Experimental studies on a solar thermal water pump

The performance of a solar water pump which works on the basis of vapour ge nerated by a flat-plate solar collector of exposed area 1 m(2) has been stu died for three different discharge heads, namely 6, 8 and 10 m. The design and experimental results of the pump which entailed detailed calculations t o obtain the optimal volumes of the vessels, are presented in this paper. T he inclusion of a storage tank for storing the vapour facilitates greater f reedom in the pump's operation and thereby improved its performance. The pr essure in the collector system in both theory and experiments prove that th e various tank sizes which were suitably designed for the pumping system, a re found to be optimum. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.