EXPERIMENTATION AND CFD MODELLING OF A SINGLE SLOPE SOLAR STILL

Abstract

The Solar Still functions through utilizing solar energy for the process of distilling water. Researchers worldwide are investigating techniques to enhance effectiveness and output of solar stills. The present research is aimed to study variations in different parameters measured during the experimentation of solar still and to analyze the variation of temperature and radiation absorption coefficients for varying water depths. It has been noted that with increase in water level, the maximum temperature achieved within the still decreases. The radiation absorption coefficient with higher water levels, 0.0937 m, is 0.53967 m-1 in comparison to other instances with lower water levels, 0.0625 m, 0.0312 m, and 0.0156 m of radiation absorption coefficient 0.53999 m-1, 0.53999 m-1 and 0.53999 m-1 respectively. The experimentation with a hybrid setup of single slope solar still and a Flat Plate Collector (FPC) (MANIT, Bhopal (23.2599° N, 77.4126° E)) has been used to record for 3 consecutive days during sunshine hours for the month of January. The parameters have been analyzed for a comparative study of convective, radiative, and evaporative heat transfer coefficients.