Topic Proposal

“Designing and fabrication of Solar Food Dryer with Thermal

Storage”

Session 2017-21

Group Member
Mohsin Raza UET/SCET-17F-ME-044
Rashid Abbas UET/SCET-17F-ME-035
Faizan Ahmed UET/SCET-17F-ME-012

Supervisor: Engr. Haseeb Ur Rehman

Supervisor Signature: _____ _

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SWEDISH COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY,

WAH CANTT

(Affiliated with University of Engineering & Technology Taxila)

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Table of Contents
Report 1.......................................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Introduction:..................................................................................................................................3
1.2Aims & Objectives:...........................................................................................................................3
1.3Historical Background:....................................................................................................................4
1.4Problem Statement:..........................................................................................................................5
1.5Methodology:.....................................................................................................................................5
1.5.1Theoretical Studies......................................................................................................................5
1.6Experimental Setup..........................................................................................................................5
1.6.1Schematic Diagram....................................................................................................................5
1.6.2 Require Components................................................................................................................6
1.7Working Principle............................................................................................................................6
1.8Performance Evaluation..................................................................................................................7
1.9Result Expected................................................................................................................................7
1.10Benefits and Fusibility....................................................................................................................8
1.11Work Schedule Plan.......................................................................................................................8
1.12Board of Graduate Studies Remarks..........................................................................................10

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 1. Report 1
Topic Proposal

“Designing and fabrication of Solar Food Dryer with Thermal

Storage”

1.1. Introduction
Preservation of agricultural produce is one of the central problems faced by developing
countries. And as time goes on, these problems will be aggravated by the growing dietary needs of the
ever-increasing population of these countries. In many developing countries large quantities of fruits and
vegetables spoil due to inadequate infrastructure, insufficient processing capacities, and growing
marketing difficulties caused by intensifying competition and protectionism in the worldwide agricultural
markets. Up to 70 per cent of agricultural products spoil during the traditional process of open-air drying,
especially in tropical and subtropical regions. Drying these products can help solve these problems, while
also making an important contribution to improving the population's income and supply situation. Drying
is an important form of food preservation that is often carried out at farm level right after harvest, or
especially with highly perishable crops, at peak harvest time when local markets are saturated. Drying
vegetables, fruits and meat with thermal energy enables longer storage times and easier transportation. Up
to 70 per cent of agricultural products spoil during the traditional process of open-air drying, especially in
tropical and subtropical regions. Agricultural products can be dried open-air or unimproved, directly in
the sun, with biomass or in solar dryers.[1][2]

1.2. Aims & Objectives

The main Objectives of design project are:

 Designing & fabrication of Food Dryer with Thermal storage to heat air to a constant
temperature with solar energy, which facilitates extraction of humidity from food inside a
drying chamber.
 To fabricate a such model which protects our products against flies, pests, rain and dust.

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1.3. Historical Background
The idea of using solar energy to produce high temperature dates back to ancient
times. The solar radiation has been used by man since the beginning of time for heating his
domicile, for agricultural purposes and for personal comfort. Reports abound in literature on the
18th century works of Archimedes on concentrating the sun’s rays with flat mirrors; Antoine
Lavoisier on solar furnace; Joseph Priestly on concentrating rays using lens. In the 19th century,
development of solar distillation unit covering 4750sq meters of land, operated for 40 years and,
producing 6,000 gallons of water from salt water per day has been reported. Also, John Ericson’s
work on conversion of solar energy into mechanical energy through a device, which produced
1hp (746 W) for each 9.3m2 of collecting surface has also been reported. Modern research on the
use of solar energy started during the 20th century. Developments include the invention of a
solar boiler, small powered steam engines and solar battery, but it is difficult to market them in
competition with engines running on inexpensive gasoline. During the mid-1970’s shortages of
oil and natural gas, increase in the cost of fossil fuels and the depletion of other resources
stimulated efforts in the United States to develop solar energy into a practical power source.
Thus, interest was rekindled in the harnessing of solar energy for heating and cooling, the
generation of electricity and other purposes.

Several thousand transpired solar collector systems have been installed in a variety of
commercial, industrial, institutional, agricultural, and process applications in over 35 countries
around the world. The technology was originally used primarily in industrial applications such as
manufacturing and assembly plants where there were high ventilation requirements, stratified
ceiling heat, and often negative pressure in the building. The first unglazed transpired collector in
the world was installed by Ford Motor Company on their assembly plant in Oakville, Canada
With the increasing drive to install renewable energy systems on buildings, transpired solar
collectors are now used across the entire building stock because of high energy production (up to
500-600 peak thermal Watts/square meter), high solar conversion (up to 90%) and lower capital
costs when compared against solar photovoltaic and solar water heating.[1][2]

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1.4. Problem Statement
Storage has been a major challenge to world farmers right from the onset of
agriculture and researchers have been coming up with ideas theories and idea on how to tackle
this problem. However, moisture content reduction is essential before storage, crops must be
dried before storing them. Hence there is a need for reliable, efficient and cost friendly way of
reducing moisture content of farm produce for effective storage.

1.5. Methodology:
1.5.1. Theoretical Studies
What will we Design?
We design a solar heat collector which collect heat from sun and we use this heat for
removing humidification from food and also store Access solar energy for future use. By using previous
concepts, we also try to improve the efficiency of solar food dryer.

