Prediction of Air Flow and Temperature Profiles

inside Convective Solar Dryer

Marian VINTIL1), Adrian-Gabriel GHIAU2), Viorel FTU2)
Research and Development Institute for Processing and Marketing of the Horticultural Products,
Intrarea Binelui nr.1A, Bucharest Sector 4, Romania;2) Department of Thermal Engineering, Technical
University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest, Bd. Pache Protopopescu nr.66,
Bucharest Sector 2, Romania;
* Corresponding author e-mail: marian.vintila57@yahoo.com

1)

Bulletin UASVM Food Science and Technology 71(2) / 2014

ISSN-L 2344-2344; Print ISSN 2344-2344; Electronic ISSN 2344-5300
DOI: 10.15835/buasvmcn-fst:10868

Abstract

Solar tray drying is an effective alternative for post-harvest processing of fruits and vegetables. Product quality
and uniformity of the desired final moisture content are affected by the uneven air flow and temperature distribution
inside the drying chamber. The purpose of this study is to numerically evaluate the operation parameters of a new
indirect solar dryer having an appropriate design based on thermal uniformity inside the drying chamber, low
construction costs and easy accessibility to resources needed for manufacture. The research was focused on both
the investigation of different operation conditions and analysis of the influence of the damper position, which is
incorporated into the chimney, on the internal cabinet temperature and air flow distribution. Numerical simulation
was carried out with Comsol Multiphysics CFD commercial code using a reduced 2D domain model by neglecting
any end effects from the side walls. The analysis of the coupled thermal-fluid model provided the velocity field,
pressure distribution and temperature distribution in the solar collector and in the drying chamber when the
damper was totally closed, half open and fully open and for different operation conditions. The predicted results
were compared with measurements taken in-situ. With progressing computing power, it is conceivable that CFD
will continue to provide explanations for more fluid flow, heat and mass transfer phenomena, leading to better
equipment design and process control for the food industry.
Keywords: solar drying, product quality, natural convection, temperature distribution

INTRODUCTION
In most developing countries there has been
continuing need for postharvest processing to
increase the economic value of harvested fruits
and vegetables. Spoilage due to inadequate postharvest management plays a key role particularly
in provincial communities. Additionally, due
to the high humidity levels associated with
specific environmental conditions, the fruit
and vegetables are quickly lost to fungal and
microbial degradation. Sophisticated cooling and
mechanized-drying methods have high rates of
performance and improved product quality, but
they are unfeasible due to the energy requirements
which are either unreliable or unavailable in
small, rural communities. Traditional open-air
drying preservation methods severely diminishes

product quality because of contamination by

animals, insects, dust, combustion residues, and
microorganisms due to their environmental
exposure, they are also inefficient as part of solar
radiation is reflected while airflow often results
in convective heat losses or reintroduction of
moisture, they are also labor and time intensive as
the products must be turned frequently to achieve
uniform drying and must be covered during the
nights and during inclement weather.
On the other hand, solar drying presents
considerable potential in prolonging product shelf
life while significantly reducing both the product
volume and weight. This helps minimize packaging,
storage, and transportation costs (Chaudhri
et al., 2009). The operation of solar dryers is
dependent entirely on solar energy, require no

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Prediction of Air Flow and Temperature Profiles inside Convective Solar Dryer

electrical or mechanical components because

the natural convection driving force is based
only on temperature difference or changes in air
density which establishes pressure gradients that
naturally promote vertical airflow within a drying
cabinet. Thus, product quality can be improved
while reducing wasted produce and minimizing
the use of traditional fuels. The controlled
environment of solar dryers also ensures that food
remains unaffected by water intrusion, convective
heat losses, and contamination by foreign particles
thereby reducing the likelihood of fungal and
microbial growth.
Despite the continuing development of solar
drying technology, significant amounts of fruits
and vegetables continue to spoil because of
the inappropriate solar dryer designs, elevated
construction costs, or the inaccessibility of
resources needed for construction (Akoy et al.,
2006). For these reasons, the development of
an appropriate, natural-convection, solar dryer
for use in rural communities was undertaken
in the current study to produce dried fruits and
vegetables.
The proposed dryer was simple designed
with affordable fabrication practices even if there
are a lot of solar dryers in the literature. Since
direct exposure to solar radiation would diminish
product quality by discoloration, surface cracking,
inadequate internal drying, and undesirable
temperature rises in the top layer (Sreekumar et
al., 2008), indirect solar dryers was chosen also
because they exhibit improved efficiency (Chen et
al., 2009) and are capable of drying larger quantities
than direct-mode dryers (Buchinger and Weiss,
2002). Even if the use of fans or blowers generally
improves reliability and efficiency from 10%
to 15% (Mrema et al., 1987), forced-convection
was avoided for electrical independence and to
minimize design sophistication. The integration
of back-up heating components was also avoided
since studies show that recirculation procedures
may only be feasible for processing products with
low moisture content or with the introduction of
desiccant material (Chaudhri et al., 2009).
Solar dryers generally exhibit faster drying
rates than traditional methods by achieving higher
temperatures, lower humidity, and increased air
movement. They can also improve product quality
in regards to flavor, color, and appearance which
enhances the product marketability and allows for

