Accepted Manuscript

Title: Modeling and Simulated Design: A Novel Hybrid Dryer

and Dryer Design Software

Author: Fabrice Abunde Neba Yvette Jiokap Nono

PII: S0098-1354(17)30154-0
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.compchemeng.2017.04.002
Reference: CACE 5776

To appear in: Computers and Chemical Engineering

Received date: 5-12-2016

Revised date: 30-3-2017
Accepted date: 1-4-2017

Please cite this article as: Neba, F. A., and Nono, Y. J.,Modeling and Simulated Design: A
Novel Hybrid Dryer and Dryer Design Software, Computers and Chemical Engineering
(2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compchemeng.2017.04.002

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 Modeling and Simulated Design: A Novel Hybrid Dryer and Dryer Design Software
Fabrice ABUNDE NEBA and Yvette JIOKAP NONO*

University Institute of Technology (IUT) of the University of Ngaoundere, Department of

Chemical Engineering and Environment, P.O. Box: 455 Ngaoundere, Cameroon.

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* Corresponding author:
E-mail: jiokapnonoy@yahoo.fr

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Tel: (+237) 675 006 441

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Abstract

Solar-biomass hybrid dryers are widely used as environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil

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fuel dryers for the preservation of agricultural food products. However, the design and

optimization of hybrid dryers often involve the construction of expensive prototype systems and
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time consuming studies. This study presents a novel hybrid dryer model and a dryer design and

simulation software which can be used to improve hybrid dryer design efficiency. The
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methodology adopted is that of functional analysis and mathematical modeling, with MATLAB

employed to perform numerical simulations on the system and develop a dryer design and
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simulation interface. The software package has as main functions (a) dimensioning the hybrid
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dryer which comprises a solar collector, combustion reactor and tunnel drying chamber, (b) cost

analysis and financial appraisal, and (c) temperature dynamic simulation in the system. The
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novel software has been successfully employed to dimension a hybrid dryer for drying of green

pepper.

Key words: Modeling, Simulated design, Solar-biomass dryer, Design software, Food products.
1. Introduction

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Concerns about post-harvest losses, seasonal scarcity of food and agricultural products, and

global warming has led to growing worldwide interest in the development of environmentally

friendly solutions for the preservation of these products (FAO, 2011; Pardo and Zufia, 2012;

UNEP, 2014). Amongst the different techniques used for food preservation, product dehydration

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using dryers for the reduction of moisture content thereby increasing self-life has been shown by

several authors to be an easy and flexible method, easily amendable to the use of renewable

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energy resources (Arun et al., 2011; Wankhade et al., 2012). Drying of food products by means

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of fossil fuels such as coal, liquefied petroleum gas (Khafajeh et al., 2013; Dejahang, 2015) and

electrical methods such as microwave radiation (Darvishi et al., 2013; Patomsok, 2014) and

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infrared radiation (Adonis and Kahn, 2009) are more common, but these technologies are cost

inefficient and emit greenhouse gases which become environmentally limiting for use in
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commercial purposes (Pardo and Zufia, 2012).
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In several attempts to improve upon the environmental issues associated with drying, a variety of
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solar dryers were developed, which were very efficient in the reduction of moisture content and
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also greatly minimized the problems of environmental pollution (Janjai, 2012; Juneyd et al.,
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2016). However with field of drying shifting from domestic food preservation to commercial

scale, these approaches involving the capture of radiant energy becomes problematic due to the
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inefficiency of the system with varying weather conditions. The implementation and operation of

food dryers should focus on the use of reliable and readily available sources of energy and at this

level research has been geared towards the development of hybrid dryers which use both solar

and other energy sources such as biomass energy (Delgado et al., 2012; Dhanuskodi et al., 2013;

Gunasekaran et al., 2012; Okoroigwe et al., 2013). The design of hybrid dryers aiming at the

determination of optimum construction characteristics and operating conditions of each unit

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involved has become an increasingly challenging problem, often requiring the construction of

expensive prototype systems and time-consuming studies. (Gunasekaran et al., 2012; Okoroigwe

et al., 2013; Dhanushkodi et al., 2015). Alternatively the design and optimization of hybrid

dryers for food processing applications can be enhanced through the interactive usage of the

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computer to consider various design parameters and obtain an acceptable or optimal design,

involving mathematical modeling and employing the software for design simulation and

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analysis.

