RESEARCH PAPERS

SELECTION OF INSULATION MATERIAL FOR SOLAR FOOD GRAIN

DISINFECTION SYSTEM BY WEIGHTED PROPERTY METHOD

By

SANDEEP D.V * ULLAS U ** TEJKIRAN G K *** VALLEESH B.V ****

KIRAN KUMAR P *****
*-**** UG Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, SJB institute of Technology, Bengaluru, India.
***** Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, SJB institute of Technology, Bengaluru, India.

Date Received: 01/04/2017 Date Revised: 10/05/2017 Date Accepted: 17/05/2017

ABSTRACT
The Solar disinfection system uses solar energy to disinfect food grains, by removing the moisture content present in
them. This aids their preservation for a long term. A mixed mode solar dryer uses a combination of direct solar drying and
hot air drying, for maximum efficiency. It is observed that, some amount of this energy is lost, through conduction in the
collector body. This is avoided with the use of insulators. Different types of heat insulating materials are available. This
study uses the weighted property method to decide among the various alternatives of insulating material, which is
suitable for the mentioned project. Here various parameters of insulator material selection are applied and their Relative
Emphasis Coefficient, Scaled Property, and Ranks (or weights) are calculated. The material with a rank of unity gets the
utmost preference, and the subsequent materials are preferred in the obtained order. The tangible parameters
considered in this study are: Density, Thermal conductivity, Maximum service temperature range, Specific heat capacity
and cost. In this study, Rock mineral wool, with a performance of 84.58%, was selected as the suitable material. This can
be applied in the mentioned project as an insulation material, after considering other intangible factors.
Keywords: Solar Disinfection System, Weighted Property Method, Rock Mineral Wool.

INTRODUCTION
Selection of insulation material is a very important task in
every product design process, traditionally material
selections take place at a detailed design stage. Insulation in
thermal solar collectors prevents loss of accumulated heat in
the solar collector and improves absorption efficiency. It is
important that insulation remains stable at high temperatures
and does not produce any emissions of organic compounds
that could visibly accumulate on thermal solar collector
glazing. When an insulation system is designed, there are a
number of factors which influence the material selection for
the job: (a) Density (b) Service Temperature (c) Specific
Heat (d) Thermal Conductivity. In most applications,
economics and performance require the use of more than
one type of insulating material. The materials considered for
the insulation are Rock Mineral Wool, Ceramic Fibre,
Calcium Silicate, Glass Mineral Fibre,
and Cellular Glass. There are many methods for selecting
optimized material for particular type of application. They
are Fuzzy Logic Method, Multi-Criteria Decision Making
Method, Cost Analysis, Limits Property Method and
Weighted Property Method (WPM). WPM method
involves more attributes or properties and also considers
each and every property into account, but some selection
methods like Multi-Criteria Decision Making Method
(MCDM), Limits Property and Cost Analysis Method
consider only some important properties of the material.
1. Literature Review
WPM is very useful in selection of material for particular
application when there are a large number of important
properties to be compared and evaluated. In this method,
scaled values of the criteria (b)are multiplied by the weighting
index (a).The sum of multiplied scaled properties and
weighting factors represents the performance index

