Sompong Pichetpinyo <br/><br/>
Experimental testing of a solar assisted tabacco curing system in Chiang Mai 

 - Bangkok :  Asian Institute of Technology,  1984 
 - 83 p. 
 - Thesis ;  no. ET-84-3 .
 - Asian Institute of Technology.  Thesis ;  no. ET-84-3 .
<br/><br/> A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering, School of Environment, Resources & Development 
<br/><br/>Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1984 
<br/><br/> A solar air heater and a rock bed heat store were designed, installed and tested on an  existing tobacco curing barn of size 6m x 6m x 8.5m. The air heater was a flat plate solar collector of area 36 M2 and the rock bed heat store had a volume of 12.5 M3. The energy efficiency, energy balance and economics of the conventional flue-cured system and the solar system were determined and compared on the same barn.  The energy efficiency of the conventional flue-cured system was very low while that of the solar system was higher. The solar system helped save about 30-40 percent of the fuel wood used in the conventional system and the quality of the tobacco cured leaf was improved.  
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Tobacco curing<br/>Solar heating