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Contrary to the extensive physical databases and software programs for chemical processes and

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operations, limited data bases and computer programs for food processing technology have been

published (Miles et al., 1983; Singh, 1993 as cited in Saravacos and Kostaropoulos, 1999). Over
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the past 3 decades, considerable effort has been geared towards development of various software

programs applicable to drying of food products (Menshutina and Kudra, 2001; Kemp, 2007).
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Lababidi and Baker (2003) presented an integrated Web-based fuzzy expert system for food
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dryer selection. An integrated computer-based dryer simulator for steady-state simulation of

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drying processes was developed by Kiranoudis et al. (1994). Identification of generic

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computation routines and their implementation in a computer code, dryPAK for the Simulation

of the process of convective drying is presented in Pakowski (1999). However, existing dryer
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design software such as simprosys, dryPAK and DrySel are limited to phenomena occurring in

the dryer and do not consider the parameters from the sources of energy. With recent interests on

the use of solar biomass hybrid dryers, dryer design software should be able to simultaneously

consider the solar irradiation process and the biomass combustion process during determination

of optimal dryer design parameters. There appears to be a need for engineers to develop a dryer

design software that combines parameters of the drying process, to that of the solar irradiation

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and biomass combustion processes. This study entails the development of a multi-level

continuous hybrid tunnel dryer model and a dryer design software for design of dryers that use

solar and biomass energies.

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2. Materials and Methods

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2.1 Design of the Hybrid Dryer

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The hybrid dryer consisted of a drying tunnel, a solar collector and a biomass combustion reactor

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containing a heat exchanger. The design was carried out using a combination of the functional

analyses method and the Computer Aided Design described by Yogesh (2007) for the design and

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optimization of thermal heating systems. Function Analysis or Value Analysis provides the

methods to identify the problem and to define the functions that need to be performed. Implicit in
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this process is developing a concept of operation for the product which is represented by all of

the lower order functions in a FAST diagram. Figure 1 presents the detailed methodology for the
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realization of the hybrid dryer model. The procedure consisted of an analysis of need, producing

a geometric model of the system and develop mathematical models to describe temperature
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dynamics in the dryer. The analysis of need was done to clarify the fundamental requirement that
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justifies the design of the hybrid dryer model. The need was validated by considering the

following questions: Why is there a need for a hybrid dryer model and design software? What
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could change the need? What could eliminate the need? The mathematical models provide access

to the design analysis, simulation and optimization with the use of solution methods developed in

numerical mathematics and mathematical system theory (Yogesh, 2007). Figure 2 presents the

Functional analyses system technique (FAST diagram), which shows how the technological

solutions were obtained from functional analyses of need. FAST diagrams are used to prioritize

the objectives or functions of a product. Once the objectives are prioritized we can evaluate the

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options that would return the most value based on predetermined value criteria, (Marouzé, 1999).

The three primary directions indicated on the FAST diagram are: 1. HOW is (function) to be

accomplished? 2. WHY is it necessary to (function)?) 3. WHEN (function) occurs, what else

happens?

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Figure 1: Schematic of the design procedure used for the hybrid dryer design (modified from
Yogesh, 2007.

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Figure 2: Schematic of FAST diagram showing the hybrid dryer functions and the
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corresponding technical solutions.

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2.2 Geometric Modeling of the Hybrid Dryer Compartments

The various compartments of the hybrid dryer system were geometrically modelled using

arbitrary dimensions and material properties in order to present a picture of how they will look

like. The optimal dimensions and material selection were determined after mathematical

modeling and numerical simulations which took into consideration the product properties

(effective thermal diffusivity, product thickness) and other parameters (thermal conductivity,

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absorptivity of collector plate, air flowrate, solar intensity amongst others). During temperature

simulations, the user can vary the length of heat exchanger and length of solar collector, and

obtain the dimensions that gives the desired temperature profile in the drying chamber. The

modeling was done using the SOLIDWORKS 3D modeling software. The modeling process

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involved creating a rough two-dimensional sketch of the basic shape of the base feature of the

design applying /modifying geometric relations and dimensions to the two-dimensional sketch,

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extruding, revolving, or sweeping the parametric two-dimensional sketch to create the base solid

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feature of the design, adding additional parametric features by identifying feature relations and

complete the design, performing analyses on the computer model and refine the design as

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needed, and finally creating the desired drawing views to document the design. The coiling

introduced at the level of the heat exchanger (Figure 3d) is to maximize the heat transfer area.
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Figure 3: Dimensionless 3D schematics of the hybrid dryer compartments: a) drying tunnel b)
cross section of the drying tunnel showing the drying trays, c) biomass combustion reactor d)
pipe heat exchanger, e) Solar collector.
2.3 Dimensioning of the System

