Computational study of the performance of a solar dryer for improvement in the shelf life of the food materials

Computational study of the performance of a solar dryer for improvement in the shelf life of the food materials | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Computational study of the performance of a solar dryer for improvement in the shelf life of the food materials Mukul Sengar, Dhananjay Singh, Pradeep Kumar Mishra, Deepak Singh, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3017780/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 May, 2024 Read the published version in Environmental Science and Pollution Research → Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Solar drying is a non-polluting and economic drying process which utilizes solar energy to dry the food materials for better shelf life. We have fabricated a simple, efficient, and economically feasible indirect type solar dryer for food preservation. This article presents the dynamic model of fabricated solar dryer. This model consists of thermal modeling of the drying chamber, solar collector, and solar dried- food sample. The energy balance has been applied to evaluate the temperature at different sections of the solar dryer with respect to drying time. Model equations have been solved in the MATLAB environment. Solar power meter and infrared thermometer used as measuring instruments. This study helps to examine the influence of solar radiation on the collector plate temperature, drying chamber temperature, food sample temperature, and performance parameters such as thermal efficiency with respect to drying time. Model data has been found in good agreement with experimental data within 4% error. It is concluded that the drying of food material is affected by air temperature, the collector temperature, mode of heat transfer, and material characteristics such as dimension, and mass of the food sample. Shelf life Infrared thermometer MATLAB Solar power meter Solar drying Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Introduction Renewable or non-conventional energy resources are non-polluting and available in considerable quantities in all developing countries. Some examples of these sources are wind, solar, geothermal, tides, and small hydro. Among all these sources solar energy is a very powerful and inexhaustible energy resource. Solar energy can be utilized for heating purposes such as building heating, desalination, cooking, and drying of vegetables, cereals, fruits, and some other crops. Solar drying is a better option for food preservation to enhance the shelf life or preservation period of the food products. Solar dying consists of two types of drying i.e. open or direct solar drying, and indirect solar drying. An open sun drying is very economic drying method but due to some disadvantage like need of larger space and food materials can be contaminated due to foreign materials. An indirect type of solar drying is better than open solar drying because the food products are placed inside the drying chamber (Akpinar 2010 ; Tunde-Akintunde 2011 ; Arslan and Özcan 2012 ; Darvishi et al. 2013 ). A solar dryer mainly consists of solar collector, and drying chamber. A solar collector has been made with a glass and a metal sheet to receive the solar radiation and convert it into heat energy. This heat energy transferred to the drying chamber. Drying chamber is the combination of various sample trays and circulates the heat from tray to tray for drying the food sample. In the present scenario, scientists and researchers are focused on improving the performance of the solar dryer. Therefore, they have studied different methods and techniques to enhance the performance of the solar dryer and found some useful conclusions from their studies. The convective single layer solar drying of Citrus aurantium has been performed by various authors(Kumar et al. 2013 ; Aghbashlo et al. 2015 ; Hegde et al. 2015 ; Mghazli et al. 2017 ; Tomar et al. 2017 ). Some other properties such as drying air temperature, product surface area, and projected surface area to the weight of the product have also been measured (Babu et al. 2018 ; Hamdi et al. 2018 ; Reyes et al. 2019 ). Modeling is an effective technique to analyze the variation in temperature inside the food sample as well as drying chamber with respect to global radiation hourly. The mathematical models are the combination of partial differential equations, ordinary differential equations along with their boundary values. Many scientists and researchers have been developed a mathematical model for drying the mint, parsley, and basil under direct sun drying (Aydin et al. 2019 ; Badaoui et al. 2019 ; Wenceslas and Ghislain 2019 ). Thermal modeling of solar collector and drying chamber has been done to examine the temperature variation with respect to the global radiation and time (Simo-Tagne and Bennamoun 2018 ; Mahapatra and Tripathy 2019 ; Muralidhar Singh et al. 2019 ; Djebli et al. 2020 ; Hidar et al. 2020 ). The objective of this study is to analyze the performance of fabricated indirect type solar dryer set up to enhance the shelf life or food preservation period of the food material. We have developed and analyzed a thermal model for the solar dryer to calculate the temperature variation in drying chamber, solar collector, and food sample. Also, the global radiation has been measured during this study with respect to the drying time. Thermal efficiency as a performance parameter of the solar dryer has also been estimated. The novelty of the work is to understand the utilization of renewable energy through fabrication of the solar dryer to enhance the preservation period of the food sample. The modification in the thermal model with respect to drying time has also been done and simulated through MATLAB software. Experimental runs were conducted by the authors to validate the model data with experimental data. We found 53.7% thermal efficiency of our fabricated solar dryer setup. Experimental setup, Measuring instruments and Procedure Experimental setup An indirect type solar dryer has been fabricated to understand the better insight of the mathematical model shown in Fig. 1 . An indirect type of solar dryer consists of four different sections- drying chamber, solar collector, stand, and solar energy operated exhaust fan. The total height of the dryer is 6 feet. Four sample feeding trays have been placed inside the drying chamber. The bottom surface of the solar collector has been polished with black paint and top surface covered with transparent glass. Our fabricated solar dryer has been fully insulated with a 1.5 mm thick layer of PVC thermocol and PVC sheet. Measuring instruments Apart from the solar dryer setup, some other equipment have been used during experimentation. A solar power meter (TENMARS, TM-206) is used to monitor the radiation received by the surface of the dryer. The weight loss in the samples has been measured by a digital balance machine (Citizen, CY-220). Similarly, variations in the temperatures of glass sheet, drying chamber, and metallic sheet have been recorded by digital thermometer (ACETEQ, MT-4). Experimental procedure A food sample (potato) has been purchased from the market and washed in running water, peeled with the help of a peeler. Then the sample has been cut in the dimension of 35x30x5 mm with the help of a sharpened knife. The sample has been initially weighted by digital balance and placed inside the drying chamber. Simultaneously, we have recorded the initial temperatures of the drying chamber, glass surface, and polished surface. During the experimental work, the temperatures of all components and global radiations have been recorded on hourly basis with the help of an infrared digital thermometer and solar meter respectively. The experimental work has been conducted during the summer season (June 2022) in peak hours of sunshine (11:00 AM to 05:00 PM). All experimental procedures have been performed in triplicate to analyze the data. Hypothesis of thermal modeling of a fabricated indirect type solar dryer Thermal modeling of a solar drying system is a technique to examine the behavior of temperature variation within the system. Thermal modeling depends on the law of conservation of energy or the first law of thermodynamics, energy equations, etc. During thermal modeling, some assumptions have been adopted (Mohana et al. 2020 ): No condensation of water vapor inside the drying chamber. Shrinkage in the volume is negligible. The food sample is thin-layered, homogeneous, and compact. The heat capacity of air, drying chamber, glass sheet, and feed tray are negligible. Initially, temperature and moisture are uniforms in the sample. From the law of conservation of energy, Energy balance for solar collector plate is given by the following equation (Mohana et al. 2020 ); \({\tau } {{\alpha }}_{\text{p}} \text{I} \text{W} \text{d}\text{x}={\text{U}}_{\text{t}}\left({\text{T}}_{\text{p}}-{\text{T}}_{\text{a}}\right) \text{W} \text{d}\text{x}+{\text{h}}_{\text{p}\text{f}}\left({\text{T}}_{\text{p}}-{\text{T}}_{\text{f}}\right) \text{W} \text{d}\text{x} (1\) ) Overall top loss coefficient; $${\text{U}}_{\text{t}}={\left[\frac{1}{{\text{h}}_{\text{p}\text{g}}}+\frac{1}{{\text{h}}_{\text{g}\text{a}}}\right]}^{-1}$$ Energy balance for working fluid (air) is given by the following equation (Mohana et al. 2020 ); $${\text{h}}_{\text{p}\text{f}}\left({\text{T}}_{\text{p}}-{\text{T}}_{\text{f}}\right) \text{W} \text{d}\text{x}=\dot{\text{m}} {\text{C}}_{\text{f}} {{\text{T}}_{\text{f}}}_{\text{x}} \text{d}\text{x}+ {\text{U}}_{\text{b}}\left({\text{T}}_{\text{f}}-{\text{T}}_{\text{a}}\right) \text{W} \text{d}\text{x} \left(2\right)$$ $${{\text{T}}_{\text{f}}}_{\text{x}} \text{i}\text{s} \text{t}\text{h}\text{e} \text{d}\text{e}\text{r}\text{i}\text{v}\text{a}\text{t}\text{i}\text{v}\text{e} \text{o}\text{f} \text{f}\text{l}\text{u}\text{i}\text{d} \text{t}\text{e}\text{m}\text{p}\text{e}\text{r}\text{a}\text{t}\text{u}\text{r}\text{e} \text{w}\text{i}\text{t}\text{h} \text{r}\text{e}\text{s}\text{p}\text{e}\text{c}\text{t} \text{t}\text{o} \text{c}\text{h}\text{a}\text{n}\text{g}\text{e} \text{i}\text{n} \text{x}.