STM Journals Peer-reviewed research from Consortium e-Learning Network

Journal of Polymer & Composites Original Research Special issue

Performance Testing of Arduino-Based Hybrid Solar Dryer for Drying Apple Slices

  1. Debashree Debadatta Behera Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centurion University of Technology and Management
  2. Shiv Sankar Das School of Management, Centurion University of Technology and Management
  3. Ramesh Chandra Mohanty Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centurion University of Technology and Management
  4. Raj Kumar Satankar Department of Mechanical Engineering, Poornima College of Engineering, Jaipur
  5. Bhagat Singh Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jaypee University of Engineering and Technology, Guna

Abstract

A novel and high-efficiency hybrid solar dryer was designed and developed in this study to dry apple slices. The thermal analysis of the dryer is conducted by calculating collector efficiency, drying rate, and drying efficiency. Integrating an Arduino-based temperature and humidity monitoring system in a hybrid solar dryer enhances the ability to optimize performance and efficiency. Both the collector and drying chamber are made of aluminum sheet as it has good thermal conductivity and no corrosion effect. In this study, an Arduino UNO R3 microcontroller, paired with a temperature and humidity sensor is utilized to measure environmental conditions inside the drying chamber continuously. Real-time monitoring and control of major drying parameters including temperature and relative humidity are made possible by Arduino, which enhances process stability and produces consistent drying conditions. When one glass plate is used on the collector instead of two, the mean temperature inside the collector and drying chamber increases by 4–5°C. There is a 5–6°C increase in temperature in the case of using 60 rectangular fins inside the collector as compared to without using fins. By using silica gel, 13–15% less humidity is present in the heated air that flows inside the drying chamber and increased the rate at which food products dry. The highest recorded values for collector efficiency, drying efficiency, and drying rate reached up to 64.23%, 33.61%, and 1.351 kg/h, respectively. The study establishes that the material selection and design modifications significantly influence the thermal performance of hybrid solar dryers, leading to higher drying rates and improved product storage stability compared to natural and open solar drying.

Keywords

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