Amirkabir University of Technology Amirkabir Journal of Mechanical Engineering 2008-6032 52 6 2018 11 22 Experimental Study and Economic Evaluation of a Cascade Solar Water Desalination Unit in Various Conditions Experimental Study and Economic Evaluation of a Cascade Solar Water Desalination Unit in Various Conditions 1513 1530 3144 10.22060/mej.2018.14556.5887 FA Mohammad Vafaie departement mechanical engineering, Ferdowsi university of Mashhad Mohammad Barzgarnezhad Mechanical Engineering Departement, Bozorgmehr University od Qaenat, Qaen, Iran Ali Arbabi Mechanical Engineering Departement, Bozorgmehr University od Qaenat, Qaen, Iran Ehsan Shakib Mechanical Engineering Departement, Bozorgmehr University od Qaenat, Qaen, Iran Mohammad Mustafa Ghafurian Department of Mechanical Engineering Ferdowsi University Of Mashhad (FUM) Journal Article 2018 06 05 Lack of freshwater as a major crisis in the world and an attempt to find a solution is one of the most important debates in the world that has attracted many researchers. In this paper, a cascade solar desalination unit with external reflector has built and experimented in eight days. In order to increase the production of fresh water, various techniques were applied such as 1) installing a number of fins on the stairs and on the waterway to create hot spots, 2) use of internal reflectors at the base of the stairs and 3) use of an external condenser for increasing condensation rate of produced vapor. Then, the system was experimented in eight configuration using combination of above techniques that the experimental results were presented as well as the results of economic analysis. The results showed use of the fins led to the most amount of fresh water although the rest of techniques significantly increased the product. It is worth mentioning that use of the fins led to fresh water with the lowest cost of product in value of 1341.5 Rials/lit. On the other hand, the system with an external condenser had the maximum efficiency and the system with the fins has the third place among the eight study configuration. Lack of freshwater as a major crisis in the world and an attempt to find a solution is one of the most important debates in the world that has attracted many researchers. In this paper, a cascade solar desalination unit with external reflector has built and experimented in eight days. In order to increase the production of fresh water, various techniques were applied such as 1) installing a number of fins on the stairs and on the waterway to create hot spots, 2) use of internal reflectors at the base of the stairs and 3) use of an external condenser for increasing condensation rate of produced vapor. Then, the system was experimented in eight configuration using combination of above techniques that the experimental results were presented as well as the results of economic analysis. The results showed use of the fins led to the most amount of fresh water although the rest of techniques significantly increased the product. It is worth mentioning that use of the fins led to fresh water with the lowest cost of product in value of 1341.5 Rials/lit. On the other hand, the system with an external condenser had the maximum efficiency and the system with the fins has the third place among the eight study configuration. https://mej.aut.ac.ir/article_3144_a41b3bb3e6b050b6c9067c67f663b915.pdf