$$ Initial and boundary conditions; $${\text{T}}_{\text{f}}={\text{T}}_{\text{f}\text{i}} \text{a}\text{t} \text{x}=0$$ $${\text{T}}_{\text{f}0}={\text{T}}_{\text{f}} \text{a}\text{t} \text{x}=\text{L}$$ And the rate of thermal energy available at the outlet of air collector; $$\dot{{\text{Q}}_{\text{u}}}=\dot{\text{m}} {\text{C}}_{\text{f} } \left({\text{T}}_{\text{f}0}-{\text{T}}_{\text{f}\text{i}}\right) \left(3\right)$$ Energy balance for the drying chamber (Mohana et al. 2020 ); $$\dot{\text{m}} {\text{C}}_{\text{f} } \left({\text{T}}_{\text{f}0}-{\text{T}}_{\text{f}\text{i}}\right)= {\text{M}}_{\text{s}}{\text{C}}_{\text{s}} {{\text{T}}_{\text{s}}}_{\text{t}}+\text{h} \left({\text{T}}_{\text{s}}+{\text{T}}_{\text{c}\text{h}}\right) {\text{A}}_{\text{c}\text{h}} \left(4\right)$$ and $$\text{h} \left({\text{T}}_{\text{s}}-{\text{T}}_{\text{c}\text{h}}\right){\text{A}}_{\text{c}\text{h}} = \dot{\text{m}} {\text{C}}_{\text{f} } \left({\text{T}}_{\text{c}\text{h}}-{\text{T}}_{\text{a}}\right)+{\text{h}}_{\text{s}\text{w}} {\text{A}}_{\text{s}\text{w}} \left({\text{T}}_{\text{c}\text{h}}-{\text{T}}_{\text{a}}\right) \left(5\right)$$ Thermal efficiency Thermal efficiency is calculated as (Mohana et al. 2020 ); $${\eta }=\frac{{\text{M}}_{\text{e}\text{v}}\times {\lambda }}{3600\times \text{I}\left(\text{t}\right)} \times 100 \left(6\right)$$ Numerical solution The mathematical model of a fabricated solar dryer has been discussed. Eq. 2 and Eq. 4 are ordinary differential equations and all other equations are algebraic. These equations have been solved in a MATLAB environment to obtain the results (Singh et al. 2020b ). Simulation algorithm A simulation algorithm is a technique to explain the step by step procedure of the experimental work and solution of the developed thermal model. In the modeling section, we started from the energy balance and wrote the model equation in terms of drying chamber temperature (T ch ), collector plate temperature (T p ), and food sample temperature (T c ) along with suitable initial and boundary conditions. All these listed equations have been solved in a MATLAB environment by suitable programming to get the results. Experimentation of the sample has been done with a fabricated dryer to monitor the temperatures of the different sections of the dryer with the help of an infrared thermometer (Singh et al. 2020a ). Statistical analysis The obtained triplicate experimental data have been fitted in a suitable model. Origin lab software has been used to plot the profiles of the temperatures of the drying chamber, collector plate, and sample with thermal efficiency. The standard deviation of each data point has been calculated to find out the error between the model and experimental results data. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) It is used to analyze the difference within and between the samples. Here, three different experimental data of samples have been used to prepare the ANOVA table. ANOVA depends on the following equations; $$\text{G}\text{r}\text{a}\text{n}\text{d} \text{t}\text{o}\text{t}\text{a}\text{l} \left(\text{T}\right)={\text{X}}_{1}+{\text{X}}_{2}+{\text{X}}_{3} \left(7\right)$$ $$\text{C}\text{o}\text{r}\text{r}\text{e}\text{c}\text{t}\text{i}\text{o}\text{n} \text{f}\text{a}\text{c}\text{t}\text{o}\text{r}=\left(\frac{{\text{T}}^{2}}{\text{M}}\right) \left(8\right)$$ $$\text{S}\text{u}\text{m} \text{o}\text{f} \text{s}\text{q}\text{u}\text{a}\text{r}\text{e} \text{b}\text{e}\text{t}\text{w}\text{e}\text{e}\text{n} \text{s}\text{a}\text{m}\text{p}\text{l}\text{e}\text{s} \left(\text{S}\text{S}\text{C}\right)=\frac{{\left(\sum {\text{X}}_{1}\right)}^{2}}{{\text{n}}_{1}}+\frac{{\left(\sum {\text{X}}_{2}\right)}^{2}}{{\text{n}}_{2}}+\frac{{\left(\sum {\text{X}}_{3}\right)}^{2}}{{\text{n}}_{3}}-\frac{{\text{T}}^{2}}{\text{N}} \left(9\right)$$ $$\text{D}\text{e}\text{g}\text{r}\text{e}\text{e} \text{o}\text{f} \text{f}\text{r}\text{e}\text{e}\text{d}\text{o}\text{m} \text{f}\text{o}\text{r} \text{S}\text{S}\text{C}=\text{K}-1 \left(10\right)$$ $$\text{T}\text{o}\text{t}\text{a}\text{l} \text{s}\text{u}\text{m} \text{o}\text{f} \text{s}\text{q}\text{u}\text{a}\text{r}\text{e} \left(\text{S}\text{S}\text{T}\right)={\sum {\text{X}}_{1}}^{2}+{\sum {\text{X}}_{2}}^{2}+{\sum {\text{X}}_{3}}^{2}-\frac{{\text{T}}^{2}}{\text{N}} \left(11\right)$$ $$\text{D}\text{e}\text{g}\text{r}\text{e}\text{e} \text{o}\text{f} \text{f}\text{r}\text{e}\text{e}\text{d}\text{o}\text{m} \text{f}\text{o}\text{r} \text{S}\text{S}\text{T}=\text{M}-1 \left(12\right)$$ $$\text{S}\text{u}\text{m} \text{o}\text{f} \text{s}\text{q}\text{u}\text{a}\text{r}\text{e} \text{w}\text{i}\text{t}\text{h}\text{i}\text{n} \text{s}\text{a}\text{m}\text{p}\text{l}\text{e} \left(\text{S}\text{S}\text{E}\right)=\text{S}\text{S}\text{T}-\text{S}\text{S}\text{C} \left(13\right)$$ $$\text{D}\text{e}\text{g}\text{r}\text{e}\text{e} \text{o}\text{f} \text{f}\text{r}\text{e}\text{e}\text{d}\text{o}\text{m} \text{f}\text{o}\text{r} \text{S}\text{S}\text{E}=\text{M}-\text{K} \left(14\right)$$ $$\text{M}\text{e}\text{a}\text{n} \text{s}\text{u}\text{m} \text{o}\text{f} \text{s}\text{q}\text{u}\text{a}\text{r}\text{e} \text{b}\text{e}\text{t}\text{w}\text{e}\text{e}\text{n} \text{s}\text{a}\text{m}\text{p}\text{l}\text{e}\text{s} \left(\text{M}\text{S}\text{C}\right)=\frac{\text{S}\text{S}\text{C}}{\text{K}-1} \left(15\right)$$ $$\text{M}\text{e}\text{a}\text{n} \text{s}\text{u}\text{m} \text{o}\text{f} \text{s}\text{q}\text{u}\text{a}\text{r}\text{e} \text{w}\text{i}\text{t}\text{h} \text{i}\text{n} \text{s}\text{a}\text{m}\text{p}\text{l}\text{e} \left(\text{M}\text{S}\text{E}\right)=\frac{\text{S}\text{S}\text{E}}{\text{M}-\text{K}} \left(16\right)$$ $$\text{F}-\text{r}\text{a}\text{t}\text{i}\text{o} \left(\text{F}\right)=\frac{\text{M}\text{S}\text{C}}{\text{M}\text{S}\text{E}} \left(17\right)$$ M is the total number of samples. Where, X 1 , X 2 , and X 3 are the experimental sample data values. K is the number of experimental runs. n 1 , n 2 , and n 3 are the number of samples in each run. The solution of the above-listed equations has been obtained by putting the experimental data value and shown in Table 1 . Table 1 Analysis of variance of experimental data Source of variation Sum of square Degree of freedom Mean sum of square F- ratio Between samples SSC = 0.06 2 MSC = 0.031 F (2,11) = 0.013 Within Sample SSE = 26.55 11 MSE = 2.19 Total SST = 26.61 13 Results and discussion Heat transfer based model has been solved by using some input parameters. These input parameters have been observed and calculated manually and listed in Table 2 . Table 2 Input parameter values (Mohana et al. 2020 ; Singh et al. 2020b ) Parameters Values Dimensions of food sample (l x b) (mm) 35 x 30 Fluid (air) temperature ( o C) 45 Air velocity (m/s) 1.5 Latent heat of vaporization of water (J/gm) 2257 Mass of evaporated water (gm) 3.4 Observation of ambient temperature and solar radiation with drying time Solar radiation is an important parameter to generate heat inside the dryer. It is the amount of energy received by the solar collector (Wenceslas and Ghislain 2019 ). Ambient temperature and solar radiation have been measured by the infrared thermometer and solar power meter respectively. The variation in average solar radiation and average ambient temperature with respect to drying time has been shown in Fig. 2 . It depicts that initially at 11:00, the value of average solar radiation and average ambient temperature are 312 W/m 2 and 35 0 C respectively. In the morning time, we found weak solar radiation, but with the increase in sunshine, the value of average solar radiation and average ambient temperature also increased gradually and achieved maximum values as 664 W/m 2 and 41 0 C respectively at noon. After some time, the amount of solar radiation has been decreased when the sun moves towards the West direction. Observation of collector plate and drying chamber temperatures with respect to drying time A solar collector is a receiver of the solar radiation and converts into heat energy and transfers this heat to the indirect type solar dryer (Wenceslas and Ghislain 2019 ). Figure 3 (a) shows the temperature variation received by the collector with respect to drying time. Solar plate temperature depends on the amount of solar radiation fallen on it. Initially, the average collector plate sample has been measured as 64.5 0 C at 11:00m AM. After one hour the solar collector plate achieved a maximum temperature of 73.7 0 C at noon due to maximum solar radiation as 664 W/m 2 . When the sun moves towards the West direction, the temperature of the collector plate has been decreased due to reduction in solar radiation. A drying chamber is the main part of a solar dryer. It receives the heat from the solar collector and circulates it through the sample trays. The temperature of the drying chamber does not directly depend on the solar radiation but it can be influenced by the losses of heat from the chamber through the dryer’s walls (Wenceslas and Ghislain 2019 ). Figure 3 (b) depicts the variation in the temperature of the drying chamber with respect to the drying time. Initially, the temperature of the chamber has been measured as 57.7 0 C at 11:00 with the help of an infrared thermometer. After some time, the temperature profiles have been shown the increment and decrement due to the non-regularity of the heat supply by the solar collector. Variation in food sample temperature with respect to drying time A food sample (potato) has been placed on the feed tray inside the drying chamber. The food sample has been received the amount of heat from the drying chamber to evaporate the moisture content for food preservation. The moisture content in the food sample is a key parameter to analyze the shelf life (Kavak Akpinar 2019 ; Mahapatra and Tripathy 2019 ; Tagnamas et al. 2021 ). Figure 4 shows the variation in the average sample temperature with respect to drying time. Initially, the average temperature of the food sample was around 30 0 C, but as soon as the sample received heat from the drying chamber, it increases more than 50 0 C. This temperature range was suitable for moisture evaporation. When moisture is removing from the food sample, the temperature of the sample increases gradually. Estimation of thermal