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This section consisted of deriving mathematical models that describe the physical geometry of

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the various compartments of the hybrid dryer. The following aspects were considered during the

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dimensioning:

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a) Quantity of Water to be Removed

The variables that were considered here were the mass of the bone dry product ( ) and the

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mass of water to be removed during the drying ( ) which were calculated using Equations (1)
and (2) respectively.
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b) Total Energy Required for Drying and the Drying Rate

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The total energy required for drying ( ) the energy required per hour for drying ( ) and the
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drying rate ( ) were modeled using the relationships presented in Juneyd et al. (2016). The flow
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rate of hot air required for drying ( ) was calculated using equation (3).
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c) Dimensions of the drying chamber

The parameters that were considered here were the total drying area ( ), the area of each tray
( ), Length of the tunnel drying chamber ( ) and the area of hemicylindrical shape of tunnel
dryer ( ), which were calculated using equations (4) to (7) respectively. The width (d) of drying
tunnel, 1 m is kept as constant for easy entry and other convenience.

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d) Design of the Chimney

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The design parameters of the chimney were the total flowrate of the exit air ( ), density of inlet
air ( ), draft produced in the chimney ( ), velocity of the exit air ( ) and diameter of the

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chimney ( ). These parameters were calculated using the relationships presented in Juneyd et
al. (2016).
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e) Dimensioning of the Biomass Combustion Reactor

The parameters considered here were the thermal capacity of the combustion reactor ( , the
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feed rate of briquettes ( ), the total quantity of briquettes required ( ) and the volume of the
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ash storage ( ) which were calculated using equations (8) to (11) respectively. is the
percentage of energy losses during combustion.
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f) Dimensioning of the Solar Collector

The collector area (Ac) of solar tunnel dryer required for drying was calculated using Equation

(12)

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 2.4 Mathematical Modeling of the Drying Tunnel

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2.4.1 Thin Layer Drying Rate Equation

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Thin layer experiments were conducted on green pepper using a laboratory dryer under

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controlled conditions of temperature and relative humidity and Equation (13) best described the

thin layer drying kinetics of the green pepper.

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Where M (db.) is the product moisture content at time t (hour), Mo (db.) is initial moisture
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content, Me (db.) is the equilibrium moisture content.

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2.4.2 Heat and Mass Balance on the Air Stream

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The physical system under investigation is based on forced convection of air over granular wet

porous particles, pretreated green pepper placed in a tunnel drying chamber. The governing
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equations for heat and mass transfer (Equations (14) and (15) respectively) were modified from

the general formulation described in the literature (Whitaker, 1977; Boukadida et al., 2000;

Mabrouk et al., 2006). The following assumptions as discussed in the literature were made in

order to obtain the governing model equations (Arnaud and Fohr, 1988; Boukadida et al., 2000):

Air and water vapour are considered as perfect gases, constant air density, uniform distribution

of air velocity in the dryer, uniform distribution of food product in the drying chamber,

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negligible changes in the bed porosity. The modifications assumed one dimensional flow and this

is valid if air velocity and product are uniformly distributed in the drying chamber. A new term

was also introduced in the model equations to describe heat transfer between the flare gases from

the combustion chamber (carried in the green pipe shown in Figure 3b) and the drying chamber.

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The air and vapour densities and are given by the ideal gas equation and is the

evaporation rate, modelled through the Midilli equation. The convective heat transfer coefficient
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inside the tunnel dryer for either the product and floor pipe (hc) were computed from Equation
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(16)
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Nusselt number, (Nu) is computed from the Reynolds number (Re) by using Equation (17) (Kays
and Crawford, 1980):
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Equations (14) and (15) were numerically integrated using the Matlab ‘pdepe’ routine, for

solving partial differential equations, parabolic elliptic.

2.5 Mathematical modeling of the biomass combustion reactor

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The design problem in the combustion reactor was to determine the length of the heat exchange

pipes, and the required quantity of biomass briquettes so that air leaving the reactor has the

desired drying temperature. This is translated mathematically as the determination of the

temperature profiles of air inside the heat exchanger pipe and the combustion chamber.

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2.5.1 Energy Balance on the Combustion Chamber

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The physical system under investigation is based on a combustion process which has as inputs,

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biomass briquettes and air and as outputs, burnt gases, tar and ash. (Figure 4).

