Solar energy as a clean energy source is widely investigated to find out the effective mechanisms to meet a large part of energy demand in the near future. In the present research, a square-spiral finned quadruple-flow solar collector assisted dryer has been designed, and numerically compared with finless collector. Main aim of the current work is. ••Design of a quadruple-flow PV-driven indirect solar dryer.••Experimental and CFD analysis of a quadruple-flow solar air collector.••Mean exergy efficiency of the drying chamber varied between 44.16-58.38%.••Sustainability index value was obtained in the range of 1.93-2.73.Quadruple-flowSolar dryerEnergy-exergySustainabilityASAC absorber surface area (m2)CFD computational fluid dynamicsCp specific heat capacity (kJ/kg K)DC drying chamberDh hydraulic diameter (m)DR Renewable and sustainable energy systems need more investigations to provide sustainable development in terms of economic and technological growth. Studies on energy conversion systems mainly focus on design, modeling and operation conditions of energy systems from different aspects. Solar energy has been known as one of the most important renewable energy sources. Performance enhancement, novel designs and implementing different decision techniques to determine proper regions for utilizing solar energy-based systems are widely investigated. Performance enhancement of photovoltaic systems, photovoltaic/thermal systems, desalination, heating and drying systems are some of the most remarkable research fields considered by researchers to improve the performance using different modifications [3,4]. Also, ambient conditions such as temperature, solar radiation and seasonal change effect have been examined to determine the reliability of the solar application.In solar air collectors (SACs), different types of fluid flow passage have been designed as multiple air channels including double-flow, triple-flow and quadruple-flow. Single and double-pass solar air collectors are the common systems investigated by researchers in terms of hydraulic performance and thermal efficiency in different working conditions, but triple-flow channels sho.