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Go to Editorial ManagerPerformance a double slope of the solar still Integrated With or without parabolic trough collector is investigated experimentally. To improve the output of a double slope solar still, a number of initiatives have been undertaken, using wax as a phase change material (PCM) with a parabolic trough collector. A parabolic trough collector (PTC) transfers incident solar energy to the solar still through a water tube connected to a heat exchanger embedded in used microcrystalline wax. Experiments were carried out after orienting the basin to the south and holding the water depth in the basin at 20 mm. According to the results obtained, the solar stills with parabolic trough collector have higher temperatures and productivity than solar stills without parabolic trough collector, as well as the ability to store latent heat energy in solar still, allowing fresh water to condense even after sunset. In addition, the parabolic trough collector with phase change material in the double slope solar improves productivity by 37.3 % and 42 %, respectively.
In This paper, an experimental study was carried out on a dual channel with perforating “V” corrugated absorber plate of solar air collector which the air flows both in upper channel and lower channel of the absorber plate for increasing heat transfer coefficient and improving thermal performance. The results of experimental procedures for dual channel with perforating “V” corrugated absorber plate of solar collector were compared with the flat plate dual channel of solar collector. Experimental calculations had been performed under Baghdad (33.34° North latitude, 44.4° East longitude) climatic conditions at different values of mass flow rates 0.021 kg/s, 0.027 kg/s and 0.32 kg/s. The results showed that the dual channel with perforating “V” corrugated absorber plate of solar collector is found to perform more efficiently than the flat plate dual channel of solar collector with increased 39% in thermal efficiency. Then, it showed that the efficiency increases with increasing mass flow rates. Also, it showed that the heat removal factor of the dual channel with perforating “V” corrugated absorber plate of solar collector is 36% more than the flat plate dual channel of solar collector. At the last part of the study, the exergy relations were derived for both collectors. The results of this part showed that the flat plate dual channel of solar collector is having largest irreversibility (exergy loss) and the dual channel with perforating “V” corrugated absorber plate of solar collector is having a greatest exergetic efficiency.
Solar desalination uses solar radiation to convert saline or seawater into clean water and is increasingly crucial due to growing pollution from industrial and automotive sources. Although solar stills offer a sustainable solution, they face challenges in terms of production efficiency. This study presents a new structural design for solar stills, which incorporates advanced insulation materials, a well-designed distillate channel, and an inclined base to enhance productivity. The research explores how different climatic conditions such as wind speed, solar radiation, and atmospheric humidity affect solar still performance. Seven experimental setups were evaluated, comparing traditional inclined stills with advanced closed-loop systems. The results demonstrated that closed-loop systems improved productivity by 28.6% compared to open-loop systems. Additionally, moderate wind speeds increased productivity by 20.82%, while partial cloud cover and light rain decreased productivity by 52.15% and 12.9%, respectively. However, light rain also enhanced condensation efficiency by cooling the glass surface. This study highlights the importance of incorporating environmental factors into the design and optimization of solar still systems for improved performance.
Solar energy can only be used when it's sunny outside. Therefore, solar heating is only efficient during the day and decreases at night or on overcast days. Consumer energy needs have a distinct seasonal structure, and solar energy cannot completely meet those needs. In order to satisfy customer demand, energy storage is essential. In order to maximize the use of solar energy and to increase the energy and efficiency of the solar absorption system, superior thermal properties of sophisticated materials, such as phase change materials, are important [1]. In the current study, 20 kg of phase change material (PCM) is integrated with solar water heating and fed into a storage tank to enhance the solar water heating efficiency. Helical coil heat exchangers were added to the storage tank as an external load. The trials were conducted in four separate months (September 2021, April, May, and June 2022) that were chosen on the first day. The effectiveness, heat gain, and significance of the phase change material in increasing heating efficiency throughout the day were studied using a range of variables, including water volume flow rate (2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 L/min) and inlet water temperature (25, 30, and 35 °C). The results showed that, given an initial temperature of 25 °C, the daily efficiency range, was 0.58 to 0.65, and that the daily final outlet temperature was enhanced outlet temperature over 65 °C. Additionally, on all test days, the heat released by the phase change material was audible in the evening and increased the utilization time.
