Performance evaluation of pyramid shaped solar greenhouse dryer with nano coated heat transfer medium
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Abstract
Solar greenhouse dryer with improved heat transfer medium is mandatory for solar thermal applications. In this connection, the present research was devoted not only to fabricate nano coated heat transfer medium and pyramid shaped solar greenhouse dryer but also to assess their thermal characteristics in field conditions. The characterisation studies showed that the chemical constituents in the coating effected on heat transfer medium were in nano sizes and they had desirable optical and thermal properties. The optical studies on nano coated heat transfer medium showed that, the nano coating on heat transfer medium achieved the maximum coating efficiency of 85.6%. The thermal studies on nano coated heat transfer medium showed that the temperature enhancement was in the range of 36.3°C and 72.5°C. The research outcomes of the performance studies showed that the maximum thermal efficiency and drying efficiency of pyramid shaped solar greenhouse dryer was 73.8 and 70.2% respectively. As the optical and thermal characteristics of nano coated components and pyramid greenhouse dryer were found to be satisfactory, it could be concluded that the pyramid shaped solar greenhouse dehydration or drying systems would be utilized for drying agricultural and medicinal products in application sectors.
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