Journal of Design for Sustainable and Environment, Vol. 4 No. 1 (2022) p.

15-18

JDSE Journal of Design for Sustainable and Environment

Journal homepage : www.fazpublishing.com/jdse

e-ISSN : 2682-7441

Design of a Portable Solar Powered Water Desalination

Device
Muhammad Ilham Nasri1, Hj. Abd Khalil Abd Rahim1,a*, Mahmod Abd Hakim 1

1Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Parit Raja,
Batu Pahat, Johor, MALAYSIA

*Corresponding Author

Email: akhalil@uthm.edu.my

Received 16 January 2022;
Accepted 28 March 2022;
Available online 01 April 2022
Abstract: The current water crisis involves the region that does not have the access to the water
supply therefore one of the solutions to this problem is through the method of desalination. The
current desalination device is not portable enough to easily be brought anywhere and the source of
energy for power is a problem for most of the current existing desalination device. By creating a
more portable desalination device that can carry at least 1.5 litre of water, light or medium weight
and uses solar energy as a method of gaining energy, it can solve the problem of difficulty in usage
of the desalination device in hard terrain places. The design focusses on the backpack design due
to its simplicity as a portable design. It was found that the weight that had been calculated was
around 23 kg which was still considered heavy but to compare with the currently existing product
the weight of this product is more than 50% lighter than the other product. The design was also to
be design as a backpack due to the weight of the product it was not suitable to be designed as a sling
back with one shoulder strap. The overall cost of production was also achieved due to the design
was cost less than most of the other product that was available in the market. The price of the
manufacturing of this product was more than 50% cheaper compared to the other product. The
energy that was needed to power the thermal distillation was also fully comes from the solar panel
due to the solar energy was more sustainable and eco-friendlier compared to the other method of
achieving energy.

Keywords: Portable, Durable, Solar Powered, Water Desalination

1. Introduction objective of this study is to design a more portable and durable

The issue that is related to the conducting of this research
is related to the current global problem in the water crisis. In
some parts of the world, there are people that are facing a
shortage of water, and some are having difficulties in even
accessing this necessity to live. To tackle these issues that are
currently occurring in the world, one of the methods that are
viable is desalinating seawater. This is due to the fact that the
earth consists of 71% of water and 96.5% of the water consists
of seawater [1]. The focus of the research is more on the
emergency use of water desalination. The currently existing
water desalination device is not portable enough and can easily
be put in baggage; therefore, this research is focusing on
designing a water desalination device that is more portable
which is in a smaller size.
Other than that, the currently existing water desalination
device is either fragile due to its low durability or not portable
enough to be able to be brought anywhere with ease. The device
also uses an energy source that is not eco-friendly. The main
water-desalinating device.
2. Materials and Methods
The materials and methods section, otherwise known as
methodology, describes all the necessary information that is
required to obtain the results of the study.
2.1 Equipment
The equipment that will be used in the design process will
be through Solidworks software. The software will cover the
overall process of design.
2.2 Methods
The method of design is covered through the design
process flowchart which is stated in the book of Engineering
Design which is written by Dieter [2]. The design processes
flowchart is divided into three phases which are the conceptual
design, embodiment design, and detail design.

*Corresponding author: khalil@uthm.edu.my

2019 FAZ Publishing. All right reserved.
 Nasri, M. et al., Journal of Design for Sustainable and Environment, Vol. 4 No. 1 (2022) p. 15-18

The first phase covers the conceptual design. The

conceptual design is the generation of a solution to meet the
specified requirements, it can represent the summation of all the
subsystems and component parts that made up the whole system
[3]. The conceptual design is divided into four parts which are
to define problems, gather information, concept generation and
evaluation of the concept. The second phase will cover the
embodiment design. The embodiment design is divided into
three parts which are product architecture, configuration design
and parametric design. The third phase will cover the detailed
design. The detailed design consists of the design that will be
done in the Solidworks software. The design will include the
full product drawing, exploded drawing, and parts drawing.

3. Results and Discussion

The results and discussion section presents data and
analysis of the study. This section can be organized based on
the stated objectives, the chronological timeline, different case
groupings, different experimental configurations, or any logical
order as deemed appropriate.
Figure 1 shows the full design of the Portable Solar
Powered Water Desalination Device in the closing position. In Fig. 2 – Full design open position
the closing position, the product can still function as normal.
Figure 2 shows the full design of the Portable Solar Powered Table 1 above shows the specification of the product
Water Desalination Device in the open position. In the open design, which covers the overall factor that is required in a
position, the solar panel is positioned to receive more of the design of a product. The factors include the customer's
solar energy due to the degree of tilt increasing. requirement which is needed in the design.

