4.2.Solar dryer with latent heat Storage 4.2.1. Indirect solar dryer
Devahastin and Pitaksuriyarat(2006) investigated the feasibility of latent heat storage (LHS) with paraffin wax as a PCM to store surplus solar energy and discharge it when the energy availability is inadequate or not available. Heat transfer characteristics, temperature profiles as well as the effects of the inlet air temperature and velocity on the charge and discharge periods were investigated. A schematic diagram of the experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 8(a). PCMs are stored in LHS tank, the detailed sketch of LHS tank is shown in Fig. 8(b). PCM solidifies from outer surface to inner due to heat loss from surrounding. The amount of extractable energy per unit mass flow rate of inlet ambient air was 1920 and 1386