efficiency The thermal efficiency of a solar dryer is defined as the ratio of heat utilized by the food sample to the heat supplied by the solar dryer. It directly depends on the amount of moisture evaporation from the potato food material for given solar radiation (Wenceslas and Ghislain 2019 ; Darici and Kilic 2020 ). Figure 5 depicts the hourly variation in the thermal efficiency of the solar dryer. We found the maximum thermal efficiency as 53.7% at 11:00 AM at 312 W/m 2 because at this stage maximum moisture evaporation takes place and food sample has been utilized the maximum heat for evaporation. After some time, the food sample attained the equilibrium moisture condition and takes less amount of heat for moisture evaporation, and then the value of the thermal efficiency has been decreases continuously because the amount of utilized heat decreases but the amount of the heat transferred by the solar dryer continuously increases with drying time. Therefore, we got minimum efficiency at 14:00 PM, while there was sufficient amount of solar radiation as 664 W/m 2 . Validation of the model Model validity is a key component to prove the truthness of the developed thermal model with the help of experimental investigations. Figure 3 and Fig. 5 represents the temperature variations of the collector plate, drying chamber, and food sample respectively with drying time for the model as well as experimental data. The model data has been found in good agreement with performed experimental data within error of 4%. Conclusions Developed thermal model of a fabricated solar dryer has been analyzed through computational and experimental studies. MATLAB software has been used to solve the mathematical equations of the thermal model. Variation in temperature of different sections of solar dryer such as collector plate, drying chamber, and food sample have been monitored and calculated. The maximum solar radiation and ambient temperature have been found as 664 W/m 2 and 41 0 C respectively at noon. The maximum thermal efficiency of the solar dryer has been calculated as 53.7%. It is also found that the model data are in good agreement with experimental data within 4% error. Our fabricated solar dryer has been found suitable to provide enough heat to the food sample to enhance the shelf life (preservation period) of the food material. It is also suitable for processing different food materials such as grains, and vegetables. List of symbols τ Transmissivity dimensionless M ev Evaporated moisture content gm moisture (gm db) -1 α p Absorptivity m 2 /s I Solar radiation W/m 2 W Width of absorber m T p Plate temperature o C T a Ambient temperature o C h pf Convective heat transfer coefficient from plate to fluid W/m 2 o C T f Fluid temperature o C h ga Convective heat transfer coefficient from glass to ambient W/m 2 o C Mass flow rate of fluid gm/s C f Specific heat of fluid J/gm K U b Overall heat transfer coefficient from fluid to ambient through bottom insulation W/m 2 o C M s Mass of the sample gm C s Specific heat of the sample J/gm K T s Sample temperature o C T ch Drying chamber temperature o C A ch Drying chamber area m 2 h sw heat transfer coefficient of side wall W/m 2 o C A sw Area of side wall m 2 λ Latent heat of vaporization of water J/gm Declarations Acknowledgement The authors are grateful to Dr. APJ AKTU, Lucknow for financial and technical support. Consent to Participate : Not applicable Consent to Publish: Not applicable Authors Contributions: Mukul Sengar: Methodology, Original draft preparation, Software Dhananjay Singh: Conceptualization, Supervision, Editing, Pradeep Kumar Mishra : Reviewing, Investigation. Deepak Singh: Data curation, Validation, Balendu Shekher Giri : Supervision. Funding: Not applicable Availability of data and materials: Not applicable Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This paper contains no studies with human or animal subjects. References Aghbashlo M, Müller J, Mobli H, et al (2015) Modeling and Simulation of Deep-Bed Solar Greenhouse Drying of Chamomile Flowers. Drying Technology 33:684–695. https://doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2014.981278 Akpinar EK (2010) Drying of mint leaves in a solar dryer and under open sun: Modelling, performance analyses. 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Solar Energy 208:321–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2020.07.098 Muralidhar Singh M, Kumar H, Nagesha K V., et al (2019) Evaluation of Multilayer Thin Film Coatings for Solar Thermal Applications. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering 44:7789–7797. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-019-03904-9 Reyes A, Vásquez J, Pailahueque N, Mahn A (2019) Effect of drying using solar energy and phase change material on kiwifruit properties. Drying Technology 37:232–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2018.1450268 Simo-Tagne M, Bennamoun L (2018) Numerical study of timber solar drying with application to different geographical and climatic conditions in Central Africa. Solar Energy 170:454–469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.05.070 Singh D, Singh D, Husain S (2020a) Computational analysis of temperature distribution in microwave-heated potatoes. Food Science and Technology International 26:465–474. https://doi.org/10.1177/1082013220907434 Singh D, Singh D, Sengar M, Kumar S (2020b) Mathematical modeling for drying of Solanum tuberosum under the indirect type solar dryer. 97:1720–1724 Tagnamas Z, Lamsyehe H, Moussaoui H, et al (2021) Energy and exergy analyses of carob pulp drying system based on a solar collector. Renewable Energy 163:495–503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.09.011 Tomar V, Tiwari GN, Norton B (2017) Solar dryers for tropical food preservation: Thermophysics of crops, systems and components. Solar Energy 154:2–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2017.05.066 Tunde-Akintunde TY (2011) Mathematical modeling of sun and solar drying of chilli pepper. Renewable Energy 36:2139–2145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2011.01.017 Wenceslas KY, Ghislain T (2019) Experimental Validation of Exergy Optimization of a Flat-Plate Solar Collector in a Thermosyphon Solar Water Heater. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering 44:2535–2549. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-018-3227-x Supplementary Files SupplementoryInformation.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 May, 2024 Read the published version in Environmental Science and Pollution Research → Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Jul, 2023 Reviewers invited by journal 18 Jul, 2023 Editor assigned by journal 06 Jul, 2023 First submitted to journal 01 Jul, 2023 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3017780","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":219482967,"identity":"943d69f2-4a5a-4044-a476-e598602edc13","order_by":0,"name":"Mukul Sengar","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institute of Engineering and Technology Lucknow","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mukul","middleName":"","lastName":"Sengar","suffix":""},{"id":219482968,"identity":"b03eae01-10d3-46d7-9b3f-39c36587da99","order_by":1,"name":"Dhananjay Singh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institute of Engineering and Technology Lucknow","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dhananjay","middleName":"","lastName":"Singh","suffix":""},{"id":219482969,"identity":"6ab71138-9e27-4cff-8bbd-bdabb0b1494f","order_by":2,"name":"Pradeep Kumar Mishra","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"IIT BHU: Indian Institute of Technology BHU Varanasi","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pradeep","middleName":"Kumar","lastName":"Mishra","suffix":""},{"id":219482970,"identity":"89e9d64a-65ea-498a-977e-841cc246eb65","order_by":3,"name":"Deepak Singh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institute of Engineering and Technology Lucknow","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Deepak","middleName":"","lastName":"Singh","suffix":""},{"id":219482971,"identity":"55cbf87f-5d8f-4020-9e5e-6f8f816ac207","order_by":4,"name":"Balendu Shekher Giri","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5167-9154","institution":"UPES: University of Petroleum and Energy Studies","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Balendu","middleName":"Shekher","lastName":"Giri","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2023-06-03 10:58:54","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3017780/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3017780/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33209-w","type":"published","date":"2024-05-06T00:37:59+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":40386964,"identity":"f69c6d54-d45a-44f3-a921-9ea3eb7a31d0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-07-21 15:08:55","extension":"jpeg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":93154,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eAn indirect type solar dryer\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3017780/v1/85321cd4fc80694f79e99319.jpeg"},{"id":40387579,"identity":"e2acb101-5678-4ef7-a178-9eb633881094","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-07-21 15:16:55","extension":"jpeg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":203866,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eVariation in average solar radiation and average ambient temperature (hourly)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3017780/v1/53aa745a1dc5a2134f3ecee2.jpeg"},{"id":40386963,"identity":"2c2bdbd7-f83a-4bf0-966a-5d7b949c878a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-07-21 15:08:55","extension":"jpeg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":126193,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eHourly temperature variation in \u003cstrong\u003e(a)\u003c/strong\u003ecollector plate \u003cstrong\u003e(b)\u003c/strong\u003e drying chamber\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3017780/v1/fac559723e97077e929c071a.jpeg"},{"id":40386965,"identity":"90ff05e8-c724-4cf9-a5ba-8a77409f3e73","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-07-21 15:08:55","extension":"jpeg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":102290,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eHourly variation in sample temperature\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage4.