Intensification of the Plant Products Drying Process by Improving Solar Dryer Design

Abstract

The article presents the rationale for production of dried fruits and vegetables using a solar drying unit. To intensify the drying process, convection of drying agent flow in the proposed drying chamber is studied using Navier–Stokes equations. Numerical methods are used for solving equations describing the process of convective heat transfer. As a result, graphical interpretations of isolines of drying agent flow are obtained and location of passive zones in the dryer chamber are identified. Uniformity of the temperature zones in the chamber is ensured by supplying additional drying agent into the passive zones. Temperature values at various levels of the drying chamber are experimentally obtained. Results for drying cut-up mass of vegetables and fruits are presented.