat equations for a collector plate are derived by balancing the energy (Arora 1981)
¼
Qc ðAsun ID τ þ AId τ Þαs ¼ Uo Ao ðTs T Þ þ UB AðTs To Þ (13)
The subscript ‘s’ represents absorptivity of a collector plate
Suppose the fluid rises by ‘dT’ over a surface area of ‘dA’ of the plate, then (Arora 1981)
C
mf dT ¼ U0 K ðTs T ÞdA U F ðT T0 ÞdA (14)
Here, K is the ratio of the extended area to the collector area.
Eliminate Ts from Eq. (14) with the help of Eq. (13) and integrate the Eq. (14), we get (Arora 1981)
� �
L1
ΔT ¼ ðT1 T0 Þ e L3 (15)
L2
Here,
UB C
L1 ¼ ðQc 1 þ UB KU0 Þ, L2 ¼ U þ UF and L3 ¼ Amf L2
1þðKUBo Þ

For the given collector, the inlet temperature is equal to the ambient temperature, thus T1 ¼ T0 in
Eq. (15), one can get (Arora 1981)
� �
L1
ΔT ¼ e L3
L2
It can be seen that the higher mass flow rate will increase the fluid temperature more rapidly than a
fluid with a lower mass flow rate.
The heat transfer coefficient for a carrier fluid at a tilt angle (ϕ) from the vertical is determined by
the following expression (Duffie and Beckman 2013):
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 9

� h ih iþ �� �0:33 �þ �
sinð162 1:8ϕÞ 1708 Rasinϕ
k 1 þ 1:44 1 Rasinϕ 1 Rasinϕ þ 5830 1
fi ¼ (16)
Le
The ‘+’ exponent denotes only a positive value must be considered for a calculation (Duffie and
Beckman 2013)
Equation (16) is only valid for 15 < ϕ < 90
The effect of flowing wind on the heat transfer coefficient of the outside air flowing onto the glass is
given by (Holman 2002).
k �
f0 ¼ 0:86Re0:5 :Pr0:33 (17)
Le
The net rate of heat gain of the space between the collector plate and the glazing is derived by the
following expression (Arora 1981):
¼
1 �
Qs Qc αs 1 þ ð1 þ fi f0 Þ þ αs Ug Qc A:ΔT0;i (18)

Here, Ug is the overall heat transfer coefficient between the heating space and the ambient (Arora
1981):
� �
1 1 Δxg 1
Ug ¼ þ þ
f0 fi kg

The Qs and Qc make a significant thermal gradient between the plate and the inner surface of the
glazing glass, which results in the surplus loss of energy across the solar collector and the effective
change in the temperature of the carrier fluid (Tf) would predominately fluctuate between the glass
temperature and the surface temperature of the copper plate.
The loss in exergy per kg of the carrier fluid for a flat collector plate is determined by the following
equation (Nag 1982).
� �
T0
ψ 1 ψ 2 ¼ b1 b2 þ Q 1 (19)
Tr
The subscript ‘1ʹ and ‘2ʹ denotes the inlet and the outlet of the collector, whereas Tr is the temperature
at which the carrier fluid is absorbing the heat and T0 is the initial temperature of the carrier fluid. b’
denotes the Keenan function; ψ represents the exergy function; Q is the external heat transfer to the
control volume.
The entropy generation during the heating process of the carrier fluid is given by Eq. (20) (Nag
1982).
I δQ
T
ΔSf ¼ Sgf (20)

Since a low-temperature convective drying is used and the relative humidity is relatively small for the
given design; therefore, the energy efficiency of the drying chamber can be approximated by the
thermal efficiency ηT expression (Eq. 21) (Mujumdar 2014):
ðT1 T2 Þ
ηT ¼ (21)
ðT 1 T0 Þ
Here, T1 and T2 represent the temperature at the inlet and outlet of the drying chamber, respectively,
whereas T0 denotes the ambient temperature.
The solar collector efficiency can be calculated by Eq. (22) (Arora 1981):
10 A. DHAUNDIYAL ET AL.

f ΔHf
ηc ¼ (22)
AðId þ ID Þ
The overall efficiency of the system is derived from Eq. (23) (Mujumdar 2014):
�
_ fg
wh
ηs ¼ (23)
AðId þ ID Þ
Note: The supplementary file is provided for the hydrodynamic and psychometric calculations.

