Thermal and CFD Analyses of Sustainable Heat Storage-Based Passive Greenhouse Dryer Operating in No-Load Condition

Asim Ahmad, Om Prakash, Shailesh Kumar Sarangi, Prashant Singh Chauhan, Rajeshwari Chatterjee, Shubham Sharma (), Raman Kumar, Sayed M. Tag, Abhinav Kumar, Bashir Salah and Syed Sajid Ullah ()
Additional contact information
Asim Ahmad: Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Usha Martin University, Ranchi 835103, India
Om Prakash: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi 835215, India
Shailesh Kumar Sarangi: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Srinath University, Jamshedpur 831013, India
Prashant Singh Chauhan: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gaya College of Engineering, Gaya 823003, India
Rajeshwari Chatterjee: Department of Chemical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi 835215, India
Shubham Sharma: Mechanical Engineering Department, University Centre for Research and Development, Chandigarh University, Mohali 140413, India
Raman Kumar: Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana 141006, India
Sayed M. Tag: Faculty of Engineering, Future University in Egypt, New Cairo 11835, Egypt
Abhinav Kumar: Department of Nuclear and Renewable Energy, Ural Federal University Named after the First President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, 19 Mira Street, 620002 Ekaterinburg, Russia
Bashir Salah: Industrial Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Syed Sajid Ullah: Department of Information and Communication Technology, University of Agder (UiA), N-4898 Grimstad, Norway

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-21

Abstract: This article presents a comprehensive study on thermal and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of an innovative greenhouse dryer designed for passive operation under a no-load condition. The dryer incorporates hybrid thermal storage at the floor and a reflective mirror with thermocoal as the north wall, transforming a classical even-span greenhouse dryer into an efficient and effective system. The experimentation was conducted under clear sky conditions, with variations in global solar radiation (GSR) ranging from 166.6 to 1209 W/m 2 , resulting in an average value of 875.9 W/m 2 . The variations in GSR influenced other ambient parameters, including ambient temperature (28.7 °C to 35.6 °C), ambient relative humidity (33.2% to 45.7%), and ambient wind speed (0.1 to 1.02 m/s). Indoor parameters of the proposed dryer, such as inside temperature (31 °C to 47.35 °C), inside relative humidity (31.1% to 39.1%), ground temperature (44.2 °C to 70.6 °C), and outlet temperature (29 °C to 45.35 °C), were measured hourly. The average values of these parameters were 41.25 °C, 35.31%, 61.65 °C, and 39.25 °C, respectively. Quantitative parameters, including heat loss, overall heat transfer coefficient, coefficient of diffusion, and instantaneous efficiency, were calculated to evaluate the dryer’s performance. The proposed dryer exhibited an improved range of overall heat transfer coefficients (3.87 to 5.03 W/m 2 K) compared to the modified greenhouse dryer under passive mode and the conventional greenhouse under passive mode. CFD analysis provided temperature distribution plots showing a progressively increasing range of temperatures near the trays, ranging from 310 K to 335 K, suitable for natural convection drying. The findings highlight the superior performance of the innovative dryer compared to contemporary systems. This research contributes to the advancement of drying technology and holds potential for applications in the agriculture and food processing industries.

Keywords: greenhouse dryer; thermal analysis; computational fluid dynamics; no-load condition; natural convection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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