Open Access

ARTICLE

ENHANCEMENT OF SOLAR POND EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH ADDITION OF PCM TO LOW CONVECTIVE ZONE

by

a Research Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, 600119, India
b Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, 600119, India
* Corresponding author. Email: poismech@gmail.com

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer 2022, 18, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.5098/hmt.18.13

Abstract

This research focuses on the development of solar ponds for efficient storage of solar energy. The influence of phase change material in the solar storage capability of solar ponds has been studied in the present wok. A comparison in the temperature fluctuations of a typical solar pond is made with its counterpart provided with phase change material. Readings have been taken during the sunshine hours in a day, and extended to seventy-five days. The solar pond exhibited identical fluctuations in average temperature irrespective of the presence of phase change material. The results revealed that during the sunshine hours, i.e., 08:00 to 17:00 for one month the average lower convective zone temperature increased by 11 oC. However, the solar still containing the phase change material during the month exhibited an average lower convective zone temperature fluctuation of approximately 3 oC. There was rapid fluctuation in the lower convective zone temperature per day when a typical solar pond was used. However, the same exhibited very little fluctuations after incorporating the phase change material in the solar pond. This is because the. phase change material absorbed heat energy from the solar radiation and replenished the heat storage capability in all three zones of the solar pond while the sun shine was interrupted by passing clouds. The monthly average temperature difference in the solar pond containing phase change material was observed to reduce by 55 % during the sunshine hours and after that it reduced by 62 %. It is concluded that the adding phase change material to the solar still is beneficial, since it helps to control the fluctuations in temperature in the three zones of the solar pond, despite the intermittent availability of the solar radiation.

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