PERFORMANCE STUDY OF A SOLAR POND USING SELECTIVE

COATING

PREPARED BY

Muhammad Ashraful Kabir

Roll No. 0405023

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

KHULNA UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

March, 2009
PERFORMANCE STUDY OF A SOLAR POND USING SELECTIVE
COATING

A project report submitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Khulna

University of Engineering & Technology, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of “Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering”.

Supervisor: Submitted By:

Dr. A.N.M. Mizanur Rahman Muhammad Ashraful Kabir

Professor Roll No. 0405023
Department of Mechanical Engineering
KUET.

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

KHULNA UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

March, 2009
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, thanks to Almighty Allah for his immense blessing and
mercy and also for enabling me to complete this project work.

I am grateful to my supervisor Professor Dr. A.N.M. Mizanur Rahman,

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering &
Technology, for his close guidance, valuable suggestions and kind co-
operation towards completing this project work successfully and preparing
this report.

I am also grateful to Professor Dr. Tarapada Bhowmick, Head, Department

of Mechanical Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, for
his kind permission to use the workshop and laboratory facilities of Mechanical
Engineering Department.

Thanks are extended to the Vice-Chancellor, Khulna University of

Engineering & Technology for providing the financial assistance to my project.

Special thanks to the staffs of Chemistry Lab, for their co-operation for testing
the density of saline water. Gratitude is extended to the Engineering Section for their
support during the project work.

Finally, I would to like to offer heartiest thanks to the staffs of Heat Engine Lab
and Wood Shop for their co-operation towards the completion of this work.

Muhammad Ashraful Kabir

 ABSTRACT

Solar pond is an artificially constructed pond in which significant temperature rise

occurs in the lower region by preventing convection. To prevent convection, salt water
is used in the pond. Those ponds are called ‘‘salt gradient solar pond’’. In the last 15
years, many salt gradient solar ponds varying in size from a few hundred to a few
thousand square meters of surface area have been built in a number of countries. Now-
a-days, mini solar ponds are also being constructed for various thermal applications. In
this project work, a solar pond system was constructed with better insulation,
transparent cover on the upper surface and improved absorber coating. The
temperatures within the pond was measured at various levels and compared with other
works.

In this work, performance of the solar pond was observed with varying salinity. It is
seen that maximum temperature developed in the storage zone increases with increasing
salinity. The pond also works as storage. Because with varying solar intensity
temperature developed in the storage zone reaches to maximum at the end of the day.
Thus, the solar pond also works with diffuse radiation.

The present system shows better output than the previous work. Maximum
temperature developed in the storage zone is higher than that developed in the previous
work. This shows better heat transfer characteristics of the system.
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Caption Page No.

2.1 Schematic Diagram of a typical Salt Gradient

Solar Pond 5

2.2 Schematic Diagram of the UCZ Layer 6

2.3 Schematic Diagram of the NCZ Layer 6

2.4 Schematic Diagram of the LCZ Layer 6

2.5 Effect of Shading Area 14

3.1 Experimental Setup of the Solar Pond System 17

5.1 Effect of Varying Salinity in the Pond on Lower

Convective Zone Temperature 27

5.2 Variation of Solar Radiation Intensity with Time of Day 28

5.3 Variation of Temperature with Time at Lower Convective

Zone 28

5.4 Variation of Temperature with Time at Upper Convective

Zone 29
 LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Title Page No.

4.1 Temperature Distribution at Various Levels after

Mixing 70 kg Salt 21

4.2 Temperature Distribution at Various Levels after

Mixing 80 kg Salt 23

4.3 Temperature Distribution at Various Levels after

Mixing 90 kg Salt 25

4.4 Density of Water after Mixing Salt 26

 CONTENTS

Page No.

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1-2

1.1 Overview 1

1.2 Objectives 2

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 3-15

2.1 Solar Energy 3

2.2 Solar Pond 4

2.3 Working Principle of Solar Pond 5

2.4 Types of Solar Ponds 7

2.4.1 Nonconvecting Pond 7

2.4.2 Convecting Pond 8

2.5 Application of Solar Pond 8

2.5.1 Greenhouse Heating 9

2.5.2 Process Heat in Dairy Industries 9

2.5.3 Desalination 9

2.5.4 Power Production 10

2.5.5 Hot Water Applications in Agriculture 10

2.5.6 Economics of Solar Ponds for Heating 10

2.5.7 Industries with Potential Applications for Solar Ponds 11

 2.6 Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Pond 12

2.7 Theoretical Analysis of the LCZ Temperature 12

2.8 Factors Affecting Pond Performance 13

2.8.1. Water Turbidity and Bottom Reflectivity 14

2.8.2 Wall Shading Effect 14

2.8.3 Effect of Energy Extraction 15

CHAPTER III DESIGN CONSIDERATION AND ANALYSIS 16-19

3.1 Transparent Cover Design 16

3.1.1 Size of Cover Frame 16

3.2 Selection of Materials 17

3.2.1 Glazing Materials 17

3.2.2 Absorber Surface Coating 18

3.2.3 Insulating Material 18

CHAPTER IV CONSTRUCTION AND EXPERIMENTAL

PROCEDURE 20-26

4.1 Construction of Solar Pond 20

4.2 Method of Making Salinity Gradient 20

4.3 Maintenance and Working Procedure 20

4.4 Experimental Data 21

CHAPTER V RESULT AND DISCUSSION 27-30

5.1 Result of the Work 27

5.2 Discussion ` 29

5.3 Conclusion 30

REFERENCES 31
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview:

