Solar Drying System Based on Multi-Parameter AI Model

Authors

Do Van Can
Quy Nhon University image/svg+xml
Nguyen Duy Khiem
Quy Nhon University image/svg+xml
Nguyen Minh Vuong
Quy Nhon University image/svg+xml
Le Thi Ngoc Loan
Quy Nhon University image/svg+xml
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52549/ijeei.v14i3.7882
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Published: 10-09-2026 • Issue: Vol. 14 No. 3: September 2026 • Section: Regular paper

Abstract

Agricultural drying strongly affects post-harvest product quality and storage stability. This study develops a smart solar drying system integrating multi-parameter sensing, electrical storage, water-based thermal storage, an Industrial IoT V-box, and a Siemens S7-1200 PLC. Temperature, relative humidity, solar irradiance, airflow, and COâ‚‚ concentration were monitored to characterize the drying environment. A hierarchical Random Forest framework was developed to estimate the chamber temperature, relative humidity, and coffee moisture content. Leave-one-day-out validation yielded pooled R2 values of 0.909 and 0.890 for indoor temperature and relative humidity, respectively. The moisture model achieved R2=0.882, MAE = 0.472 percentage points, and RMSE = 0.740 percentage points against the sensor reference. The Random Forest models were executed on the V-box, while the PLC acquired sensor data and controlled the actuators. The results demonstrate the feasibility of integrating data-driven estimation with PLC-based supervision for solar coffee drying.
Keywords: Solar agricultural drying; Energy efficiency; Multi-parameter analysis; Greenhouse dryer; PLC-based control.

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Author Biographies

Do Van Can
Do Van Can: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6599-2221. Born in 1981, received a Master’s degree in Automation in 2009 and a Ph.D. degree in 2019 from the University of Danang. Since 2004, he has been a lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Quy Nhon University. His research interests include chip design, FPGA, SoC, electric machine control, CNC machine tools, industrial networks, and SCADA systems. Phone: +84 935 253 630 | Email: dovancan@qnu.edu.vn
Nguyen Duy Khiem
Nguyen Duy Khiem: Born in 1977, received a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 2008 and a Ph.D. degree in 2015 from the University of Science an Technology Ha Noi. Since 2002, he has been a lecturer at the Depratment of Engineering and Technology, Quy Nhon University, Viet Nam. Renewable energy, Electrical system control. Phone: +84 913 986 068 | Email: nguyenduykhiem@qnu.edu.vn.
Nguyen Minh Vuong
Nguyen Minh Vuong was born on March 1, 1983, in Binh Dinh, Vietnam. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Physics Education from Quy Nhon University in 2004, his Master’s degree in Solid State Physics in 2008 from Hanoi National University of Education (University of Education I), and his Ph.D. in 2014 from Chungnam National University, South Korea. He was awarded the title of Associate Professor in Physics in 2019. He has been working at Quy Nhon University since 2004. His research interests include semiconductor materials and nanotechnology; adsorbent materials for environmental treatment applications; materials for smart window applications; gas sensors, optical sensors, and photoelectrochemical cells for water splitting.
Le Thi Ngoc Loan
Le Thi Ngoc Loan (ORCID: 0000-0002-8528-4078) received her M.Sc. in Materials Science in 2008 and her Ph.D. in 2015 from the University of Twente, Netherlands. Since 2009, she has served as a lecturer and researcher at Quy Nhon University, originally within the Faculty of Physics and, since 2019, the Faculty of Natural Sciences. Her research interests focus on advanced materials, solar drying, and solar technology.

How to Cite

[1]
D. V. Can, N. D. Khiem, N. M. Vuong, and L. T. N. Loan, “Solar Drying System Based on Multi-Parameter AI Model”, IJEEI, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 726–739, Sep. 2026, doi: 10.52549/ijeei.v14i3.7882.