Numerical simulation of salt gradient solar pond by employing the solar radiation estimating function considering wall-shading effects

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

2 Associate Professor Mechanical Engineering Department University of Kashan Kashan Iran

3 Faculty of Mechanics, Malek Ashtar University of Technology, Iran

Abstract

In this study, a function for estimating solar radiation has been proposed using air mass effects and annual statistics of daylight conditions. A new relation for calculating the cloud cover factor has been provided by using the annual statistics of clear sky, partially cloudy, and overcast days. Estimated solar radiations have been compared with the measured experimental ones for two cities in Iran, and a good agreement has been observed. The proposed function can be used at places where the facilities and required instruments for solar radiation measurement are not available. As an illustration, the function has been used in numerical simulations of salt gradient solar ponds. One dimensional thermal analyses of the salt gradient solar ponds have been performed through an in-house code, which models the various parameters. Variation of environmental temperature, solar radiation intensity based on zenith angle of the sun, saline properties as a function of temperature and concentration, and wall-shading effects are among those parameters. A fair agreement has been observed between the results of the slat gradient solar pond numerical simulations and the experimentally measured temperatures, which shows the capability of the proposed function for estimating the solar radiation correctly.

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References

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Amirkabir Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Volume 53, Issue 5 (Special Issue)
August 2021
Pages 3385-3400

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