Modeling and simulated design: A novel model and software of a solar-biomass hybrid dryer

Solar-biomass hybrid dryers are widely used as environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuel dryers for the preservation of agricultural food products. However, the design and optimization of hybrid dryers often involve construction of expensive prototype systems and time-consuming studies. This study presents a novel hybrid dryer model and a dryer design and simulation software, which can be used to improve hybrid dryer design efficiency. The methodologies adopted are those of functional analysis, mathematical modeling and virtual prototyping, with SolidWorks employed for CAD modeling, and Matlab for numerical simulations and implementation of mathematical models into a user interface. The software package has as main functions (a) dimensioning the hybrid dryer, which comprises a solar collector, combustion reactor and tunnel drying chamber, (b) cost analysis and financial appraisal, and (c) temperature dynamic simulation in the system. The novel software has been successfully employed to dimension a hybrid dryer for drying of green pepper.