Modelling of latent heat storage by phase change materials for solar drying processes

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Oliver Hensel
• Subject Area: Plant Cultivation, Plant Nutrition, Agricultural Technology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 450248664

Although there has been increasing research in the area of latent heat storage and its use in a wide variety of areas in recent years, there has hardly been little work on the implementation of this storage technology in solar drying systems for agricultural products.Realizing such storage of the strongly fluctuating solar radiation would make it possible to further exploit the use of solar energy for agricultural drying technology. Latent heat storage can reduce the unavoidable day/night differences in drying temperatures, which are undesirable from the point of view of uniform process control and generally have a negative impact on product quality. In this research project, it is aimed to model how a solar dryer equipped with latent heat storage behaves in comparison to a conventional system that only consists of a solar air heater and a dryer unit. A simulation allows the determination of the influence of various design parameters on the overall system performance.For this, numerical models for the main system components, namely solar air heater, latent heat storage and dryer will be implemented in simulation programs in a MATLAB environment. These can then be used to carry out parametric studies of the different configurations and compare their characteristics, for example regarding expected drying time, specific energy requirement, solar fraction and product quality.The expected results and the simulation programs to be developed enable a substantial expansion of knowledge about the use of solar energy in agricultural drying technology and also form the basis of the technical and economic evaluation of latent heat storage for drying processes.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants