Solar still performance

• Published in: Desalination Vol. 82; no. 1-3; pp. 207 - 219
• Main Author: Maalej, A Y
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.1991
• ISSN: 0011-9164

This investigation includes the study of the performance rating and efficiency of a solar still operating under different conditions. The solar still was designed and built in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Ohio State University. The three major variable factors in the still performance are the insolation, the wind velocity and the insulation of the system. The experimental part of the study consists of running the experiment with different sets of conditions. The theoretical part includes the development of a math model for the solar still and the numerical prediction of the still performance using computer simulation. Both the dynamics and the steady state performance of the still are studied. Based on the experimental and mathematical model results, it was concluded that the best performance of the solar still is achieved when the following conditions are satisfied: high intensity of insolation, full insulation and minimum wind velocity.