Desalination 250 (2010) 49–55

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Desalination
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / d e s a l

Experimental validation of thermal model of a double slope active solar still under
natural circulation mode
V.K. Dwivedi a,⁎, G.N. Tiwari b
a
Krishna Institute of Engineering and Technology, Ghaziabad (U.P), India
b
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi110016, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this paper, thermal modeling of a double slope active solar still has been carried out on the basis of energy
Accepted 28 June 2009 balance of east and west glass covers, water mass and basin liner under natural circulation mode. The
Available online 14 October 2009 thermal model of distillation system has been validated for hourly data for inner and outer glass cover
temperatures, water temperature and the yield. The hourly thermal and exergy efficiency of active solar still
Keywords:
have also been evaluated for 0.03 m water depth. It has been observed that the thermal efficiency of double
Solar distillation
Thermal modeling
slope active solar still is lower than the thermal efficiency of double slope passive solar still. However, the
Heat and mass transfer exergy efficiency of double slope active solar still is higher than the exergy efficiency of double slope passive
solar still. All numerical calculations have been performed for a typical day in the month of March 2008 for
the composite climate of Ghaziabad (28°40′N, 77°25′E), U.P, India.
© 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Wilson (1972), a Swedish engineer, was the first scientist who
developed a solar still for supplying pure water to a nitrate mining
community in Chile, which was very popular and was in operation for
more than 40 years. Dunkle [1] has derived the relation for convective
and evaporative heat transfer coefficient for an air–water system which
is useful even these days. Cooper [2] discussed about the absorption of
solar energy radiations in solar stills. Review of passive solar distillation
systems were done by Malik et al. [3]. Further, Tiwari [4] reviewed the
work done on passive and active solar stills until 1992. Eduardo Rubio et
al. [5] proposed a new mathematical model to study the performance of
a double slope passive solar still by considering the effect of heat
capacity of condensing covers and bottom insulation. Tiwari and Tiwari
[6] have conducted an experiment for performance analysis and thermal
modeling of single slope passive solar still for different inclination of
condensing covers. Aybar [7] developed a mathematical model for an
inclined solar water distillation system. Dwivedi and Tiwari [8] have
carried out energy and exergy analyses of single and double slope
passive solar stills on the basis of annual experimental data for water
depth of 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03 m. Zaki et al. [9] experimentally investigated
an active single slope solar still integrated with a flat plate collector
under thermosyphon mode of operation and found that the maximum
increase in the yield was up to 33%. Tanaka et al. [10] developed a highly
productive basin type-multiple effect coupled solar still generally
known as active solar still. Soliman [11] had studied the performance
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 9899132284; fax: +91 11 26862037.
E-mail addresses: vkdwivedi@kiet.edu, vkdwivedi94@gmail.com (V.K. Dwivedi),
gntiwari@ces.iitd.ernet.in (G.N. Tiwari).
of basin type solar still integrated with flat plate collector. Tripathi and
Tiwari [12] conducted outdoor experiments to study the effect of water
depth on internal heat and mass transfer for active solar distillation
systems. Recently, Tiwari et al. [13] have studied the comparative
performance evaluation of an active solar distillation system and tried to
evaluate theoretical yield from the active solar stills integrated with FPC,
concentrating collector, evacuated tube collector with and without heat
pipe. Dincer [14] reported the linkages between energy and exergy,
exergy and the environment, energy and sustainable development and
energy policy making and exergy in detail. In the field of solar distillation
many scientists have reported that the passive solar distillation system
is a slow process for purification of saline/brackish water. Many options
such as use of plastic condensing covers, solar still integrated with
parabolic concentrator, evacuated tube collector (ETC) and flat plate
collectors (FPC) have been tried by various scientists to enhance the
daily yield. Out of these options flat plat collector is popular due to its
low maintenance cost and simple design. When flat plate collector is
integrated with solar still, extra thermal energy is supplied to the basin
water and hence rise in water temperature is more as compared to
passive solar still. Recently, Tiwari and Tiwari [6] have reviewed the
work carried out by various scientists till 2006 [17]. The objectives of the
present studies are
(a) Thermal modeling of double slope active solar still under
natural circulation mode without considering the heat capacity
of condensing cover and thermal insulation.
(b) To compare the hourly thermal and exergy efficiency of double
slope passive and active solar stills (Table 1) and
(c) Experimental validation by considering the inner condensing
cover's temperature.