Results and Discussion

A comprehensive analysis of a solar drying system was performed using thermal engineering tools.
The investigation was trifurcated, and the overall performance of the unit was predicted graphically as
well as statistically. The open system of the solar collector was assumed to be free from the change of
the energy fluxes across its control surface. The change in thermal energy was determined through
energy balance among different surfaces of the solar collector. The flat plate was considered as a
reference surface, and the region in the front of the plate included the carrier fluid and the glass cover,
whereas the backside of the plate was juxtaposed to the polystyrene insulator and the plywood. The
calculation of the collector efficiency was based on the resolved components of the global irradiance,
which was collected from 10 A.M to 3 P.M for every day. The data presented in this work is filtered and
on an average basis so that the conspicuous change in the irradiance can be noted for the allocated
period.

Solar Irradiance
The variation in both the global and direct irradiances have similar attributes (Figure 3). The asymme­
trical distribution of irradiance shows that the direct irradiance is slightly positively skewed than the
global irradiance (IG), which denotes the direct irradiance level is relatively decreasing with time after the
noontime, whereas the diffuse irradiance (Id) is approximately constant during the time interval of 4000–
10,000 s. However, the change in the global irradiance is very similar to the direct irradiance (ID), but the
relative change at a successive time interval is marginally low. The average value of the global irradiance
varies from 481 to 535 W·m−2 from 10 A.M to 3 P.M, whereas it is 264–466 and 24–42 W·m−2 for the
direct and diffuse irradiances, respectively. The standard deviation for the direct irradiance within the

Figure 3. The average incident solar radiation (I) on the surface of the solar collector (10 A.M to 3 P.M).
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 11

given time interval is 61.57 W·m−2, whereas it is 37.819 and 4.42 W·m−2 for the global and diffuse
irradiance level. The reason for this drastic change in the solar irradiance level is the change in the
geometrical factor of the surface with time. On the other hand, the diffuse irradiance only depends on the
tilt angle and the angle factor between the surface and sky; therefore, the deviation is marginally very low.
The variation in the rate of heat transfer to the collector plate and the sunlight incidence area with time is
shown in Figure 4. The deviation of the heat transfer rate with time is similar to the rate of change of the
solar intensity in Figure 3. However, the area under the curves is drastically varied with time. The net heat
transport across the glazing plate is influenced if the effective area of the collector changes with time. The
steep change in the sunlight area (Asun) with time can be seen in Figure 4. The effect of the sunlight area on
the collector’s heat absorption ability can be determined by examining the relative change in the gradient
line after the point of intersection. That relative change is proportional to the product of the azimuth (γ)
and altitude (β) angles. Therefore, the slightest change in the effective collector area might affect the
contribution of the direct solar irradiance in determining the overall heat transport to the collector plate.
Another noticeable aspect of Figure 4 is the shifting of the maximum of the sunlight area to the maximum
rate of heat transfer to the collector and the marginal increase in the sunlight area between the time interval
of 14,000 and 16,000 s. The corresponding change in the angle of incidence with the altitude and azimuth is
the reason for the shifting of the maxima, whereas the relative increase in the azimuth angle with respect to
the altitude angle increases the effective sunlight area. The increase in the hour angle has a simultaneous
opposite effect on γ and β. Therefore, the shifting of maximum and a marginal increase in the irradiance
level was seen after noontime. The compensatory effect of both γ and β on heat transport across the glass
cover can be evaded if the reveal is not provided with the wooden frame. During 8000–11,000 s (between 12
and 1 P.M), the rate of change in the heat energy of the collector with time will be equal to the relative
change of the sunlight area with time. This happens since the cosine of the incidence angle (θ) tends to
approach the altitude angle β. Therefore, at the same time, the simultaneous increase in the heat transfer
and decrease in the effective sunlight area was observed, which eventually caused the gradient line to
become tangent on the heat transfer curve. However, with the increase in the hour angle, the gradient line
on the heat transfer curve departs with time. It can be concluded in this section that the overall change in
the irradiance level, the sunlight area and the change in heat transport rate are subjected to the angular
change of the solar angles with time, whose effect can only be minimized if the surface of the collector plate
rotates along its yaw and pitch axes.