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Figure 4: Processes occurring during the combustion of biomass (Žecová and Terpák, 2010).
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The governing equations to describe the temperature dynamics during biomass combustion was

drawn from the general formulation described in the literature (Žecová and Terpák, 2010). The
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structure of the mathematical model presents a system of two first order differential equations,

namely for the gaseous component (Tg), Equation (18) and biomass briquettes (Tb), Equation

(19).

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Biomass briquettes were produced from cocoa husks and laboratory experiments were carried

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out to characterize the briquettes in order to determine the calorific value that was used for

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simulation of the briquettes combustion process. Equations (18) and (19) were numerically

integrated using Matlab ode15s solver, which solves stiff differential equations and DAEs using

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variable order method (MathWorks, Natick, MA).

2.5.2 Energy Balance on the Heat Exchanger

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The physical system under investigation is based on a counter current heat exchanger in which
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combustion gases enter from below and exit upwards with a constant temperature along the

length of the exchanger tubes. Taking into consideration the expression of the elementary flux,
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the governing heat equations were drawn and modified from the formulations in Jannot (2011).
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Equation (20) represents the steady state temperature distribution of the process air (inside heat
exchanger tubes) throughout the length of the heat exchanger tubes while Equation (21)
represents the distribution of the temperature difference between the hot and the cold fluids
throughout the length of the exchanger tubes. The global heat transfer coefficient, U can be given
calculated from Equation (22)

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 2.6 Dynamic modeling of the Solar Collector

The physical system in this case is a concentrator with a flat plate collector in which air is the

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heating fluid transfer’s heat energy from collector to dryer by forced convection, usually

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designed for applications requiring moderate temperatures not exceeding 100°C (Hossain et al.,

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2009). Figure 5 presents the solar insulation mechanism and energy flow in a solar collector that

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were considered to derive the dynamic models governing heat transfers.

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Figure 5: Solar insulation mechanism and energy flow in a solar collector.

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The governing equations to describe the temperature dynamics on the glass cover, absorber plate

and air stream were drawn from the general formulation in the literature (Hossain et al., 2009;

Janjai, 2012). This was however modified to include terms in accumulation.

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Equations (23), (24) and (25) presents the energy balance on the glass cover, absorber plate and

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air stream respectively. In determining the convective and radiative heat transfer coefficient

between the internal air stream and the cover or absorber, and between the cover and the

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atmosphere, correlations from the literature were used (Bala, 1998).

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The Equations (23), (24) and (25) were numerically integrated using the Matlab ode15s solver

2.7 Economic Modeling and Financial of the Hybrid Dryer

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Considering the interest and inflation rates, the calculation of the cost of drying was done using

a simple annual cost model (Bala and Woods, 1995), assuming repair and maintenance cost is
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2.5% of capital cost. The method used for the determination of the financial return was the
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Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) approach, special emphasis was put on two financial indicators;
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Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR). These economic models were
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implemented in the MATLAB programming environment and the financial appraisal was done

using the Matlab financial analyses toolbox.

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3. Results and Discussion

3.1 User Interface of the Dryer Design and Simulation Software

Figure 6 presents the graphical user interface of the Dryer Design and Simulation Software

(DryDSim). This multi-level continuous food process simulation tool can be used to find the

most efficient design of solar-biomass hybrid tunnel dryers for a variety of agricultural food

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products. Unlike commercially available dryer design software like simprosys, dryPAK and

DrySel, DryDSim incorporates parameters at the level of the solar irradiation and biomass

combustion processes during the dryer design process. DryDSim determines the best suited solar

collector absorber plate material for a given region and also the fuel combustible requirements

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for attaining a predefined drying specifications. A similar drying process simulation tool, SDSim

was presented by Bolea and Alexandre (2012), but is however limited to cabinet solar dryers

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without considering biomass energy.

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The Graphical User Interface and the associated Matlab programs has been compiled in a

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windows environment and packaged using the Matlab Compiler Runtime. The developed

executable file can be installed and run by every researcher as a standalone application to design
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the hybrid dryer, without necessarily having asses to Matlab.

DryDSim operates based on mathematical models and can thus be used by engineers every day
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to do their calculations during design and operation of hybrid dryers instead of going through
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dozens of handbooks to look up the needed engineering data and do the calculations manually. It
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allows simulations on the systems temperature dynamics in order to determine the operating
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conditions and dimensions that gives the required drying temperature. During temperature

simulations, the user vary parameters such as thermal conductivity, length of heat exchanger,
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length of solar collector and air velocity, and obtains the parameter values that gives the desired

drying temperature profile. Through the simulated values of the thermal conductivity, the user

can link simulations to appropriate choice of materials. This is done by searching a material

database for the corresponding material(s) having the value of thermal conductivity obtained

from simulations. When the user selects absorber material the corresponding absorptivity for that

material is used in the simulations to determine the material suited for a given region based on

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the solar irradiation of that region. DryDSim can also determine of quantity of biomass fuel

required for drying a defined mass of food product, and other design and operation parameters as

illustrated in section 3.3. The software package can also be used to perform financial appraisal

for ownership and operation of the hybrid dryer. This allows the determination of economic

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indicators (Section 3.4) for running the system in order to determine which capacity or type of

food product would be profitable in a given region. The software interface thus allows easy

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interactive design and simulation of operating conditions of the solar biomass hybrid dryer.

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Figure 6: Graphical User Interface of the Dryer Design and Simulation Software.

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 3.2 Presentation of the Hybrid Dryer Model

Figure 7 presents a topological analyses of the hybrid dryer system showing the various elements

and their layout. The layout shows that fresh air (route 1a) and biomass briquettes enter at the

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level of the combustion reactor where combustion takes place and energy is released in the form

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of heat. The released heat causes the temperature of the combustion chamber to rise and attain

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steady state and is exchanged with the process air inside the heat exchanger pipes by convection.

The process air then gets heated as it flows along the length of the heat exchanger and is then

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sent to the drying chamber with the help of insulated pipes (route 2) and ash resulting from

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combustion also leaves the combustion chamber with the aid of grids, and is stored temporally

beneath the combustion chamber.

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2 4

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Figure 7: Layout of the various elements of the solar-biomass hybrid dryer.

It is shown from literature on combustion studies that flared combustion gases contained an

amount of heat which could valorized (Jingxia et al., 2013) in technological processes. This heat

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is valorized into the drying chamber using a pipe of high thermal conductivity (route 4) so that

the heat is easily dissipated to the food products without direct contact and hence contamination

from impurities in smoke particles.

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At level of the solar collector, process air enters through route 1b and gets heated inside the solar

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collector as it flows between the absorber plate and the glass cover (Aware et al., 2012). The

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heated air from the collector then enters the drying chamber through route 3, and at the inlet of

the drying chamber is an envisaged flow valve to ensure one directional air flow. As the hot air

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enters the tunnel drying chamber it distributes inside the chamber. Figure 8 presents the model

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for the solar-biomass hybrid dryer and Table 1 presents the technical specifications.
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Figure 8: Model of the solar-biomass hybrid tunnel dryer.

Table 1: Technical specifications of the hybrid tunnel dryer

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S.N Parameter Specification
1. Type of dryer Indirect hybrid tunnel dryer
3. Drying chamber construction GI sheet, 22 SWG
7. Tray materials Aluminum frame;
10. Number of doors for loading and unloading 2 one for loading and one for unloading
11. Mode of ventilation Forced convection
12. Type of ventilation system DC Fan

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14. Temperature controller Thermostat-based mechanical level control

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16. Solar collector type Flat plate air-heating solar collector
18. Cover glazing 3 mm window glass

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19. Solar collector insulation material Glass wool
20. Solar collector tilt angle (degrees) 15
21. Solar collector protection GI sheet

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22. Biomass conversion system Natural convection cross-flow combustion
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23. Fuel for combustion reactor Biomass briquettes

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25. Heat exchanger type Pipe heat exchanger
27. Biomass reactor construction Bricks, galvanized steel
28. Air inlet wire mesh Aluminium wire mesh, 1mm sieve
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29. Basement platform material Timber

The novel hybrid dryer model uses locally available renewable energy resources to generate
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thermal energy and can thus be used as an environmentally friendly option for the drying of
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agricultural food products. The tunnel form of the drying chamber provides advantage of being
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operated in continuous mode compared to cabinet and box type dryers operated in batch mode.
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The system combines the advantages of both solar and biomass energies and can be constructed

as a small as well as a large scale system depending on the requirements of the user.
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3.3 Dryer Dimensioning and Simulation with DryDSim

For the purpose of dimensioning a dryer, the software takes as input: mass of product to be dried,

initial and final moisture contents, and drying time, and determines the corresponding design and

operational parameters at the level of the solar collector, combustion reactor and drying tunnel.

Figure 9 presents the dimensioning of the hybrid system for 20kg of product to be dried from an

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initial moisture content of 80% wb to a final moisture of 20%wb for an 8hour period. When the

user inputs the data at the “Simulated Dimensiong” Section and clicks on dimensioning (Figure

9a) the following results are obtained (Figure 9b). The user therefore has to consult the literature

or perform experimental studies in order to know the optimal time required to dry the given

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product of interest, with minimal destruction of organoleptic properties.