0011-9164/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.desal.2009.06.060
50 V.K. Dwivedi, G.N. Tiwari / Desalination 250 (2010) 49–55

Table 1 2. Experimental setup and observations

The hourly thermal and exergy efficiencies of passive and active double slope solar stills
for 0.03 m water depth in the month of March 2008.
A cross sectional view and photograph of a double slope active solar
Time Passive solar still Active solar still distillation system under natural mode has been shown in Fig. 1a and b
Thermal efficiency Exergy Efficiency Thermal efficiency Exergy efficiency respectively. The areas of double slope solar still and flat plate collector
are 2 m2. The flat plate collector is integrated with double slope solar
7.0 0 0.000 0.00 0
8.0 4.04 0.061 3.48 0.049 still in such a way that the hot water from collector plate enters into
9.0 3.05 0.113 2.66 0.080 the basin under natural circulation. The inlet and outlet connections to
10.0 2.65 0.136 4.40 0.200 the collector plate are taken from the bottom of the basin as shown in
11.0 6.05 0.346 4.76 0.349 Fig. 1b. A gate valve has been provided in the inlet pipe to open and
12.0 8.47 0.559 8.74 0.718
13.0 12.77 0.986 13.52 1.278
close the circulation of water through the collector panel. If the gate
14.0 15.51 1.386 15.27 1.940 valve is closed the solar still works under passive mode. The body of
15.0 16.65 1.831 15.27 2.209 the solar still is of glass reinforced plastic (GRP). The condensing covers
16.0 18.43 1.822 17.42 2.245 are 4 mm thick plane glass, inclined at 15° to the basin of solar still. The
17.0 23.91 1.958 17.93 2.052
double slope solar still is placed in east–west direction whereas the

Fig. 1. a: Schematic diagram of a double slope active solar still. b: Photograph of double slope active solar still installed in the campus of Krishna Institute of Engineering and
Technology, Ghaziabad, (U.P) India.
 V.K. Dwivedi, G.N. Tiwari / Desalination 250 (2010) 49–55 51

collector plate faces south and is inclined at 30° to receive the where,
maximum possible solar radiation. The collector plate absorbs solar
energy and transfers that energy to water flowing through tubes. The
htW = hcwW + hewW + hrwW :
bottom surface of the solar still was painted black to have a high
absorptivity of solar radiation. Solar still and flat plate collector are
mounted on iron stand as shown in the Fig. 1b. Outdoor experiments Energy balance for basin liner:
are conducted in the campus of Krishna Institute of Engineering and The energy balance for basin liner is
Technology, Ghaziabad (U.P), India starting from January 2008
′
onwards at the water depth of 0.03 m in the basin of solar still for αb ðIE + IW Þ = 2Ubw ðTb  Tw Þ + 2Uba ðTb  Ta Þ: ð5Þ
both passive and active mode. Experiments started at 7 a.m. in the
morning and hourly ambient air temperature, inner and outer Energy balance for water mass:
condensing cover temperature, water temperature, solar intensity on The energy balance for basin water is
the glass covers and distillate yield are measured for continuous 24 h.
dTw ′
ðMCw Þ = ðIE + IW Þαw + 2Ubw ðTb  Tw Þ
3. Energy balance equations for modeling double slope solar still dt ð6Þ
•
 htE ðTw  TciE Þ  htW ðTw  Tciw Þ + Ou
The following assumptions were taken into consideration for
writing energy balance equations for different components of a where, the rate of thermal energy available from flat plate
double slope active solar still collector is given by
1. Thermal capacity of glass covers and insulating material of wall of •
′
solar still has been neglected. Q u = AC F ½ðατÞIC  UL ðTW  Ta Þ: ð7Þ
2. There is no temperature gradient in the water inside the basin.
3. The system is under quasi-steady state condition. With the help of above equations [1–7], one can get the following
4. The average temperature of water column in the basin is equal to first order differential equation as,
the average temperature of water in upper and lower header of flat
plate collector. dTw
+ aTw = f ðtÞ ð8Þ
5. The connecting pipe between the solar still and flat plate collector dt
are perfectly insulated.
where,
Energy balances on east condensing cover:


The energy balance for inner and outer surfaces of east condensing 1 2Ubw Uba ðp  A2 ÞhtE ðp  B2 ÞhtW ′
a= + + + AC F UL
cover are as follows ðMCÞw Ubw + Uba p p
(a) Inner condensing cover
and,
Kg " !
′
αg IE + htE ðTw  TciE Þ  UEW ðTciE  TciW Þ = ðT  TcoE Þ 1 ′ α′b Ubw ′
Lg ciE f ðtÞ = αw + ðIE + IW Þ + AC F ðατÞI:C
ðMCÞw Ubw + Uba
ð1Þ
 
htE A1 + htw B1 ′ 2Ubw Uba
+ + AC F UL Ta + T
and, p UbW + Uba a
(b) Outer condensing cover
In order to obtain an approximate solution of Eq. (8) the following
Kg assumptions have been made:
ðT  TcoE Þ = haE ðTcoE  Ta Þ ð2Þ
Lg ciE (i) The time interval Δt (0<t<Δt) is small.
―
(ii) The function f (t) is constant, i.e. f(t) = f ðtÞ for the time
where, interval Δt, and
(iii) ‘a’ is constant during the time interval Δt.
htE = hcwE + hewE + hrwE : (iv) The internal convective (hcw), evaporative (hew) and radiative
(hrw) heat transfer coefficients for east and west condensing
cover have been evaluated at initial (t = 0) water (Tw0) and
Energy balances on west condensing cover: inner condensing cover (Tci0) temperature and assumed to be
The energy balance for inner and outer surfaces of west con- constant over 0-t time interval. Hence, htE and htW have been
densing covers is as follows considered constant over 0-t time interval.
(c) Inner condensing cover
After making the above assumptions, Eq. (8) becomes first order
simple differential equation. The solution of Eq. (8) with initial
′
αg IW + htW ðTw  TciW Þ + UEW ðTciE  TciW Þ ð3Þ condition, Tw = Tw0 at t = 0, becomes
Kg
= ðT  TcoW Þ ―
Lg ciW f ðtÞ
Tw = ½1  expðaΔtÞ + Tw0 expðaΔtÞ: ð9Þ
a
and,
And inner and outer glass cover temperatures obtained from
(d) Outer condensing cover
Eqs. (1)–(7) are:

Kg A1 + A2 T w
ðT  TcoW Þ = haW ðTcoW  Ta Þ ð4Þ TciE = ð10aÞ
Lg ciW p
52 V.K. Dwivedi, G.N. Tiwari / Desalination 250 (2010) 49–55

B1 + B2 Tw 3.2. Exergy efficiency of solar still

TciW = ð10bÞ
p
The exergy efficiency of solar still is defined as follows, Hepbalsi
[15]
Kg
Lg TciE + haE Ta
•
TcoE = Kg
ð11aÞ Exergy Output of solar still ðE xevap Þ
Lg + haE ηEX = ð15Þ
•
Exergy Input to solar stillðE xin Þ

•
The exergy input to passive solar still (E xin ):
•
Kg The exergy input to passive solar still (E xin ) is given by Expression
Lg TciW + haW Ta
TcoW = Kg
: ð11bÞ (15a), Petela [19]
Lg + haW