1.6. Experimental Setup

1.6.1. Schematic Diagram [3]

Figure 1: Schematic Diagram

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1.6.2. Require Components
Materials to be used are as follows:

 Wood
 Solar panel
 Fan
 Mild steel sheet(metro)
 Net cloth and wooden frame
 insulating sheet
 Insect net
 Nails and glues
 Hinges
 Paint (black and gray)

1.7. Working Principle

The solar collector assembly consists of air flow channel enclosed by transparent
glass. An absorber mesh screen midway between the glass cover and the absorber back plate
provides effective air heating because solar radiation that passes through the transparent cover is
then absorbed by both the mesh and back-plate. One end of the solar collector has an air inlet
vent of area. The collector plate is always tilted and oriented in such a way that it receives
maximum solar radiation during the desired season of used. The best stationary orientation is due
south in the northern hemisphere and due north in southern hemisphere. Therefore, solar
collector in this work is oriented facing south and tilted at 24° to the horizontal. This inclination
is also to allow easy run off of water and enhance air circulation. The drying chamber together
with the structural frame of the dryer was built from plywood. An outlet vent was provided
toward the upper end at the back of the cabinet to facilitate and control the convection flow of air
through the dryer. Access door to the drying chamber was also provided at the front of the
cabinet. This consists of wooden panels, which overlapped each other to prevent air leakages
when closed. The inside of chamber area is covered by aluminum foils to reduce leakage of heat.
The drying trays are contained inside the drying chamber and were constructed from a fine wire
mesh with a fairly open structure to allow drying air to pass through the food item. The dryer is a
passive system in the sense that it has no moving parts. It is energized by the sun‘s rays entering

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through the collector glazing. The trapping of the rays is enhanced by the inside surfaces of the
collector that were painted black and the trapped energy heats the air inside the collector. The hot
air rises and escapes through the upper vent in the drying chamber while passing the chamber hot
air absorbs the moisture content from the drying item.

1.8. Performance Evaluation

The solar dryer will be placed under the sun light location. The experiments have
been conducted in daily 9 am to 5 pm for finding efficiency of heater and 5pm to 7 pm for
finding energy storing capacity. Slice potatoes have been chosen for samples. The Thermometer
was used for the measurement of temperature in the dryer. The temperature was measured for
each hour from 9 am
to 5 pm at two points namely Ambient air Temperature and outlet Temperature of drying
chamber. The weight of the vegetables measured using a digital weighing pan. All the
experiments were repeated to confirm the repeatability of the data obtained.[4]
Moisture Loss = Mi - Mf ---------------------------------------- (1)
Mi−Mf
Percentage of Moisture Removed = X100--------------(2)
Mi
Where,
Mt, Md-Initial and final mass of the product
Experimentation:
Drying of Potato Slice.
For example;
Initial mass of the potato slice (Mi)= 0.095 kg
Final mass of the potato slice after drying (Mf)= 0.0375 kg
Time taken for drying = 4 Hours
Moisture Loss = 0.0575 kg
Percentage of moisture Removed= 60.5%

1.9. Result Expected

There are two basic mechanisms involved in the drying process: The migration of moisture from
the interior of an individual material to the surface, and the evaporation of moisture from the
surface to the surrounding air. The drying of a product is a complex heat and mass transfer
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 process which depends on external variables such as temperature, humidity and velocity of the
air stream and internal variables which depend on parameters like surface characteristics (rough
or smooth surface), chemical composition (sugars, starches, etc.), physical structure (porosity,
density, etc.), and size and shape of products. The rate of moisture movement from the product
inside to the air outside differs from one product to another and depends very much on whether
the material is hygroscopic or non-hygroscopic. Non-hygroscopic materials can be dried to zero
moisture level while the hygroscopic materials like most of the food products will always have
residual moisture content. This moisture, in hygroscopic material, may be bound moisture which
remained in the material due to closed capillaries or due to surface forces and unbound moisture
which remained in the material due to the surface tension of water.[6]

1.10. Benefits and Fusibility [5]

 Drying is faster because inside the dryer it is warmer than outside.

 Less risk of spoilage because of the speed of drying. (if the drying process is slow the
fruit start to ferment and the product is spoilt).

 The product is protected against flies, pests, rain and dust.

 It is labor saving. The product can be left in the dryer overnight or during rain.

 The quality of the product is better in terms of nutrients, hygiene and color.

1.11. Work Schedule Plan

Phase September October November December January February March April May
2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2019 2019 2019

Collection of
relevant
literature and
data

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Experimental
Work

Compilation
of Result

Analysis of
Data

Final Write of
Thesis
Submission

1.12. Reference
[1].https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262864695_Historical_Review_and_Recent_Trend
s_in_Solar_Drying_Systems

[2].https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311951730_DESIGN_AND_DEVELOPMENT_O
F_SOLAR_DRYER_FOR_FRUIT_CHIPS

[3]. https://www.google.com/search?q=Sectional+view+of+shelf-
type+dryer+with+separate+collector&newwindow=1&sxsrf=ALeKk007Xfj-
PYHvW4tu5DZ9iwkEQHRRZw:1600594448357&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=znbxqlr6b
vIK1M%252CIpjaLazfFcNAqM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQm-
rBghgGz1vlyvW3zdcp2f_KjPQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiN_Jf8tvfrAhVLPBoKHYTzCKIQ9QF
6BAgKEAY#imgrc=znbxqlr6bvIK1M&imgdii=kpzhxwbnYLUUCM

[4].https://www.academia.edu/10761601/A_PROJECT_PROPOSAL_ON_DESIGN_AND_CO
NSTRUCTION_OF_A_MODIFIED_SOLAR_DRYER

[5]. https://www.nda.agric.za/docs/solar/solardrying.htm
[6]. https://www.slideshare.net/AnugrahSoy1/project-report-on-solar-dryer

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Board of Graduate Studies Remarks

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