About SOLARIS 2017

The first SOLARIS, an international conference on Measurement and Modeling of Solar

Radiation & Daylight- Challenges for the 21st Century was held at Edinburgh, Scotland from
September 15-16, 2003 under the chairmanship of Prof. T. Muneer.The conference provided
opportunities for worldsleading experts in the discipline to focus specifically on measurement
techniques and modeling of solar radiation data. A total of 20 research papers were presented by
scientists from 10 different countries. On seeing the importance of solar energy and growing
interest in renewable energy applications due to global warming, delegates of the first conference
decided to hold SOLARIS; as an international conference regularly, on a biannual basis.

There was a call from the chairman to host the coming SOLARIS conference and there were
various offers to hold the conference. It was decided that the second SOLARIS would be held in
Athens, Greece under the chairmanship of Dr. Harry Kambezidis in the month of May 26-27,
2005. The scope of conference was extended to applications of solar energy. In the concluding
session of the conference I offered to hold the next edition of SOLARIS at IIT, New Delhi, India,
which was gratefully accepted by the organizing committee.

The scope of 3rd International Conference SOLARIS 2007 was further extended to include
climate change, weather prediction and agriculture processing due to close linkages among these
research areas and their importance, particularly in the Indian context. SOLARIS 2007 was
successfully conducted by me, as the organizing secretary at IIT Delhi, New Delhi. We had
received over 210 abstracts and 145 full research papers from scientists from leading teaching
and research institutes across the world. Two volumes of the proceedings had also published.
The proceeding of SOLARIS 2012 was released by Dr. MangalaRai, Secretary & Director
General, Department of Agriculture Research & Education and Indian Council of Agriculture
Research (ICAR), Government of India in honor of Padamashri Prof. M.S. Sodha, our guru ji.

4th International Conference on Solar Radiation and Daylighting SOLARIS 2008 was organized
by, City University of Hong Kong, China. In this conference international committee decided to
organize a special international conference SOLARIS2012 in year 2012 at Varanasi (India) in
the honour of respectable famous energy scientist Padamshree Prof. Mahendra Singh Sodha.

5th International Conference SOLARIS 2011 was organized by Faculty of Civil Engineering,
Institute of Building Structures, Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic on Solar
Radiation and Daylighting. In this Conference chairman was Professor Tariq MUNEER,
Edinburgh Napier University, United Kingdom. Conference topics was Light and health,
Daylighting in buildings, Indoor visual and solar thermal comfort, Sky models and daylight
measurements, Solar radiation monitoring, Solar passive and active systems and Light pipes and
light guide systems.

6th International Conference SOLARIS 2012 was organized by . In this conference the chairman
was Prof. B.D. Tripathi. SOLARIS 2012 was held at Varanasi, India, jointly by IIT Delhi, IIT
BHU and BERS Complex. The focus areas of conference were Solar radiation modeling and day

i
lighting, Solar thermal (ST), Photovoltaic (PV) system (PV), Renewable energy resources
(RES), Climate change (CC), Food processing industries/rural development (FRD), Life cycle
cost analysis of renewable energy sources (LC). We had received over 130 abstracts and 80 full
research papers from scientists from leading teaching and research institutes across the world.

I, as an organizing secretary of this national conference SOLARIS 2017, feel honored to have
been given the opportunity to hold this prestigious conference again, under the chairmanship of
Prof. T.S. Bhatti and vice-chairmanship of Prof. A.S.K. Sinha. The organizing committee has
made elaborate plans for the success of this edition of SOLARIS. The theme of the conference is
Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Development. SOLARIS 2017 is being conducted
jointly by IIT BHU, IIT Delhi and BERS. We have received over 70 abstracts and 45 full length
research papers from scientists from leading teaching and research institutes across the world.

I extend a warm welcome to all the delegates and their families not only to SOLARIS 2017, but
also to the holy city of Varanasi, and hope that you have an extremely enriching and rewarding
experience from this conference.

(Prof. G. N. Tiwari)
General Secretary,
SOLARIS 2017

ii
 Chief Patrons Message

Prof. Mahendra Singh Sodha, F.N.A.

Padmashri, Conferred by President of India
Former Vice-Chancellor,
Indore, Lucknow and Bhopal Universities
Contact No.: 0 98397 05081

It is a great honor for me to welcome you to SOLARIS 2017, jointly organized by Bag Energy
Research Society (BERS), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) and Indian Institute of
Technology Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU), during February 07-09, 2017 at Varanasi
(U.P.), India. The theme of the conference is Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable
Climate. The conference, held earlier in 2007 and 2012 at IIT BHU, was very successful and
upon recommendation by governing body of SOLARIS, it was decided to hold SOLARIS 2017
conference in Varanasi to promote the use of renewable energy sources, particularly solar energy
in semi-urban areas. In this regard, an energy efficient BERS complex at Varanasi has been
developed. The BERS complex, constructed by Bag Energy Research Society, maintains several
renewable energy based systems, such as hybrid PV, BiPVT, etc. and is made accessible to
research communities in the area and public from time to time. BERS has a team of reputable
scientists, engineers, managers and resource persons with diverse portfolios, and is experienced
in both government and private enterprises in terms of solar energy engineering, consultancy,
design, audit and education. I hope that the research paper presentations, invited talks and poster
sessions contribute towards enhancing awareness, understanding and knowledge of all the
participants of the conference in terms of renewable energy sources and systems.

