Mathematical and Experimental Analysis of Solar Tunnel Dryer for Drying Beef as a Biological Product

This work analyses the performance of a solar tunnel dryer for drying beef, under forced convection by using a DC blower run by a photovoltaic panel (200w). An experimental setup of solar tunnel dryer has been designed and fabricated. Experiments have been performed during summer season. The system is operated between 30ºC and 69ºC. The dryer is simple in construction, at a low cost, with locally available materials. The performance of the designed drier is evaluated by carrying drying experiments at Nagercoil, Tamilnadu, India (8.1700°N, 77.4300°E). Response surface methodology was used to investigate estimation of capacity optimization and acceptability using desirability for single product. The independent variables or responses were time, air temperature and solar radiation. ANOVA also showed that the lack of fit was not significant for all response surface models, at 95% confidence level