THERMAL MODELING OF A DOUBLE CONDENSING CHAMBER SOLAR-STILL - AN EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION

In this communication, a thermal model of a double condensing chamber solar still (DCS) has been presented. The thermal model is based on en ergy balance equations for the different components of a double conden sing chamber solar still (DCS), namely the water mass, the first and s econd condensing covers and the basin liner, including the reflecting mirror. Experiments were conducted for both the single slope conventio nal solar still (CSS) and double condensing chamber solar still (DCS) on an hourly basis for comparison of their performance. Numerical comp utations for evaluating the hourly temperatures and yield have been pe rformed for Delhi climatic conditions. The obtained results have been compared with the experimental observations. It is observed that there is a fair agreement between the theoretical and experimental observat ions. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.