HYBRID SYSTEM SIMULATION TO SUPPLY HEATED AIR TO A SOLAR FOOD DRYER

ABSTRACT The intermittence of solar radiation, due to continuous rainy or cloudy days, is a limitation of simple and small solar dryers. These conditions often make them impossible to use. By including storage systems (thermal accumulation) and/or auxiliary energy sources, drying processes or dehydration can be conducted continuously, even during periods of low insolation. Therefore, the present work simulates and evaluates the thermal and energetic behavior of a hybrid system for heating the air that is directed to the dehydration chamber of a solar food dryer. The software selected for the s...