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Figure 9: Hybrid dryer dimensioning with DryDSim: a) input of data b) display of results.

The obtained dimensions could then be used to simulate the temperature distribution of the
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various compartments of the hybrid system. For the combustion reactor simulation, the user is

allowed to select the mass of the briquettes and incoming air temperature in order to view the

corresponding temperature distribution. For the pipe heat exchanger, the user inputs the specific

heat capacity and mass flowrate of the hot fluid (Figure 10) to view the temperature profiles.

Figure 11 presents the temperature dynamics of the combustion chamber during combustion of

biomass briquettes. The results show that following the onset of combustion the temperature of

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the combustion chamber rises and attains a steady state value. During this combustion period

(steady and unsteady state period) the heat in the combustion chamber at every instant is being

exchanged with the air in the heat exchanger. Figure 12 presents the temperature distributions of

the air in heat exchanger and combustion chamber throughout the length of the heat exchanger at

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selected instants following onset of combustion. The relationship between figures 11 and 12 is

further illustrated at a given combustion instant as follows; at 0.1hour of combustion, the

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unsteady temperature value of the combustion chamber is 500 oC (Figure 11). At this instant, the

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heat transfer profile between the heat exchanger air (cold fluid) entering at room temperature (25
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C) is shown on Figure 12 as its temperature rises to attain that of the combustion chamber, 500

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C (hot fluid). Similar interpolations could be done for different instants of combustion in order

to obtain the heat transfer profile throughout the length of the heat exchanger tubes. From the
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simulation shown on Figure 12 we can conclude that using the simulation parameters, minimum
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length to obtain an outlet air temperature of 1000 oC is 400cm. At the level of the drying tunnel,
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the user inputs air flowrate, length of tunnel, chooses the food product, and the product thickness

(see Figure 10) in order to view the corresponding temperature distribution in the tunnel drying
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chamber (shown on Figure 13). By choosing the food product from Figure 10, the software selects the
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effective moisture diffusivity of the corresponding food product from the software database. The
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order of magnitude of the moisture diffusivity for the various foods was obtained from the

literature (Saravacos and Kostaropoulos, 1996) while that of green pepper, was

obtained from laboratory experiment conducted on the convective drying of

green pepper . Figure 14 presents the model fitting of drying kinetics of Green pepper with the

Midilli model from which the effective moisture diffusivity required for the simulations was

determined. For collector simulation, the user inputs length of collector, selects, solar intensity,

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absorber plate material and enters the air flowrate in order to view the corresponding temperature

profiles. Figure 15 presents the temperature dynamics in the solar collector and the results show

that amongst the three state variables considered, (temperatures of absorber plate, process air and

glass cover) the rate of temperature increase of the absorber plate is highest and the process air

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temperature rapidly approaches that of the absorber plate. This is attributed to the high

absorptivity of the black absorber plate, providing a high potential to easily trap radiant energy

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from the sun, and air having a high thermal conductivity easily gets heated by the absorber plate

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(Aware et al., 2012). From the results, using black aluminum sheet as an absorber plate material

an air temperature of 70 oC is obtained in a region have radiation intensity of 800 kJ h−1 m−2.

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Figure 10: Data imputation for hybrid dryer dynamic simulation with DryDSim.

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1000

900 Hot fluid during Com bustion

800

an
Combustion Temperature(oC)

700

600
M
500

400

300
d

200
te

100

0
p

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

Time(Hours)
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Figure 11: Simulated temperature dynamics during combustion of biomass briquettes.

Ac

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Page 27 of 39
 1000

900 Cold fluid

Hot fluid

800
Input air Temperature(oC)

700

t
ip
600

500

cr
400

us
300

200

an
100

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
Length of Heat Exchanger(m)
M
Figure 12: Heat transfer between air in heat exchanger and combustion chamber at various
d

instants during combustion.

p te
ce
Ac

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Page 28 of 39
 4 65

64.8
3.5

64.6
3
64.4

t
ip
2.5
64.2
Time(Hours)

2 64

cr
63.8
1.5

us
63.6
1
63.4

0.5

an
63.2

0 63
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Length of Tunnel(m)
M
Figure 13: Unsteady state temperature distribution in the drying tunnel.
d
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1.2
Model
Data
p

1
ce

0.8
Moisture Ratio

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0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Time (Minutes)

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Page 29 of 39
Figure 14: Model fitting for drying kinetics of Green pepper with the Midilli model. Chi-Square: 0.33x10-
4
, Root Mean Square Error: 0.0057, R-squared: 0.999, Adjusted R-Squared 0.999.