Figure 4. The relative variation of the sunlight incident area and the heat received by a collector plate with the time.
12 A. DHAUNDIYAL ET AL.

Analysis of the Solar Collector

The energy transfer through the incoming solar irradiance is transmitted by the glass to the space, the
collector plate, and the insulation layer via the thermal gradient. The enthalpy of the carrier fluid is
simultaneously increased and decreased due to the formation of thermal gradient between the layers at
the vicinity of the glass and the collector plate; therefore, the overall rise in the temperature of the carrier
fluid (Tf) fluctuates until the surfaces of the collector plate and the glass approaches a thermal equilibrium
with each other. The temperature distribution between the surface of the copper plate and the glazing
and its influence on the solar collector efficiency is depicted in Figure 5. During the initial stage, the
temperature of carrier fluid will be relatively higher than the copper plate due to the incessantly flowing
of incoming radiation across the glazing, but with time, it approaches the surface temperature of the
collector and maintains a quasi-static equilibrium with the copper plate for an infinitesimally short time.
It continuously decreases until it approaches another quasi-state with the glazing. Similarly, the surface
temperature of the copper plate and the glass increase at the same time with the increasing energy fluxes
of the control volume. With time, the flat plate collector efficiency decreases continuously as the specific
enthalpy of the carrier fluid decreases. The carrier fluid is concurrently getting heat from the copper
surface and dissipating to the inner surface of the glass cover and ambient (from front), which
consequently raises the glass temperature due to conduction and convection at the vicinity of the glass.
A limiting condition for the collector plate temperature, the stagnant temperature, was also calculated
when the mass flow rate of the carrier fluid became zero (which can happen when the rate of change of
momentum of a carrier fluid becomes zero during the free convection, or the rate of change of momentum
becomes equal to the externally applied force for the forced convection). The maximum possible tempera­
ture a collector plate can have is denoted by the stagnant temperature. For the given arrangement, that is the
flow of the carrier fluid in-between the collector plate and the glazing, the carrier fluid temperature is even
slightly higher than the stagnant temperature, which happened due to the absence of a counter heat flow to
the copper from the carrier fluid. It implies that the Biot number for the carrier fluid is relatively high, and
the temperature gradient will remain inhomogeneous throughout the process. The time interval required to
attain the quasi-state with the stagnant temperature (Tst) was approximately 1 h, whereas it was nearly 2 h
with the copper plate. The dissipation of heat can be minimized if the spacing (Δxg) between the collector
plate and glass is altered with respect to the characteristic length (Δxg ~ Le). In this way, the convective
resistance can be changed to restrict the rapid heat transfer across the carrier fluid. The temperature
distribution at the inlet temperature (T1) of the dryer is found to be similar to the carrier fluid temperature at
the outlet of the collector, however, there is a marginal deviation of 30–40 K between them. The thermal
deviation between them is mainly caused by the conduction losses, however, the dynamic losses are also