As technology develops, the energy needs of communities increases. This energy

need is provided from different energy sources known as traditional energy sources,
such as coal, fuel oils, geothermal energy, hydraulic energy, and nuclear energy. These
energy sources have some disadvantages. The first three of these energy sources have
limited life time. Hydraulic energy is an insufficient energy source and nuclear energy
has some unsolved environmental and safety problems. Therefore, the researchers have
condensed their studies on new alternative energy sources known as renewable energy
sources [1]. Solar energy is a form of renewable energy sources. Solar Energy is the
radiation produced by nuclear fusion reactions deep in the Sun’s core. The Sun provides
almost all the heat and light which earth receives and therefore sustains every living
being.

People can make indirect use of solar energy that has been naturally collected.
Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and plant life, for example, collect solar energy that people
later extract to power technology. Now-a-days, salinity-gradient solar technology is a
useful form of utilizing solar energy. It is a generic name given to the application of a
salinity gradient in a body of water for the purpose of collecting and storing solar
energy. One type of salinity-gradient technology is called the salinity-gradient solar
pond. A solar pond is a shallow body of saline water several meters deep, set up in such
a way that there is increasing salinity with depth. Solar radiation entering the pond is
stored as heat in the lower layer. This heat (up to 80°C) is then available on a 24 hour
basis [2].

Solar pond is used for various thermal applications like green house heating,
process heat in dairy industries, desalination and power production. The solar pond
provides a unique opportunity to do research in such areas as double diffusive
convection, wind/wave interaction, flow in stratified fluids, and computer modeling. In
addition, the state of the art equipment on site provides an excellent opportunity for
energy efficiency studies, cost analysis, system studies, heat exchanger [3].
 Some years back an undergraduate project work was done on solar pond system
which was constructed by using ferrocement and tested. But it had some limitations
such as inadequate insulation of the side walls, no attempt to prevent convection and
radiation heat loss to air from upper surface, absorber surface coating having limited
life etc. The main objective of the present work is to improve the solar pond
performance by removing above limitations and comparing it with the previous one.
For this some steps were taken considering the various factors affecting solar pond
performance such as water turbidity, bottom reflectivity, heat insulation etc. In order to
increase the thermal capacity of absorber surface special type coating was applied
which was supposed to have more durability than the coating used in previous work.
Two types of coatings are available in market: Epoxy coating and Synthetic Enamel
paint (matt finish). The first one is better but costs too high. The later is a type of
cement paint with superior adhesion qualities. It is available in two types of finishes -
glossy and matt and can stick to all primers [4]. To prevent water turbidity and
convection and radiation heat loss to air from upper surface, transparent cover over the
pond surface was used to improve pond efficiency.

1.2 Objectives:

1. To identify the limitations and problems of the solar pond constructed earlier.
2. To modify the solar pond system thus avoiding previous limitations.
3. To monitor the performance of the solar pond.
 CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Solar Energy:

Solar energy is the utilization of the radiant energy from the Sun. Solar radiation
along with secondary solar resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity
and biomass account for over 99.9% of the available flow of renewable energy on the
Earth. The flows and stores of solar energy in the environment are vast in comparison to
current human energy needs. The total solar energy absorbed by Earth's atmosphere,
oceans and land masses is approximately 3,850 Zettajoules (1021J) per year, while
global wind energy within 80 m height, the minimum height of modern large wind
turbines, is estimated as 2.25 ZJ per year. Photosynthesis captures approximately 3 ZJ
per year in biomass. In contrast, worldwide electricity consumption was approximately
0.0567 ZJ in 2005, and total worldwide primary energy consumption was 0.487 ZJ in
the same year [5].

Solar energy has been used since prehistoric times, but in a most primitive manner.
Before 1970, some research and development was carried out in a few countries to
exploit solar energy more efficiently, but most of this work remained mainly for
academic purposes [5]. Solar power is often used interchangeably with solar energy but
refers more specifically to the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either by
photovoltaics and concentrating solar thermal devices, or by one of several
experimental technologies such as thermoelectric converters, solar chimneys and solar
ponds. Solar energy and shading are important considerations in building design.
Thermal mass is used to conserve the heat that sunshine delivers to all buildings. Day
lighting techniques optimize the use of light in buildings. Solar water heaters heat
swimming pools and provide domestic hot water. In agriculture, greenhouses expand
growing seasons and pumps powered by solar cells (also known as photovoltaics)
provide water for grazing animals. Evaporation ponds are used to harvest salt and clean
waste streams of contaminants. Solar energy is the fastest growing form of energy
production. Solar distillation and disinfection techniques produce potable water for
millions of people worldwide. Family-scale solar cookers and larger solar kitchens
concentrate sunlight for cooking, drying and pasteurization. Clothes lines are a common
application of solar energy. More sophisticated concentrating technologies magnify the
rays of the Sun for high-temperature material testing, metal smelting and industrial
chemical production. A range of prototype solar vehicles provide ground, air and sea
transportation.