It will be a good platform for all manufacturers in India as well as abroad to exhibit and
demonstrate their products and thus, benefit from the escalating their market in the region.
SOLARIS 2017 will also provide an excellent opportunity for interacting with various scientists,
researchers, manufacturers and government officials working with renewable technologies.

I request all scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, government officials and other
enlightened persons, interested in renewable energy sources to make the event memorable by
participation.

iii
 General Secretarys Message

Prof. G.N. Tiwari

Bag Energy Research Society (BERS),
Mahamana Nager Colony, Varanasi,
U.P., India
Email: gntiwari@ces.iitd.ernet.in
Tel: 011-26591258

We welcome you all to Varanasi, the city of temples and one the most sacred cities of India for
"National Conference on Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate, SOLARIS 2017".
The conference is scheduled to be held from 7 to 9 February, 2017 at IIT BHU, Varanasi. During
the conference, we intend to marshal the resources to explore ideas and lay out specific details
regarding how each kind of energy wind, bioenergy, geothermal and solar energy can lead to
self-sufficiency, how using non-conventional and environment friendly form of energy can help
us mitigate the absurd effects of global warming, and how renewable energy sources can give us
a sustainable climate on the planet on which we live. The conference is jointly organized by
Centre for Energy and Resources Development (CERD), IIT BHU; CES, IIT Delhi and BERS
Varanasi.
Bag Energy Research Society (BERS), an NGO, is acting as a national level institution to extend
its all efforts to bring about improvement in the social life conditions of the entire human being
with in the framework of the natural resource base. The BERS is also consistently persevering to
spread the research to the common people by means of the BERS complex, established in the
city of Varanasi.
The Centre for Energy Studies (CES), IIT Delhi is a premier inter-disciplinary centre deriving its
strength from the basic disciplines of Science. Apart from conducting research, the centre also
excels in various facets of energy system such as fuel technology, environmental pollution,
renewable energy and energy conservation and planning. In the prevailing environmental crisis,
the centre has emerged as a place of international importance.
The Centre for Energy and Resources Development (CERD), IIT BHU, is a university centre,
established under Frontier Areas of Science & Technology (FAST) scheme of MHRD to
undertake world-class research that integrates the scientific, technological, economic, policy and
socio-technical aspects of energy to deliver key tools needed to enable, enhance and accelerate
the transition toward sustainable energy systems. The centre has been significantly contributing
towards conducting awareness campaigns, facilitating technology information sourcing, etc.
We look forward to you joining us for three days of fruitful deliberations and exchange of views,
along with an opportunity to visit some of the famous historical places, restaurants and night
spots within the city as also nearby historical cities.

iv


Chief Patron: Padmashree Prof. M.S.Sodha, FNA

National Steering Committee Members
A.D. Rao, CAS, IIT Delhi J. Rai, Invertis University, Bareilly

A.K. Gwal, Bhopal J.K. Nayak, IIT Bombay

A.K. Singh, Gurgaon K.S.Reddy, IIT Madras

A.K. Tiwari, NIT, Raipur M.K. Ghosal, OAU, Bhuvneswar

Ajit Kumar, NEFTEM, New Delhi O.P. Chauraisa, NIT, Patna

Akhilesh Gupta, DST, New Delhi O.S. Sastry, International Solar Alliance (ISA),
NISE, New Delhi
A. Mani, IIT Madras
Prabhakant, New Delhi
Alok Srivastava, USA
Rajeev K. Mishra, New Delhi
Anshumali, IIT Dhanbad
Sanjay Bajpai, DST
Arvind Tiwari, Qasim University,
Saudi Arabia S.C. Solanki, Ujjain

Bikas Sarkar, ICAR, Patna S.K. Singh, MNRE, New Delhi

B.K Kala, Agricultural University, Dhaka,
Bangladesh
B.N. Dwevedi, IIT BHU, Varanasi
D.N. Singh, G. Noida
Emran Khan, JMI, New Delhi
G. Singh, Shardha University, Gr. Noida
S.P. Singh, DAVV, Indoor (MP)
S.Shanmugam, NIT Tiruchirappalli
Sravanthi Choragudi, NIAS, IISc Bangalore
Swapnil Dubey, Singapore
T. S. Gopi Rethinaraj, Energy and Environment
Research Programme, NIAS

G.S. Sandhu, Venkateshwara University, Gr. V.K. Dwivedi, Greater Noida

Noida
V.K. Jain, Doon University, Dehradun
Irfan Anwar, ISSR, Lucknow (UP)
V.K. Kaul,CEL, Sahibabad
Jamil Ahmed, AMU, Aligarh
Y.P. Yadav, NIT, Jamsedpur, Jharkhand
J. A. Usmani, JMI, New Delhi

