FLAT BED SOLAR DRYER

INTRODUCTION

A flat bed dryer is a type of machine used to dry materials, such as food, herbs, or other products. It consists of a flat, horizontal surface (the bed) where the material to be dried is placed. Hot air is circulated over the material, either naturally or using fans, to evaporate the moisture. The dryer may also have controls to regulate temperature, airflow, and drying time. As the material dries, it can be easily removed from the bed, making the flat bed dryer a simple and efficient way to dry a variety of products.

24/02/2025

On the very first day, a campus tour was proposed. During this tour, we explored all the sections of the ashram and learned about the various projects available on campus. The sections we have visited are listed below:

1)Polyhouse

2)Food Testing Laboratory and Training Center

3)FAB Lab

4)EDP

5)Advanced Mechanical Workshop and Training Center

After tour we had an session with Dixit sir, prasad Sir and Abhijeet sir.In the session, Dixit Sir provided us with information about the work of the DIC lab and explained what our responsibilities would be at Vigyan Ashram.

25/02/2025

We had a meeting with Dixit Sir, Prasad Sir, and Abhijeet Sir, during which we were assigned a few tasks:

1)The first assignment was to learn the design, objectives and working of Arti Bamboo dryer.

2)Second assignment was to learn the design of the Nandini flat bed dryer.

26/02/2025

We started working on the design and several calculations required for the flatbed dryer, such as the volume , Surface area and Loading capacity of the dryer.

Prasad Sir assigned us another project, which involves creating a scale-down model of the solar chili dryer. The original dryer measures 400 cm, and we need to scale it down to 45 cm.

28/02/2025

Abhijeet Sir informed us that the new dryer will be constructed using polycarbonate sheets. We then calculated how many polycarbonate sheets would be required to build this dryer.

01/03/2025

We calculated the cost of aluminum and mild steel angles to determine which option would be more economically viable.

02/03/2025

We personally inspected the previous flat bed dryer to gain insight into how to construct the new dryer with the desired modifications and identify ways to address the flaws of the previous dryer.

03/03/2025

Prasad Sir instructed us to obtain one part each and calculate their respective dimensions. I got the pillar part of the dome dryer and calculated its scaled-down dimensions.

04/03/2025

We visited Agro Rangers, where they were hosting an inauguration ceremony, and we participated as volunteers. They briefed us on our responsibilities and the tasks we needed to accomplish.

On the same day, we started the fabrication of the flat bed dryer. We cut the square tubes to the required specifications, incorporating the modifications we had made.