Experimental Investigation on a Thermal Model for a Basin Solar Still with an External Reflector

Masoud Afrand, Rasool Kalbasi, Arash Karimipour and Somchai Wongwises
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Masoud Afrand: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
Rasool Kalbasi: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
Arash Karimipour: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
Somchai Wongwises: Fluid Mechanics, Thermal Engineering and Multiphase Flow Research Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangmod, Bangkok 10140, Thailand

Energies, 2016, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: In this study, a thermal model for estimating the efficiency of a basin solar still with an external reflector was introduced using the energy balance equations of different parts of the solar still. Then, in order to verify the precision and accuracy of this model, a basin solar still with an external reflector was constructed and some experiments were performed. The hourly temperature values for different places of the still and amount of distilled water were calculated using the thermal model and compared with experimental measurements. Comparisons show that the thermal model of the still is in good agreement with the experimental results. Therefore, it can be concluded that the introduced thermal model can be used reliably to estimate the amount of distilled water and efficiency of the basin solar still with an external reflector. Results also revealed that the efficiency of the solar still is low in the early hours, while it was enhanced 44% in the afternoon. Furthermore, it was concluded that the accumulated distilled water is 4600 mL/day and 4300 mL/day for theoretical and experimental examinations, respectively.

Keywords: basin solar still; thermal model; external reflector; desalination; still efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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