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Shiv Nadar University

The effect of variation of mass flow rate (m f ) and number of collectors (N) on the yearly efficiency of a single slope solar still by incorporating series connected N similar photovoltaic thermal flat plate collectors (NPVTFPCSS) has been investigated, keeping a constant water depth in basin as 0.14 m. The various parameters have been calculated, taking into account all four types of weather conditions for New Delhi using computing code developed in MATLAB-2015a. All equations and required data have been fed to the computing code for evaluating different relevant parameters. It has been concluded that the value of all types of annual efficiencies, except annual electrical efficiency, diminishes with increase in the value of m f at a selected value of N until m f = 0.10 kg/s and then becomes almost constant. Optimal values of N from annual overall exergy efficiency and annual overall thermal efficiency viewpoints have been found as four and ten respectively. © 2022 IWA Publishing. All rights reserved.

World University root node

Mechanical Engineering

(SoE) School of Engineering

Water Supply

An investigation on effect of variation of mass flow rate and number of collectors on yearly efficiency of single slope solar still by incorporating N similar photovoltaic thermal flat plate collectors

An opaque photovoltaic combined with thermoelectric cooler (PV-TEC) collector is presented in this chapter, in which a TEC module is incorporated at the base of a PV module to improve the overall electrical efficiency of the system. A mathematical model has been described with photovoltaic combined thermoelectric cooler with a duct of air and this thermal modeling is used to calculate the thermal and electrical energy gain. On an annual basis, weather data is received from IMD Pune for the month of May. Several types of temperatures such as solar cells, thermoelectric cooler top side, thermoelectric cooler bottom side, duct outlet temperatures have been calculated through the thermal modeling developed for the system. These results show overall electrical efficiency with TEC increasing by 10.34-12.01%. The addition of a thermoelectric module with a photovoltaic module increases the electrical power from 6.93176 W-15.6753 W to 7.64854 W-17.5571 W. The thermal energy gain by the photovoltaic-thermoelectric module along the duct is in the range of 7.89134 W-20.7169 W. © 2023 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Energy Conversion: Methods, Technology and Future Directions

Performance analysis of solar energy conversion technology

Concentrated solar power tower (CSPT) technology coupled with molten salt thermal storage is a very promising approach to harness solar energy as it offers good efficiency along with cheap storage and it can thus meet the fluctuating demand for electricity in a grid. This helps to avoid additional investment in fossil fuel–powered plants used for base load and peaking demand. However, their large-scale adoption is constrained by their relatively high capital cost. One of the most important cost elements in a CSPT plant is the cost of heliostats themselves. Normally heliostats use square-shaped reflector, whereas it is reported that heliostats with reflectors of aspect ratio (width/height ratio) of approximately 2.0 are cheaper due to reduced wind loads on them. Further, simulation of heliostat fields populated with rectangular heliostats of an aspect ratio of 2.0 has shown that such heliostat fields are not only cheaper to build but also optically more efficient. This paper discusses the results of a small experimental setup created to validate the results of these simulations. © 2020, © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization and Environmental Effects

Effect of aspect ratio of heliostats on the optical efficiency of solar tower power plant–an experimental analysis

The solar power tower plant consists of thousands of heliostats, and heliostat field cost contributes nearly 40–50\% of the total plant cost. This makes the cost of heliostat an important parameter while designing solar power tower plant, and it varies considerably with its size and wind loads. Furthermore, the size and aspect ratio of heliostat have a significant influence on the wind loads impacting its load-bearing components. While the importance of optimum size of reflector area has been studied by several researchers, its aspect ratio (width/height) has not been examined in detail. In this view, the main objective of this study is to identify the appropriate aspect ratio of a heliostat’s reflector area. An analysis of heliostat cost using its reflector area and the aspect ratio as variable parameters illustrates that heliostat cost per unit area can be minimized by distributing costs into various categories having different cost dependencies on area as well as aspect ratio. Using the component-wise cost break-up of 148 m2 Advanced Thermal Systems' heliostat as a reference, optimum area and aspect ratio of heliostat are determined parametrically. Further, a hypothetical power tower plant with 50 MW capacity and 6 h of thermal energy storage is simulated with heliostat fields comprising heliostats built with various aspect ratios and corresponding optimum reflector area. The results indicate that it is not only more economical to build heliostats with aspect ratio of around 2, but also such heliostat fields deliver higher optical efficiency on an annualized basis. © 2019, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals.

Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering

Effect of Aspect Ratio of Heliostat on Cost of Energy from Solar Power Tower Plants

Fresh water is one of the essential requirements for the human being. To ensure the availability of potable water for the society is a big challenge due to limited availability of potable water on the Earth. Solar desalination systems can be used for mitigating the scarcity of desalted water in remote areas where sunlight is available in abundance. It works on the simple principle of evaporation and condensation. These systems are almost maintenance free and zero running cost which can be fabricated by materials readily available in the local market. The various designs of passive solar stills are used to increase the efficiency and productivity of distillate. In the present work, different types of specially designed single basin solar stills have been reviewed to find out the performance based on its efficiency, productivity and economy. Various novel models have also been observed for better view of relative performance among all solar stills to establish its clear utility indications as well. The observations have been concluded with broad perspective and some recommendations have also been suggested for the future scope for developing new designs to meet the possible challenges. © 2019 International Solar Energy Society

Solar Energy

Performance analysis of specially designed single basin passive solar distillers incorporated with novel solar desalting stills: A review

In the present investigation, various efficiencies and productivity of N identical partially covered PVT flat plate collectors integrated single slope solar distiller unit have been computed at different water depth under optimized condition to see the effect of variation of water depth on hourly and daily efficiencies and productivity. The meteorological data of 2 months: one belonging to winter season say January and the other belonging to summer season say June have been considered for New Delhi climatic condition. The hourly and daily thermal efficiencies, hourly and daily exergy efficiencies, hourly and daily electrical efficiencies, hourly and daily overall exergy efficiencies and hourly and daily productivities have been evaluated under optimized condition. It has been concluded that the increase in values of average daily efficiencies and productivity is significant till 1.4 m water depth. © 2019 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.

Desalination and Water Treatment

Effect of depth of water on various efficiencies and productivity of N identical partially covered PVT collectors incorporated single slope solar distiller unit

A computational study on active and passive evacuated tube solar collector system is examined in this paper. The paper gives us an understanding of the performance of the ETC system under natural flow as well as forced circulation. Major parameters for useful solar thermal energy gain by evacuated tube solar collector are tilt angle, mass flow rate and specific heat capacity of working fluid. To make sure that the system receives maximum useful heat gain, the optimum mass flow rate has been analyzed using ANSYS Fluent CFD. Thermal efficiency of active evacuated tube solar collector at optimum mass flow rate is compared with thermal efficiency of passive evacuated tube solar collector. It is observed from the numerical modeling of the evacuated tube solar collector that passive system is more efficient than active system. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019.