DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND PERFORMANCE

EVALUATION OF SOLAR DRYING SYSTEM FOR

VEGETABLE DRYING APPLICATIONS

A PROJECT REPORT PHASE - I

Submitted by

SUBASH.E

(12MER194)

TAMILMARAN.R

(12MER205)

THILAK.S

(12MER208)

in partial fulfilment of the requirements

for the award of the degree
of

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
IN
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
SCHOOL OF BUILDING AND MECHANICAL SCIENCES

KONGU ENGINEERING COLLEGE

(Autonomous)

PERUNDURAI ERODE - 638 052

NOVEMBER 2015.

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

KONGU ENGINEERING COLLEGE
(Autonomous)
PERUNDURAI,ERODE- 638 052

NOVEMBER 2015.
BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
This is to certificate that the Project report entitled DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF SOLAR DRYING SYSTEM FOR VEGETABLE
DRYING APPLICATIONS is the bonafide record of project work done by

SUBASH.E

(12MER194)

TAMILMARAN.R

(12MER205)

THILAK.S

(12MEL208)

in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Bachelor of
Engineering in Mechanical Engineering of Anna University, Chennai during the year 20152016.

SUPERVISOR

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

DATE:
Submitted for the end semester viva voce examination held on _________

INTERNAL EXAMINAR

EXTERNAL EXAMINAR

DECLARATION
We affirm that the Project Report entitled DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF SOLAR DRYING SYSTEM FOR VEGETABLE
DRYING APPLICATIONS being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
award of Bachelor of Engineering is the original work carried out by us. It has not formed
the part of any other project report or dissertation on the basis of which a degree or award
was conferred on an earlier occasion on this or any other candidate.

Date:

Signature of the candidates

SUBASH.E (12MER194)

TAMILMARAN.R (12MER205)

THILAK.S (12MEL208)

I certify that the declaration made by the above candidates is true to the best of my
knowledge

Date:

SUPERVISOR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We wish to express our deep sense of gratitude to our beloved Correspondent
Thiru.V.K.MUTHUSAMY and all trust members of Kongu Vellalar Institute of Technology
Trust for providing all the necessary facilities to carry out the project work.
We beholden to our beloved Principal Prof.S.KUPPUSWAMI for providing an
opportunity to carry out the project work.
We solemnly express our heartiest gratitude to our beloved Dean, School of
Building and Mechanical Sciences, Dr.K.KRISHNAMURTHY and for his encouragement.
We would like to express our gratitude to Dr.P.NAVANEETHAKRISHNAN Head
of the Department of Mechanical Engineering for his precious suggestions.
We take this opportunity to thank Mr.M.MAKESHKUMAR, our supervisor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering for his valuable suggestions and encouragement
during the tenure of the project work.
A special debt is owed to Dr.A.SIVAKUMAR, the Project Coordinator, and
Department of Mechanical Engineering for his encouragement and valuable advice that
made us to carry out project work successfully.

ABSTRACT
The solar drying system utilizes solar energy to heat up air and to dry any food
substance loaded, which is beneficial in reducing wastage of agricultural product and
helps in preservation of agricultural product. Based on the limitations of the natural sun
drying e.g. exposure to direct sunlight, liability to pests and rodents lack of proper
monitoring, and the escalated cost of the mechanical dryer, a solar is therefore developed
to cater for this limitation. This project aims to present the design, construction and
performance evaluation of a solar drying system for food preservation. In the dryer, the
heated air from a separate solar collector is passed through a vegetable bed, and at the
same time, the drying cabinet absorbs solar energy directly through the transparent walls
and roof. A prototype of the solar drying system is to be designed and its performance is
to be evaluated for different air velocities.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER

TITLE

NO.

PAGE
NO.

ABSTRACT

LIST OF FIGURES

iii

1.

INTRODUCTION

2.

LITERATURE REVIEW
STUDIES RELATED TO DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
2.1
OF SOLAR DRYING SYSTEM

PROBLEM DEFINITION

3.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT

3.

4.

5.

3.1.1 Space Problems

3.1.2 Weather Problems

3.1.3 Technology Problems

3.1.4 Power Problems

3.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT OBJECTIVES

3.3 PROBLEM CONSTRAINS

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

10

4.1 DESIGN SPECIFICATION AND ASSUMPTOIN

10

4.1.1 Solar Dryer Components

10

4.1.2 The Orientation of Solar Collector

11

DESIGN PROCEDURE AND IMPLEMENTATION

12

5.1 DESIGN PROCEDURE

12

5.1.1 The Experimental Setup

13

5.1.2 Collector

14

5.1.3 Drying Cabinet

14

5.1.4 Drying Mechanism

15

5.2 DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION

15

6.

7.
8.

FEASIBLITY STUDIES AND MARKET NEEDS

16

6.1 FEASIBLITY STUDY FOR FOOD SOLAR DRYER SYSTEM

16

CONCLUSION

17

REFERENCES

18

iv

LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE NO.

NAME OF FIGURE

PAGE NO.

5.1

SECTIONAL VIEW OF MIXEDMODE DRYER

13

5.2

TYPICAL SOLAR COLLECTOR FOR AIR

HEATING

14