The thermal performance of an absorption refrigeration system powered by solar pond heat was studied, simulated, and evaluated under the climatic conditions of Basra, Iraq. The simulation used MATLAB to solve the heat and mass transfer equations within the three layers of the solar pond (assuming NaCl as the salinity gradient medium) and linked them via a heat exchanger to the absorption refrigeration system to determine the temperatures supplied to the absorption cycle. The absorption cooling system operates on a lithium bromide-water pair and contains an internal heat exchanger between the generator and absorber with an assumed efficiency of 80%. The simulation was conducted over several months of the year, from March to October, and daily climatic variables such as solar radiation and ambient temperature specific to Basra were considered, allowing the system's performance to be evaluated under realistic climatic conditions. The objective was to evaluate the coefficient of performance (COP) of absorption refrigeration systems and demonstrate the feasibility of using solar ponds as a sustainable heat source for cooling in hot regions. The study demonstrated the feasibility of operating an absorption refrigeration system using the thermal energy stored in the lower layer of the solar pond, while maintaining good thermal stability in that layer throughout the day, especially in areas with high solar radiation, such as Basra. The simulation model was developed entirely in MATLAB using fundamental physical equations that describe each component of the solar pond and absorption refrigeration system, without relying on pre-existing components or tables. This provides greater modeling flexibility and a deeper understanding of system behavior under hot climate conditions.
This study presents solar chimney power plant integrated with sea water desalination system. A simple mathematical model is based on the conservation of mass and energy. The results show that the integrated system of solar chimney power plant and solar still can achieve simultaneously. The analysis is performed for both summer and winter at latitude 30 o N. It’s noted that, the water layer thickness is of a significant effect on the fresh water productivity while the dimensions of solar chimney and the solar collector are of a minor effect. The productivity of fresh water and output power for summer are the highest. The present work is compared with experimental data of the other work and showed a good agreement.
The solar chimney is a natural draft device that uses solar radiation to provide upward momentum to the in-flowing air, thereby converting the thermal energy into kinetic energy through an air turbine which in turn can be converted into electrical energy. The main parts of the solar chimney power plant are a large circular solar collector, a tall chimney, and an air turbine. In this paper, a theoretical study was performed to evaluate the performance of a solar chimney power plant system in Basrah City, where sunny days and solar radiation are high. A mathematical model was developed to study the effect of various parameters on the output power of the solar chimney. I1 was found that the output power depends strongly on the chimney tall and the difference between the collector air temperature and the ambient air temperature as well as the outside heat transfer coefficient, which essentially depends on the wind speed.
The desalination market is gradually growing as a result of the significant water scarcity in various regions throughout the world. Concentrated solar power (CSP) can be used to power distillation, which is an effective method for addressing water shortages in areas where there is both a severe lack of water and abundant direct normal irradiation. CSPs are ideal candidates for the advancement of desalination technologies due to their capacity to produce both thermal and electricity energy. This review article offers a comprehensive of the current status of cutting-edge CSP-desalination systems. The paper reviews previously published studies conducted by researchers in the field of multi-effect desalination using concentrated solar collectors, and they are classified into two main types. Exclusively freshwater generation and freshwater / electricity cogeneration. In addition, the paper reviews conventional desalination. This review illustrates that there are numerous prospective methods for integrating desalination systems into CSPs. Potential areas for future investigation in CSP-desalination systems. In particular, the most significant obstacles to be surmounted are lowering the costs and efficiency improvements of solar repayment and desalination equipment. A potential method to expedite the commercialization of these plants is to develop innovative strategies that optimize thermal efficiency and reduce costs. Environmental factors (solar radiation intensity, ambient temperature and wind speed) and design factors (solar field area, number of mirrors, number of stages, steam temperature, steam quantity and pressure) are the main effective parameters that affect the distilled water production process. In general, the CSP desalination systems are environmentally and technically appealing; however, there remains substantial progress to be made in order for these plants to be commercially viable.