Organizing Committee Members

Chairman: Prof. T.S. Bhatti, C.E.S., IIT Delhi
Vice-Chairman: Prof. A.S.K. Sinha, C.E.R.D., IIT BHU, Varanasi (U.P.)
Organizing Secretary: Prof. G. N. Tiwari, Bag Energy Research Society and JMI, New Delhi
Convener: Rajeev Kumar Mishra (SRM University, Ghaziabad)
Members
Islam Nawaz P. Barnwal Ravi P. Agrahari
M. Din Rajesh Tripathi Sanjay Agrawal
M. K. Gaur R. D. Singh Sujata Nayak
Finance
Prof. G.N. Tiwari (9968344488)
Dr. Emran Khan (9868629413)
Dr. V.K. Dwivedi (8800896013)
Sponsorship
Ms. Neha Dimri (9711426878)
Ms. Sugandha Singh (9761779939)
Transportation, Boarding/Lodging & Catering
Mr. Abhishek Singh (7052600200)
Mr. Niranjan Mishra (7317577778)
Registration
Dr. Rajeev Kumar Mishra (9717720464)
Mr. Vivek Tomar (9953687084)
Mr. Shyam (9953395144)
Technical Session
Dr. Rajeev Kumar Mishra (9717720464)
Mr. Madhu Sudan (9990061421)
Mr. Lovedeep Sahota (8375054579)
Publication
Prof. G.N. Tiwari (9968344488)
Mr. Shyam (9953395144)
Ms. Neha Dimri (9711426878)

vi


Sponsors
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Delhi

Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India

Indian National Science Academy (INSA)

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)

Bag Energy Research Society (BERS), Varanasi

Centre for Energy and Resources Development, IIT BHU, Varanasi

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT D), New Delhi

GTWG Project (RP02953), Sponsored by DST

Donors
AISECT University, Bhopal

GEPDEC Infratech Limited

Invertis University, Bareilly

vii
 Chief Patron
M. S. Sodha
Ramanna Fellow & Visiting Professor
Former VC, Indore, Lucknow and Bhopal Universities
Department of Education and Physics, Lucknow University
Lucknow 226007, India
Telehone: (+91-522) 2740391, 2788033
E-mail: msodha@rediffmail.com

Prof. Mahendra Singh Sodha has a distinguished record of achievements in the fields of
educational management, scientific research, industrial consultancy and teaching; he has the
distinction of serving three universities viz. Devi Ahilya, Lucknow and Barkatulla as Vice
Chancellor. He has also worked as director of two self financed engineering / management
institutes.
Prof. M.S. Sodha has also served Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi in various
capacities, including Professor, Head of Department, Dean and Deputy Director; he was also a
Member of the Board of Governors for a term.
Besides extensive research at national and international level and teaching at the undergraduate
and postgraduate levels, Prof. Sodha has worked as Post Doctoral Fellow at University of British
Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, Senior Physicist at Armour Research Foundation, Chicago,
U.S.A., Chief of Space Physics at Republic Aviation Corporation, New York, U.S.A., Visiting
Professor at Drexel University, Philadelphia, U.S.A., Senior Research Associate at NASA,
Hampton, Va., U.S.A., Visiting Scientist at the Solar Energy Research Institute, Golden
Colorado, U.S.A. and Senior Researcher at Kuwaits Institute of Scientific Research.
Prof. M. S. Sodha has also worked as Chief Technical Advisor with the World Bank / Cyprus
Government and as a full time consultant with UNESCO on Energy Planning and Conservation.
He has also been a consultant to UNDP, Swedish Industrial Development Agency Planning
Commission and Solar Energy Research Institute, U.S.A.
He is a recipient of the S. S. Bhatnagar Award for Physical Sciences, in 1974, Pioneer in
Renewable Energy Award by World Renewable Energy Network and UNESCO in 2002 and
DR. K. S. Rao Memorial National Award for Lifetime Achievement in Renewable Energy by
SESI in 2004. He has been honored by Saraswatis Samman of Government of U.P. and has also
received Lifetime Achievement award in Higher Education by PIMR Gwalior and in Physics
and Instrumentation by Instrumentation Society of India. Besides being a Fellow of the Indian
National Science Academy and The National Academy of Sciences, he has been President of the
Optical Society of India, President Plasma Science Society (India) and Vice President of the
Energy Society (India).
Prof. M.S. Sodha is credited with having guided 75 candidates to successful completion of the
Ph.D programme. In addition, he has authored / edited 13 books and written twelve reviews
which have been published by publishers of international repute. He has also published over 550
research papers.
The honor of Padmashri was conferred on Prof. Sodha by President of India in 2003.

viii
 Chief Guest of SOLARIS 2017

Prof. Jagdish Rai

Vice Chancellor,
Invertis University,
Bareilly (U.P.), India - 243123
Email: jgraifph2003@yahoo.co.in




Born on January 3, 1948, in Khajura, Ghazipur, U.P., India, Prof. Jagdish Rai completed his
B.Sc. in 1965 from Allahabad University; M.Sc. in 1968 from Agra University; and thereafter,
Ph.D. in 1974 from Banaras Hindu University. Since then he has worked and collaborated with
many prestigious institutions namely, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi; Radio astronomical
Institute, Bonn, Germany; I.I.T. Roorkee, Roorkee, U.K. India; New Mexico Institute of Mining
and Technology, N.M., U.S.A; University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Clemson University,
Clemson, S.C., U.S.A and Invertis University, Bareilly, U.P. Currently, he is the esteemed Vice-
chancellor of Invertis University, Bareilly, U.P., India.

He is an honorable member of the Board of Trustees of Innovation University of Silicon Valley,

12 S. First Street, San Jose, California 95113, U.S.A. He is also an eminent member of Board of
Trustees of Technological University of the Americas, Bindastraat 68, Paramaribo, Suriname.
He was awarded Bharatmata award for academic excellence by Indian Institute of Oriental
Heritage. He received Global award for an outstanding contribution to education by world
Education Congress. He was also rewarded with U.P. Governments National Uttar Pradesh
Education Award for excellent contribution to Higher Education. He was also recognised as a
Distinguished Fellow of the International Educators Group award, Washington D.C., U.S.A. He
was elected president of the Physical Sciences Section of Indian Science Congress Association
for the year 2015-16. He is a lifetime member of Indian Science Congress Association, Indian
Physics Association and International Academy of Physical Sciences.

