Design and Optimization of Domestic Solar Dryer

This paper presents the design, simulation and optimization of a mixed-mode solar dryer based on the climatic data of location Kigali and mangoes were used as a reference product. The model was simulated using TRNSYS software for thermal analysis and the results was shown on a graph which presents the useful temperature gain for drying. The results were used for solar drying simulation to evaluate its performance in terms of drying rate, here MATLAB was utilized for this. It is clear on the graph how the moisture content of mangoes decreases with time up to 10%, which is their equilibrium moisture level for safe storage. The optimization of the model was further done with the modification of the solar dryer by making the front wall of the drying chamber with a glass which adds a greenhouse effect, hence a further increase in drying temperature. The solar drying simulation was again carried out and a clear difference in drying time was observed in the drying rate graph where the time of moisture content removal was reduced from 24 hours to 10 hours.