improved financial opportunities for end users.

Solar dryers influence both the marketing capacity
and the potential income generation since a higher
value can be attained for products of improved
quality.
Many factors must be taken into consideration
in the development and implementation of
appropriate solar drying technology in order to
meet the specific needs and limitations of rural
communities. The quality of the final dried product
depends on the uniformity of the drying air
distribution. The analysis of the velocity field and
temperature profile was carried out by simulation
using the Comsol Multiphysics numerical modeling
software.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The analyzed dryer features two components,
an indirect heater (solar collector) having 1.6
square meters and a separate drying chamber with
a volume of 216 liters which houses five product
trays of 0.24 square meters each, designed to be
detachable for easy maintenance and mobility as
needed. The chimney above the drying room is
equipped with a shutter which can be opened or
closed according to the air flow wanted to pass
through the dryer. The dimensions of the dryer are
given in Fig. 1 and an overview in Fig. 2.
Surrounding air temperature is considered
20C. Due to the temperature difference between
air and the plate, the density of air near the plate
starts to decrease and, in the presence of earths
gravitational acceleration field, air begins to rise
along the surface of the plate, forming viscous and
thermal boundary layers.
Velocity and temperature fields are coupled
in free convection. Therefore, a multiphysics
model involving steady state Navier-Stokes and
general heat transfer modes must be setup and
coupled in COMSOL. Boussinesq approximation
was used to model air density changes induced
by temperature field. The lift force responsible for
natural convection process can be expressed in
terms of local density change of the air as

f y g

(1)

The term is the density of the ambient air

where warm plate of the collector has no influence,
is the gravitational acceleration constant
and represents variable density. Boussinesq

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VINTIL et al.

Fig. 1. Physical dimensions of the dryer: a) side view; b) back view

Fig. 2. Overview of the dryer: a) side view; b) back view

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Prediction of Air Flow and Temperature Profiles inside Convective Solar Dryer

approximations can be used satisfactory in this

model to represent variable density field by
computing according to the following equation:

1 T T

T

where, h is the heat transfer confident (W/

m2K), Lc is the characteristic length (m), and
k is the fluid thermal conductivity (W/mK).

(2)

There are four unknown field variables

(dependent variables):
The velocity field components, u and v
The pressure, p
The temperature, T
They are all related through bidirectional
multiphysics couplings. The incompressible
Navier-Stokes equations consist of a momentum
balance (a vector equation) and a mass
conservation and incompressibility condition:

u
u u
p 2 u F
t
u 0 (4)

(3)

where:

is the fluid density.

is the dynamic viscosity.
is the vector differential operator.

The heat equation is an energy conservation

equation that says that the change in energy is
equal to the heat source minus the divergence of
the diffusive heat flux:

u T kT Q
t

Physics settings in COMSOL consist of two

parts: (1) Sub-domain settings and (2) boundary
conditions. The sub-domain settings let us specify
material types, initial conditions, modes of heat
transfer (i.e. conduction and/or convection). The
boundary conditions settings are used to specify
what is happening at the boundaries of the
geometry. In this model, we will have to specify
and couple physics settings for the flow of air and
heat transfer. The no-slip condition applied at the
wall boundaries where its assumed that velocity
is zero. The remaining boundaries have the open
boundary condition, meaning that no forces act on
the fluid. The open boundary condition defines
the assumption that computational domain
extends to infinity.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

u is the velocity field.

p is the pressure.
F is a volume force.

cp

(6)

Three cases were analyzed in this study: Case

A, when the shutter is totally open, letting the air
to pass without any supplementary resistance
through the drying cabinet, Case B when the
shutter is half open and therefore a lower air
flow rate is passing, and the last Case C, when the
shutter is totally closed and no fresh air is allowed
to enter inside the dryer.
The simulation was performed on a sunny day,
at noon, when the solar irradiation was assumed

(5)

where c p is the heat capacity of the fluid and

is fluid density. Q represents a source term.

