Effect of Shape of the Absorber Surface on the Performance of Stepped Type Solar Still
- 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rajarshi Shahu College of Engineering, Buldana, India;SGB Amravati University, Amravati, India
- 2 SGB Amravati University, Amravati, India;Department of Mechanical Engineering, PRM Institute of Technology & Research, Badnera, India
Abstract
In this work, we have selected three number of stepped type solar stills of the same overall dimensions 620 mm (W) × 808 mm (L) but with different absorber surface areas due to the variation in the shape of the basin surface. The other design parameters like depth of water, thickness of glass cover, insulation thickness, type of condensing cover, absorbing material provided over the basin, and angle of inclination of the still were kept constant to study the effect of shape of the absorber surface over the distillate yield obtained. The shape of the absorber surface provided in the basins of solar stills A, E and F was flat, convex and concave respectively. When the convex and concave type stepped solar stills are used, the average daily water production has been found to be 56.60% and 29.24% higher than that of flat type stepped solar still respectively. Also an economic analysis was made. The payback period of flat type, convex type and concave type stepped solar still is 823 days, 525 days and 637 days respectively. Thus, the convex type solar still gives the returns within the least possible time as compared to other two types of stepped solar stills. The laboratory tests were conducted to test the quality of water after distillation. The tests indicate that the quality of water in terms of pH, electrical conductivity, total hardness, TDS, Alkalinity, Nitrates etc. is well within the desirable limits as prescribed by WHO for Indian specific conditions.
- M. Smyth, A. Strong, W. Byers and B. Norton, “Per formance Evaluation of Several Passive Solar Stills,” Centre for Sustainable Technologies, School of the Built Environment, University of Ulster, Newtown Abbey, 2001.
- S. B. Sadineni, R. Hurt, C. K. Halford and R. F. Boehm, “Theory and Experimental Investigation of a Weir-Type Inclined Solar Still,” Energy, Vol. 33, No. 1, 2008, pp. 71-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2007.08.003
- H. E. Gad, S. M. El-Gayar and H. E. Gad, “Performance of a Solar Still with Clothes Moving Wick,” 15th Interna tional Water Technology Conference, IWTC, 28-30 May 2011, Alexandria.
- Y. P. Yadav and G. N. Tiwari, “Monthly Comparative Performance of Solar Stills of Various Designs,” Desali nation, Vol. 67, 1987, pp. 565-578.
- O. Badran, “Experimental Study of the Enhancement Parameters on a Single Stage Solar Still Productivity,” Desalination, Vol. 209, No. 1-3, 2007, pp. 136-143. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2007.04.022
- V. Velmurugan, S. SenthilKumaran, V. Niranjan Prabhu and K. Srithar, “Productivity Enhancement of Stepped Solar Still—Performance Analysis,” Thermal Science, Vol. 12, No. 3, 2008, pp. 153-163.