He has contributed to the society by involvement in several social ventures as the Past President,
Faculty Forum, I.I.T. Roorkee; Past Vice President, Faculty forum, I.I.T. Roorkee; Past
President, Rotary Club of Roorkee; Past Secretary, Rotary Club of Roorkee; and Past President,
Physical Sciences Section, Indian Science Congress Association. He is also actively associated
and effectively working as the President, Stem Institute, Varanasi, U.P. ; Advisor, Jayni
Instruments, Roorkee, Uttrakhand; Member, Advisory Board, Sports Academy Association of
India; Member, Editorial Board, Invertis Journal of Science and Technology; President,
International Forum for Social Equality; Member of Governing Body of Govind Inter College,
Sadat, Ghazipur, U.P.; Member, Bag Energy Research Society, Mahamana Nagar, Varanasi;
Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Innovations in Management, Engineering and Technology.

ix
 Organizing Chairman

T.S. Bhatti
Professor
Centre for Energy Studies, IIT Delhi
Hauz Khas, New Delhi- 110016, India
Telephone: 011-26591265
Email: tsb@ces.iitd.ernet.in

Prof. T.S. Bhatti, born on January 12, 1953, is a valued professor at Centre for Energy Studies,
IIT Delhi. He completed B.E. from Punjab University, Chandigarh in 1975; M.E. from IIT
Roorkee (UOR) in 1978; and Ph.D. from IIT Delhi in 1984. He is involved in teaching and
research at IIT Delhi since 1980. He has filed/granted one patent, published two books,
supervised/ under guidance more than 35 Ph.D. and approx. 100 M.Tech thesis. He has also
sponsored and executed several research/consultancy projects for approximately 550 lacs.

He was a Postdoctoral fellow at the university of Newcastle, Australia during 1987. His research
interests include automatic generation control, transient stability, limited grid rural
electrification, reactive power control, hybrid renewable energy systems and wind and small
hydro energy systems. He has evaluated a large number of Ph.D. thesis of IIT and other reputed
universities of India. He has published several research papers, to his credit, in reputed journals.

He visited Aston University, Birmingham, England, U.K. under ICTP program of the British
council. He also visited Indonesia for small hydro installations as a representative of IIT Delhi
under Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG).

He shall be delivering a talk on Rural Electrification and Wind Energy in SOLARIS 2017

x
 Vice - Chairman

A.S.K. Sinha
Professor
Centre for Energy and Resources Development, IIT BHU
Varanasi (U.P.) - 221005, India
Email: asksinha.che@itbhu.ac.in

Prof. A.S.K. Sinha is working as professor & Head in the Department of Chemical Engineering
and Technology, IIT BHU. His area of expertise entails heterogeneous catalysis and chemical
reaction. His research interests cover photocatalysis for water splitting and pollution control,
conversion of methanol to hydrocarbons, hydrogen fuel cell, heterogeneous process for biodiesel
production, catalytic cracking of methane, production, storage and uses of hydrogen,
nanomaterials, functionalization of carbon nanotubes, etc. He is also working as the coordinator
in Centre of Advanced Studies, IIT BHU. He has published to his credit, more than 20 research
papers in refreed journals in last five years.
He is also actively involved, organized and participated in several ventures, including two week
course on industrial pollution control, REC, Coimbatore, India; two week winter course on new
separation process, IIT, Bombay, India; organised a national symposium on advances in
chemical reaction engineering, BHU, India, March 5 - 7, 1997; organised a national symposium
on chemical engineering education and research: strategy for the future, BHU, August 6 - 8,
1999; conducted a two week summer school on development and characterization of
heterogeneous catalysts, BHU, June 29 - July 11, 1998; conducted a two week intensive course
on design, evaluation and characterization of heterogeneous catalysts, BHU, May 17 - 29, 1999;
organized a national symposium on photochemical processes on solid surfaces, BHU, March 8-
10, 2000; faculty for continuing education programme on kinetics and reactor design, DMSRDE,
Kanpur, February 7 - 11, 2000; conducted a summer school on catalyst characterization, kinetics
and reactor design, BHU, May 22 - June 3, 2000; conducted a short term intensive course on
heterogeneous catalysis, BHU, June 25 30, 2001; organized a national symposium on new
horizons in heterogeneous catalysis, Feb 21 23, 2002; chairperson of national and international
seminars/ conferences.
His past responsibilties include, Deputy Coordinator, CAS Programme, (2006 11); Vice
Chairman, Training and Placement Cell, IT BHU (2005 06); Member, R & D Committee, IT
BHU (2005 07); Incharge, Catalysis Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, BHU
(Continuing); Incharge, Sophisticated Instruments Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engg.,
BHU (Continuing); Inchage, Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Laboratory ( Continuing);
Coordinator, IT Hostels (2009 11); Warden and Administrative Warden, Morvi Hostel (1999
05); Chairman, Co-Curricular Wing, IT Gymkhana, 2003 05; Member of the Committees (at
Department/ Institute/ University Levels) for Preparation of Plan Proposals; Vision Documents
etc.