The solar chimney power plant is one of the modern models studied on the world. This study presents an engineering and numerical analysis of solar chimney with different parameters. Also, it studies the comparison of two collector base shapes(circular and hexagonal) depend on the five storage material types and their effects on the heat transfer, velocity, efficiency, etc. inside the solar chimney system by considering the solar array intensity equations and the energy equation to calculate the heat transferred and stored by applying the laws of CFD. The finite volume method is used to analyze the geometry physical model by applying a commercial Fluent 6.3 code with Gambit 2.3. The obtained results show that the efficiency of solar chimney is increased by increasing the area of solar glassed collector with circular base shape than the others of polygonal or rectangular one because the circular was covered large area of system. So, the circular ground collector shape for thermal storage is the favour because it is the better to increase the velocity of entering air and to increase the efficiency of turbine. In addition to that the black Pebble storage plate is the better material for heat storage which is convected to air passed for operation of turbine than the other types aluminum, tar, copper and steel seriously.
Solar energy is the most suitable among all renewable energy options for competing with fossil fuels in desalination due to its ability to utilize both heat and power for the process. In this study, the Parabolic Trough Solar Collector (PTSC) for powering a Single Stage Flash (SSF) desalination unit was proposed for Basrah city climate, Iraq. The desalination system comprises two directly coupled sub-systems: the PTSC and the SSF desalination unit. The preheated feed brine water coming from condenser was used as a Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) for PTSC, which gets heated to a desired temperature referred to as the Top Brine Temperature (TBT). The numerical simulations were performed via EBSILON professional 16.02 (2022) software. The effects of TBT, mass flowrate of feed brine water to get the desired TBT, solar collector area, and vacuum pressure inside flash chamber on the performance of the desalination system was studied. A major finding of the current study can be summarized as follows: The collector efficiency is enhanced eventually as TBT increases. The maximum values of distillate water in June are around 5.5, 4.56, 3.69, 2.75 and 1.85 kg/h for 12.408, 10.434, 8.3472, 6.26, and 4.1736 m² collector area respectively, when TBT 107 °C and vacuum pressure 40 kPa. For 1.598 m² collector area, the total distillate in the 1st of June amounted to 7.9 kg, with an average production rate of around 0.7 kg/h. The solar SSF system's productivity per solar collector unit area at 20 kPa, 15 kPa, and 10 kPa vacuum pressures was 4.7 kg/day/m², 5.3 kg/day/m², and 6.25 kg/day/m², respectively. The average Performance Ratio (PR) values are determined to be 0.694, 0.577, and 0.491 for 10 kPa, 15 kPa, and 20 kPa, respectively. These results are very acceptable when compared with an existing literature.
In this paper, a theoretical study of the conventional solar-still system integrated via the design of heat recovery of air exhausted from the air conditioner condenser employing heat exchangers (WHRUs) was conducted. This study aims to improve desalination performance by compensating for the non-existence of sunlight during the night. A comparison was made between the desalination performance in the event of exposure to solar radiation and its performance in the case of exposure to the system (WHRUs). It was found that the (WHRUs) system has a minimal impact on the production of the conventional desalination rig during the night period, as the highest cumulative productivity in the presence of the (WHRU S ) reached (2.15 kg) in August. In contrast, the productivity dependent on solar radiation was (4.58 kg) for the same month, with the most significant percentage of improvement reaching (31.91 %).