80

75

t
70
Glass Cover

ip
65 Absorber Plate
Process Air
Temperature(oC)

60

cr
55

50

us
45

40

an
35

30
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Time(Hours)
M
Figure 15: Temperature dynamics of the solar collector.
d

3.4 Cost Analyses with DryDSim

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In order evaluate the use of DryDSim in cost analyses, the user inputs the dryer lifespan, the
p

interest rate, the mass of product and the cost per kg of dried product (see Figure 10). For the
ce

simulation the following parameters were considered: interest rate of 12%, inflation rate of 15%,

life of dryer 10 years, number of working days per year of 120 days and number of working
Ac

hours per day 8 h. The software calculates and displays the Net Present Value (NPV), the

Internal Rate of Return (IRR) the annual cost per unit moisture removal (Ca) and the total annual

cost (C_Ta).

Figure 16 presents a view of the user interface during simulation of the temperature dynamics in

the tunnel drying chamber. The user can perform several of such simulations and finally

- 30 -
Page 30 of 39
determine the design and operational parameters which corresponds to the required drying

conditions.

t
ip
cr
us
an
M
d
p te
ce
Ac

- 31 -
Page 31 of 39
 i
cr
us
an
M
ed
pt
ce
Ac

Figure 16: Graphical User Interface of DryDSim during simulations.

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Page 32 of 39
 4. Conclusion

In this research paper, a novel solar-biomass hybrid dryer model and a dryer design software

(DryDSim) has been developed. MATLAB was used as the main programming language for this

t
purpose and to dynamically create the m-files required by the GUI. The design of the hybrid

ip
dryer is based on laboratory drying experiments conducted on green pepper (Capsicum annuum).

cr
The objective of the design software is to find the most efficient design and economic parameters

for new solar-biomass hybrid dryers for a variety of agricultural food products. As perspectives,

us
the software should be improved to include possibilities of varying the system layout and

an
automatic switching between the solar and biomass sources of energy during varying weather

conditions. This will involve implementing the mathematical models in the Simulink of Matlab
M
and creating a physical model of the system which will be compiled in DryDSim. A pilot unit of

the hybrid dryer should be constructed and evaluated in order to see if the software yields
d

predictions that are consistent with practice, and possibly adjust for any deviations.
te

Nomenclature
Density of exit air (kg m−3) Specific heat of water (kJ kg−1oC−1)
p

−3
Density of product (kg m ) Product thickness (m)
Density of inlet air (kg m−3)
ce

Specific heat of product (kJ kg−1 ∘C−1)

Ac

Mass of selected product taken for drying, kg

Temperature of air at 0∘C (∘K)

Initial moisture content of product in % (wb)

Ambient air temperature (∘C)

