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<p>Efficient drying of agricultural products is vital for reducing post-harvest losses, improving product quality, and enhancing food security. Solar air heaters (SAHs) provide a sustainable, low-cost alternative to conventional dryers, yet their performance is highly sensitive to geometric and operating parameters. This study aims to optimize the thermal performance of a SAH intended for indirect solar drying applications. Response Surface Methodology (RSM), integrated with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations in ANSYS Fluent, is used to analyze three fin configurations namely, parallel, vertical, and opposed under varying air mass flow rates (0.01–0.05&#xa0;kg/s), fin numbers (4–8), and fin heights (5–9&#xa0;cm). The results showed that the opposed-fin configuration offers superior heat-transfer performance. The optimal identified design parameters through RSM are fin height of 6.91&#xa0;cm, air mass flow rate of 0.027&#xa0;kg/s, and six fins. At this condition the heater yields 318.85&#xa0;K outlet temperature, 64.84% thermal efficiency and 0.6164&#xa0;m/s air velocity. The novelty of this work lies in the direct comparative evaluation and systematic optimization of three fin arrangements within a unified CFD–RSM framework, providing practical design guidelines for indirect solar dryers. To illustrate the performance improvement, a baseline comparison is provided: at a mass flow rate of 0.01&#xa0;kg/s, the opposed-fin design yields an outlet temperature of nearly 315&#xa0;K, compared to 305&#xa0;K of the no-fin configuration which is 31.25% enhancement in temperature rise. Overall, the findings demonstrate that optimized SAH geometries can significantly enhance collector performance, which may consequently support improved drying efficiency and more sustainable agricultural processing.</p>

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CFD analysis and optimization of parameters of solar air heater using response surface methodology

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月25日

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  • Gadisa Desa Shekata,
  • Getachew Shunki Tibba,
  • Aklilu Tesfamichael Baheta

摘要

Efficient drying of agricultural products is vital for reducing post-harvest losses, improving product quality, and enhancing food security. Solar air heaters (SAHs) provide a sustainable, low-cost alternative to conventional dryers, yet their performance is highly sensitive to geometric and operating parameters. This study aims to optimize the thermal performance of a SAH intended for indirect solar drying applications. Response Surface Methodology (RSM), integrated with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations in ANSYS Fluent, is used to analyze three fin configurations namely, parallel, vertical, and opposed under varying air mass flow rates (0.01–0.05 kg/s), fin numbers (4–8), and fin heights (5–9 cm). The results showed that the opposed-fin configuration offers superior heat-transfer performance. The optimal identified design parameters through RSM are fin height of 6.91 cm, air mass flow rate of 0.027 kg/s, and six fins. At this condition the heater yields 318.85 K outlet temperature, 64.84% thermal efficiency and 0.6164 m/s air velocity. The novelty of this work lies in the direct comparative evaluation and systematic optimization of three fin arrangements within a unified CFD–RSM framework, providing practical design guidelines for indirect solar dryers. To illustrate the performance improvement, a baseline comparison is provided: at a mass flow rate of 0.01 kg/s, the opposed-fin design yields an outlet temperature of nearly 315 K, compared to 305 K of the no-fin configuration which is 31.25% enhancement in temperature rise. Overall, the findings demonstrate that optimized SAH geometries can significantly enhance collector performance, which may consequently support improved drying efficiency and more sustainable agricultural processing.