In the present research, a Matlab program with a graphical user interface (GUI) has been established for studying the performance of a solar tower power plant (STPP). The program gives the ability for predicting the performance of STPP for different tower dimensions, ambient operating conditions and locations. The program is based on the solution of a mathematical model derived from the heat and mass balance for the tower components. The GUI program inputs are; tower dimensions, solar radiation, ambient temperature, pressure, wind velocity, turbine efficiency, emissivity and absorptivity for collector and ground and thermal conductivity and thickness for ground. However, the GUI program outputs are; temperature and pressure differences across the collector and tower, velocity in the tower, density of air in collector outlet, mass flowrate of air, efficiency for collector and tower, the overall efficiency and output power of STPP. The effect of the geometrical dimensions of STPP and some climatic variables on the plant performance was also studied. The results show that the output power increases with increasing the collector diameter, chimney diameter and solar radiation by an increasing of 0.282 kW/m, 0.204 kW/m and 0.046 kW/(W/m2) respectively.
The incorporation of thermal energy storage materials (TESMs) into solar energy systems is a factor that boosts the performance of these systems. In this paper, an experimental study was addressed for enhancing the heat pipe’s thermal performance that works with an Evacuated Solar Tube Collector with Heat Pipe (ETCHP) as a solar water heater system. This is done by adding micro-zinc oxide (ZnO-MP) to the paraffin wax integrated as TESM into the evacuated tube (ET) of the system, where the evaporator section of the heat pipe is completely submerged within the micro-enhanced paraffin wax. Three experimental prototype rigs with one evacuated tube were designed, built, and tested to do the investigation. The most important parameters that have been studied in this study are the thermal resistance and the temperature distribution pattern along the heat pipe. The results show a clear indication of the decrease in the thermal resistance of the heat pipe of the proposed system compared to the system in which pure paraffin wax was incorporated. Also, it was noticed that there is a significant improvement in the temperature distribution along the heat pipe due to the improvement in the conductivity of the micro-enhanced wax compared to the pure wax.
Solar chimney (SC) together with earth to air heat exchanger (EAHE) is being employed as a low-energy consuming technique to remove undesirable interior heat from a building in the hot seasons. A numerical program "FLUENT 6.3 code" of an earth to air heat exchanger (EAHE) is studied for predicting the outlet air temperature and cooling potential of these devices in Basrah climate. Theoretical analyses have been conducted in order to investigate the ventilation in a solar chimney. The investigation into the viability of Low Energy Earth Pipe Cooling Technology in providing thermal comfort in Basrah. The demand for air-conditioning in buildings in Basrah affects the country escalating energy consumption. Therefore, this investigation was intended to seek for an alternative passive cooling to air-conditioning. The passive technology, where the ground was used as a heat sink to produce cooler air, has not been investigated systematically in hot and humid countries. A sub-soil temperature model adapted for the specific conditions in Basrah is presented and its output compared with CFD modeling. The results have shown that the potential of Earth Pipe is providing lower output temperature of air inlet to the room. We found that the resulting temperature at the buried pipe outlet decreases with increasing pipe length, decreasing pipe diameter, decreasing mass flow rate of flowing air in the pipe and increasing depths up to 4m.
A mathematic model is presented for solar updraft tower power plant with water-storage system. This model is developed to evaluate the effect of geometrical parameters of the solar tower power plant and thermal storage system as well as the wind velocity on the power production of the plant. The analysis based on variable solar incident radiation along the day. The results show that the tower tall, the tower diameter, the wind velocity, and the collector diameter have a significant effect on the power production while lhe thickness of the water-storage layer is shifted the peak value of the output power far away from mid-day and more smoothing tha output power curve. The results are compared with other model and experimental data. A good agreement is obtained.