xi
 General Secretary

G. N. Tiwari
Bag Energy Research Society,
Mahamana Nager Colony, Karaundi,
Varanasi (UP) - 221005, India
Telephone: +91-9968344488
E- mail: gntiwari@ces.iitd.ernet.in

Professor Gopal Nath Tiwari was born on July 01, 1951 at Adarsh Nagar, Sagerpali, Ballia (UP),
India. He had received postgraduate and doctoral degrees in 1972 and 1976, respectively, from
Banaras Hindu University (B. H. U). Over several years since 1977, he has been actively
involved in the teaching programme at Centre for Energy Studies, IIT Delhi. His research
interests are solar distillation water/air heating systems, greenhouse technology for agriculture as
well as for aquaculture, earth to air heat exchangers, passive building design and hybrid
photovoltaic thermal (HPVT) systems, climate change, energy security, etc. He has 100 Ph.D.
thesis, including 15 ongoing Ph.Ds, and published over 600 research papers in journals of
repute. He has authored 25 books associated with respected publishers, namely Pergamon Press
UK, CRC Press USA and Narosa Publishing House. He was a corecipient of the Hariom
Ashram Prerit S.S. Bhatnagar Award in 1982.
He has been recognized at both national and international levels. His contribution to the
successful implementation of a hot water system in the IIT campus has been highly appreciated.
He went to the University of Papua, New Guinea, in 19871989 as Energy and Environment
Expert. He was also a recipient of the European Fellow in 1997 and went to the University of
Ulster (UK) in 1993. He has also been nominated for the IDEA award in the past. He is
responsible for development of the Solar Energy Park at IIT Delhi and the Energy Laboratory
at the University of Papua, New Guinea, Port Moresby. Professor Tiwari has visited many
countries, namely Italy, Canada, USA, UK, Australia, Greece, Thailand, Singapore, PNG and
Taiwan etc. for invited talks, chairing nternational conferences, providing expertise in renewable
energy, presenting research papers, etc.
He has successfully co-coordinated various research projects on solar distillation, water heating
systems, greenhouse technology, hybrid photovoltaic thermal (HPVT) systems, etc. funded by
the government of India in the recent past. Professor Tiwari has been offered the post of
Associate Editor for Solar Energy Journal (SEJ) in the area of solar distillation. He has also been
the Editor of the International Journal of Agricultural Engineering since 2006. Professor Tiwari
organized SOLARIS 2007, the third international conference on Solar Radiation and Day
Lighting, held at IIT Delhi, New Delhi, India, from February 79, 2007. Recently, Professor
G.N. Tiwari was conferred as Vigyan Ratna by the government of UP, India, on 26 March,
2008, and Valued Associated Editor by Elsevier

xii
 Guest of Honor

Bapeshwar Rao Vinnakota

Vice President
Suzlon Energy Ltd
Chennai - 600002, India
E- mail: drvbrao@gmail.com

Dr. Bapeshwar Rao is the Vice-President at Suzlon Energy Ltd, Chennai, India. Suzlon Energy
Ltd. is pioneer of wind energy in India. It is a leading renewable energy company in the world,
established in 19 countries, across 6 continents. Suzlon Energy Ltd. is powering companies,
industries and working towards a greener tomorrow.

He shall be presenting a talk on Wind Energy in the conference.

xiii
 Guest of Honor

D.N. Singh
Chief Technology Officer
Indo Solar Pvt. Ltd
Gr. Noida - 201306, India
Telephone: Telephone: +91 120 4762500
E- mail: dina_singh@yahoo.com

Dr. D.N. Singh is working as the Chief Technology Officer at Indosolar Limited, Greater Noida
for 9 years. Indosolar is the largest solar cell manufaturer in the country. He completed Ph.D. in
Electronics/Telecomnication, in 1982, from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi; masters
degree in Electronics, in 1972, from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Varanasi; and bachelors
degree in Physics, 1970, from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Varanasi. He is currently
working in the area of Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) since last three years, having worked 24 years in
Semiconductor industry. In last three years he has set up the largest crystalline silicon solar cell
manufacturing in India. He set up and trained the production and process engineering team.

He has also worked in the areas of VLSI Design, Semiconductor Technology, Microelectronics,
Silicon Wafer Fabrication, etc. He was also the President at Titan Energy System Limited for
less than a year; Professor at Panjab University, Chandigarh for 2 years; and Executive Director
at Semiconductor Complex Ltd., Chandigarh for 24 years.

He shall be presenting a talk on Solar Distillation in the conference.

xiv
 Guest of Honor

Prabhakant
Deputy Director
Enforcement Directorate
Govt. of India
E- mail: prabha.kant@nic.in

xv
 Guest of Honor

Yashwant Singh
Distinguished Professor
Department of Physics
Banaras Hindu University
Varanasi (U.P.) - 221005, India
E- mail:ysingh@bhu.ac.in,singh.yas44@gmail.com

Dr. Yashwant Singh completed B.Sc. with Honours in Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry from
Gorakhpur University (First in merit list) in 1962; M.Sc. in Physics from Gorakhpur University
(First in merit list) in 1964; D. Phil in Physics from Calcutta University in 1969. To his credit, he
has published 121 research papers in reputed journals and supervised 18 Ph.D. thesis. He was the
Head of Department of Physics, B.H.U. from February 1, 2002 to January 31, 2005. He was also
the coordinator in Centre of Advanced Studies in Department of Physics, B.H.U. from 2005 to
2006.

