Abstract

In this study, working parameters of the system consisting of air heaters and dryer with solar energy of 0.20 m2 with a space of 0.72 m2 and 10 pieces in the cabin were investigated experimentally. Average atmospheric air temperature and relative humidity values during the dry daylight hours were measured at 49°C and 35%, respectively. As a result of the examination of the test results, the atmospheric air temperature of 56°C was reached in the dryer depending on the solar radiation and environmental conditions. In addition, the accuracy of solar radiation data in the design of solar energy systems was extremely important. Six different models and MBE, RMSE and t-stat comparison methods were used to calculate the amount of global solar radiation on the horizontal surface. The best results were given by Model-3 with values of MBE=0.130 and RMSE=1.401, while the best result from t-statistics was with t-ist=0.282 with Model-5. When the equations are evaluated statistically, it has been shown that the solar-powered family type shelf dryer and tomato drying conditions can be used for Aksaray province.

Key words: Solar energy, shelf dryer, tomato, solar radiation, relative humidity.