Solar assisted heat pump (SAHP) system integrates a solar thermal energy source with a heat pump. This technique is a very fundamental concept, especially for drying applications. By combining a solar thermal energy source such as solar thermal collectors and a heat pump dryer will assist in reducing the operation cost of drying and producing products with high quality. Many review papers in the literature evaluated the R&D aspects of solar-assisted heat pump dryers (SAHPD). This critical review paper studies some of the researches conducted in this field to understand and provides an update on recent developments in SAHPD. Also, a detailed explanation of principles and operation for SAHPD and its applications are presented. The used types of solar thermal collectors, as well as various heat pump dryers, are all discussed in this article. Finally, it is concluded that there is a clear lack of research in the techno-economic and environmental evaluation, while most of SAHPD studies focused on the performance study of the system. Keywords heat pump, collector, two phases, refrigerant, compression index. Nomenclature Volumetric efficiency Mass flow rate Mass refrigerant flow Ts Wetted surface temperature P Pressure Uwi Combined coefficient of heat transfer for tube wall, refrigerant and water film V Velocity k Compression index absolute humidity ratio

This study investigates the effects of Gamma-irradiation on the structural, morphological and optical properties of 3,16-bis(tri isopropyl silylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS Pentacene) organic semiconductor films. The TIPS Pentacene thin films were irradiated at 10 to 300 kGy at a dose rate of 1.58 kGy/hr. The films were characterized using X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis). The XRD analysis showed that the pre-irradiated thin films were of crystalline structure, indicating a broad wave diagram. The XRD and AFM results show that these variations can be attributed to the radiation-induced local heating and microscopic atomic mobility. Based on the UV-Vis results, the thin films exhibit approximately 70% optical transmittance in the visible region at pre-irradiation. At post-irradiation, optical transmittance decreased to 55% at the maximum absorbed dose. The corresponding optical bandgap decreased from 1.87 to 1.50 eV after a total ionizing dose of 300 kGy. The findings showed that TIPS Pentacene thin film has good mitigation towards gamma irradiation and can withstand harsh radiation while retaining its semiconductor properties. It is a potential candidate for flexible electronics for space applications.