    
• • 4 Ta + 273 1 Ta + 273 4
E xin = E xsun = As × IðtÞ × 1  × + × :
3 Ts 3 Ts
The obtained values of water and inner condensing cover ð15aÞ
temperature become initial temperature for next set of calculations.
•
Similarly this procedure has been adopted for other set of time The exergy input to active solar still (E xin )
•
interval. The exergy input to active solar still (E xin ) is the sum of exergy
The constants of Eqs. (10a) and (10b) and (11a) and (11b) are input to solar still [19] and exergy input to flat plate collector [13]
given in the appendix. and is given by Eq. (15b).
The evaporative heat transfer rate from east and west side of a
double slope solar still is given by • •
Exin = E xsun ðsolar stillÞ + Exsun ðFPCÞ ð15bÞ
•
qewE = hewE ðTw  TciE Þ ð12aÞ
where,
and,

• 
• T + 273
•
qewW = hewW ðTw  TciW Þ ð12bÞ E xsun ðFPCÞ = Qu × 1  a ð15cÞ
Tw + 273

Then, the hourly yield can be found as

The exergy output of a solar still can be obtained as follows,
• Syahrul et al. [16],
• qewE × 3600
mE = ð13aÞ
L

• T + 273
E xevap = As × hew ðTw  Tcie Þ × 1  a ð16Þ
and, Tw + 273

•
• qewW × 3600
mW = ð13bÞ
L 4. Results and discussion

The total hourly yield of double slope solar still is

The thermal model of double slope active solar still has been
developed on the basis of energy balance of east and west condensing
• • • covers, water mass and basin liner. The climatic parameters such as
mew = mE + mW : ð13cÞ
solar intensity and ambient air temperature used in the modeling
have been shown in Fig. 2. The design parameters used in the thermal
modeling are given in Table 2. The expressions for heat transfer
The total daily yield is given as follows coefficient used in the modeling have been given in appendix. By
using the climatic, design parameters and heat transfer coefficient, the
i = 24 •
hourly variation of water, inner and outer condensing cover
Mew = ∑ mew : ð13dÞ temperature and hourly yield have been evaluated. The various data
i=1
obtained from thermal model are validated with experimental data.
The closeness between theoretical and experimental data can be
mentioned in terms of coefficient of correlation and root mean square
3.1. Overall thermal efficiency of a double slope solar still of percent deviation. The expression for coefficient of correlation and
root mean square percent deviation given by Chapra and Canale [18]
(a) The expressions for overall thermal efficiency for passive solar are as follows
still is given by

• N∑Xi Yi  ∑ðXi Þ∑ðYi Þ

∑ mew × L r = qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiqffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð17Þ
N∑Xi  ð∑Xi Þ N∑Yi  ð∑Yi Þ
2 2 2 2
ηpassive = ð14aÞ
ð∑ðIðtÞÞt × AS × 3600Þ

(b) The overall thermal efficiency of an active solar still is given by and

•
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
∑ mew × L ∑ðei Þ
2
ηactive = : ð14bÞ e= ð18Þ
∑ðIðtÞs × AS × 3600Þ + ∑ðIÞC × AC × 3600 N
 V.K. Dwivedi, G.N. Tiwari / Desalination 250 (2010) 49–55 53

Table 3
Value of coefficient of correlation (r) and root mean square percent deviation between
theoretical an experimental values of inner and outer condensing cover temperature,
water temperature and yield.

Parameter r e

TciE 0.9975 11.91

TciW 0.9832 12.41
TcoE 0.966 11.2
TcoW 0.9753 11.97
Tw 0.9947 16.87
mewE 0.9054 0.321
mewE 0.8959 0.234

