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Performance Evaluation and Drying Kinetics of Concentrated Direct Forced Convection Solar Dryer

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Abstract:

Drying is the fundamental process for preserving agricultural products and food items, requiring a significant amount of energy. There are quality issues associated with the conventional drying processes and methods. The conventional drying methods are prone to the inclusion of impurities and surface damage, and their drying rates are very slow. In this research, a Concentrated Direct Forced Convection Solar Dryer (CDFCSD) dryer, having two DC brushless fans to regulate the air, was used to dry the test specimens, and the results were compared with the performance of a Direct Natural Convection Solar Dryer (DNCSD). The apple samples were selected as the test product. The drying process involves slicing the apples and placing them into the dryer. The apples were weighed before and after each drying mode, and moisture removal was evaluated and compared. The results show that moisture content removal was 58.15% in the Concentrated Direct Forced Convection Solar Dryer (CDFCSD) and 51.85% by the Direct Natural Convection Solar Dryer (DNCSD). 6.3% more moisture was removed using CDFCSD as compared to DNCSD, which shows a better effective moisture extraction rate using CDFCSD.

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Periodical:

Diffusion Foundations and Materials Applications (Volume 39)

Pages:

163-176

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4028/p-i1A9IH

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Online since:

January 2026

Authors:

Adeel Abbas, Yasir Yasin*, Muhammad Umer Farooq, Mumtaz Ahmed Qaisrani, Muhammad Mohsin Waqas, Muhammad Khalid, Muhammad Naeem Akhter

Keywords:

Drying Kinetics, Drying Performance, Forced Convection, Natural Convection, Solar Fruit Drying

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© 2026 Trans Tech Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved

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* - Corresponding Author

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