Energy Equipment and Systems

Energy Equipment and Systems

Experimental assessment of a solar dryer enhanced by a porous absorber plate and PCM heat storage

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Hussein Khalaf Jobair 1
Mohammed Nima 2
1 Energy Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
2 Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
10.22059/ees.2024.2023073.1456
Abstract
This research presents an experimental investigation into a double-pass counter-flow solar air heater (DCSAH) incorporating a copper foam absorber plate and PCM heat storage for drying purposes, conducted with a no-load case under Iraq's meteorological conditions in Baghdad (Latitude 33.3⁰N). A total of 36 kilograms of paraffin wax serves as the phase change material, divided equally into two portions and enclosed within separate heat exchangers. The investigation examines the effects of mass flow rate, PCM utilization, and incident solar radiation on various parameters, including outlet air temperature, heat gained, thermal efficiency, benefit factor, and pressure drop across the solar collector. A comparative analysis is performed with a flat plate solar dryer featuring a traditional absorber plate. The findings reveal that, compared to a flat absorber plate, the DCSAH's thermal efficiency improves by (15%, 19%, and 22%) for air mass flow rates of 0.0076, 0.0118, and 0.0136 kg/s, respectively, when equipped with a copper foam absorber plate without PCM. Furthermore, the benefit factor surpasses 1 for an air mass flow rate of 0.0118 kg/s. Comparative analysis with previous studies indicates good agreement between the findings of this study and prior works.
Keywords
Solar Dryer
PCM
Copper Foam
Thermal Efficiency
Benefit Factor

Subjects

[1] Rabha DK, Muthukumar P. Performance studies on a forced convection solar dryer integrated with a paraffin wax–based latent heat storage system. Sol Energy. 2017;149:214-226.
[2] Jobair HK, Nima MA. The Indirect Solar Dryers with Innovative Solar Air Heaters. Designs: A Review Article. Heat Transfer.
[3] Mujumdar AS. Handbook of industrial drying. CRC Press; 2006.
[4] Karim MA, Hawlader MiN. Development of solar air collectors for drying applications.Energy Convers Manag. 2004;45(3):329-344.
[5] Abed QA, et al. Models for new corrugated and porous solar air collectors under transient operation. J Non-Equilib Thermodyn. 2017;42(1):79-97.
[6] Aboghrara AM, et al. Performance analysis of solar air heater with jet impingement on corrugated absorber plate. Case Stud Therm Eng. 2017;10:111-120.
[7] Al-Juamily KEJ, Khalifa ABN, Yassen TA. Testing of the performance of a fruit and vegetable solar drying system in Iraq. Desalination. 2007;209(1-3):163-170.
[8] Vishnu N, et al. Modelling, dynamic simulation and parametric studies of double pass solar air heater for solar drying application. J Phys Conf Ser. 2021;2054(1).
[9] Al-Bakri BA, Rasham AR, AlSulttani AO. Thermal performance of multiple-pass solar air heater with pin fins. J Eng Sci Technol. 2022;17(3):2192-2217.
[10] Chabane F, Moummi N, Benramache S. Experimental study of heat transfer and thermal performance with longitudinal fins of solar air heater. J Adv Res. 2014;5(2):183-192.
[11] Peng D, et al. Performance study of a novel solar air collector. Appl Therm Eng. 2010;30(16):2594-2601.
[12] Hassan H, Yousef MS, Abo-Elfadl S. Energy, exergy, economic and environmental assessment of double pass V-corrugated-perforated finned solar air heater at different air mass ratios. Sustain Energy Technol Assess. 2021;43:100936.
[13] Taha SY, Farhan AA. Performance augmentation of a solar air heater using herringbone metal foam fins: An experimental work. Int J Energy Res. 2021;45(2):2321-2333.
[14] Abhay L, Chandramohan VP, Raju VRK. Numerical analysis on solar air collector provided with artificial square shaped roughness for indirect type solar dryer. J Clean Prod. 2018;190:353-367.
[15] Aldabbagh LBY, Egelioglu F, İlkan M. Single and double pass solar air heaters with wire mesh as packing bed. Energy. 2010;35(9):3783-3787.
[16] Omojaro AP, Aldabbagh LBY. Experimental performance of single and double pass solar air heater with fins and steel wire mesh as absorber. Appl Energy. 2010;87(12):3759-3765.
[17] Babar OA, et al. Design and performance evaluation of a passive flat plate collector solar dryer for agricultural products. J Food Process Eng. 2020;43(10):e13484.
[18] Ganesh A, Sudhakar P. Experimental investigation of phase change material based thermal storage system for solar dryer applications. Int J Pure Appl Math. 2017;117(7):331-343.
[19] Kalash AR, Shijer SS, Habeeb LJ. Thermal performance improvement of double pass solar air heater. J Mech Eng Res Dev. 2020;43(5):355-372.
[20] Aboul-Enein S, et al. Parametric study of a solar air heater with and without thermal storage for solar drying applications. Renew Energy. 2000;21(3-4):505-522.
[21] Enibe SO. Performance of a natural circulation solar air heating system with phase change material energy storage. Renew Energy. 2002;27(1):69-86.
[22] Sopian KB, Sohif M, Alghoul M. Output air temperature prediction in a solar air heater integrated with phase change material. Eur J Sci Res. 2009;27(3):334-341.
[23] Ramirez C, Palacio M, Carmona M. Reduced model and comparative analysis of the thermal performance of indirect solar dryer with and without PCM. Energies. 2020;13(20):5508.
[24] El Khadraoui A, et al. Thermal behavior of indirect solar dryer: Nocturnal usage of solar air collector with PCM. J Clean Prod. 2017;148:37-48.
[25] Alhusseny ANM, Nasser A, Al-zurfi NM. High-porosity metal foams: potentials, applications, and formulations. Porosity-Process, Technol Appl. 2018;181-200.
[26] Jobair HK, Abdullah OI, Atyia ZM. Feasibility study of a solar flat plate collector for domestic and commercial applications under Iraq climate. J Phys Conf Ser. 2018;1032(1).
[27] Gerhart PM, Gerhart AL, Hochstein JI. Munson, Young and Okiishi's Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. John Wiley & Sons; 2016.
[28] Webb RL, Kim NY. Enhanced heat transfer. Taylor & Francis; 2005.
[29] Agrawal A, Sarviya RM. A review of research and development work on solar dryers with heat storage. Int J Sustain Energy. 2016;35(6):583-605.
[30] Mahmood AS. Experimental study on double-pass solar air heater with and without using phase change material. J Eng. 2019;25(2):1-17.
[31] Krishnananth SS, Kalidasa Murugavel K. Experimental study on double pass solar air heater with thermal energy storage. J King Saud Univ Eng Sci.2013;25(2):135-140.‏
 
Energy Equipment and Systems
Volume 12, Issue 4 - Serial Number 4
Autumn 2024
Pages 327-340