Design of a Hexagonal Solar Fish Dryer

Abstract

Solar drying is a general methodology adopted to protect agricultural goods, fishes as well as meat in tropical as well as subtropical areas. Drying helps to maintain the quality of product and improve its shelf-life by bringing down the wastage to minimum levels. Conventional driers have lot of limitations like infestation by insect, rodents, other animals, exposure to wind-borne dirt and dust, lack of proper monitoring as well as escalated cost of the automatic dryers. Solar dryers are being used all around the world in different countries in varied models. These dryers are of two different methods one that work with natural convection with air-flow established by buoyancy and the other with air flow by a fan in forced convection mode. This is a paper on the outcome of a solar dryer designed especially for fisherman to dry fishes effectively. A different configuration with an objective to capture major amount of incident solar energy and dry fishes at a faster rate is being suggested as an alternative.