Performance Enhancement of a Solar Air Heater Equipped with a Tree-like Fractal Cylindrical Pin for Drying Applications: Tests Under Real Climatic Conditions

Chotiwut Prasopsuk, Kittiwoot Sutthivirode and Tongchana Thongtip ()
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Chotiwut Prasopsuk: Thermal and Fluid Laboratory (TFL), Department of Teacher Training in Mechanical Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, 1518 Phacharat 1 Rd., Bang Sue, Bangkok 10800, Thailand
Kittiwoot Sutthivirode: Thermal and Fluid Laboratory (TFL), Department of Teacher Training in Mechanical Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, 1518 Phacharat 1 Rd., Bang Sue, Bangkok 10800, Thailand
Tongchana Thongtip: Thermal and Fluid Laboratory (TFL), Department of Teacher Training in Mechanical Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, 1518 Phacharat 1 Rd., Bang Sue, Bangkok 10800, Thailand

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-25

Abstract: This paper reports the improved thermal and drying performance of a solar air heater powered by real solar irradiance and equipped with a tree-like fractal-based cylindrical pin (SAH-TFCP) as a turbulator for drying applications. The main purpose of this work is to demonstrate the SAH-TFCP’s improvement potential based on its thermal and drying performance as compared with a conventional solar air heater based on a flat-plate absorber (SAH-FP). The test was implemented based on solar time from 8:30 to 17:30 under Thailand’s climatic conditions at a latitude angle of 14° and a longitude angle of 100°. Turmeric slices were used to evaluate the SAH’s drying performance. The thermal efficiency, moisture content wet basis (MC wb ), drying rate (DR), and drying efficiency were measured as parameters of interest to assess the improvement potential of the SAH-TFCP over the SAH-FP. The results indicate that the SAH-TFCP provides better thermal and drying performance than the SAH-FP. A higher flow rate yields a higher thermal efficiency and a greater improvement potential. The improvement potential is around 44–85%. The drying efficiency of the SAH-TFCP is always higher than that of the SAH-FP and has an improvement potential of 32–44%, depending on the airflow rate.

Keywords: solar air heater; tree-like fractal; cylindrical pin; solar dryer; improvement potential (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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