Solar energy technologies use solar radiation for practical ends. Solar technologies
such as photovoltaic and water or air heaters increase the supply of energy and may be
characterized as supply side technologies. Technologies such as passive design and
shading devices reduce the need for alternate resources and may be characterized as
demand side. Optimizing the performance of solar technologies is often a matter of
controlling the resource rather than simply maximizing its collection. A solar pond is
large-scale solar energy collector with integral heat storage for supplying thermal
energy. It is simply a pool of water which collects and stores solar energy. It contains
layers of salt solutions with increasing concentration (and therefore density) to a certain
depth, below which the solution has a uniform high salt concentration.

2.2 Solar Pond:

A salinity gradient solar pond is an integral collection and storage device of solar
energy. By virtue of having built-in thermal energy storage, it can be used irrespective
of time and season. In an ordinary pond or lake, when the sun's rays heat up the water
this heated water, being lighter, rises to the surface and loses its heat to the atmosphere.
The net result is that the pond water remains at nearly atmospheric temperature. The
solar pond technology inhibits these phenomena by dissolving salt into the bottom layer
of this pond, making it too heavy to rise to the surface, even when hot. The salt
concentration increases with depth, thereby forming a salinity gradient. The sunlight
which reaches the bottom of the pond remains entrapped there. The useful thermal
energy is then withdrawn from the solar pond in the form of hot brine. The heat trapped
in the salty bottom layer can be used for many different purposes, such as heating of
buildings or industrial hot water or to drive a turbine by using special working
substance for generating electricity. The pre-requisites for establishing solar ponds are:
a large tract of land (it could be barren), a lot of sun shine, and cheaply available salt
(such as Sodium Chloride).
2.3 Working Principle:

Most people know that fluids such as water and air rise up when heated. The
salinity gradient stops this process when large quantities of salt are dissolved in the hot
bottom layer of the body of water, making it too dense to raise to the surface and cool
[6].

Fig. 2.1: Schematic Diagram of a typical Salt Gradient Solar Pond

A typical salinity-gradient solar pond has three regions. The top region is called the
surface zone, or upper convective zone (UCZ). The middle region is called the main
gradient zone (MGZ), or nonconvective zone (NCZ). The lower region is called the
storage zone, or lower convective zone (LCZ). The lower zone is a homogeneous,
concentrated salt solution that can be either convecting or temperature stratified. Above
it the NCZ constitutes a thermal-insulating layer that contains a salinity gradient. This
means that the water closer to the surface is always less concentrated than the water
below it.
 Fig. 2.2: Schematic Diagram of the UCZ Layer

Fig. 2.3: Schematic Diagram of the NCZ Layer

Fig. 2.4: Schematic Diagram of the LCZ Layer

The surface zone is a homogeneous layer of low-salinity brine or fresh water. If the
salinity gradient is large enough, there is no convection in the gradient zone even when
heat is absorbed in the lower zone because the hotter, saltier water at the bottom of the
gradient remains denser than the colder, less salty water above it. Because water is
transparent to visible light but opaque to infrared radiation, the energy in the form of
sunlight that reaches the lower zone and is absorbed there can escape only via
conduction. The thermal conductivity of water is moderately low, and if the main
gradient zone (MGZ) has substantial thickness, heat escapes upward from the lower
zone very slowly. The insulating properties of the main gradient zone, combined with
the high heat capacity of water and large volume of water make the solar pond both a
thermal collector and a long-term storage device [7].

2.4 Types of Solar Ponds:

There are two main categories of solar ponds [8]:

1) Nonconvecting solar ponds, which reduce heat loss by preventing convection

from occurring within the pond.

2) Convecting solar ponds, which reduce heat loss by hindering evaporation with a
cover over the surface of the pond.

2.4.1 Nonconvecting Ponds:

The nonconvecting solar ponds again can be divided into two types: the salt
gradient ponds and membrane ponds. A salt gradient pond has three distinct layers of
brine (a mixture of salt and water) of varying concentrations. Because the density of the
brine increases with salt concentration, the most concentrated layer forms at the bottom.
The least concentrated layer is at the surface. The salts commonly used are sodium
chloride and magnesium chloride. A dark-colored material—usually butyl rubber—
lines the pond. The dark lining enhances absorption of the sun’s radiation and prevents
the salt from contaminating the surrounding soil and ground water. As sunlight enters
the pond, the water and the lining absorb the solar radiation. As a result, the water near
the bottom of the pond becomes warm—up to 93.3oC (200oF). Although all of the
layers store some heat, the bottom layer stores the most. Even when it becomes warm,
the bottom layer remains denser than the upper layers, thus inhibiting convection.
Pumping the brine through an external heat exchanger or an evaporator removes the
heat from this bottom layer. Other method of heat removal is to extract heat with a heat
transfer fluid as it is pumped through a heat exchanger placed on the bottom of the
pond. Another type of nonconvecting pond, the membrane pond, inhibits convection by
physically separating the layers with thin transparent membranes. As with salt gradient
ponds, heat is removed from the bottom layer [8].

2.4.2 Convecting Pond:

A well-researched example of a convecting pond is the shallow solar pond. This

pond consists of pure water enclosed in a large bag that allows convection but hinders
evaporation. The bag has a blackened bottom, has foam insulation below, and two types
of glazing (sheets of plastic or glass) on top. The sun heats the water in the bag during
the day. At night the hot water is pumped into a large heat storage tank to minimize heat
loss. Excessive heat loss when pumping the hot water to the storage tank has limited the
development of shallow solar ponds. Another type of convecting pond is the deep,
saltless pond. This convecting pond differs from shallow solar ponds only in that the
water need not be pumped in and out of storage. Usually double-glazing covers are used
in deep saltless ponds. At night, or when solar energy is not available, placing insulation
on top of the glazing reduces heat loss [8].