A mathematical model to analysis three–dimensional forced convection turbulent flow in a novel solar air heater integrated with multiple rectangular capsules filled by paraffin wax-based on phase change material PCM was implemented. The investigations were performed under three airflow speed of (0.6, 1.2, and 1.8) kg/min and average solar flux of 625 W/m 2 . The results revealed that the delaying melting time and also lower the melting temperature of PCM by increasing airflow speed during the charging process. As well as, the freezing period is dependent on the airflow speed by inverse relation. Also, the data results represent that the useful energy rate and thermal storage efficiency were a strong dependence on the airflow speed. Moreover, it can be detected that the optimal freezing time and the air temperature rise of the heater were reached about 210 minutes with (12 – 1.5 °C), 150 minutes with (7.5 – 1.4°C), and 120 minutes with (5.5 – 1.5 °C), at airflow speed of 0.6, 1.2, and 1.8 kg/min, respectively, which can be used at night to supply some applications by thermal energy such as heating buildings and drying agricultural crops.
Solar power systems, also known as photovoltaic (PV) systems, are widely used as a clean and sustainable energy source worldwide. However, these systems can be affected by various factors that contribute to dust accumulation, which have been grouped into five categories: module characteristics, environmental factors, climatic conditions, exposure situations, and soiling properties. Dust accumulation can significantly impact photovoltaic modules' efficiency and power output, leading to a decrease in electricity generation. Airborne dust reduces the intensity of solar radiation by scattering and absorbing it, especially in hot and dry regions such as southern Iraq. This study provides an updated overview of the process of dust accumulation on photovoltaic modules south of Iraq. Moreover, it illustrates the methods used to measure dust accumulation and the performance of solar PV under soiling. Furthermore, it exemplifies the sources of the soiling generation. Additionally, it demonstrates the composition and size of dust particles. Finally, future research perspectives are discussed, and a thorough investigation of the impact of dust is suggested in all regions of Iraq and even in all countries of the world, especially those interested in clean energy. This research aims to understand the effect of dust soiling on PV performance. The outcome of this research will help design the PV module system while considering the most effective method to reduce or prevent dust accumulation in specific areas.
In this proposed study, all environmental factors affecting the aboveground and buried pipes, such as solar radiation and temperature, and soil temperature, have been studied on the characteristics of flow inside the aboveground and underground pipelines by building a mathematical model using MATLAB based on energy balance equations. From the mathematical model, the effect of solar radiation on the aboveground section of the pipeline is significate. During March and an inlet temperature of 34 °C, the pipeline outlet fluid temperature will rise to 50 °C. Other parameters affecting the aboveground section of the pipeline, such as ambient temperature and wind speed, have a much smaller effect on the fluid temperature, and the temperature difference is approximately 4 °C between the highest and lowest pipeline outlet fluid temperature. The result for the underground section of the pipeline showed that the main affecting parameter on the fluid temperature is the burry depth of the pipeline, the deeper the pipeline depth the lower the temperature variation and the lower fluid temperature can be seen, at 1 meter of bury depth the minimum and maximum fluid temperature was 18 °C and 36 °C respectively, and at 5 meters of bury depth, the minimum and maximum fluid temperature was 26 °C and 31 °C respectively. This study also checks different process parameters. Some of these are fluid flow, pipe diameter, and pipe material. The effect of the fluid flow and pipe diameter has a similar impact on the fluid temperature (while fixing all the other parameters), the higher the fluid flow or the smaller the pipe diameter resulted in a better heat transfer and more considerable temperature difference, and vice versa. The final process parameter, pipe material, had little to no effect on the fluid temperature variation.
The Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) is an environmental water recovery that easily dehumidifies water vapor moisture from the air. This article presents an experiment to construct an AWG model using solar energy as a source of power. An experimental and numerical study for a device of (AWG) is performed. The experimental work is performed at Basrah city, located in the south of Iraq, during August and September of 2019 and March of 2020. The theoretical results are calculated by EES and the numerical study has been conducted by the (ANSYS19/CFD/ FLUENT) program. The experimental device is tested for different days with different climate conditions. The Maximum water production obtained is 3.4 L/day from all the testing days, for different hours of operation when the relative humidity in the range of (45 – 95 %) and the temperature range from 17 °C to 45 °C. The results shown that, the water production rate is increased with increasing humidity, temperatures, hours of operation, and model size.