His research areas include unified theory for liquids and solids: liquid-solid and solid-solid
transitions, molecular theory for liquid crystals, effect of dimensionality and confinement of
properties of liquids and on freezing transitions, dynamical density functional theory for systems
in non-equilibrium, stochastic modelling and analysis of intra - cellular transport, etc. He was an
honorable fellow of Indian Academy of Sciences (Bangalore) in 1991; Indian National Science
Academy (New Delhi) in 2006; and National Academy of Sciences, India (Allahabad) in 2014.

His also contributed as the member of editorial board of various reputed journals. He was a
valued nember of planning advisory committee on condensed matter physics and material
science, Department of Science and Technology. Govt. of India, New Delhi. He also served as a
knowlegeable external expert at several occasions including Special Committee of School of
Physical Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University; UGC, SAP programme of Sardar Patel
University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Aligarh Muslim University, Utkal University,
Bhubneshwar. He was the honble Raja Ramanna Fellow in the year 2007-2010.

xvi
 Invited Speaker
A.K. Gwal
Vice Chancellor
AISECT University
Bhopal (M.P.) - 4649933, India
Telephone: +91-9229589883
E- mail: iitdchemvks@yahoo.com
Topic: New initiatives of renewable energy sources in terms of unit
acre (AISECT Centre of Renewable Energy)

Brief Profile

Prof. A. K. Gwal received his Doctorate degree from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India in 1977
for his work on Wave propagation and diagnostic studies of weakly ionized magnetoplasma (near-earth
environment). He pursued higher studies and research at the University of Victoria (Canada) under the
prestigious Natural Sciences and Engineering, Research Council (NSERC) visiting scientist fellowship.
Prof A. K. Gwal has published over 150 research papers in International/National journals and presented
more than 100 papers in Conferences/Symposium proceedings including reviews in contemporary areas
and three books are published. He has visited several countries (USA, Canada, Italy, Japan, Germany,
France, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangkok, Mauritius etc.) several times to deliver lectures,
participate and chair the conferences. He has supervised 40 Ph. D. Scholars.

Prof. Gwal was the first participant from Madhya Pradesh in the Indian Scientific Expedition to
Antarctica (ISEA) program of Department of Ocean Development, Government of India, New Delhi. He
has done commendable work in Antarctica in the field of Polar Ionospheric Physics. For the last ten years
his students are participating in the ISEA program. He was also the Leader of the First Winter Team of
Indian Scientific Expedition to the Arctic sponsored by Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
New Delhi. He established Department of Electronics as its founder Professor and Head at Barkatullah
University, Bhopal. He installed the Digital Ionosonde, first facility for studying the Near Earth
Environment under Memorandum of Understanding with the National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi.
He has also established the Advance Research Centre for Space and Earth Sciences as Centre Director at
Barkatullah University, Bhopal. Prof. Gwal has developed Space Science Laboratory, where several
researchers are working in various areas of Space Sciences. He was also instrumental in developing
Seismo-Electromagnetic Laboratory in the Barkatullah University campus for studying the characteristics
and prediction of Earthquakes. He has several national and international projects in related areas of his
research. He is Fellow of Indian Geophysical Union and member of various scientific societies at national
and international levels.

Prof. Gwal has served Barkatullah University in various capacities, such as Executive Council Member,
Dean, Faculty of Science, Head of Department of Electronics, Head of Department of Physics, Chairman,
Board of Studies in Electronics and in Physics. He is also Chairman of Central Board of Studies in
Physics of Higher Education in Madhya Pradesh. He is also on the panel of various Boards of
Universities and Colleges of India. Prof. Gwal was the recipient of Vigyan Bibhushan, meritorious award
conferred by Science Centre, Madhya Pradesh for his outstanding leadership and contribution for the
popularization of Physics and Space Science in Madhya Pradesh and his extraordinary commitment
towards teaching.

xvii
 Invited Speaker

Arvind Tiwari
Department of Electrical Engineering
College of Engineering
Qassim University
Saudi Arabia - 52571
Telephone: +91 9810896082
E- mail: drarvindtiwari@gmail.com, arvindtiwari@qec.edu.sa

Photovoltaic Thermal Collectors employing Thermoelectric Generators

Designing and manufacturing of photovoltaic systems is one of the solutions to face the energy
crisis, which is all ar ound the world. Many researchers have developed different configurations
of hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems over the past few decades. PVT systems allow the
enhancement of electrical energy of photovoltaic (PV), by removing thermal energy from the
back of solar cells and subsequently decreasing the operating temperature of the solar cells.
Since the electrical efficiency of a solar cell is higher for lower operating temperature, PVT
systems provide higher electrical efficiency than PV systems. Further, the withdrawn thermal
energy can be utilized for space heating applications, etc. Although the overall energy generated
by PVT systems is higher, a major component of it is in thermal form, i.e. low-grade energy.
Therefore, a device which converts heat directly into electricity, i.e. Thermoelectric (TE)
module, needs to be incorporated to enhance the high-grade energy output. Thermoelectric (TE)
modules work on the principle of Seebeck/Peltier effect. When a temperature difference is
introduced across the two sides of a TE module, the charge carriers drift from hot to cold side.
This in turn leads to generation of electrical energy. PVT collectors employing a TEC module
have not been studied in detail as of now. This talk will focus on opaque and semitransparent
PVT collectors employing TE modules.