A non-convective solar pond constructed in accordance with the foregoing features

provides a number of important advantages: First, even though the bottom layer is not
completely impermeable, there will be only negligible seepage through it since the
pumping means, returning the liquid which permeates into the intermediate layer,
prevents the building-up of pressure by the liquid overlying the bottom impermeable
layer. In addition, the gases evolved at the bottom of the pond are vented to the
atmosphere before the drained liquid is returned from the sump to the pond, and
therefore the evolved gases cannot destroy the concentration gradient in the pond or
foul its water. Further, the bottom construction of the solar pond can be made with
relatively inexpensive materials (e.g., compacted earth for the impermeable layers and
course sand and/or crushed stone for the permeable layer), thereby avoiding the need for
expensive heat-resistant materials [9].

2.5 Application of Solar Pond:

The solar ponds are widely considered as the low temperature energy storage
devices having use in wide range of process applications. The following section deals
with the scope of the applications of solar pond heat adopted in various processes.
2.5.1 Greenhouse Heating:

As mentioned in [10], Sokolov and Arbel demonstrated the use of fresh water
solar pond for greenhouse heating purpose. The pond comprised an excavation in the
earth with liner and a thin top cover. Water was used as a heat transferring fluid during
periods of solar radiation. Energy was delivered to the greenhouse by pumping hot
water from the upper layer of the pond through a heat exchanger. The water returned
after heat extraction to the bottom of solar pond. In another study, Arbel and Sokolov
studied different collector materials having different material properties and concluded
that the use of appropriate material improves the solar pond performance. As mentioned
in [10], Riva studied a 20 m2 solar pond for two years before constructing a bigger pond
of 140-160 m2 area. The energy efficiency was found to be 10 to 20 percent during
preliminary testing. The energy was intended for air heating in a dryer of 40-50 m2 area
[10].

2.5.2 Process Heat in Dairy Industries:

Studies have indicated that there is excellent scope for process heat applications,
when a large quantity of hot water is required, such as textile processing and dairy
industries. The hot water requirements for sterilization and pasteurization in a dairy
plant at Bhuj of Kutch district of Gujarat State in India are being met from a solar pond
of 6000 m2 area. The hot water temperature was in the range of 84 to 95o C during the
pond operation period [10].

2.5.3 Desalination:

Desalination involves the process of obtaining fresh water for drinking and
irrigation from either brackish or saline water after suitable treatment. The solar energy
has been utilized for distillation of brackish or saline water for a very long time. The
fresh water is produced through repetitive cycles of evaporation and condensation,
using low temperature heat from the solar ponds. As mentioned in [10], Tabor showed
that a pond of 1/3 km2 area could operate a multi-effect distillation unit, with an annual
mean output of 4000 m3 /day at a rate of US $ 0.67/ m3. He further remarked that a solar
pond desalination plant produces about 5 times the quantity produced from simple tray
type solar still. A 20000 m2 solar pond in Italy was used for desalination of seawater to
produce 120 ton of fresh water/day [10].

2.5.4 Power Production:

In solar pond power plants, the solution from the lower convective zone is
pumped to a heat exchanger that acts as evaporator for an organic Rankine cycle. As
mentioned in [10], Trieb made a comparative analysis of different solar electricity
generation options and found that solar pond produces electricity at a cost of 0.254
German Marks (DM)/kWh as against 1.198 German Marks (DM)/ kWh for photovoltaic
cells [10].

2.5.5 Hot Water Applications in Agriculture:

Many of the agricultural operations involve hot water application for different
purposes. Some of them include paddy soaking in parboiling, sugarcane sett treatment,
vegetable blanching, washing of cans in dairy industry and domestic hot water
consumption. Traditionally, parboiling process involves soaking of raw rice in water at
ambient temperature in masonry tanks for 3 days and steaming of drained paddy. The
method was later improved to soak the paddy in hot water at around 70o C for few hours
depending upon the type of parboiling method. This method could eliminate unwanted
odors’ associated with traditional method and reduce the soaking time from a few days
to a few hours. Heat therapy of sugarcane setts before planting is desirable to raise the
crop free from seed piece diseases and certain insect pests. Conventionally the setts are
treated in hot water at a temperature of 50oC for 2 hours and at 54oC for 4 hours in
humid hot air. It is clear that the solar ponds have a great scope in agricultural
applications with low temperature requirements [10].

2.5.6 Economics of Solar Ponds for Heating:

It is estimated that solar ponds in climatic regions similar to northern Victoria can
produce process heat (40 - 80°C) for a wide range of applications at an average cost
between $10 and $15/GJ. The results from the current project will provide actual data
on cost of energy delivered, for the demonstration facility and in commercially
available systems. Heat from solar ponds is therefore expected to be competitive with
the use of LPG and electricity in rural areas. Currently heat in rural areas costs over
$20/GJ for LPG (at 43 c/litre). Heat from electricity (that is, direct heating rather than
from heat pumps) costs over $45/GJ at peak rate, and $9/GJ off-peak. Solar pond
heating would not be competitive in areas where natural gas is available, since this is
priced typically at only $4-5/GJ [2].