Figure 5. Variation of the solar collector efficiency (ηc%) with the temperature distribution inside the collector system.
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 13

increased but the effect is least for a small length duct and at a low flow rate. The relative deviation of the
temperature of the carrier fluid with the surface temperature of the collector plate has been found to increase
with time, whereas the relative change in the inlet temperature of the dryer (T1) and the collector (T0) with
time is marginally low. The average stagnant temperature for the collector plate is 368.10 K, whereas the
fluid temperature is 353 K. On the other hand, the actual surface temperature for the copper plate varies
from 327 to 381 K, and it is 348–356 K for the carrier fluid. The surface temperature of the glass is in the
temperature range of 324–353.47 K. Compared to the copper plate, the range of variation of the temperature
for the carrier fluid is relatively low, therefore the overall change in the enthalpy (ΔHf) per kg of the carrier
fluid for the given design is low. The solar collector efficiency for the flat plate collector varies from 3 to 46%.
The heat transfer coefficient for the carrier fluid was found to be 5.75 W·m2·K−1. To incorporate the fin for
the given collector is highly inappropriate if the thermal conductivity is assumed to be constant h < 0:25kP A
(Holman 2002). However, thermal conductivity for the gases is the function of specific heat (C) and the
dynamic viscosity (μ). Therefore, the upper limit for the installation of the fin might change. The effect of the
surface temperature of the copper plate and the carrier fluid on the second law efficiency of the collector
plate (ηII) along with the collector efficiency (ηc) is shown in Figure 6. The pattern of variation in the second
law efficiency is similar to the collector efficiency, but the change in the surface gradient of the surface plot of
the collector plate drastically changes with an increasing deviation of the carrier fluid with the copper plate.
Initially, the second law efficiency remains constant, but as time proceeds, a relative change in gradient with
time. The second law efficiency for the given arrangement of the flat plate collector varies from 7.5e-06 to
35%, whereas the average value is 11.56%, which is relatively 54% lower than the efficiency of the solar
collector (ηc). It implies the exergetic loss during the flow of the carrier fluid across the collector plate is very
high. The rate of entropy generation due to irreversibility of the process is 0.18 W·K−1, which is 0.24% of the
enthalpy of the carrier fluid for 1 K change in the carrier fluid temperature.
The net change in the entropy of the carrier fluid varied from 0.04 to 0.079 kJ·kg−1·K−1. The net entropy
transfer due to the heat exchange was 0.03145 kJ·kg−1·K−1. The net enthalpy of the carrier fluid (hCO
kJ·kg−1) with moisture varied from 365.55 to 374 kJ·kg−1, whereas the enthalpy (hdi kJ·kg−1) decreased from
360 to 369 kJ·kg−1 at the inlet of the drying chamber. The reason for the enthalpy drop is the heat loss across
the PVC duct that connected the collector with the drying chamber. Apart from the thermal losses, the
dynamic and friction losses caused the enthalpy drop across the duct. However, the overall loss due to the
change of the dynamic pressure is 0.0052 W. The average mass flow rate across the solar collector was
found to be 5.21 g·s−1. The detailed information with the range of variation is provided in Table 4. The net
static regains due to the sudden expansion, was noticed to be highest at the outlet of the collector. The
reason for the static-regain (S.R) was the relative deviation of velocities at the downstream and upstream of
the duct. Besides the velocity change, the side angle of the enlarged duct is also an important factor in the

Figure 6. The change in the efficiency of the solar collector with the collector surface (Ts) and the carrier fluid temperature (Tf).
14 A. DHAUNDIYAL ET AL.

Table 4. The parametric information of the solar collector derived through thermal analysis.
Parameters Average values Range of variation
ηc 26% 3–46%
ηII 11.56% 7e-06–35%
Tst 368.10 K 343.22–403.45 K
Tg 339 K 324–353.47 K
Ts 353 K 327–381 K
Tf 353 K 348–356 K
T0 300 K 295.15–303 K
Ψ1 20 kJ·kg−1 16–24.25 kJ·kg−1
Ψ2 9.12 kJ·kg−1 8.75–9.39 kJ·kg−1
Qc 162.10 W 51–225 W
Sgf 0.18 W·K−1 0.12–0.26 W·K−1
ΔSf 0.066 kJ·kg−1·K−1 0.04–0.079 kJ·kg−1·K−1
ΔHf 14.38 kJ·kg−1 0.017–25.30 kJ·kg−1
mf 5.21 g·s−1 2.2–7.6 g·s−1
fi 5.75 W·m−2·K−1 5.1–6.07 W·m−2·K−1
f0 0.509 W·m−2·K−1 0.508–0.510 W·m−2·K−1
Ep 0.0052 W –
hco 370.1755 kJ·kg−1 365.551–374 kJ·kg−1
hdi 366.20 360–369