Brief Profile

Dr. Arvind Tiwari was born on July 24, 1975 in Ballia, U.P. His primary and secondary
education has been from Kendriya Vidyalaya. He has done Bachelors in Physics and Master of
Science in Material Science from Jamia Millia Islamia (1996/1999) and Master of Technology in
Microelectronics from Punjab University(2002). He worked as a lecturer in ITM Gurgaon for a
year. Later, he joined as a research scholar in IIT Delhi in the year 2003 and completed his Ph.d
in the year 2006(Hybrid Photovoltaic Thermal System).
xviii
After his Ph.d, he joined as lecturer in College of Engineering and Technology (CET) BRCM,
BAHAL, Haryana. In year 2006, he joined Krishna Institute of Engineering and Technology
(KIET), Ghaziabad as Assistant Professor. He did his post-doctoral fellow from University of
Twente, Netherland. For a short period, he was Associate Professor in Department of Electronics
and Communication Engineering in Galgotia College of Engineering and Technology (GCET),
Greater Noida, U.P. He has worked as one of the Indian Expert in the capacity of senior lecturer
in Manmohan Memorial Polytechnic, Morang, Nepal on deputation from Government of India
from January 2010 to January 2012.Later he joined as Professor in Department of Electronics
and Communication and at JSS Academy of Technical Education, NOIDA, U.P.

At present, he is working as Professor in Al-Qassim university, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To his

credit he has published more than 30 research papers in International Journal of repute and co-
supervised 4 Ph.d students and co-supervising 4 Ph.d students.

His research interest is in the field of Solar Energy Applications focused on Hybrid PV system
with applications in various fields such as solar distillation, water/air heating system, greenhouse
technology for agriculture, building integrated PVT systems (BIPVT) etc. He has recently co-
authored one book titled Handbook of Solar Energy: Theory , Analysis and Applications

He is also one of the founder of Bag Energy Research Society (BERS: www.bers.in) which is
responsible for energy education in rural India and secretary of Bhawani Tiwari Memorial Trust
( BTMT).

xix
 Invited Speaker

A.S.K. Sinha
Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology
IIT BHU
Varanasi (U.P.) - 221005, India
Email: asksinha.che@itbhu.ac.in

Hydrogen by Photocatalytic Decomposition of Water Utilizing Solar Radiation

Hydrogen is considered an ideal energy carrier of the future. It becomes more attractive when
hydrogen is produced by the dissociation of water utilizing solar radiation because on
combustion it regenerates water. Thus it becomes completely renewable and also the combustion
does not produce harmful gases. Consequently, hydrogen production from water utilizing solar
radiation is a current area of research and extensive work are going on across the world.
Photocatalysis is one of the most promising technology of hydrogen production utilizing solar
radiation. An estimation shows that the major cost of any such installation shall be that of
photocatalytic reactors. The size of photocatalytic reactors will depend of the activity of
photocatalysts. Therefore, development of active photocatalysts is key to the success of this
technology.

There are number of semiconductor photocatalysts which can mediate dissociation of water.
However an active catalyst should have (a) narrow band gap (b) conduction band potential more
negative compared to the reduction potential of water (c) minimum recombination of
photogenerated electrons and holes. CdS is one such semiconductor. However bare
semiconductor has high rate of charge recombination. There are different schemes reported in the
literature to minimize charge recombination, viz, incorporation of metals or formation of
heterojunction with another semiconductor to transfer electrons to metal or to the conduction
band of another semiconductor. However to facilitate transfer of electrons an intimate contact at
the interface is required. The fundamentals of photocatalysis shall be discussed in the
presentation. The presentation shall also include our recent work on CdS supported on reduced
grapheme. It has been shown that CdS prepared be a high temperature gas solid reaction
develops sulphur deficiency and consequently an n type semiconductivity. Whereas the rGO has
a p type semiconductivity. If a composite of these two are prepared by a technique, which shall
be described in the presentation, lead to a chemical interaction between carbon and sulphur of
CdS through the * orbital of rGO and n orbital of S of CdS at the interface. This chemical
interaction between the two promotes a synergy in the formation of p n junction. Formation of
the p n junction coupled with high electron conductivity of rGO gives a high activity to the
catalyst. The presentation shall also include detailed characterization of the catalyst including
FTIR, XRD, DRS, PL, TEM and XPS.

xx
 Invited Speaker

Deepali Atheaya
Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
Bennett University
Gr. Noida - 201310, India
Telephone: +91 9910446852
E- mail: datheaya@googlemail.com

Performance evaluation of photovoltaic thermal compound parabolic concentrator (PVT-

CPC) system

A photovoltaic thermal compound parabolic concentrator system is an integration of a