2.5.7 Industries with Potential Applications for Solar Ponds:

Solar ponds have the potential to provide low-grade heat in industries such as the
following:

 salt production (for enhanced evaporation or purification of salt, that is

production of vacuum quality salt)

 aquaculture, using saline or fresh water (to grow, for example, fish or brine
shrimp)

 dairy industry (for example, to preheat feed water to boilers)

 fruit and vegetable canning industry

 grain industry (for grain drying)

 water supply (for desalination)

The applications of the technology are certainly not limited to these industries.
Basically the generic requirements for a practical solar pond application are these:

 no access to natural gas, and hence reliance on more expensive fuels such as
LPG, electricity or fuel oil

 demand for heat in the 40 to 80 °C temperature range

 saline water and salt preferably available locally

 availability of relatively flat land on which to construct the solar pond

 relatively high annual average solar radiation

 Solar ponds may also be considered as a source of heating factory and office space
and water heating at suitable rural sites [2].

2.6 Advantages and Disadvantages:

The solar pond system has some advantages and disadvantages. These are
mentioned as follows:

• Low investment costs per installed collection area.

• Thermal storage is incorporated into the collector and is of very low cost.

• Diffuse radiation (cloudy days) is fully used.

• Very large surfaces can be built thus large scale energy generation is possible.

• Expensive cleaning of large collector surfaces in dusty areas is avoided [11].

• Solar ponds can only be economically constructed if there is an abundance of

inexpensive salt, flat land, and easy access to water. Environmental factors are
also important. An example is preventing soil contamination from the brine in a
solar pond. For these reasons, and because of the current availability of cheap
fossil fuels, solar pond development has been limited [12].

2.7 Theoretical Analysis of the LCZ Temperature:

A salt gradient solar pond collects and stores solar energy. The stability of the solar
pond is maintained by the salt. Both UCZ and LCZ have uniform and constant
temperature and salt concentrations, whereas the temperature and the salt concentration
increase with depth in the NCZ. The energy balance for the solar pond can be written as
follows [13]. In steady state:

Rate of heat input = rate of heat stored in the lower convective zone +
rate of heat losses to side and bottom of the pond.

In UCZ approximately 45% of the incoming solar radiation is absorbed and the
remaining is lost by evaporation, convection and re-radiation. In NCZ, due to the
increasing density, convection currents are suppressed with the effect that warmer water
cannot rise to the surface and cool down as in an ordinary pond. Therefore heat losses
are only due to heat conduction. Hence, this layer is acting as a good transparent
insulation. Depending upon the thickness of the NCZ, around 15–25% of the incoming
radiation is absorbed under clear water conditions. By a blackened bottom in the pond,
in LCZ, up to 40% of the total received solar energy can be absorbed. The temperature
of this zone varies between 80oC and 900C. At the bottom of the pond, proper insulation
is provided to minimize heat losses. If sand layer is used as insulation, it will also act as
a storage device. The temperature of the storage zone (LCZ) at the end of the period,
Tt+∆t is written as follows [13]:

where T is the temperature (oC), t the time (s), ∆t the time intervals (s), As the
surface area (m2), h(z) the fraction of solar radiation penetrating to the depth z in the
pond, I the hourly insolation incident upon a horizontal surface (W/m2), kw the stored
water’s thermal conductivity (W/mK), Ta the ambient temperature (oC), dncz the non-
convective zone vertical extent (m), m the mass of water in the store (kg), cp the specific
heat of stored water (J/kg K).

2.8 Factors Affecting Performance:

The thermal efficiency of the pond depends on the thickness of the various zones in
the solar pond. An increase in thickness of the UCZ reduces the amount of solar energy
reaching the storage zone. Therefore the thickness of the UCZ should be very less. The
various factors, affecting thermal performance of the solar pond are discussed below:
As mentioned in [13], Xiang did the thermal calculation by changing the incident rays
from a Xe-lamp into natural ray and halogen lamp. As a result, it was found that the
temperature distributions in the solar pond were notably different due to spectral
characteristics of the incident ray. Therefore, the spectroscopic consideration for
thermal performance of any solar pond is necessary to obtain a correct solution under
the spectral incidence with special wavelength distribution.
2.8.1. Water Turbidity and Bottom Reflectivity:

The suspended matter in solar pond salt water, which prevents the penetration of
light inside water, is called turbidity. Jackson turbid meter is used to measure turbidity.
The unit for turbidity is helometric turbidity units. As mentioned in [13], Wang and
Yagoobi studied the effect of turbidity on the thermal performance of a salt gradient
solar pond. They found that high turbidity levels could prevent ponds from storing
energy in the LCZ. As mentioned in [13], Husain proved that reflective bottom and
turbidity with certain limits improve the efficiency of pond. As mentioned in [13],
Giestas studied the gravitational stability of a salty layer of a fluid subject to an adverse
temperature gradient as a result of heat absorption.

2.8.2 Wall Shading Effect:

The thermal performance of a solar pond is a function of solar irradiation, heat

losses from the sides to the surroundings and from the LCZ towards the upper layers,
ultimate storage capacity, and the effectiveness of the heat exchanger system. In small
vertical wall solar ponds, the shading of walls plays an important role on reducing the
sunny area of the pond and its thermal performance. As mentioned in [13], Jaefarzadeh
analyzed the effect of wall shading on the LCZ temperature. A numerical investigation
was conducted by Jubran. They developed a model to predict the generation of
convective layers on the solar pond walls.