The predicted values of hourly water temperature as calculated by

Fig. 2. a: Hourly variations of ambient air temperature for the day of experiment in the
month of March 2008 for double slope passive and active solar stills. b: Hourly
variations of solar intensity on the condensing covers and flat plate collector for the day
of experiment in the month of March 2008 for double slope active solar still.
where,
Xi −Yi
ei = : morning. This may be due to cooled west condensing cover in
Xi
The values of coefficient of correlation and root mean square
percent deviation between theoretical and experimental data for
inner and outer condensing cover temperature have been given in
Table 3.
Table 2
Design parameters used in thermal modeling.
Eq. (9) have been compared with experimental data for 0.03 m water
depth for a typical day in the month of March 2008 and are shown in
Fig. 3. The coefficient of correlation and root mean square percent
deviation between theoretical and experimental water temperature
are found 0.9947 and 16.87 respectively. It can be observed that there
is an increase in water temperature in active solar still by 50 °C
(Fig. 3), which is 10 °C higher in comparison with water temperature
of passive solar still. It is due to the fact that an additional thermal
energy is fed into the basin of active solar still from flat plate collector.
Hourly variations of theoretical and experimental inner glass covers
temperature for east and west side of a double slope active solar still
has been shown in Fig. 4. From this figure, one can observe that the
maxima of the east condensing cover is lagging with the maxima of
west inner condensing cover due to maximum solar intensity at east
and west condensing cover at 1 and 2 pm respectively. The
coefficients of correlation between theoretical and experimental
values for east and west inner condensing covers are 0.9738 and
0.9852 respectively. Similar observation can be made for the outer
glass cover temperature for double slope solar still. Experimental and
theoretical data for outer glass cover have been shown in Fig. 5 with
correlation coefficient for east and west sides of 0.9660 and 0.9753
respectively. From Fig. 6, one can observe that the hourly yield for
west condensing cover is more than east condensing cover early in the
comparison with east condensing cover. The same is true for the
afternoon case. Hourly variations in theoretical and experimental
yield have been shown in Fig. 6. Least values of coefficient of
correlation (0.9058 for east side and 0.8959 for west side) have been
found for hourly yield and this may be due to large variation in the
wind speed.
The overall results obtained from the present studies are quite
similar to the results obtained by Rubio et al. [5].

Parameters Value

Design parameters for solar still

αb 0.8
αg 0.05
αw 0.6
εw 0.95
εg 0.95
As 2 m2
Lb 0.005 m
Lg 0.004 m
Kb 0.035 W/m°C
Kg 0.78 0 W/m°C
CW 4188 J/kg°C
M 20 kg
σ 5.67 × 10− 8 W/m2 °C

Design parameters for flat plate collector

Ac 2 m2
F′ 0.8
UL 6 W/m2 °C
Fig. 3. Hourly variations of theoretical and experimental water temperatures for 0.03 m
(ατ)c 0.6
water depth of a double slope active solar still for the month of March 2008.
54 V.K. Dwivedi, G.N. Tiwari / Desalination 250 (2010) 49–55

5. Conclusion

The following conclusions have been drawn

1. The double slope active solar still under natural modes gives 51%
higher yield in comparison to the double slope passive solar still.
2. The thermal efficiency of double slope active solar still is lower
than the thermal efficiency of double slope passive solar still.
However, the exergy efficiency of double slope active solar still is
higher than the exergy efficiency of double slope passive solar still.
3. The daily yield of a double slope passive solar still for a particular
day in the month of March 2008 was found 1.838 kgm− 2 whereas
the daily yield of a double slope active solar still under natural
Fig. 4. Hourly variations of theoretical and experimental inner glass cover temperatures mode was found 2.791 kgm− 2.
for 0.03 m water depth for east and west sides of a double slope active solar still for the
month of March 2008.
Appendix A

The constants of Eqs. (10a) and (10b) and (11a) and (11b) are as
follows

2
p = U1 U2  UEW

U1 = UaE + htE + UEW

U2 = UaW + htw + UEW

Kg haE
UaE =
Kg + haE Lg

Fig. 5. Hourly variations of theoretical and experimental outer glass cover temperatures Kg haW
for 0.03 m water depth for east and west sides of a double slope active solar still for the UaW =
month of March 2008. Kg + haW Lg

A1 = R1 U2 + R2 UEW

A2 = htE U2 + htW UEW

B1 = R1 UEW + R2 U1

B2 = htE UEW + htW U1

′
R1 = αg IE + UaE Ta

′
R2 = αg IW + UaW Ta

Fig. 6. Hourly variations of theoretical and experimental yield for 0.03 m water depth of Heat transfer relationship used in thermal modeling
a double slope active solar still for the month of March 2008.
External heat transfer coefficient