The velocity field comes from the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation.

Some non-dimensional parameters were used
in defining the physics of heat transfer. Nusselt
number was defined as the ratio of convective to
conductive heat transfer and it calculated as follows:
Fig. 3. Domain grid for Case A
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Fig. 4. Velocity vector field for Case A

Fig. 5. Streamline for Case A

Fig. 6. Pressure distribution for Case A

Fig. 7. Temperature distribution for Case A

Fig. 8. Velocity vector field for Case B

Fig. 9. Streamline for Case B

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Prediction of Air Flow and Temperature Profiles inside Convective Solar Dryer

Fig. 10. Pressure distribution for Case B

Fig. 12. Velocity vector field for Case C

Fig. 11. Temperature distribution for Case B

Fig. 13. Streamline for Case C

Fig. 14. Pressure distribution for Case C

Fig. 15. Temperature distribution for Case C

to be 300 W/m2. The back side of the collector,

as well as the walls of the drying cabinet were
considered to be adiabatic (thermal insulated).
The thermal effect of water evaporation from the
product was modeled by a negative internal heat
source of 10 W/m3. The thickness of the product
layer was taken as 2 cm. The grids generated for
Cases A, B and C are almost the same, having 3.799,

3.810 and 3761 triangular elements, respectively.

For Case A, the domain grid is given in Fig. 3.
For each of the analyzed cases, the simulation
results are given in terms of velocity vectors field
(Fig. 4, 8, and 12), streamlines (Fig. 5, 9 and 13),
relative pressure distribution in Pascal (Fig.
6, 10 and 14) and temperature distribution in
Celsius (Fig. 7, 11 and 15), all of them both for the
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collector and the drying cabinet. We can observe a

better uniformity of the air flow inside the drying
cabinet in Case A compared with the case B. At the
exit of the solar collector, low pressure zones are
observed, favoring vortices to appear especially in
Case A. The temperature values inside the drying
space are greater in Case B compared with the
Case A. Even if higher temperature intensifies
water evaporation, it should be also correlated
with the relative humidity of the drying air.
Total closure of the shutter shows to have
negative effect both for air circulation and for the
temperature level inside drying cabinet.
Because the simulation considers to be a
perfect tightness between the walls, the natural
convective air movement takes place independent
in the solar collector and in the drying cabinet as
these two spaces would be separated. Therefore,
solar collector gets very hot, while the drying
space remains near the ambient temperature. We
conclude that, at least during sunshine, the shutter
should be never totally closed.

CONCLUSION
High level of accuracy during the modeling
process must be maintained to uphold confidence
in CFD predictions. Measurements taken insitu showed similar values of temperature and
also air humidity near saturation during the

Bulletin UASVM Food Science and Technology 71(2) / 2014

nights. Concurrent experimentation is needed

to validate predictions, particularly where
simplifying assumptions are incorporated into
the model. With progressing computing power, it
is conceivable that CFD will continue to provide
explanations for more fluid flow, heat and mass
transfer phenomena, leading to better equipment
design and process control for the food industry.

REFERENCES

1. Akoy, El-A. O. M., M. A. Ismail, El-F. A. Ahmed, and W.

Luecke (2006). Design and construction of a solar dryer
for mango slices. Conf. of Intl. Res. on Food Security,
Natural Resource Mgmt. and Rural Development, 1-7.
Bonn, Germany: Univ. of Bonn.
2. Buchinger, J. and W. Weiss. 2002. Solar Drying. Inst. for
Sustainable Technologies, 1-110. Austrian Development
Coop.
3. Chaudhri, S., S. Kothari, and N. L. Panwar (2009).
Performance evaluation of exhaust air recirculation
system of mixed mode solar dryer for drying onion flakes.
Intl. J. of Renewable Energy Tech. 1(1): 29-41.
4. Chen, C. R., A. Sharma, and N. Vu Lan (2009). Solar-energy
drying systems: A review. Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Rev. 13: 1185-1210.
5. Mrema, G. C., B. Brenndorfer, L. Kennedy, C. O. OswinBateman, D. S. Trim, and C. Wereko-Brobby (1987). Solar
Dryers: Their Role in Post-Harvest Processing. London,
UK: Commonwealth Sci. Council.
6. Sreekumar, A., P. E. Manikantan, and K. P. Vijayakumar
(2008). Performance of indirect solar cabinet dryer.
Energy Conversion Mgmt. 49(6): 1388-1395.