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3017780/v1/f29b8fdf7720d039d6363e2f.jpeg"},{"id":40386967,"identity":"051cbc71-9102-4b6e-b42c-1bd94bda474d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-07-21 15:08:55","extension":"jpeg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":94797,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThermal efficiency of the solar dryer with respect to time.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage5.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3017780/v1/f1260fe1001eae7618a133b4.jpeg"},{"id":55961963,"identity":"b796e00d-48c1-4b7a-bbd1-7470da15beb6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-07 00:38:12","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":922770,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3017780/v1/fc17ffe1-417b-448a-b069-d521dd06efa0.pdf"},{"id":40386968,"identity":"0388ecd2-7bac-4b91-bef8-f74a3aa9a8e7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-07-21 15:08:55","extension":"docx","order_by":5,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":976046,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementoryInformation.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3017780/v1/55f5e4ec9008e0fb7d61d8c5.docx"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Computational study of the performance of a solar dryer for improvement in the shelf life of the food materials","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eRenewable or non-conventional energy resources are non-polluting and available in considerable quantities in all developing countries. Some examples of these sources are wind, solar, geothermal, tides, and small hydro. Among all these sources solar energy is a very powerful and inexhaustible energy resource. Solar energy can be utilized for heating purposes such as building heating, desalination, cooking, and drying of vegetables, cereals, fruits, and some other crops. Solar drying is a better option for food preservation to enhance the shelf life or preservation period of the food products.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSolar dying consists of two types of drying i.e. open or direct solar drying, and indirect solar drying. An open sun drying is very economic drying method but due to some disadvantage like need of larger space and food materials can be contaminated due to foreign materials. An indirect type of solar drying is better than open solar drying because the food products are placed inside the drying chamber (Akpinar \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e; Tunde-Akintunde \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e; Arslan and \u0026Ouml;zcan \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Darvishi et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). A solar dryer mainly consists of solar collector, and drying chamber. A solar collector has been made with a glass and a metal sheet to receive the solar radiation and convert it into heat energy. This heat energy transferred to the drying chamber. Drying chamber is the combination of various sample trays and circulates the heat from tray to tray for drying the food sample.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the present scenario, scientists and researchers are focused on improving the performance of the solar dryer. Therefore, they have studied different methods and techniques to enhance the performance of the solar dryer and found some useful conclusions from their studies. The convective single layer solar drying of \u003cem\u003eCitrus aurantium\u003c/em\u003e has been performed by various authors(Kumar et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Aghbashlo et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Hegde et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Mghazli et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Tomar et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Some other properties such as drying air temperature, product surface area, and projected surface area to the weight of the product have also been measured (Babu et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Hamdi et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Reyes et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eModeling is an effective technique to analyze the variation in temperature inside the food sample as well as drying chamber with respect to global radiation hourly. The mathematical models are the combination of partial differential equations, ordinary differential equations along with their boundary values. Many scientists and researchers have been developed a mathematical model for drying the mint, parsley, and basil under direct sun drying (Aydin et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Badaoui et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Wenceslas and Ghislain \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Thermal modeling of solar collector and drying chamber has been done to examine the temperature variation with respect to the global radiation and time (Simo-Tagne and Bennamoun \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Mahapatra and Tripathy \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Muralidhar Singh et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Djebli et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Hidar et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe objective of this study is to analyze the performance of fabricated indirect type solar dryer set up to enhance the shelf life or food preservation period of the food material. We have developed and analyzed a thermal model for the solar dryer to calculate the temperature variation in drying chamber, solar collector, and food sample. Also, the global radiation has been measured during this study with respect to the drying time. Thermal efficiency as a performance parameter of the solar dryer has also been estimated.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe novelty of the work is to understand the utilization of renewable energy through fabrication of the solar dryer to enhance the preservation period of the food sample. The modification in the thermal model with respect to drying time has also been done and simulated through MATLAB software. Experimental runs were conducted by the authors to validate the model data with experimental data. We found 53.7% thermal efficiency of our fabricated solar dryer setup.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Experimental setup, Measuring instruments and Procedure","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eExperimental setup\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAn indirect type solar dryer has been fabricated to understand the better insight of the mathematical model shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. An indirect type of solar dryer consists of four different sections- drying chamber, solar collector, stand, and solar energy operated exhaust fan. The total height of the dryer is 6 feet. Four sample feeding trays have been placed inside the drying chamber. The bottom surface of the solar collector has been polished with black paint and top surface covered with transparent glass. Our fabricated solar dryer has been fully insulated with a 1.5 mm thick layer of PVC thermocol and PVC sheet.\u003c/p\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMeasuring instruments\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eApart from the solar dryer setup, some other equipment have been used during experimentation. A solar power meter (TENMARS, TM-206) is used to monitor the radiation received by the surface of the dryer. The weight loss in the samples has been measured by a digital balance machine (Citizen, CY-220). Similarly, variations in the temperatures of glass sheet, drying chamber, and metallic sheet have been recorded by digital thermometer (ACETEQ, MT-4).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eExperimental procedure\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA food sample (potato) has been purchased from the market and washed in running water, peeled with the help of a peeler. Then the sample has been cut in the dimension of 35x30x5 mm with the help of a sharpened knife. The sample has been initially weighted by digital balance and placed inside the drying chamber. Simultaneously, we have recorded the initial temperatures of the drying chamber, glass surface, and polished surface. During the experimental work, the temperatures of all components and global radiations have been recorded on hourly basis with the help of an infrared digital thermometer and solar meter respectively. The experimental work has been conducted during the summer season (June 2022) in peak hours of sunshine (11:00 AM to 05:00 PM). All experimental procedures have been performed in triplicate to analyze the data.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eHypothesis of thermal modeling of a fabricated indirect type solar dryer\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThermal modeling of a solar drying system is a technique to examine the behavior of temperature variation within the system. Thermal modeling depends on the law of conservation of energy or the first law of thermodynamics, energy equations, etc.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDuring thermal modeling, some assumptions have been adopted (Mohana et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e):\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col style=\"list-style-type:lower-roman;\"\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo condensation of water vapor inside the drying chamber.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eShrinkage in the volume is negligible.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe food sample is thin-layered, homogeneous, and compact.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe heat capacity of air, drying chamber, glass sheet, and feed tray are negligible.