determination of the dynamic coefficient for sudden enlargement. For the given calculation, the side angle
of the connecting pipe was assumed to be 26°. The friction loss due to the flow of the carrier fluid was
computed to be the highest for the natural draft pipe. This happens since the higher draft pressure, and the
mass flow rate is essential for creating an effective draft inside the drying chamber. Fresh intake of air relies
on the type of draft system was provided with the drying chamber. The hydrodynamic losses occurred due
to the change in the cross-sectional area, and the change in the direction of flow is tabulated in Table 5.

Drying/psychrometric analysis
The apple (sliced) sample (2 kg) was used for testing purpose. The AOAC (1980) standard was
considered for measuring the moisture content of apple. The moisture content of the apples was 80%
(w.b). The constant-rate period for drying of the specimen was considered for the analysis purpose,
which implies the surface of the sample remains at a constant temperature. Since the enthalpy of the
carrier fluid was used to dry the sample, therefore the convective heat transfer coefficient was only
used for determining the drying rate of the apple sample. The change in the drying rate over 6 h
testing of the drying unit is shown in Figure 7. The rate of moisture removal was determined based
on a single sample of 400 g, therefore the change in the moisture content of the apple with respect to

Table 5. Hydrodynamic losses/static pressure gains in the ducts.

Pressure regions Values (N·m−2)
Net sudden contraction 0.01978
Net sudden enlargement 0.0746
Dynamic losses Rectangular 0.10
Circular 0.60
Static regain Inlet 0.29
Outlet 1.66
Collector 0.13
Inlet of dryer 0.14
Friction loss Inlet 0.0154
Outlet 0.0128
Transit 0.00018
Inside collector 7.6e-07
Inside chimney 0.11
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 15

the time was relatively higher than its drying rate. The surface temperature of the apple was
considered to be 321 K for the calculated thermal range of the collector; however, it might change
with the change in the inlet temperature of the dryer. The change in the drying rate is linear with
time during the initial stage of the drying, and its curvature tends to parabolic with time. Thus, the
gradient of the drying curve decreased with time. During the constant-period drying, the surface of
the material remains moist, and the evaporation rate keeps constant, which is the desired condition
for the testing of the given sample of the apple. The major resistance to heat transfer is offered at the

Table 6. Psychrometric information of a processed carrier fluid.

Parameters Inlet of a collector Dryer inlet
TDPT (K) 286 K 292.6
TDBT (K) 300 K 320.22 K
R.H% 42% 21.28%
ω (kg·kg d.a−1) 0.00916 0.0141
μ% 40.5% 19%

surface. As time proceeds, the surface of the sample getting developed the dry patches and the drying
rate starts to decline with time. This happens due to the internal resistance posed by the sample to
liquid diffusion becomes significant, and the falling-rate period begins. The moisture attained at the
end of the process was 24%, which is a critical moisture content for the given sample. A similar
assertion is also true for the rate of change of moisture with time, but the magnitude of moisture
removal rate depends on the product load, which is 39 W in the case of drying the apple lot. The
temperature distribution and variation of the overall system efficiency being illustrated in Figure 8.
The temperature at the inlet and the outlet of the drying chamber showed a similar trend of variation
with the temperature (Ta) at the outlet of the chimney. The temperature at the inlet increased during

Figure 7. The rate of removal of moisture (W) from the specimen.

the initial stage of drying, but the mixing of the carrier fluid with the cold air caused the enthalpy
drop of the inlet air, therefore a small portion of the available energy was drained away from the
chimney. On the other hand, as time increases, the removal of moisture increased the latent heat of
vaporization of the exhaust fluid, which eventually caused a slight increase in the outlet temperature
16 A. DHAUNDIYAL ET AL.

of the dryer. Due to the simultaneous emission of the exhaust fluid at the higher mass flow rate and

Table 7. Parametric values for a solar dryer with a chimney.