Heat transfer from glass cover to ambient air takes place by

Hourly thermal and exergy efficiencies of passive and active convection and radiation. The total heat transfer coefficient from glass
double slope solar stills have been calculated by using the equation cover to ambient is given by
given by Dwivedi and Tiwari [8] and the results are presented in
Table 2. It is observed that exergy efficiency is always lower than haE = haW = 5:7 + 3:8V:
thermal efficiency. The hourly thermal efficiency of passive solar still
varies from 0 to 23.9% and is higher than the thermal efficiency of The overall heat transfer coefficient from basin to ambient is given
active solar still that varies from 0 to 17.9%. As against hourly thermal by the equation
efficiency the hourly exergy efficiency for active solar still is higher (0
to 1.958%) as compared to the exergy efficiency of passive solar still (0 1
to 2.245%). The overall average thermal and exergy efficiencies of FPC- Uba = Lb
:
1
Kb + hb
integrated active solar still are 10.34 and 1.16%, respectively.
 V.K. Dwivedi, G.N. Tiwari / Desalination 250 (2010) 49–55 55

Internal heat transfer coefficient [15] A. Hepbalsi, A key review on exegetic analysis and assessment of renewable
energy sources for a sustainable future, Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Reviews 12 (3) (2008) 593–661.
The convection, evaporation and radiation are the mode of heat [16] S. Syahrul, F. Hamdullahpur, I. Dincer, Exergy analysis of fluidized bed drying of
transfer from water mass to inner glass cover. Dunkle's equation for moist particles, Exergy International Journal 2 (2002) 87–98.
[17] G.N. Tiwari, A.K. Tiwari, Solar Distillation Practice in Water Desalination Systems,
convective heat transfer coefficient is Anamaya Publication Ltd, New Delhi, India, 2007.
[18] S.C. Chapra, R.P. Canale, Numerical Methods for Engineer, McGraw-Hill, New York,

1
ðPw  PciE ÞTw 3
1989.
hcw = 0:884 Tw  TciE + [19] R. Petela, Exergy of undiluted thermal radiation, Solar Energy 74 (6) (2003)
268:9× 103  Pw 469–488.

and, evaporative heat transfer coefficient is given by

−3 Pw  PciE
hew = 16:276 × 10 hcwE Glossary
Tw  TciE
As: Surface area of condensing cover (m2)
Radiative heat transfer coefficient is calculated by AC: Surface area of flat plate collector (m2)
e: Root mean square of percent deviation
2 2 F′: Flat plat collector efficiency factor
σðTw + TciE ÞðTw + TciE Þ ht: Total internal heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 °C)
hrw =
ε + ε 1
1 1 hcw: Internal convective heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 °C)
w g
hew: Internal evaporative heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 °C)
hrw: Internal radiative heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 °C)
Radiative heat transfer between east and west surfaces has also ha: Heat transfer coefficient between outer condensing cover and ambient air (W/m2°C)
been considered. The radiative heat transfer coefficient between two I: Solar intensity on the condensing cover (W/m2)
Kg: Thermal conductivity of condensing cover (W/m°C)
glass surfaces is given by Lg: Thickness of condensing cover (m)
L: Latent heat of vaporization (J/kg)
2 2
UEW = 0:034σ ⌊ðTciE + 273Þ + ðTciW + 273Þ ⌋½TciE + TciW + 546: M: Mass of water in the basin of solar still (kg)
•
m: Hourly distillate yield (kg/m2)
P: Partial saturated vapor pressure (N/m2)
•
Q U : Useful thermal energy gain from the collector (W/m2)
References q•ew: Evaporative heat transfer rate (W/m2)
T: Temperature (°C)
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International Heat transfer, vol. 5, University of Colorado, 1961, pp. 895–902. cover (W/m2 °C)
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(1969) 333–346. Uba: Heat transfer coefficient between basin liner and ambient air (W/m2 °C)
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