Investigation Of Solar Powered Enhanced Evaporative Cooling System For Vegetables Warehouse Air-Conditioning Application

Abstract

Vegetables Are Perishable Crops, Which Have High Moisture Content. The Central Rift-ValleyIs An Areas Which The Vegetables Produced Widely In Ethiopia. The High Moisture Content Nature Of The Vegetables Results High Post-Harvest Losses In The Absence Of Proper Storage Condition. Most Of Research And Review Show That In Ethiopia, The Post-Harvest Loss Of Vegetables Is Approximates 50 To 70%. This Results A Huge Income Losses To Farmers And Increases Of Produces Price On The Market, Which Causes The Increase Of Poverty Rate In The Country. In Order To Reduce Postharvest Loss Of Vegetables The Roles Of Low Cost Evaporative Cooling Storage Technology Is Great. In This Investigation, An Appropriate Configuration Of Evaporative Cooling System That Enhanced By Solid-Desiccant Pre-Dehumidifier And Maisotsenko-Cycle Pre-Cooler Were Developed For The Storage Of Tomato Produces Harvested From 2.1 Hectare . The Performances Of Each Unit Of The System Were Analyzed By Developing Their Respective Mathematical Models. Simple Algorithm Were Used To Solve And Simulate The Mathematical Model Of The Storage Room. For All Developed Model, A General Matlab Code Program Is Developed. It Can Be Found That The Maximum Outlet Temperature Glycol From Manifold Is 139??C And Obtained At 0.012kg/S. To Substitute The Gap During Night Time Mass Of 236 Kg Of Erytriol Are Required. The Storage Tank Has A Capability Of Storing Thermal Energy For 5 Hour. The Wet Bulb And Dew Point Effectiveness Of The M-Cycle Attained Were1.43 And 0.76 Respectively. The System Can Achieve The Required Storage And Humidity Level Of 12.5 To 20??C And 83% Respectively Within 2 Hour Of Operation.