A Preliminary Experimental and Numerical Analysis of a Novel Solar Dryer

In this study, a novel solar dryer is presented and analyzed experimentally and numerically. The proposed device is a small, passive, indirect solar dryer that works in an unconventional way. The product is mainly heated by irradiation from the walls of the drying chamber, while its moisture is removed by an airflow caused by natural convection. In addition, it is a low-cost solar dryer made of readily available materials and has a variable geometry that allows it to increase its thermal performance. Two types of experimental tests were conducted to analyze its performance. Thermal tests without load were carried out to assess the suitability of the drying chamber temperatures. Load tests with various masses and types of food were carried out to evaluate its drying performance. The results of the experimental tests demonstrated that the solar dryer achieved temperatures suitable for food drying and was able to dry the tested foods. Finally, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was developed to predict the performance of the proposed solar dryer. The validation of the numerical model with experimental data confirms their reliability in accurately predicting the temperatures within the dryer.