It was conducted on Tuesday, 2/9/2025, in the Dr. Ihsan Yahya Hall in the mechanical Engineering Department. the discussion of the master’s thesis of the student Ghadeer Qasim Fadhil, which is tagged:
” The Impact of Perforated Absorption Plate on the Solar Air Dryer Performance”.
The discussion committee consisted of names listed below:
- Asst. Prof. Dr. Mohammed A. Nima (Chairman)
2- Asst. Prof. Dr. Aseel Khaleel Shyaa (Member)
3- Asst. Prof. Dr. Osam Hassan Attia (Member)
4- Asst. Prof. Dr. Sarmad Aziz Abdul Hussein (Supervisor)
This study focused on improving the performance of an indirect solar air dryer system (SADS) under Iraqi climate conditions by employing perforated absorber plates with different hole diameters (6 mm and 3 mm). Both numerical simulations (CFD/ANSYS Fluent) and experimental tests were conducted to evaluate the thermal performance compared to a conventional flat absorber plate. Key design and operating parameters investigated included the air inlet height, air outlet height, and airflow rate.
Key Findings
- Numerical results indicated that perforated plates enhanced heat transfer compared to the flat plate, with the 3 mm perforated plate achieving the highest thermal performance and increasing outlet air temperature by about 57%.
- Experimental results confirmed that perforated plates reduced absorber surface temperature (by 2 °C for 6 mm and 8.5 °C for 3 mm perforations), leading to higher outlet air temperatures.
- The thermal efficiency of the collector improved to 2% (6 mm) and 50.32% (3 mm), while the dryer efficiency increased to 25.17% (6 mm) and 27.21% (3 mm).
- Variations in air inlet and outlet heights showed a significant impact on performance, especially with the 3 mm perforated plate.
- A good agreement was observed between numerical and experimental results, with maximum errors ranging between 4% and 8.5%.
Recommendations
- Use 3 mm perforated absorber plates to achieve higher thermal efficiency and outlet air temperature.
- Optimize air inlet and outlet heights during design for better system performance.
- Conduct further studies on perforation geometry, absorber materials, and coatings to enhance efficiency.
- Expand testing with different crops, seasons, and climates to validate wider applicability.
- Assess economic feasibility and scalability for industrial and agricultural use..
After the scientific discussion by the members of the discussion committee, the researcher received a rating of (excellent).