Parameters Values Range of variation
Drying rate (constant-rate period) 0.31 kg·h−1 0.26–0.34 kg·h−1
Product load (@6 h) 39 W 29–41 W
Solar drying system efficiency (ηs) 19% 2.3–29%
Energy efficiency (ηT) 9% 4–22%
Loss in a drying chamber 60.231 kJ·kg−1 56–70.35 kJ·kg−1
Chimney loss 10.42 kJ·kg−1 3.2–14 kJ·kg−1
Effectiveness of a natural draft 23% 21–25%
Plume height (ΔHm) 1.17 m 1.0–1.25 m
ΔP 0.42 N·m−2 0.06–0.77 N·m−2
c 7.30 g·s−1 2.83–10.2 g·s−1

transfer of heat due to the conduction, the average temperature of the chimney (T3) decreased
abruptly with time. The holistic effect of the temperature distribution of the solar collector and the
drying chamber caused further change in the overall efficiency of the system. The overall system
efficiency was found to be decreased with time as the temperature of the incoming carrier fluid
decreases due to the mixing with the stagnant air inside the chimney. However, the efficiency of a
drying unit as compared to the collector is marginally high due to nominal loss across the chimney.
The overall efficiency of the drying system varied from 2.3% to 29%. The relative humidity at the
inlet of the drying chamber was 21.28%, which showed a relative decrease of 49% in the relative
humidity of carrier fluid with respect to the inlet air. The degree of saturation (μ) of the carrier fluid
at the inlet of the drying chamber was estimated to be 19%. The dew point temperature of the

Figure 8. Temperature distribution across the drying chamber and the natural chimney.

processed carrier fluid (air) is increased by 6.6 K at the inlet of the dryer. The specific humidity of the
carrier fluid at the inlet of the dryer is relatively 54% higher than that of the carrier fluid at the inlet
of the collector. The detailed psychrometric information is provided in Table 6.
The energy efficiency (ηT) of the drying chamber varied from 4% to 22%. The net enthalpy loss due
to the mixing inside the chimney was 60 kJ·kg−1. The net loss across the chimney was found in the
range of 3.2 to 14 kJ·kg−1. The actual draft created due to the PVC pipe was in the range of 0.04–
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 17

Figure 9. Sankey diagram for the solar energy utilization at different stages of the drying process.

0.77 N·m−2. The mass flow rate corresponding to the calculated height of the hot carrier fluid column
was 7.30 g·s−1. The effectiveness of the chimney to increase the exergy of the system (cold air) varied
from 21% to 25%. The plume height for proper dilution of hot carrier fluid with the ambient was found
to be 1.17 m. The maximum plume height for the calculated operating range was 1.25 m. The
parametric values for a solar dryer retrofitted with the chimney are provided in Table 7.

Sankey diagram
The solar energy utilization throughout the whole process of drying is represented by a Sankey diagram
(Figure 9). The net fraction of solar energy used for the drying purpose was 7% of the available energy
provided to the collector, whereas it was 10% of the solar energy available to the carrier fluid. The major
loss of solar energy occured during the heat transfer from the carrier fluid to the ambient due to
conduction and convection. The cell casting plexiglass transferred 90% with minimal absorption of 8% of
the total incoming radiant energy. Out of 162 W of the radiant energy absorbed via space, 57% of the
radiant energy was provided to the carrier fluid, whereas the rest 43% transmitted to the ambience via the
side, back and front walls of the collector system. The loss due to the chimney was 17% of the total
received radiant energy of the solar collector (287 W). The energy received by the carrier fluid from the
spacing heating was 37.45% of the total solar energy available to space, while 63% of the energy absorbed
by the copper plate. The polystyrene drying chamber took 0.3% share of total radiant energy for
increasing the system heat. The overall gain of heat (including the gain of heat from the chimney) by
the surrounding at the various stages was 91% of the total radiant energy provided to the solar collector,
while 9% of the solar energy utilized to increase the exergy of the control volume. Due to the geometrical
factor, sky-to-surface angle, and the constructional design of the solar collector, the 40 W of the radiant
energy lost at the initial stage of energy transfer at the interface of the collector surface and ambience.
Based on the convection mode of drying, the dryer was compared with a similar type of model and it was
found that the overall system efficiency of them varied from 5.7% to 11.2% (Banout et al. 2011; Bena and
Fuller 2002), which was 8% to 13% less than the given design, whereas their collector efficiency was in the
range of 34–45%. However, the maximum collector efficiency for the proposed design was 2% higher
than them, but the average collector performance was relatively 24–44.44% lesser than the studied model.