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(g).The combination of stock material and matching
design process with the highest performance index is the
optimum solution.
Mahmoud M. Farag et al. [1] in his study summarizes the
initial quantitative method for screening the materials based
on the preliminary factors. In cases where numerous material
properties are specified and the relative importance of each
property is not clear, determinations of the weighting factor
can be largely intuitive, which reduces the reliability of
selection. The digital logic approach can be used as a
systematic tool to determine weight index. Ranking or rating
of each requirements and alternative processes were given
by Fuzzy Logic method.
Kiran K et al. [2], in their journal provides information
about different properties considered for the selection of
the insulation material for infrared system by weighted
property method. The insulation materials used for the
selection process are Portland cement, refractory clay,
concrete, chrome brick and asbestos fiber.
P.B.L. Chaurasia et al. [3], mainly focuses on the different
insulation materials used for the solar water storage
systems. Two insulating materials have been tested for
their relative performance for retaining solar heated hot
water for the duration of the night. The insulating
materials tested in this study are fiberglass, wool and
sawdust. The performance study has been carried out
under similar environmental conditions.
Dr. Mhamomed Jasim Kadhim, et al. [4] have made an
endeavor to show that there is no hole in the middle of
materials and capacity arranged configuration.
Simultaneous subjective determination of materials
strategy (CQSM) was created to know the significance of
materials properties in the early plan stages. The
Weighted Property Method was adjusted from
Quantitative technique to Qualitative Method for
determination of materials. Weighted element record was
figured by Digital Rationale (DL) and, contrasted and the
conventional strategy, Advanced Logic (DL) strategy
indicates precise results because it does not eliminate
least important properties.
Suresh Talur, et al [5], In their paper mainly studied on the
selection of suitable material for wind turbine blades by
i-manager’s Journal on Material Science, Vol. 5 No.1 April - June 2017
Weighted Property Method, for manufacturing of small scale
Savonius Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (SVAWT), material
considered are Aluminium (7020 Alloy), Mild Steel (grade
55), Stainless Steel (A580) and Polycarbonate sheet. Among
these, optimized material is selected based on weighed
property method to increase the performance of wind turbine.
The selected material for SVAWT showed low density and it
is corrosion resistant, economic and good.
S.S Oluyamo, et al.’s [6] study involves the thermal
insulation properties of some selected wood materials for
solar device applications. Experiment was carried out by
taking different samples of wood materials. Different
particle sizes were separated and with hydraulic press,
they were pressed to disc shape. The samples were
placed in Lee's disc apparatus and the results show that
particle size consideration can be of great importance in
improving the insulation properties of wood materials.
Adel A. Abdou, et al.’s [7] study mainly emphasis on the
comparison of thermal conductivity of insulation materials
with various operating temperatures. Different materials
are grouped accordingly such as rock mineral wool,
polyethylene and polyurethane. The results show that
higher insulation density results in lower thermal
conductivity at a given operating temperature.
Agham Rahul, et al.’s [8] study focuses to provide the
database for the insulation materials for future work. Various
types of insulating materials with sources from agricultural
products & its waste, industrial wastes those have shown
excellent insulating ability, etc has been collected. The
different insulation materials studied include glass wool,
polyurethane foam, cellulose and corncob. The principle
employed for obtaining physical, mechanical and thermal
properties, and their density, were discussed.
Shankar Chakraborty, et al [9] have studied about the
Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) which is used for
selection of suitable material. It also gives details about
how the main material properties are considered, and
considered properties should be independent to each
other. Ranking was given according to which property has
more priority.
Katica Simunovic, et al [10] have compared AHP
(Analytical Hierarchy Process) and Weighted property
9
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method by taking an example for selection of optimum stock method. Digital-logic method is calculated by the
material and manufacturing process. In the method of AHP, comparison of properties, weighed property method is
subjectivity was considered for giving ranking to the used in combined properties having different units. WPM
attributes. In WPM, there is no consideration of subjectivity shows each material requirement (or property) assigned
because it deals with transformed values of criteria. At the to a certain weight depending on its importance in the
end, both AHP and WPM shows same results. design. Value for each weighing factor (a) should be
2. Objective given based on its importance. Equation 1 defines
weighting factor for the property which is the ratio of the
Selection of insulation material is the very important
number of positive decisions and the total number of
procedure for the effective working of solar disinfection
decisions.
system. In this paper, suitable materials are selected by
weighted property method. The materials considered for Total number of decisions N= n(n-1)/2 (1)
the disinfection system are as follows: calcium silicate, Table 2 shows the weighted factors for insulation
ceramic fiber, cellular glass, glass mineral fiber and rock materials, weight index (a) is determined by depending
mineral wool. Among these materials, optimum material is on its importance to the performance of the part in
to be selected for the efficient working of the solar service. Higher weight index value suggests that the
disinfection system. The selected materials should have property dominates over the other.
low density, low thermal conductivity, high specific heat 3.3 Determination of Scaled Factor (b)
capacity and it should be economical.
Scaled property value to determine lower value of the
3. Calculations property is given in equation 2. Costs, Mass loss, Thermal
3.1 Properties of Insulation Material conductivity etc, requires lower value.
The important properties for the selection of the insulation Lowest Value in the List
Scaled Property (b)= x 100
material are Density, Thermal conductivity, Maximum service Numerical Value of the Property (2)
temperature, Specific heat capacity and Cost. Table1 shows
Dimensionless scaled property value for higher value is
the list of different materials to be investigated for insulation
given in equation 3. Maximum service temperature,
applications and their properties.
specific heat, etc, requires higher value.
3.2 Determination of Weighting Factor (a)
Numerical Value of the Property
Scaled Property (b)= x 100
The weighting factor (a)isobtined by giving relative
Lowest Value in the List (3)
priorities to the properties of the material. This factor is
Table 3 shows Scaled property of insulation materials for
obtained by using the past experience or the digital-logic
different properties. Equation 2 is used to determine the
Maximum Specific
Thermal scaled property of density, thermal conductivity and cost.
Density service heat Cost
Sl.No Material kg/m3 conductivity temperature capacity Rs/kg Equation 3 is used to determine the scaled property of
w/m/k range in oC j/kg/k
maximum service temperature and specific heat capacity.
1 Calcium 240 0.054 1000 840 360
Silicate Table 3 shows that density, cost, thermal conductivity
2 Ceramic 128 0.030 1250 1000 330 forms the much lower scaled property,
Fiber
3 Cellular 120 0.040 430 840 200 Sl.No Property Weight index (a)
Glass
4 Glass 80 0.042 450 670 150 1 Density 5
Mineral 2 Cost 4
Fiber
3 Maximum service temperature 3
5 Rock 80 0.033 900 710 200
Mineral 4 Thermal conductivity 2
Wool
5 Specific heat 1
Table 1. Properties of Insulation Materials
Table 2. Weighted Factors for Insulation Materials

