Comparative performance evaluation of fertiliser solar pond under simulated conditions

G.R.Ramakrishna Murthy and K.p Pandey

Renewable Energy, 2003, vol. 28, issue 3, 455-466

Abstract: An experimental test rig for solar pond simulation was developed to study the chosen fertiliser salt, Muriate of Potash (MOP) for use in a solar pond under simulated conditions with provisions to vary the heating input and maintain a particular lower convective zone temperature. The performance, in terms of temperature and density profiles, was studied for MOP and was compared with that of sodium chloride and saltless solar ponds for different heating regimes and lower convective zone temperatures. The formation of three zones viz., upper convective zone, nonconvective zone, and lower convective zone was distinct at all heating combinations for both MOP and sodium chloride salts under simulated conditions. The temperature and density gradients were not affected significantly by intermittent no-heating spells of the solar ponds. Maintaining lower convective zone temperature of 70 °C and above led to the initiation of minor internal convective zone under simulated conditions. The temperature decay of lower convective zone (LCZ) was at lesser rate for different LCZ temperatures associated with both the heating regimes, for a MOP pond over a 24 h period of cessation of heating as compared to sodium chloride and saltless ponds.

Keywords: Solar pond; Simulation; Heating regime; Temperature profiles; Muriate of Potash (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2003
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148102000460
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:28:y:2003:i:3:p:455-466

DOI: 10.1016/S0960-1481(02)00046-0

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable Energy is currently edited by Soteris A. Kalogirou and Paul Christodoulides

More articles in Renewable Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().