Conclusion
A comprehensive analysis of the solar drying system was conducted with the help of thermo­
dynamics and heat transfer measurement. The effect of the dynamic losses, intrinsic properties
such as thermodynamic, hydrodynamic and psychometric factors, and natural draft during the
practical application of the solar drying unit was investigated having considered rheological
characteristic of the carrier fluid.
18 A. DHAUNDIYAL ET AL.

(1) The surrounding wind effect on the heat transfer coefficient of the ambient determined by the
correlation between the Reynold and the Prandtl numbers. The solar collector efficiency
estimated for the given design varies from 3% to 46%, whereas the exegetic efficiency falls in
the domain of 7e-05 to 35%. The reason for the drastic drop in the exergy of the system is the
inhomogeneous temperature distribution.
(2) The stagnant temperature for the copper plate of the solar collector was in the range of
343.33–403.45 K. The actual temperature of the surface of a collector plate varied from 327
to 381 K. The heat received by the collecting plate changed from 51 to 225 W. The net
enthalpy change of the carrier fluid was calculated to be 14.38 kJ·kg−1. The exergy loss while
flowing from the collector to the drying unit was around to be 11 kJ·kg−1. The net static
regains due to the sudden enlargement inside the fluid carrying duct was 2.22 N·m−2, while
the overall dynamic pressure loss due to the elbow joints was 0.7 N·m−2. The total friction
loss due to the different surface of the pipe was 0.14 N·m−2. The pressure loss inside the duct
due to the sudden contraction and enlargement estimated to be 0.01978 and 0.0746 N·m−2,
respectively.
(3) Through the psychrometric arrangement of the unit, it was determined that the dew point
temperature of the carrier fluid increased by 6.6 K, whereas the relative change in the specific
humidity was 54% of the specific humidity of the carrier fluid at the inlet. The degree of
saturation also decreased to 19%.
(4) For the drying purpose, the apple lot was used. The constant rate period was assumed for the
given drying unit. The drying rate was found to vary from 0.26 to 0.34 kg·h−1. On the other hand,
the product load for a drying period of 6 hours was in the range of 29–41 W. The overall system
efficiency of the plant was computed to be 19%. The loss during the drying process is in the
domain of 56–70.35 kJ·kg−1. The effectiveness of the chimney to increase the enthalpy of stagnant
air inside the drying unit was 23% for the mixing ratio of (y = 0.92). The draft created due to the
natural draft system varied from 0.06 to 0.77 N·m−2 with the temperature of the drying chamber.

The net energy effectiveness can be altered for the given system if the carrier fluid is allowed to flow in-
between polystyrene and copper plate so that the deviation in the thermal gradient can be reduced to
the utmost degree, or by changing the space thickness between the copper plate and the glazing glass.
The draft system can also be improved if the chimney is well insulated and slightly tapered from the
top or using baffle inside the chimney so that the alteration in the dynamic pressure can be obtained. It
is recommended that the height of the chimney should be near the height of the hot carrier fluid
column so that it would make the drying process more efficient.

CRediT author statement

Alok Dhaundiyal: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Methodology, Writing – Original draft preparation (Partial),
Supervision, Software, Writing – Reviewing and Editing; Gedion H. Gebremichael: Data curation, Writing – Original
draft preparation (Partial), Software. Divine Atsu: Writing – Original draft preparation (Partial).