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whereas maximum service temperature, specific heat Material Ranking

capacity forms the much higher value. Rock mineral wool 1
3.4 Determination of Performance Index g=S(b*a) Glass mineral 2
Ceramic fiber 3
The performance index is obtained by multiplying the
Cellular glass 4
value of andb.Each property is so scaled that the
Calcium silicate 5
numerical value does not exceed 100. The individual
Table 5. Ranking of the Materials
weighted-property values of each material are then
summed to give a comparative material performance Conclusions
index (g).Materials with higher performance index (g)are Ranking of materials in weighted factor is computed by
considered more suitable for the application. Digital logic method, amongst different types of insulation
Table 4 shows the performance value and the ranking of materials such as calcium silicate, ceramic fiber, cellular
each material calculated. The materials are ranked based glass, glass mineral fiber, rock mineral wool. Rock mineral
on the larger performance value. The material with the with performance of 84.58% is selected since it has higher
highest performance value is selected. performance compared to the other materials. Some of the

4. Results intangible factors such as availability, location where the

project is being carried out, etc could not be taken into
From the weighted property method for the selection of
account. This requires the user, to understand such
insulation material for solar disinfection system, the
intangible factors, to use the material for the project. The
priority of selection are as tabulated.
results shows that it would be ideal to use rock mineral wool
Table 5 gives the priority for selection of insulation
as the insulation in the solar food grain disinfection system.
material. The material with higher rank is preferred for
References
selecting over the other.
[1]. Mahmoud M. Farag, (2006). “Quantitative methods of
Maximum Specific
Thermal material selection”. Mechanical Engineers' Handbook:
Density service heat Cost
Material kg/m3 conductivity temperature capacity RS/kg Materials and Mechanical Design, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 466-
w/m/k range in oC j/kg/k
487.
Calcium Silicate 33.33 55.55 80 84 41.66
Ceramic Fiber 62.5 100 100 100 45.45 [2]. Kiran K, Kiran Kumar P, and T. Madhusudhan, (2016).
Cellular Glass 66.667 75 34.4 84 75 “Selection of structural and insulation material for infrared
Glass Mineral Fiber 100 71.42 36 67 100 heating system by weighted property method”.
Rock Mineral Wool 100 90.90 72 71 75
International Research Journal of Engineering and
Table 3. Scaled Property of Insulation Material Technology (IRJET), Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 1777-1782.

Thermal
Maximum Specific [3]. P.B.L. Chaurasia, (1991). “Comparative study of
Density service heat Cost Perform Rank
Material kg/m3 conductivity temperature capacity RS/kg ance ing insulating materials in solar water storage systems”.
w/m/k range in oC j/kg/k
Division of Energy Management, Engineering and
Calcium 11.11 7.40 16 5.6 11.109 51.219 5 Product Processing, Central Arid Zone Research Institute,
Silicate
Ceramic 20.833 13.33 20 6.66 12.12 72.943 3 Jodhpur, India.
Fiber
Cellular 22.22 10 6.88 5.6 20 64.7 4 [4]. Mohammed Jasim Kadhim, Mithal A. AlBassam, and
Glass
Suad Hamzah Abdas, (2011). “Materials Selection in
Glass 33.33 9.5226 7.2 4.46 26.66 81.172 2
Mineral Conceptual Design using Weighting Property Method”.
Fiber
Rock 33.33 12.12 14.4 4.73 20 84.58 1 Eng. & Tech. Journal, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 82-95.
Mineral
Wool [5]. Suresh Talur, Kiran Kumar P, and T. Madhusudhan,
Table 4. Performance Value and Ranking of Insulation Material (2015). “Selection of Material by weighted property

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method for Savonius Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Rotor blade”.
International Research Journal of Engineering and
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[6]. S.S. Oluyamo, and O.R. Bello, (2014). “Particle Sizes
and Thermal Insulation Properties of Some Selected Wood
Materials for Solar Device Applications”. IOSR Journal of
Applied Physics (IOSR-JAP), Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 54-58.
[7]. Adel A. Abdou, and Ismail M. Budaiwi, (2005).
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Sandeep D V is doing his 8th Semester in Mechanical Engineering,

SJBIT, Bangalore. His areas of interest are in the field of CAD/CAM,
FEA analysis and automobiles .He has published papers in his areas of
interests.

Ullas U., is pursuing his 8th Semester in Mechanical Engineering,

SJBIT, Bangalore. His areas of interest are in the field of aeronautics,
agriculture. His areas of interest include machine design, aviation and
CAD/CAM. He has presented papers in various colleges in the area of
his interests.

Tej Kiran G K, is studying in 8th Semester in Mechanical Engineering,

SJBIT, Bangalore. His areas of interest include Machine fabrication,
agriculture and CAD/CAM.

Valleesh B V is pursuing his 8th Semester in Mechanical Engineering,

SJBIT, Bangalore. His areas of interest are in the field of agriculture,
and CAD/CAE.

Kiran Kumar P is having 18 years of experience in industry and

academics. He has published many journal papers and also presented
paper in various national and international conferences. His area of
interest includes radiation curing of materials, polymer composites and
design of experiments. Presently he is working as professor at
Department of Mechanical Engineering, SJBIT, Bangalore.

12 i-manager’s Journal on Material Science, Vol. 5 No.1 April - June 2017