Fig. 2.5: Effect of Shading Area

2.8.3 Effect of Energy Extraction:

The temperature of the UCZ and LCZ are almost uniform. The temperature of the
NCZ increases, when the depth increases. When the thickness of the NCZ increases, the
temperature of the UCZ also increases. As mentioned in [13], Al-Jamal and Khashan
proved that the thickness of the NCZ was dependent on the amount of heat extracted
from solar pond.
 CHAPTER III

DESIGN CONSIDERATION AND ANALYSIS

Some years back, a solar pond was constructed in the Department of Mechanical
Engineering as an undergraduate project. The previous work had some limitations. It
had no provision for preventing convection and radiation heat loss from upper surface.
In the present work, some steps were taken to improve the solar pond performance and
comparing them with the previous work. A transparent cover was used over the pond
surface to minimize heat loss from upper surface, better insulating material was used for
side walls and special type of coating was applied over the absorber surface of the pond
system.

3.1 Transparent Cover Design:

Increase of heat performance is possible with the insulation of the zones

surrounding the pond. UCZ on top of the pond is one of the zones where the most
heat loss takes place due to affects of wind, ambience, dumbness, evaporation etc.

The increase of the heat performance is possible also with the insulation of the
walls. For that reason, the top of the pond was designed to be covered with the
transparent material to reduce the loss of heat energy from water in to the air [14]. The
suspended matter in solar pond salt water, which prevents the penetration of light
inside water, is called turbidity. Transparent cover eliminates the effect of turbidity.

3.1.1 Size of Cover Frame:

The frame for transparent cover was made from wood. The frame was made
inclined so that water droplets formed inside the cover due to evaporation from pond
surface can’t be stagnant there. Dimension for the frame is given as follows:

Length of the frame=183 cm.

Width of the frame=183 cm.
Inclination of the frame=9.5o
 Fig. 3.1: Experimental Setup of the Solar Pond System.

3.2 Selection of Materials:

The principal criteria for selection of materials and developing the design of
solar pond system are based upon local availability of materials and cost
involvement, efficiency and easy to construction and maintenance.

3.2.1 Glazing Materials:

Transparent covers or glazing materials can be made of glass, plastic or fiber

glass. Commonly used glazing materials are —

1. Glass cover

2. Plastic cover
One of the common cover materials is glass for good reason. Glass is readily
available, quite transparent to visible light and opaque to infrared wave lengths
beyond about three micrometer, meaning that it block heat loss from the absorber
due to radiation. Transparent glasses have an effective outdoor lifetime of cover
twenty years. But cost involvement for glass cover is too high. For this reason plastic
cover was used in order to minimize cost.

3.2.2 Absorber Surface Coating:

In order to increase the thermal capacity of absorber surface special type coating
was applied which was supposed to have more durability than the coating used in
previous work. As a result, life of solar pond system increases. Two types of coatings
are available in local market:
(1) Epoxy coating
(2) Synthetic Enamel paint (matt finish)

The first one is better but costs too high. The later is a type of cement paint with
superior adhesion qualities. It is available in two types of finishes - glossy and matt and
can stick to all primers.

3.2.3 Insulating Material:

The purpose of insulation is to reduce heat loss, which is given to the back side
of the base plate and outside of side wall. There are many types of insulation
available in the market, such as glass wool, vegetable cork, cotton, asbestos rope,
straw etc. Out of these glass wool and asbestos rope is best but it is costly and
difficult to set. Vegetable cork is more suitable as insulation material, because it is
available in the local market, cheap and easy to set. So, vegetable cork was selected
as the insulating material in the present work. Different properties of vegetable cork
are given below:

(1) Flash point temperature: 575 K

(2) Density kg/m 3 : 9.61*10 5 -1.28*10 6
(3) Specific heat J/(kg.K) : 1.8*103
(4) Thermal diffusivity m 2 /s : 1.8*10 -7 at 343 K
(5) Vibration resistance : Good
(6) Water absorption, % by volume : 5% (surface only)
(7) Specific gravity (apparent) : 0.96 to 0.128
(8) Temperature limits, service for
Short time: 366 K
Continuous: 355.22 K
(9) Strength compressive flexure: 3.45*104 N/m2 at 5% deformation
 CHAPTER IV

CONSTRUCTION AND EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

4.1 Construction of Solar Pond:

The present structure of the solar pond was constructed few years back. It was a
trapezoidal reservoir constructed by using ferrocement technology. The reservoir was
dipped in the earth by digging a hole in the earth. But one side of the wall had a crack
which needed repairing. Repairing was done with the help of cement mortar and then it
was kept dried. The absorber surface was scrubbed and brushed up to make it prepared
for new coating. Then it was painted with synthetic enamel paint (matt finish). After the
surface being dried, another coating was provided. The hole for the solar pond was
enlarged slightly and then polythene sheet was spread out on the soil. Then rice husk
and cork sheet was put on the polythene and the pond structure was placed over these
materials. The cork sheet was attached to the side walls with the help of adhesive. After
that rice husk was provided through the wall side to fill the void space. A wooden frame
was made for transparent cover having few degrees of inclination. Then transparent
polythene was attached to frame and the frame was placed over the solar pond to avoid
falling of foreign materials to the pond.