Notes on contributors
Alok Dhaundiyal has completed his M.Tech with a major in Thermal Engineering from Govind Ballabh Pant University
of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India, in 2014. The author’s area of expertise is in thermal
engineering applications, applied mathematics, and biomass waste management. He has been awarded the Graduate
Aptitude Test Engineering (GATE) fellowship by the Govt. of India. In 2017, the Faculty of Engineering Excellence
Award bestowed upon him by the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, United Kingdom. He is a member of the
American Chemical Society, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the International Solar Energy Society.
Gedion H. Gabremichael received his B.E. degree (Mechanical Engineering) from Asmara University in 2002 and his M.
Tech degree from Chongqing University, China in 2012. He is currently working on experimental and numerical
analysis of solar dryers for drying agricultural products.
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 19

Atsu Divine obtained his B.Sc. degree from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, in 2002 and received the MSc degree in
Solar Energy Engineering from the University of Dalarna, Borlange, Sweden. He is currently a PhD researcher in
Mechanical Engineering (Solar Energy) at the Szent Istvan University, Godollo, Hungary. He has been a lecturer at
Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua, Ghana, from 2010 to date. His research interests include technical devel­
opment and sustainability of second-generation energy sources, data analytics for determining PV system performance,
power system planning for PV system penetration.

Notation Description Unit

°
γ Azimuth angle
°
β Altitude angle
°
ϕ Tilt angle from the vertical
°
h Hour angle
°
l Latitude
°
d Declination angle
°
θ Incidence angle
−
N The day of the year
ID Direct irradiance W·m−2
IG Global irradiance W·m−2
Id Diffuse irradiance W·m−2
f Heat transfer coefficient W·m−2·K−1
k Thermal conductivity W·m−1·K−1
Qc Rate of heat energy absorbed by a collector plate W
T0 The inlet temperature of a solar collector K
T1 The inlet temperature of a dryer K
T2 The outlet temperature of a dryer K
T3 The average temperature of the chimney K
Ts The temperature of the surface of the collector plate K
U0 Overall heat transfer coefficient from the plate to a carrier fluid W·m−2·K−1
UF Overall heat transfer coefficient from the carrier fluid to the ambience W·m−2·K−1
UB Overall heat transfer coefficient from the plate to the ambience W·m−2·K−1
ω Specific humidity kg·kgd.a−1
R.H Relative humidity %
ΔH Enthalpy change kJ·kg−1
ψ Exergy function kJ·kg−1
Z Datum height m
V Velocity m·s−1
ηc Collector efficiency -
ηs Overall system thermal efficiency -
TDPT Dew point temperature K
TDBT Dry bulb temperature K
ηII Second law efficiency of a collector -
ηT Energy efficiency for a drying chamber -
ΔSf The net entropy changes of a carrier fluid kJ·kg−1·K−1
Sgf The entropy generation rate during the flow of a carrier fluid kJ·kg−1·K−1
α,τ, ρ Absorptivity, transmissivity, and reflectivity of material, respectively -
mc Mass flow rate for a carrier fluid in a collector kg·s−1
mf Mass flow rate for a fluid in a chimney kg·s−1
Ep Energy associated with the hydrodynamic losses W
Fss Angle factor between the surface and the sky
Cs The coefficient for sky radiation
R Projection length (reveal height) m
L and W The length and width of the collector respectively m
o and i Subscripts in heat transfer coefficient representing inside fluid and outside air respectively -
Ra Rayleigh’s number -
Re Reynold’s number -
C Specific heat of the carrier fluid kJ·kg−1·K−1
ΔT 0;i The temperature difference between the fluid and the ambience K
Pr Prandtl number -
Le Characteristic length m
A Area of collector m2
Asun Incident sunlight area m2
A0 Extended area m2
n Refractive Index -
K Extinction constant -
20 A. DHAUNDIYAL ET AL.

ORCID
Alok Dhaundiyal http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3390-0860
Gedion H. Gebremichael http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3883-3599
Divine Atsu http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0646-1962

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