Solar Dryer Exergetic and Energetic Efficiency Analysis

L. Romero-Salazar [1], H. Lucatero-Villaseñor [1], E. Ruiz-Baltazar [1], M. Mayorga [2], J. C. Arteaga-Arcos [3],
[1] Laboratorio de Nanotermodinámica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, DF, Mexico
[2] Laboratorio de Microfluidez y Nanofluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, DF, Mexico
[3] Laboratorio Micromecánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, DF, Mexico
Published in 2015

A drying chamber for dehydration purposes is simulated; we model a chamber chimney system coupled to a solar collector as the heat source. Using both, the Heat Transfer Module and CFD Module of COMSOL Multiphysics® software in a 2D geometry we simulate the velocity and temperature field to compare the efficiency and exergy for two different materials and two different inlet velocities. The adiabatic expansion governs the convection in the chamber and a synergetic combination of low heat conductivity with a low velocity case increases the efficiency of our system for practical applications.