| Author | Chanwech Seenpipat |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. AE-01-32 |
| Subject(s) | Solar dryers
|
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master
of Engineering, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. AE-01-32 |
| Abstract | A micro-processor controlled control system was developed to control the drying
temperature and duration of drying for use with an experimental hybrid solar-electric
dryer. A Delphi software to match with the drying characteristics of the cassava chips was
written and the final moisture content of the product could be controlled with acceptable
accuracy. Cassava chips drying was studied using the hybrid solar (solar-electric heater)
dryer controlled by a micro controller. The drying temperatures were set at 40, 50 and 60
°C. The drying behavior showed that the moisture content lost rapidly during the initial
drying. A simple logarithmic model was applied to predict the drying behavior and used it
to control the automatic system. The effectiveness of the automatic control system of the
hybrid solar dryer application was evaluated in terms of the final moisture content of the
dried cassava chips. The maximum error between the actual and theoretical moisture
contents was about 1.05 percent. Thus, the simple logarithmic model to control the micro
controller for automatic drying can be applied.
The results of this study showed that the hybrid solar (solar-electric heater) dryer
can save electric energy by about 2 kW/kg of cassava chip. The placement of cassava chips
on different trays affected the moisture removal, and the drying temperature was the major
factor for control of the drying rate. It was observed that the developed control system
performed the desired operations. |
| Year | 2001 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. AE-01-32 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Food Engineering (AE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Salokhe, V.M.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Singh, Gajendra;Athapol Noomhorm;Thanya Kiatiwat ; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Engineering Faculty of Kasetsart University
Asian Institute of Technology Partial Scholarship; |
| Degree | hesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2001 |