Greenhouse drying shows a significant role in the bulk level of drying. In the present setup, a greenhouse dryer operating under natural convection mode was designed and fabricated. The sensible heat storage concept was applied to the bed of the drying chamber. Four different beds, namely, gravel bed, ground bed, concrete bed, and black painted gravel bed was being selected for the comparative heat transfer analyses of the proposed setup. The maximum heat gain takes place at the black painted gravel bed conditions, i.e., 53%, while for concrete bed, gravel bed, and ground bed, it is 33%, 49%, and 29%, respectively. Hence, black painted gravel bed condition is strongly recommended for maximum heat storage. The proposed setup was used for drying of tomato flakes in black painted gravel bed condition. It has been found that the moisture content in the tomato flakes has been removed from 96% to 9.10% in 13 h. The average drying efficiency of the proposed greenhouse dryer is found to be 23.49%. The comparative analysis of the performance evaluation has been done with other investigators, and it was found that the drying rate of the proposed setup shows superior performance as compared with others. The design of the proposed greenhouse setup with black painted gravel bed condition is strongly recommended for small-scale industries and farmers.
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February 2020
Research-Article
Performance Evaluation of a Solar Greenhouse Dryer at Different Bed Conditions Under Passive Mode
Asim Ahmad,
Asim Ahmad
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Mesra, Ranchi 835215,
e-mail: asimlife91@gmail.com
Birla Institute of Technology
,Mesra, Ranchi 835215,
India
e-mail: asimlife91@gmail.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Om Prakash
Om Prakash
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Mesra, Ranchi 835215,
e-mail: 16omprakash@gmail.com
Birla Institute of Technology
,Mesra, Ranchi 835215,
India
e-mail: 16omprakash@gmail.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Asim Ahmad
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Mesra, Ranchi 835215,
e-mail: asimlife91@gmail.com
Birla Institute of Technology
,Mesra, Ranchi 835215,
India
e-mail: asimlife91@gmail.com
Om Prakash
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Mesra, Ranchi 835215,
e-mail: 16omprakash@gmail.com
Birla Institute of Technology
,Mesra, Ranchi 835215,
India
e-mail: 16omprakash@gmail.com
Contributed by the Solar Energy Division of ASME for publication in the Journal of Solar Energy Engineering: Including Wind Energy and Building Energy Conservation. Manuscript received November 9, 2018; final manuscript received June 19, 2019; published online July 23, 2019. Assoc. Editor: Ting Ma.
J. Sol. Energy Eng. Feb 2020, 142(1): 011006 (10 pages)
Published Online: July 23, 2019
Article history
Received:
November 9, 2018
Revision Received:
June 19, 2019
Accepted:
June 23, 2019
Citation
Ahmad, A., and Prakash, O. (July 23, 2019). "Performance Evaluation of a Solar Greenhouse Dryer at Different Bed Conditions Under Passive Mode." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. February 2020; 142(1): 011006. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4044194
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