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LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Low cost thermal storage for solar dryers in the Himalayas

Karlsson, Adam LU (2022) MVKM01 20221
Department of Energy Sciences
Abstract
Post-harvest losses in the himalayan regions of Nepal and Bhutan are high, and
current drying methods are in need of improvement. This report improves on a
previously developed solar dryer design and evaluates thermal storage solutions
for the ’SolarFood: Reducing post-harvest losses through improved solar drying’ project. This report uses experimental measurements to compare different
dryer configurations, as well as results from previous measurements and experiments to improve the current prototype. The report studies two different solar
dryer prototypes located at Kathmandu University based on the same design.
Previous hypotheses regarding leakage in the solar dryer prototype were partly
solved. Incorporating a thermal storage... (More)
Post-harvest losses in the himalayan regions of Nepal and Bhutan are high, and
current drying methods are in need of improvement. This report improves on a
previously developed solar dryer design and evaluates thermal storage solutions
for the ’SolarFood: Reducing post-harvest losses through improved solar drying’ project. This report uses experimental measurements to compare different
dryer configurations, as well as results from previous measurements and experiments to improve the current prototype. The report studies two different solar
dryer prototypes located at Kathmandu University based on the same design.
Previous hypotheses regarding leakage in the solar dryer prototype were partly
solved. Incorporating a thermal storage system utilizing water as the working
material can increase control over the solar dryer and increase consistency. The
system presented is low-cost and performs adequately. The system is adaptable
to different temperature ranges and requirements and should be applicable for
use with different drying commodities. Previous studies have utilized rocks or
gravel as the working material. A comparison measurement in this report shows
water performs favorably toward rocks or gravel. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Karlsson, Adam LU
supervisor
organization
course
MVKM01 20221
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
heat storage, solar dryer, solar drying, rock bed storage, thermal storage, pcm, water heat storage, himalayas
report number
LUTMDN/TMHP-22/5497-SE
ISSN
0282-1990
language
English
id
9085069
date added to LUP
2022-06-08 09:29:44
date last changed
2022-06-08 11:24:45
@misc{9085069,
  abstract     = {{Post-harvest losses in the himalayan regions of Nepal and Bhutan are high, and
current drying methods are in need of improvement. This report improves on a
previously developed solar dryer design and evaluates thermal storage solutions
for the ’SolarFood: Reducing post-harvest losses through improved solar drying’ project. This report uses experimental measurements to compare different
dryer configurations, as well as results from previous measurements and experiments to improve the current prototype. The report studies two different solar
dryer prototypes located at Kathmandu University based on the same design.
Previous hypotheses regarding leakage in the solar dryer prototype were partly
solved. Incorporating a thermal storage system utilizing water as the working
material can increase control over the solar dryer and increase consistency. The
system presented is low-cost and performs adequately. The system is adaptable
to different temperature ranges and requirements and should be applicable for
use with different drying commodities. Previous studies have utilized rocks or
gravel as the working material. A comparison measurement in this report shows
water performs favorably toward rocks or gravel.}},
  author       = {{Karlsson, Adam}},
  issn         = {{0282-1990}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Low cost thermal storage for solar dryers in the Himalayas}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}