Table 1 – Product design specification (PDS)

Name Portable Solar Powered Water
Desalination Device
Design Problem To design a portable desalination
device with solar as a power source
Intended Purpose Turn sea water into drinking water.
Potential People who required a different
Customer method of obtaining drinking water
Special Features Portable design
Uses solar panels as a method of
accumulating energy.
Futuristic design
Simple working procedure
Customer Requirements
Functional Should be able to withstand a force
Performance equal to the weight of the product
Operating Suitable for working in a hot and cold
Environment environment
Fig. 1 – Full design close position Economic Targeted life spans up to 5 years

Geometric The size of the device is smaller than

Limitation a backpack to be able to portability.
The weight of the device is less than
20kg
Maintenance, The device's spare parts are easy to
repair, retirement acquire.
The rate of the device breaking due to
fatigue is low
Reliability, The device material should withstand
robustness breaking due to fatigue, corrosion,
and oxidation

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 Journal of Design for Sustainable and Environment, Vol. 4 No. 1 (2022) p. 15-18

Safety The machine design should not pose

any danger to the user or people near
the device
Pollution The device should not create noise
higher than the maximum safety
noise level which is 70dB
Ease of usage Simple working procedure

Human factors The device should have a specific

part to ease the human hand to handle
Appearance The overall design finish should be
smooth.
The design should look futuristic to
catch the eyes of potential customer
Fig. 4 – Strain simulation test of the frame
3.1 Discussion
The design that has been done is tested in terms of stress
test, strain test and displacement test to further justify the
durability of the design. This durability test is considered as the
simulation of the design which will provide the design with the
justification of its durability. The simulation test has been done
fully by the Solidworks simulation test. The result of the tests is
shown in the figures below.
Figure 3 shows the result of the stress simulation test of the
frame. The force that has been exerted on the frame is the
weight distribution of the full product on the frame of the
product. The stress test is defined as von Mises in the
Solidworks simulation. According to Figure 3, the amount of
force that was exerted on the top of the design which was
equivalent to the weight of the product causes a slight
deformation to the frame in terms of stress, the deformation Fig. 6 – Brake specific fuel consumption vs brake
scale of the product was stated at 946.34. power

3.2 Weight Analysis

According to the Solidworks weight analysis, the total
weight of the product is 23675 grams or 23.675 kg in SI units.
The Solidworks weight analysis includes the types of material
that were used for each part to calculate the weight of the parts.

3.3 Cost Estimation

According to the costing function of the Solidworks
software, the estimation of cost for the product was calculated.
The total cost for the product was calculated at 1011.08 USD or
RM 4502.34. The costing includes the type of material that was
used for each part.

Fig. 3 – Stress simulation test of the frame 4. Conclusion

Figure 4 shows the result of the strain simulation test of
the frame. The strain test is defined as the ESTRN in the
Solidworks simulation test. According to Figure 4, the amount
of force that was exerted on the top of the frame causes minor
deformation in terms of strain, the highest strain towards the
frame was at 4.063e-05 which was in the middle range of the
ESTRN chart.
Figure 5 shows the displacement simulation test of the
frame. The displacement test is defined as the URES in
Solidworks simulation. According to Figure 5, the total amount
of force that was exerted on the frame was equivalent to the total
weight of the product causing minor deformation on the frame.
The highest point of displacement was at the total of 3.043e-02
mm of the URES range chart. The deformation scale of the
product was stated to be 946.34.
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To conclude, according to the George E. Dieter book of
designing in the methodology part, the design of the product
was discussed in the final evaluation of the product of the design
process of the Portable Solar Powered Water Desalination
Device. In terms of the objective for this project, one objective
is achieved due to the design of the product is portable and
considered lightweight compared to the other design that
currently exists in the market. The weight that had been
calculated was around 23 kg which was still considered heavy
but compared with the currently existing product the weight of
this product is more than 50% lighter than the other product.
The design was also to be designed as a backpack due to the
weight of the product it was not suitable to be designed as a
slingback with one shoulder strap. The overall cost of
production was also achieved due to the design cost being less
than most of the other product that was available in the market.
The price of the manufacturing of this product was more than
50% cheaper compared to the other product. The energy that
 Nasri, M. et al., Journal of Design for Sustainable and Environment, Vol. 4 No. 1 (2022) p. 15-18

was needed to power the thermal distillation also fully comes

from the solar panel due to solar energy was more sustainable
and eco-friendlier compared to the other method of achieving
energy. Overall the target of the design process for this device
was considered successful as the main objective which was high
portability was achieved.
For the future of the design for this product, a few
recommendations are suggested to improve the overall design
in the future. The first recommendation is that for the design to
be more portable it is recommended for the weight to be at most
below 20kg. This is due to the best backpack weight for most
people is around 18kg and 20kg is within the limit of the range
for the best weight. Next, it is recommended that the solar panel
that will be used is more than 2 pieces of solar cell. The reasons
are due to the energy that it can supply will increase therefore
the time needed for the solar panel to charge the power cell
which is the battery will decrease. The other recommendation
is that the design should be rounder and more aerodynamic to
reduce the design hazard of the product such as the sharp corner
of the product, the type of test that is done on the design should
also be increased such as the stress test and strain test should be
done on most of the parts to check the durability of other parts
of the product and not only the other frame of the product.
Finally, the material of the frame needed to be more durable to
achieve the secondary objective of the product which was high
durability.

Acknowledgement
The authors would also like to thank the Faculty of
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Tun
Hussein Onn Malaysia for its support.

References
[1] Water Science School. (2019). How Much Water is There
on Earth? USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/special-
topics/water-science-school/science/how-much-water-
there-earth.
[2] Dieter, G. E., & Schmidt, L. C. (2013). Engineering
Design. McGraw-Hill.
[3] Childs, P. R. (2013). Mechanical design engineering
handbook. Butterworth-Heinemann.

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