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eInitially, temperature and moisture are uniforms in the sample.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom the law of conservation of energy,\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEnergy balance for solar collector plate is given by the following equation (Mohana et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e);\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e \u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\({\\tau } {{\\alpha }}_{\\text{p}} \\text{I} \\text{W} \\text{d}\\text{x}={\\text{U}}_{\\text{t}}\\left({\\text{T}}_{\\text{p}}-{\\text{T}}_{\\text{a}}\\right) \\text{W} \\text{d}\\text{x}+{\\text{h}}_{\\text{p}\\text{f}}\\left({\\text{T}}_{\\text{p}}-{\\text{T}}_{\\text{f}}\\right) \\text{W} \\text{d}\\text{x} (1\\)\u003c/span\u003e \u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOverall top loss coefficient;\u003cdiv id=\"Equa\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equa\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$${\\text{U}}_{\\text{t}}={\\left[\\frac{1}{{\\text{h}}_{\\text{p}\\text{g}}}+\\frac{1}{{\\text{h}}_{\\text{g}\\text{a}}}\\right]}^{-1}$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEnergy balance for working fluid (air) is given by the following equation (Mohana et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e);\u003cdiv id=\"Equb\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equb\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$${\\text{h}}_{\\text{p}\\text{f}}\\left({\\text{T}}_{\\text{p}}-{\\text{T}}_{\\text{f}}\\right) \\text{W} \\text{d}\\text{x}=\\dot{\\text{m}} {\\text{C}}_{\\text{f}} {{\\text{T}}_{\\text{f}}}_{\\text{x}} \\text{d}\\text{x}+ {\\text{U}}_{\\text{b}}\\left({\\text{T}}_{\\text{f}}-{\\text{T}}_{\\text{a}}\\right) \\text{W} \\text{d}\\text{x} \\left(2\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equc\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equc\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$${{\\text{T}}_{\\text{f}}}_{\\text{x}} \\text{i}\\text{s} \\text{t}\\text{h}\\text{e} \\text{d}\\text{e}\\text{r}\\text{i}\\text{v}\\text{a}\\text{t}\\text{i}\\text{v}\\text{e} \\text{o}\\text{f} \\text{f}\\text{l}\\text{u}\\text{i}\\text{d} \\text{t}\\text{e}\\text{m}\\text{p}\\text{e}\\text{r}\\text{a}\\text{t}\\text{u}\\text{r}\\text{e} \\text{w}\\text{i}\\text{t}\\text{h} \\text{r}\\text{e}\\text{s}\\text{p}\\text{e}\\text{c}\\text{t} \\text{t}\\text{o} \\text{c}\\text{h}\\text{a}\\text{n}\\text{g}\\text{e} \\text{i}\\text{n} \\text{x}.$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInitial and boundary conditions;\u003cdiv id=\"Equd\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equd\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$${\\text{T}}_{\\text{f}}={\\text{T}}_{\\text{f}\\text{i}} \\text{a}\\text{t} \\text{x}=0$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Eque\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Eque\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$${\\text{T}}_{\\text{f}0}={\\text{T}}_{\\text{f}} \\text{a}\\text{t} \\text{x}=\\text{L}$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnd the rate of thermal energy available at the outlet of air collector;\u003cdiv id=\"Equf\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equf\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\dot{{\\text{Q}}_{\\text{u}}}=\\dot{\\text{m}} {\\text{C}}_{\\text{f} } \\left({\\text{T}}_{\\text{f}0}-{\\text{T}}_{\\text{f}\\text{i}}\\right) \\left(3\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEnergy balance for the drying chamber (Mohana et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e);\u003cdiv id=\"Equg\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equg\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\dot{\\text{m}} {\\text{C}}_{\\text{f} } \\left({\\text{T}}_{\\text{f}0}-{\\text{T}}_{\\text{f}\\text{i}}\\right)= {\\text{M}}_{\\text{s}}{\\text{C}}_{\\text{s}} {{\\text{T}}_{\\text{s}}}_{\\text{t}}+\\text{h} \\left({\\text{T}}_{\\text{s}}+{\\text{T}}_{\\text{c}\\text{h}}\\right) {\\text{A}}_{\\text{c}\\text{h}} \\left(4\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eand\u003cdiv id=\"Equh\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equh\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\text{h} \\left({\\text{T}}_{\\text{s}}-{\\text{T}}_{\\text{c}\\text{h}}\\right){\\text{A}}_{\\text{c}\\text{h}} = \\dot{\\text{m}} {\\text{C}}_{\\text{f} } \\left({\\text{T}}_{\\text{c}\\text{h}}-{\\text{T}}_{\\text{a}}\\right)+{\\text{h}}_{\\text{s}\\text{w}} {\\text{A}}_{\\text{s}\\text{w}} \\left({\\text{T}}_{\\text{c}\\text{h}}-{\\text{T}}_{\\text{a}}\\right) \\left(5\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThermal efficiency\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThermal efficiency is calculated as (Mohana et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e);\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Equi\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e \u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equi\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$${\\eta }=\\frac{{\\text{M}}_{\\text{e}\\text{v}}\\times {\\lambda }}{3600\\times \\text{I}\\left(\\text{t}\\right)} \\times 100 \\left(6\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eNumerical solution\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mathematical model of a fabricated solar dryer has been discussed. Eq.\u0026nbsp;2 and Eq.\u0026nbsp;4 are ordinary differential equations and all other equations are algebraic. These equations have been solved in a MATLAB environment to obtain the results (Singh et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020b\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSimulation algorithm\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA simulation algorithm is a technique to explain the step by step procedure of the experimental work and solution of the developed thermal model. In the modeling section, we started from the energy balance and wrote the model equation in terms of drying chamber temperature (T\u003csub\u003ech\u003c/sub\u003e), collector plate temperature (T\u003csub\u003ep\u003c/sub\u003e), and food sample temperature (T\u003csub\u003ec\u003c/sub\u003e) along with suitable initial and boundary conditions. All these listed equations have been solved in a MATLAB environment by suitable programming to get the results. Experimentation of the sample has been done with a fabricated dryer to monitor the temperatures of the different sections of the dryer with the help of an infrared thermometer (Singh et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020a\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe obtained triplicate experimental data have been fitted in a suitable model. Origin lab software has been used to plot the profiles of the temperatures of the drying chamber, collector plate, and sample with thermal efficiency. The standard deviation of each data point has been calculated to find out the error between the model and experimental results data.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eAnalysis of variance (ANOVA)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt is used to analyze the difference within and between the samples. Here, three different experimental data of samples have been used to prepare the ANOVA table. ANOVA depends on the following equations;\u003cdiv id=\"Equj\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equj\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\text{G}\\text{r}\\text{a}\\text{n}\\text{d} \\text{t}\\text{o}\\text{t}\\text{a}\\text{l} \\left(\\text{T}\\right)={\\text{X}}_{1}+{\\text{X}}_{2}+{\\text{X}}_{3} \\left(7\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equk\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equk\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\text{C}\\text{o}\\text{r}\\text{r}\\text{e}\\text{c}\\text{t}\\text{i}\\text{o}\\text{n} \\text{f}\\text{a}\\text{c}\\text{t}\\text{o}\\text{r}=\\left(\\frac{{\\text{T}}^{2}}{\\text{M}}\\right) \\left(8\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equl\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equl\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\text{S}\\text{u}\\text{m} \\text{o}\\text{f} \\text{s}\\text{q}\\text{u}\\text{a}\\text{r}\\text{e} \\text{b}\\text{e}\\text{t}\\text{w}\\text{e}\\text{e}\\text{n} \\text{s}\\text{a}\\text{m}\\text{p}\\text{l}\\text{e}\\text{s} \\left(\\text{S}\\text{S}\\text{C}\\right)=\\frac{{\\left(\\sum {\\text{X}}_{1}\\right)}^{2}}{{\\text{n}}_{1}}+\\frac{{\\left(\\sum {\\text{X}}_{2}\\right)}^{2}}{{\\text{n}}_{2}}+\\frac{{\\left(\\sum {\\text{X}}_{3}\\right)}^{2}}{{\\text{n}}_{3}}-\\frac{{\\text{T}}^{2}}{\\text{N}} \\left(9\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equm\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equm\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\text{D}\\text{e}\\text{g}\\text{r}\\text{e}\\text{e} \\text{o}\\text{f} \\text{f}\\text{r}\\text{e}\\text{e}\\text{d}\\text{o}\\text{m} \\text{f}\\text{o}\\text{r} \\text{S}\\text{S}\\text{C}=\\text{K}-1 \\left(10\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equn\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equn\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\text{T}\\text{o}\\text{t}\\text{a}\\text{l} \\text{s}\\text{u}\\text{m} \\text{o}\\text{f} \\text{s}\\text{q}\\text{u}\\text{a}\\text{r}\\text{e} \\left(\\text{S}\\text{S}\\text{T}\\right)={\\sum {\\text{X}}_{1}}^{2}+{\\sum {\\text{X}}_{2}}^{2}+{\\sum {\\text{X}}_{3}}^{2}-\\frac{{\\text{T}}^{2}}{\\text{N}} \\left(11\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equo\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equo\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\text{D}\\text{e}\\text{g}\\text{r}\\text{e}\\text{e} \\text{o}\\text{f} \\text{f}\\text{r}\\text{e}\\text{e}\\text{d}\\text{o}\\text{m} \\text{f}\\text{o}\\text{r} \\text{S}\\text{S}\\text{T}=\\text{M}-1 \\left(12\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equp\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equp\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\text{S}\\text{u}\\text{m} \\text{o}\\text{f} \\text{s}\\text{q}\\text{u}\\text{a}\\text{r}\\text{e} \\text{w}\\text{i}\\text{t}\\text{h}\\text{i}\\text{n} \\text{s}\\text{a}\\text{m}\\text{p}\\text{l}\\text{e} \\left(\\text{S}\\text{S}\\text{E}\\right)=\\text{S}\\text{S}\\text{T}-\\text{S}\\text{S}\\text{C} \\left(13\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equq\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equq\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\text{D}\\text{e}\\text{g}\\text{r}\\text{e}\\text{e} \\text{o}\\text{f} \\text{f}\\text{r}\\text{e}\\text{e}\\text{d}\\text{o}\\text{m} \\text{f}\\text{o}\\text{r} \\text{S}\\text{S}\\text{E}=\\text{M}-\\text{K} \\left(14\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equr\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equr\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\text{M}\\text{e}\\text{a}\\text{n} \\text{s}\\text{u}\\text{m} \\text{o}\\text{f} \\text{s}\\text{q}\\text{u}\\text{a}\\text{r}\\text{e} \\text{b}\\text{e}\\text{t}\\text{w}\\text{e}\\text{e}\\text{n} \\text{s}\\text{a}\\text{m}\\text{p}\\text{l}\\text{e}\\text{s} \\left(\\text{M}\\text{S}\\text{C}\\right)=\\frac{\\text{S}\\text{S}\\text{C}}{\\text{K}-1} \\left(15\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equs\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equs\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\text{M}\\text{e}\\text{a}\\text{n} \\text{s}\\text{u}\\text{m} \\text{o}\\text{f} \\text{s}\\text{q}\\text{u}\\text{a}\\text{r}\\text{e} \\text{w}\\text{i}\\text{t}\\text{h} \\text{i}\\text{n} \\text{s}\\text{a}\\text{m}\\text{p}\\text{l}\\text{e} \\left(\\text{M}\\text{S}\\text{E}\\right)=\\frac{\\text{S}\\text{S}\\text{E}}{\\text{M}-\\text{K}} \\left(16\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Equt\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equt\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\text{F}-\\text{r}\\text{a}\\text{t}\\text{i}\\text{o} \\left(\\text{F}\\right)=\\frac{\\text{M}\\text{S}\\text{C}}{\\text{M}\\text{S}\\text{E}} \\left(17\\right)$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eM is the total number of samples.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhere, X\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e, X\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, and X\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e are the experimental sample data values.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eK is the number of experimental runs.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e, n\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, and n\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e are the number of samples in each run.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe solution of the above-listed equations has been obtained by putting the experimental data value and shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnalysis of variance of experimental data\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSource of variation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSum of square\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDegree of freedom\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean sum of square\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eF- ratio\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBetween samples\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSSC\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.06\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMSC\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.031\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eF\u003csub\u003e(2,11)\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.013\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWithin Sample\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSSE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;26.55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMSE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSST\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;26.61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results and discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHeat transfer based model has been solved by using some input parameters. These input parameters have been observed and calculated manually and listed in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInput parameter values (Mohana et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Singh et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020b\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParameters\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eValues\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDimensions of food sample (l x b) (mm)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35 x 30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFluid (air) temperature (\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAir velocity (m/s)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLatent heat of vaporization of water (J/gm)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2257\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMass of evaporated water (gm)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eObservation of ambient temperature and solar radiation with drying time\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eSolar radiation is an important parameter to generate heat inside the dryer. It is the amount of energy received by the solar collector (Wenceslas and Ghislain \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Ambient temperature and solar radiation have been measured by the infrared thermometer and solar power meter respectively. The variation in average solar radiation and average ambient temperature with respect to drying time has been shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt depicts that initially at 11:00, the value of average solar radiation and average ambient temperature are 312 W/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e and 35\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eC respectively. In the morning time, we found weak solar radiation, but with the increase in sunshine, the value of average solar radiation and average ambient temperature also increased gradually and achieved maximum values as 664 W/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e and 41\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eC respectively at noon. After some time, the amount of solar radiation has been decreased when the sun moves towards the West direction.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eObservation of collector plate and drying chamber temperatures with respect to drying time\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eA solar collector is a receiver of the solar radiation and converts into heat energy and transfers this heat to the indirect type solar dryer (Wenceslas and Ghislain \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Figure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e(a) shows the temperature variation received by the collector with respect to drying time. Solar plate temperature depends on the amount of solar radiation fallen on it. Initially, the average collector plate sample has been measured as 64.5\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eC at 11:00m AM.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter one hour the solar collector plate achieved a maximum temperature of 73.7\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eC at noon due to maximum solar radiation as 664 W/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e. When the sun moves towards the West direction, the temperature of the collector plate has been decreased due to reduction in solar radiation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA drying chamber is the main part of a solar dryer. It receives the heat from the solar collector and circulates it through the sample trays. The temperature of the drying chamber does not directly depend on the solar radiation but it can be influenced by the losses of heat from the chamber through the dryer\u0026rsquo;s walls (Wenceslas and Ghislain \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e(b) depicts the variation in the temperature of the drying chamber with respect to the drying time. Initially, the temperature of the chamber has been measured as 57.7\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eC at 11:00 with the help of an infrared thermometer. After some time, the temperature profiles have been shown the increment and decrement due to the non-regularity of the heat supply by the solar collector.\u003c/p\u003e \u003ch2\u003eVariation in food sample temperature with respect to drying time\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eA food sample (potato) has been placed on the feed tray inside the drying chamber. The food sample has been received the amount of heat from the drying chamber to evaporate the moisture content for food preservation. The moisture content in the food sample is a key parameter to analyze the shelf life (Kavak Akpinar \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Mahapatra and Tripathy \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Tagnamas et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Figure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e shows the variation in the average sample temperature with respect to drying time. Initially, the average temperature of the food sample was around 30\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eC, but as soon as the sample received heat from the drying chamber, it increases more than 50\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eC. This temperature range was suitable for moisture evaporation. When moisture is removing from the food sample, the temperature of the sample increases gradually.