PARAMETRIC STUDY OF A REVERSE FLAT-PLATE ABSORBER CABINET DRYER - A NEW CONCEPT

In this communication, the concept of reverse flat plate collector has been used as a heating medium of air for the drying of agricultural p roducts in a cabinet dryer. The reverse Bat plate absorber is a non-co ncentrating collector which can collect solar heat at high temperature unlike conventional nonconcentrating collectors. The thermal performa nce of the proposed dryer is analyzed by solving the various energy ba lance equations. An attempt has been made to optimize the vent area of the dryer for speedy Bow of humid air from the drying chamber to the atmosphere. In order to have parametric studies, numerical computation s have been carried out for a typical day in June for Delhi climatic c onditions. The performance of this system is compared with that of con ventional cabinet dryers. It is found that the reverse flat plate abso rber dryer gives the better performance. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd .