Mathematical study of the forced convection mixed mode solar dryer for cotton drying and response surface techniques

Design and evaluation of a mixed mode solar dryer that consumes less energy is the primary goal of this study. In the solar dryer curing cupboard, heated air from an absorber plate gathers solar energy as warm air passes through a pan. In order to maintain temperature and humidity during the drying process, the cotton industry consumes a lot of energy. This study evaluates four different mathematical model derived from the initial assessment of the cabinet photovoltaic dryer’s forced transmission. A variety of observations are observed, and the models are assessed using E MD , R MSE , R 2 and χ 2 parameters. The mass flow rate 0.15 kg/s was considered for this experimental work. Among all the four models Wang and Singh model exhibited adequate fit of data with experimental results. Response surface methodology (RSM) uses time, temperature, and solar radiation as input factors to calculate output parameters including thermal efficiency and moisture content. Present works performed RSM studies at three different time durations of a day. The outcome of RSM study indicates the influencing input parameters exhibited positive, negative, and linear relationship with moisture content and thermal efficiency.