\u003c/p\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEstimation of thermal efficiency\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe thermal efficiency of a solar dryer is defined as the ratio of heat utilized by the food sample to the heat supplied by the solar dryer. It directly depends on the amount of moisture evaporation from the potato food material for given solar radiation (Wenceslas and Ghislain \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Darici and Kilic \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Figure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e depicts the hourly variation in the thermal efficiency of the solar dryer. We found the maximum thermal efficiency as 53.7% at 11:00 AM at 312 W/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e because at this stage maximum moisture evaporation takes place and food sample has been utilized the maximum heat for evaporation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfter some time, the food sample attained the equilibrium moisture condition and takes less amount of heat for moisture evaporation, and then the value of the thermal efficiency has been decreases continuously because the amount of utilized heat decreases but the amount of the heat transferred by the solar dryer continuously increases with drying time. Therefore, we got minimum efficiency at 14:00 PM, while there was sufficient amount of solar radiation as 664 W/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003ch2\u003eValidation of the model\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel validity is a key component to prove the truthness of the developed thermal model with the help of experimental investigations. Figure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e and Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e represents the temperature variations of the collector plate, drying chamber, and food sample respectively with drying time for the model as well as experimental data. The model data has been found in good agreement with performed experimental data within error of 4%.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDeveloped thermal model of a fabricated solar dryer has been analyzed through computational and experimental studies. MATLAB software has been used to solve the mathematical equations of the thermal model. Variation in temperature of different sections of solar dryer such as collector plate, drying chamber, and food sample have been monitored and calculated. The maximum solar radiation and ambient temperature have been found as 664 W/m\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e and 41\u003csup\u003e0\u003c/sup\u003eC respectively at noon. The maximum thermal efficiency of the solar dryer has been calculated as 53.7%. It is also found that the model data are in good agreement with experimental data within 4% error. Our fabricated solar dryer has been found suitable to provide enough heat to the food sample to enhance the shelf life (preservation period) of the food material. It is also suitable for processing different food materials such as grains, and vegetables.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"List of symbols","content":"\u003ctable border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"669\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026tau;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTransmissivity\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003edimensionless\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eM\u003csub\u003eev\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEvaporated moisture content\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003egm moisture (gm db)\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026alpha;\u003csub\u003ep\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAbsorptivity\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003em\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e/s\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSolar radiation\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eW/m\u003csup\u003e2\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eW\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWidth of absorber\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003em\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eT\u003csub\u003ep\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePlate temperature\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eT\u003csub\u003ea\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAmbient temperature\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eh\u003csub\u003epf\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eConvective heat transfer coefficient from plate to fluid\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eW/m\u003csup\u003e2 o\u003c/sup\u003eC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eT\u003csub\u003ef\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFluid temperature\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eh\u003csub\u003ega\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eConvective heat transfer coefficient from glass to ambient\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eW/m\u003csup\u003e2 o\u003c/sup\u003eC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMass flow rate of fluid\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003egm/s\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eC\u003csub\u003ef\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSpecific heat of fluid\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eJ/gm K\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eU\u003csub\u003eb\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOverall heat transfer coefficient from fluid to ambient through bottom insulation\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eW/m\u003csup\u003e2 o\u003c/sup\u003eC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eM\u003csub\u003es\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMass of the sample\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;gm\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eC\u003csub\u003es\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSpecific heat of the sample\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;J/gm K\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eT\u003csub\u003es\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSample temperature\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eT\u003csub\u003ech\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDrying chamber temperature\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eA\u003csub\u003ech\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDrying chamber area\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003em\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eh\u003csub\u003esw\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eheat transfer coefficient of side wall\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eW/m\u003csup\u003e2 o\u003c/sup\u003eC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eA\u003csub\u003esw\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eArea of side wall\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003em\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.726457399103139%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lambda;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"65.02242152466367%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eLatent heat of vaporization of water\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.251121076233183%\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eJ/gm\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors are grateful to Dr. APJ AKTU, Lucknow for financial and technical support.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent to Participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e:\u003c/strong\u003e Not applicable\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent to Publish:\u003c/strong\u003e Not applicable\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors Contributions:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMukul Sengar:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eMethodology, Original draft preparation, Software \u003cstrong\u003eDhananjay Singh:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eConceptualization, Supervision, Editing,\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;Pradeep Kumar Mishra :\u003c/strong\u003e Reviewing, Investigation. \u003cstrong\u003eDeepak Singh:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e Data curation, Validation, \u003cstrong\u003eBalendu Shekher Giri :\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eSupervision.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding:\u003c/strong\u003e Not applicable\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailability of data and materials:\u003c/strong\u003e Not applicable\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests:\u003c/strong\u003e The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This paper contains no studies with human or animal subjects.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAghbashlo M, M\u0026uuml;ller J, Mobli H, et al (2015) Modeling and Simulation of Deep-Bed Solar Greenhouse Drying of Chamomile Flowers. Drying Technology 33:684\u0026ndash;695. https://doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2014.981278\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAkpinar EK (2010) Drying of mint leaves in a solar dryer and under open sun: Modelling, performance analyses. Energy Conversion and Management 51:2407\u0026ndash;2418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2010.05.005\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eArslan D, \u0026Ouml;zcan MM (2012) Evaluation of Drying Methods with Respect to Drying Kinetics, Mineral Content, and Color Characteristics of Savory Leaves. Food and Bioprocess Technology 5:983\u0026ndash;991. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-010-0498-y\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAydin D, Ezenwali SE, Alibar MY, Chen X (2019) Novel modular mixed-mode dryer for enhanced solar energy utilization in agricultural crop drying applications. Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization and Environmental Effects 00:1\u0026ndash;17. https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2019.1663306\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBabu AK, Kumaresan G, Raj VAA, Velraj R (2018) Review of leaf drying: Mechanism and influencing parameters, drying methods, nutrient preservation, and mathematical models. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 90:536\u0026ndash;556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.04.002\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBadaoui O, Hanini S, Djebli A, et al (2019) Experimental and modelling study of tomato pomace waste drying in a new solar greenhouse: Evaluation of new drying models. Renewable Energy 133:144\u0026ndash;155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.10.020\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDarici S, Kilic A (2020) Comparative study on the performances of solar air collectors with trapezoidal corrugated and flat absorber plates. Heat and Mass Transfer/Waerme- und Stoffuebertragung 56:1833\u0026ndash;1843. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-020-02815-y\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDarvishi H, Khafajeh H, Banakar A (2013) Effect of Shape Potato Chips on Drying Characteristics. 2009\u0026ndash;2018\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDjebli A, Hanini S, Badaoui O, et al (2020) Modeling and comparative analysis of solar drying behavior of potatoes. Renewable Energy 145:1494\u0026ndash;1506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.07.083\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHamdi I, Kooli S, Elkhadraoui A, et al (2018) Experimental study and numerical modeling for drying grapes under solar greenhouse. Renewable Energy 936\u0026ndash;946. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.05.027\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHegde VN, Hosur VS, Rathod SK, et al (2015) Design, fabrication and performance evaluation of solar dryer for banana. Energy, Sustainability and Society 5:. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-015-0052-x\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHidar N, Ouhammou M, Mghazli S, et al (2020) The impact of solar convective drying on kinetics, bioactive compounds and microstructure of stevia leaves. Renewable Energy 161:1176\u0026ndash;1183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.07.124\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKavak Akpinar E (2019) The effects of some exergetic indicators on the performance of thin layer drying process of long green pepper in a solar dryer. Heat and Mass Transfer/Waerme- und Stoffuebertragung 55:299\u0026ndash;308. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-018-2415-2\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKumar A, Singh M, Singh G (2013) Effect of different pretreatments on the quality of mushrooms during solar drying. Journal of Food Science and Technology 50:165\u0026ndash;170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-011-0320-5\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMahapatra A, Tripathy PP (2019) Experimental investigation and numerical modeling of heat transfer during solar drying of carrot slices. Heat and Mass Transfer/Waerme- und Stoffuebertragung 55:1287\u0026ndash;1300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-018-2492-2\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMghazli S, Ouhammou M, Hidar N, et al (2017) Drying characteristics and kinetics solar drying of Moroccan rosemary leaves. Renewable Energy 108:303\u0026ndash;310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2017.02.022\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMohana Y, Mohanapriya R, Anukiruthika T, et al (2020) Solar dryers for food applications: Concepts, designs, and recent advances. Solar Energy 208:321\u0026ndash;344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2020.07.098\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMuralidhar Singh M, Kumar H, Nagesha K V., et al (2019) Evaluation of Multilayer Thin Film Coatings for Solar Thermal Applications. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering 44:7789\u0026ndash;7797. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-019-03904-9\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReyes A, V\u0026aacute;squez J, Pailahueque N, Mahn A (2019) Effect of drying using solar energy and phase change material on kiwifruit properties. Drying Technology 37:232\u0026ndash;244. https://doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2018.1450268\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSimo-Tagne M, Bennamoun L (2018) Numerical study of timber solar drying with application to different geographical and climatic conditions in Central Africa. Solar Energy 170:454\u0026ndash;469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.05.070\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSingh D, Singh D, Husain S (2020a) Computational analysis of temperature distribution in microwave-heated potatoes. Food Science and Technology International 26:465\u0026ndash;474. https://doi.org/10.1177/1082013220907434\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSingh D, Singh D, Sengar M, Kumar S (2020b) Mathematical modeling for drying of Solanum tuberosum under the indirect type solar dryer. 97:1720\u0026ndash;1724\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTagnamas Z, Lamsyehe H, Moussaoui H, et al (2021) Energy and exergy analyses of carob pulp drying system based on a solar collector. Renewable Energy 163:495\u0026ndash;503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.09.011\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTomar V, Tiwari GN, Norton B (2017) Solar dryers for tropical food preservation: Thermophysics of crops, systems and components. Solar Energy 154:2\u0026ndash;13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2017.05.066\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTunde-Akintunde TY (2011) Mathematical modeling of sun and solar drying of chilli pepper. Renewable Energy 36:2139\u0026ndash;2145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2011.01.017\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWenceslas KY, Ghislain T (2019) Experimental Validation of Exergy Optimization of a Flat-Plate Solar Collector in a Thermosyphon Solar Water Heater. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering 44:2535\u0026ndash;2549. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-018-3227-x\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"environmental-science-and-pollution-research","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"espr","sideBox":"Learn more about [Environmental Science and Pollution Research](https://www.springer.com/journal/11356)","snPcode":"11356","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11356/3","title":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Shelf life, Infrared thermometer, MATLAB, Solar power meter, Solar drying","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3017780/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3017780/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSolar drying is a non-polluting and economic drying process which utilizes solar energy to dry the food materials for better shelf life. We have fabricated a simple, efficient, and economically feasible indirect type solar dryer for food preservation. This article presents the dynamic model of fabricated solar dryer. This model consists of thermal modeling of the drying chamber, solar collector, and solar dried- food sample. The energy balance has been applied to evaluate the temperature at different sections of the solar dryer with respect to drying time. Model equations have been solved in the MATLAB environment. Solar power meter and infrared thermometer used as measuring instruments. This study helps to examine the influence of solar radiation on the collector plate temperature, drying chamber temperature, food sample temperature, and performance parameters such as thermal efficiency with respect to drying time. Model data has been found in good agreement with experimental data within 4% error. It is concluded that the drying of food material is affected by air temperature, the collector temperature, mode of heat transfer, and material characteristics such as dimension, and mass of the food sample.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Computational study of the performance of a solar dryer for improvement in the shelf life of the food materials","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2023-07-21 15:08:50","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3017780/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2023-07-18T12:22:08+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2023-07-18T08:20:05+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2023-07-06T04:56:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research","date":"2023-07-01T05:06:23+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"environmental-science-and-pollution-research","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"espr","sideBox":"Learn more about [Environmental Science and Pollution Research](https://www.springer.com/journal/11356)","snPcode":"11356","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11356/3","title":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"4f473780-c63f-4105-8a5d-fa12f0590b58","owner":[],"postedDate":"July 21st, 2023","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-05-07T00:38:00+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-3017780","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33209-w","journal":{"identity":"environmental-science-and-pollution-research","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research"},"publishedOn":"2024-05-06 00:37:59","publishedOnDateReadable":"May 6th, 2024"},"versionCreatedAt":"2023-07-21 15:08:50","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s11356-024-33209-w","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33209-w","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3017780","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3017780","identity":"rs-3017780","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"WrCJVZZCHTDjtuVLN7oU0","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}