This study presents both experimental and theoretical investigations of an absorption refrigeration system using environmentally friendly working fluids, specifically the acetone–zinc bromide (Acetone/ZnBr₂) pair. The system was designed to operate under outdoor climatic conditions in Hilla City, Iraq, utilizing hot water as the heat source. Performance evaluation was carried out under various operating conditions, including changes in heat source, absorber, condenser, and evaporator temperatures. Experimental testing was conducted during September 2019. The results indicated that the coefficient of performance (COP) of the absorption cooling system ranged from 0.13 to 0.487, with an evaporator temperature drop of approximately 16 °C. Condensation and absorption temperatures remained below 41 °C, while the maximum driving water temperature reached 80 °C. A steady-state theoretical model was developed using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) program, applying mass and energy balance equations to predict operating parameters such as temperature, pressure, and COP. Model predictions showed good agreement with the experimental measurements. Furthermore, the results confirmed that generator temperature has a significant influence on overall system performance.
Concerning commercial and residential buildings, one of the major parts related to water supply systems is the water storage tanks. For gravity- fed buildings, the tanks must be installed on the roof. In Iraqi summer, the temperature of water in storage tanks reaches above 50 °C due to high solar intensity, which makes it inappropriate for domestic usage. One of the proposed solutions to overcome this problem is feeding the hot water into an earth-water heat exchanger (EWHE) which consists of a set of buried pipes installed underground level to reduce its temperature. The storage tank and the earth-water heat exchanger were studied experimentally and theoretically by using ANSYS 20/FLUENT software to estimating the water temperature in the storage tank and the temperature of the water leaving the EWHE. The most important results obtained theoretically and experimentally that when using pipe length, pipe diameter, and mass flow rate of 100 m, 0.016 m, 0.7 LPM respectively, at a depth of 3 m, the water temperature decreases by about 15 °C. Also, the results have shown a good agreement between the experimental and theoretical works. One can conclude that an earth-water heat exchanger is an effective way to decrease the temperature of the storage water to an acceptable level for domestic usages.
Conventional Refrigeration Systems (VCRS) are the most commonly used in industrial buildings and facilities. Conventional refrigeration systems are among the most energy-consuming sources in addition to causing more environmental problems and gas emissions, such as hydrocarbons (HCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), are known to contribute to global warming and ozone depletion. Absorption Refrigeration Systems (VARS) are a good alternative to conventional refrigeration systems because they use low-grade heat sources and operate with environmentally friendly liquids. The most important of these heat sources is the heat wasted from engines, industrial processes and many other sources. The global objective of the study is a literature review on the different ways to operate the absorption refrigeration system using waste heat in engines that include exhaust gases and engine cooling water as well as renewable energy that includes solar energy. Reviews of the literature have demonstrated how the absorption refrigeration system can be used and operated using a variety of thermal sources. This study also supports the usage of ecologically friendly chillers to provide air conditioning and refrigeration, as it shows these systems have a lower performance coefficient when compared to conventional refrigeration systems.
The panel absorbed solar radiation and majority of this radiation is transform into a heat, and it is usually wasted and useless. At higher cell temperature, the current out of the cell has an unnoticeable rise, but the voltage value will drop significantly, resulting in a reduction in maximum power produced. The cooling method is therefore beneficial to keep the panel at the operation temperature. A simulation model is developed using COMSOL Multiphysics software version 3.5 software to investigate the enhancement in performance of a PV water cooling module (PVW module) based on a passive and simple cooling technique using a wetted cotton porous wick attached on the PV panel's back side and compare with uncooled PV panel (PVREF module). Unsteady, laminar and 2-D, the flow in the proposed modules is assumed. The input parameters were taken from a real weather condition was perform in Najaf-Iraq. The effect of variation of mass flow rate is also studied in the present work. Good agreement was obtained for PVREF module with previously researches.