- 33 -
Page 33 of 39
Mass of dried product kg
Total drying time (h)
Thermal efficiency of solar tunnel dryer, %
Latent heat of vaporization of water (kJ kg−1)
Global solar radiation for (kJ h−1 m−2)
Height of chimney (m)
an
Length of tunnel (m)
Calorific value of fuel (kJ/kg)
Average density of ash (kg m-3)
M
Volume density of air (kg m-3)
Specific heat capacity of air (J kg-1 K-1)
Specific heat capacity of vapour (J kg-1 K-1)
Absolute humidity of air (kg water/ kg dry air)
d
Air velocity (ms-1)
Temperature of food product (K or oC)
te
Air temperature (K or oC)
Effective thermal air conductivity (W m-1 K-1)
p
Volume of gas (m3)
Incoming flow volume of briquettes (m3.s-1)
ce
Volume of briquettes (m3)
Incoming biomass briquette temperature (K)
outgoing flow volume of briquettes(m3.s-1)
Ac
Density of biomass briquettes (kg.m-3)
Specific heat capacity of briquettes (J.kg-1.K-1)
Decomposition heat of volatile components (J.kg-
1
)
Volume of burnt gases formed from the solid
component (kg.s-1)
Heating value of solid component (J.kg-1)
Specific heat capacity of cold exchanger fluid
(J.kg-1.K-1)
Mass flowrate of cold exchanger fluid (kg.s-1)
Temperature of cold exchanger fluid (K or oC)
- 34 -
Temperature inside the solar tunnel dryer (∘C)
Temperature inside the chimney of dryer (∘C)
t
ip
Rate of air required (m3 s−1)
cr
Specific heat of product (kJ kg−1 ∘C−1)
us
Radius of dryer (m)
Gravity constant (m s−2)
Number of trays
Air temperature in green tube (K or oC)
Energy required for drying per hour (W)
Bed porosity
Surface area of food product (m2)
Convective exchange coefficient (Wm-2 K-1)
Convective exchange coefficient (Wm-2 K-1)
Incoming flow volume of gas (m3.s-1)
Volume of gas (m3)
outgoing flow volume of gas (m3.s-1)
Incoming gas temperature (K or oC)
Exchange coefficient (W.m-2.K-1),
Wall surface (m2)
Gas density (kg.m-3)
Specific heat capacity of gas (J.kg-1.K-1)
Volume of evaporated water (kg.s-1)
Outgoing briquette temperature (K or oC)
Specific heat capacity of water (J.kg-1.K-1)
Volume of volatile components (kg.s-1)
Specific heat capacity of volatile components
(J.kg-1.K-1)
Flow volume of volatile combustible component
(m3.s-1)
Heating value of volatile combustible
component (J.kg-1)
Evaporation heat of water (J.kg-1)
Specific heat capacity of gas (J.kg-1.K-1)
Page 34 of 39
 Heat flux of cold exchanger fluid (W)
Temperature of cold exchanger fluid (K or oC)
Mass of glass cover (kg)
Absorptivity, cover sky (dimensionless)
Total net solar radiation flux on the cover (W/m2)
Area of glass cover (m2)
Density of receiver (kg.m-3)
Transmittance, cover sky (dimensionless)
Absorptivity, receiver sky (dimensionless)
Thermal conductivity (W/m-K)
Thickness of collector receiver (m)
Temperature of glass cover (K or oC)
Temperature of sky (K or oC)
Density of air (kg.m-3)
Volumetric flowrate of air (m3s-1)
an
Rate of heat accumulation by cover (Js-1)
Rate of heat absorption by cover(Js-1)
Rate of cover convective heat loss/gain (Js-1)
M
Rate of cover heat loss by convection (Js-1)
Rate of receiver radiative heat loss/gain(Js-1)
Rate of heat accumulation by receiver (Js-1)
d
Rate of heat absorption by receiver(Js-1)
Rate of receiver convective heat loss/gain(Js-1)
te
Rate of heat input to collector (Js-1)
Reynolds number
p
Convective exchange coefficient (Wm-2K-1)
External radius of exchanger tube (m)
ce
Emittance of receiver (dimensionless)
Transmittance of glass cover (dimensionless)
Ac
Acknowledgment
The authors thank the Ministry of Higher Education of Cameroon for her financial support
through the Special Fund Account for the modernization of research in state Universities
(Presidential Decree N°2009/121 of April 8, 2009).
- 35 -
Mass flowrate of hot exchanger fluid (kg.s-1)
Outgoing gas temperature (K or oC)
Heat flux of cold exchanger fluid (W)
Convective exchange coefficient (Wm-2K-1)
Capture fraction (dimensionless)
Density of glass cover (kg.m-3)
t
Radiative exchange coefficient (Wm-2K-1)
ip
Radiative exchange coefficient (Wm-2K-1)
Reflectance (dimensionless)
cr
Temperature of receiver (K or oC)
Mass of glass cover (kg)
Specific heat capacity of cover (J.kg-1.K-1)
us
Mass of air (kg)
Specific heat capacity of air(J.kg-1.K-1)
Temperature of air (K or oC)
Convective exchange coefficient (Wm-2K-1)
Density of glass cover (kg.m-3)
Convective exchange coefficient (Wm-2K-1)
Rate radiative cover heat loss/gain (Js-1)
Rate of cover reflective heat loss/gain(Js-1)
Rate of receiver reflective heat loss/gain (Js-1)
Rate of receiver heat loss by conduction (Js-1)
Area of receiver plate (m2)
Rate of heat output from collector (Js-1)
Prandt number
Internal radius of exchanger tube (m)
Convective exchange coefficient (Wm-2K-1)
Emittance of glass cover (dimensionless)
Temperature of sky (K or oC)
Page 35 of 39
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ip
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Highlights
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• A novel model and software design of a solar biomass hybrid dryer is presented.

• The software calculates parameters for the design and operation of the dryer model.

• The software, DryDSim determines most suitable material properties of the model.

• DryDSim simulates temperature dynamics and performs cost analyses of the model.

• DryDSim calculates quantity of biomass fuel needed to dry a given mass of product.

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