4.2 Method of Making Salinity Gradient:

The height of the solar pond is 80cm. Water level of the solar pond was maintained
at a height of 70cm. First the pond was filled with water up to the height of 40cm. Then
70 kg natural salt was mixed with water. After that fresh water was fed from top up to
70 cm height. Then salinity gradient was formed automatically in between these two
layers.

4.3 Maintenance and Working Procedure:

Water becomes vaporized from the upper surface when subjected to solar radiation.
As a result, density of the upper surface increases and height of water level decreases.
In a solar pond the most important factor is the density gradient of different layers. To
maintain correct density fresh water was fed from top up to required height at certain
time intervals. Temperature of water at different height was measured using
thermocouple with the help of supporting scale considering the upper surface as
reference point. Solar energy was measured using solarimeter which was placed at
height 1 m. above the roof of Mechanical Engineering building.

Salt was mixed with water in three steps. First, 70 kg salt was mixed with water.
Then after collecting data for few days, 10 kg salt was added to the pond and the
performance was noticed. After few days, another 10 kg salt was added to the pond. In
the later two steps, salt was added to water by mixing with water externally collected
from upper zone. Then the water was directly fed to lower zone. As a result, water at
lower zone remains denser.

4.4 Experimental Data:

The experimental data were taken for 10 days from 02.01.09 to 02.03.09 and are
shown in Table 4.1 to 4.3. The experiment was conducted after mixing 70 kg salt, 80 kg
salt and 90 kg salt in the solar pond. Densities of water at different layers of the solar
pond are shown in Table 4.4 after mixing salt in three steps.

4.1 Temperature Distribution at Various Levels after Mixing 70 kg salt:

Height from the upper surface of the pond in cm. Total

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Solar
Time
Radiation
Temperature in oC
(whm-2)
02.01.09
9.00 am 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 29
10.00am 23 24 25 26 28 28 29 30
11.00am 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 30
12.00pm 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
1.00 pm 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
2557
2.00 pm 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
3.00 pm 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33
4.00 pm 25 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
5.00 pm 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34
6.00 pm 26 27 29 29 31 32 33 34
 06.01.09

9.00 am 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 29
10.00am 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
11.00am 25 26 26 27 28 29 30 32
12.00pm 26 27 28 30 31 31 32 33
1.00 pm 26 28 28 30 31 32 32 33
2829
2.00 pm 27 28 29 30 32 33 33 34
3.00 pm 27 29 29 30 32 33 33 34
4.00 pm 28 28 29 31 32 33 33 34
5.00 pm 28 28 29 31 32 33 34 35
6.00 pm 28 28 29 31 32 33 34 35

08.01.09

9.00 am 22 23 24 24 25 26 27 28
10.00am 23 24 24 25 26 28 29 29
11.00am 24 24 25 25 26 28 29 30
12.00pm 25 24 25 25 26 28 29 31
1.00 pm 25 24 25 25 26 28 29 32
2890
2.00 pm 25 26 28 30 31 32 33 34
3.00 pm 26 27 28 30 31 32 33 34
4.00 pm 27 28 29 30 32 34 34 35
5.00 pm 27 28 29 30 32 34 34 35
6.00 pm 27 28 29 30 32 34 34 35
4.2 Temperature Distribution at Various Levels after Mixing 80 kg salt:

Height from the upper surface of the pond in cm. Total

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Solar
Time
Radiation
Temperature in oC
(whm-2)

18.02.09

9.00 am 24 25 26 26 27 28 29 31
10.00am 25 26 27 28 28 29 30 31
11.00am 26 27 28 29 29 30 31 32
12.00pm 27 28 29 29 30 31 33 33
1.00 pm 27 28 29 29 31 32 34 35
2557
2.00 pm 29 29 30 30 31 33 35 36
3.00 pm 29 30 31 31 32 34 35 36
4.00 pm 30 30 32 32 33 35 36 37
5.00 pm 30 31 33 33 34 35 37 38
6.00 pm 30 31 33 33 34 35 37 38
19.02.09
9.00 am 23 25 26 26 27 28 29 32
10.00am 24 26 27 28 28 29 30 33
11.00am 25 27 28 29 29 30 31 34
12.00pm 26 28 29 29 30 31 33 35
1.00 pm 27 28 29 29 31 32 34 35
4554
2.00 pm 27 29 30 30 31 33 35 36
3.00 pm 28 29 31 31 32 34 35 36
4.00 pm 28 30 32 32 33 35 36 37
5.00 pm 29 31 33 33 34 35 37 38
6.00 pm 29 31 33 33 34 35 37 38
 22.02.09

9.00 am 23 24 27 28 30 31 32 33
10.00am 23 25 27 28 31 32 32 33
11.00am 24 26 28 29 31 32 33 34
12.00pm 25 27 29 29 32 33 33 35
1.00 pm 26 28 29 29 32 34 34 35
4580
2.00 pm 26 29 30 30 33 34 35 36
3.00 pm 26 30 31 31 33 35 35 37
4.00 pm 27 30 32 32 34 35 36 37
5.00 pm 27 31 33 33 34 36 37 38
6.00 pm 27 31 33 33 34 36 37 38

24.02.09

9.00 am 24 25 26 28 30 31 32 34
10.00am 25 26 27 28 31 32 33 34
11.00am 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 35
12.00pm 27 28 29 29 30 32 33 36
1.00 pm 27 29 29 30 32 34 34 36
3306
2.00 pm 27 28 30 31 33 34 35 37
3.00 pm 28 28 31 31 33 35 35 37
4.00 pm 28 29 32 32 34 35 36 38
5.00 pm 28 30 32 33 34 36 37 38
6.00 pm 28 30 33 33 34 36 37 38
4.3 Temperature Distribution at Various Levels after Mixing 90 kg salt:

Height from the upper surface of the pond in cm. Total

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Solar
Time
Radiation
Temperature in oC
(whm-2)
28.02.09
9.00 am 27 28 29 30 32 34 35 36
10.00am 28 29 30 30 32 34 36 37
11.00am 29 29 30 31 33 35 36 37
12.00pm 29 30 31 32 33 34 36 38
1.00 pm 29 30 31 32 34 35 37 38
4652
2.00 pm 30 31 32 33 34 35 37 39
3.00 pm 31 32 32 33 34 36 38 39
4.00 pm 32 32 33 34 35 37 38 40
5.00 pm 32 33 34 35 35 37 39 40
6.00 pm 32 33 34 35 35 37 39 40

01.03.09

9.00 am 27 28 29 30 32 34 35 36
10.00am 28 29 30 30 32 34 36 37
11.00am 29 29 30 31 33 35 36 38
12.00pm 30 30 31 32 33 34 36 39
1.00 pm 30 30 31 32 34 35 37 39
4693
2.00 pm 30 31 32 33 34 35 37 39
3.00 pm 31 32 32 33 34 36 38 39
4.00 pm 32 32 33 34 35 37 38 40
5.00 pm 32 33 34 35 35 37 39 40
6.00 pm 32 33 34 35 35 37 39 40
 02.03.09
9.00 am 26 27 29 30 32 34 35 36
10.00am 27 28 29 30 32 34 36 36
11.00am 27 29 30 31 33 35 36 37
12.00pm 28 30 31 32 33 34 36 38
1.00 pm 29 30 31 32 34 35 37 38
4405
2.00 pm 29 31 32 33 34 35 37 39
3.00 pm 30 31 32 33 34 36 38 39
4.00 pm 30 32 33 34 35 37 38 40
5.00 pm 30 32 34 35 35 37 39 40
6.00 pm 30 32 34 35 35 37 39 40

4.4 Density of Water at Different Layers after Mixing Salt to the Pond:

Amount Density of Water, kglit-1

of Salt
Upper Layer Middle Layer Lower Layer
in kg

70 1.028 1.037 1.082

80 1.032 1.041 1.085

90 1.06 1.078 1.1214

 CHAPTER V

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

5.1 Result of the Work:

The experimental data was taken from 02.01.09 to 02.03.09. During this period
daily solar radiation data was taken. The relations between salinity, solar intensity and
temperature are shown below. Fig. 5.1 shows the effect of varying salinity in the pond
on lower convective zone temperature. Fig. 5.2 shows variation of solar intensity with
time. Fig. 5.3 and Fig. 5.4 show variation of temperature with time at lower convective
zone and upper convective zone.

Fig. 5.1:Effect of Varying Salinity in the Pond on Lower Convective Zone Temperature
 Fig. 5.2: Variation of Solar Radiation Intensity with Time of Day.

Fig. 5.3: Variation of Temperature with Time at Lower Convective Zone.

 Fig. 5.4: Variation of Temperature with Time at Upper Convective Zone.

5.2 Discussion:

Fig. 5.1 shows, effect of varying salinity in the pond on LCZ temperature. In the
figure it is seen that for density 1.082 kg/lt maximum temperature obtained is 35oC. For
density 1.085 kg/lt and 1.1214 kg/lt temperature at LCZ rises to 38oC and 40oC
respectively. It is seen that heat capacity in the LCZ increases with salinity

Fig. 5.2 shows, variation of solar intensity with time of day. It is seen that as
maximum solar intensity obtained at 12.00 pm. After that intensity decreases to almost
zero at end of the day.

Fig. 5.3 and Fig. 5.4 shows, variation of temperature developed with respect to time
of day at lower convective zone and upper convective zone. In the Fig. 5.2, it was seen
solar intensity increases to maximum value then decreases to lowest value. But the
significant thing is maximum temperature in the LCZ was developed at the end of the
day. So, it can be said that solar pond works not only as a collector but also as heat
storage.

In the present work, cork sheet was used as insulation. This insulation system
minimizes heat loss from side walls and from bottom. Thus temperature was developed
in the LCZ at the end of the day and heat was stored there.
5.3 Conclusion:

Solar pond was constructed in which three modifications were made. Transparent
cover was placed over the system, cork sheet was used as insulator for the side walls
and special type of absorber surface coating was used. The present work shows better
output than the previous work. In the previous work, maximum temperature obtained at
the LCZ was 32oC where as the maximum temperature obtained in the present work is
40oC. Temperature difference between UCZ and LCZ was 6oC in the previous work
where 10oC temperature difference between UCZ and LCZ was obtained in the present
work. Increased lifetime of the solar pond is expected because of insulation provided at
the bottom and absorber coating used are of better quality.
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[5] http://www.wikipedia.org

[6] http://teriin.org/division/eetdiv/docs/ca02_1.htm

[7] Huanmin Lu, John C. Walton, Andrew H.P. Swift. Desalination coupled with
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[8] www.eren.doe.gov/consumerinfo/refbriefs/aa8.html

[9] http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4345581.html

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[11] http://www.teriin.org/case/solar.htm

[12] http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/factsheets/aa8.html

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