photovoltaic thermal system and a compound parabolic concentrator system. The performance of
photovoltaic thermal compound parabolic concentrator (PVT-CPC) water collector systems have
been analyzed in two modes namely (i) constant mass flow rate and (ii) constant collection
temperature mode. An analytical expression for electrical efficiency as a function of climatic and
design parameters has been developed. The analytical results of proposed partially covered
photovoltaic thermal compound parabolic concentrator (PVT-CPC) system [case (A)] has been
compared with the fully covered photovoltaic thermal compound parabolic concentrator (PVT-
CPC) system [case (B)], conventional compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) system [case (C)]
and partially covered photovoltaic thermal (PVT) system [case (D)]. It is observed that an
instantaneous thermal efficiency of conventional compound parabolic concentrator system [case
(C)] is more as compared to other cases. An analytical expression for mass flow rate and an
electrical efficiency of photovoltaic thermal (PV) module for partially covered photovoltaic
thermal compound parabolic concentrator (PVT-CPC) system [case (A)] have also been
developed to determine the performance of proposed system under constant collection
temperature mode. Such system will be most useful for thermal space heating of buildings to
conserve fossil fuel to sustain environment. The comparison of proposed system with fully
covered photovoltaic thermal compound parabolic concentrator (PVT-CPC) system [case (B)],
conventional compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) system [case (C)] and partially covered
photovoltaic thermal (PVT) system [case (D)] have also been carried out for the climatic
condition of New Delhi. Based on computation, it has been found that for fully covered
photovoltaic thermal compound parabolic concentrator (PVT-CPC) system [case (B)] (a) an
instantaneous thermal efficiency has lower value in comparison with constant mass flow rate
condition at high operating temperatures and (b) higher operating temperature is achieved at high
concentration ratio (C=5). An overall thermal and exergy analysis of photovoltaic thermal
compound parabolic concentrator (PVT-CPC) system in terms of energy degraded into the
environment and exergy destruction have also been carried out. The effect of exergy efficiency
with time for 25% partially covered PV module in PVT-CPC collector at constant flow rate
mode is highest as compared to cases when PV module is 50%, 75% and 100%.

xxi
 Brief Profile

Dr. Deepali Atheaya is presently working as Assistant Professor (Mechanical Engineering

Department) in Bennett University, Greater Noida. She did her PhD from Indian Institute of
Technology, Delhi. She has more than 10 years of teaching experience in Mechanical
Engineering department of various engineering colleges. She has completed her BTech in
Mechanical Engineering from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, U.P, India. She did her
MTech in Industrial & Production Engineering from the same university.

She has published a number of research papers in journals as well as in conferences of national
and international repute.

Her areas of research interest are solar energy, thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer,
advanced welding technology, production and operations management, manufacturing processes,
quality control and non-conventional energy resources.

xxii
 Invited Speaker

Jamil Ahmad
Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Aligarh Muslim University,
Aligarh(U.P.) - 202001, India
E- mail: jamil.amu@gmail.com

Performance Evaluation Of Various Models For Solar Radiation, Daylighting And Its
Applications

Comparative study of existing models has been made to estimate the mean hourly global
radiation from mean daily global radiation incident on a horizontal surface. Recommendation has
been made for one that best fits measured solar radiation data for five Indian stations namely,
Bangalore, Jodhpur, Mumbai, New Delhi and Srinagar. From our results it is observed that
Collares-Pereira and Rabl model as modified by Gueymard (CPRG) yields the best performance
for estimating mean hourly global radiation incident on a horizontal surface for Indian climatic
conditions. In addition to CPRG model, Collares-Pereira and Rabl (CPR) and Whillier /Liu and
Jordan (WLJ) models yield better performance than Newell, Baig and Garg models. Moreover,
each model predicts on an average under-estimation in the calculated values over the measured
data.

Further, an attempt has been made to estimate hourly global solar radiation on horizontal surface,
based on the model proposed by Al-Sadah et al (1990), using regression analysis for five Indian
stations under consideration. New constants of Al-Sadah model have been evaluated for all these
stations. Comparison between estimated and measured values of solar radiation on horizontal
surface shows that the constants derived for each station provide a good estimate of the hourly
global radiation except for the morning and evening hours. The present results are comparable
with the Liu and Jordan (1960) and Collares-Pereira and Rabl (1979) models which also
correlate hourly values and daily totals of the global radiation on horizontal surface.

An attempt has been made to develop a new model (Modified ASHRAE model) to evaluate the
hourly solar radiation on horizontal surface for composite climate of New Delhi. The comparison
of this new model for hourly solar radiation on horizontal surface has also been carried out by
using various models proposed by other researchers discussed in section 3.1.2. The root mean
square error (RMSE) and Mean bias error (MBE) have been used to compare the accuracy of this
new model and the existing models under consideration (section 3.1.2). The results show that the
ASHRAE and the new proposed model estimate hourly solar radiation on horizontal surface

xxiii
better, in comparison to other models, for composite climate of New Delhi. Hourly solar
radiation on horizontal surface, estimated by constants obtained by the new model, for composite
climate of New Delhi is fairly comparable with measured radiation data. The percentage mean
bias error with the new constants for New Delhi station was found as low as 0.15 and 0 % for
hourly beam and diffuse radiation, respectively. There is a 1.9% to 8.5% root mean square error
between observed and predicted values of beam radiation on horizontal surface using the new
constants for clear days.

An attempt has been made to estimate the cloudiness/haziness factors and atmospheric
transmittances for the composite climate of New Delhi (latitude: 28.58o N; longitude: 77.02o E;
elevation: 216 m above msl). To predict the hourly variation of beam and diffuse radiation on a
horizontal surface for any day, atmospheric transmittances for beam and diffuse radiation have
been evaluated to take into account the uncertain behaviour of atmospheric conditions. For the
present study, the hourly data of global and diffuse solar radiation on a horizontal surface for a
period of 11 years (19912001) have been used and analyzed using polynomial regression
analysis. The data have been obtained from the Indian Meteorological Department, Pune, India.
It has been observed that there is about 11% maximum and 01% minimum root mean square
error between predicted and observed values of hourly varying beam radiation for clear (blue
sky) weather condition.

Theoretical aspects of choosing a tilt angle for the solar flat-plate collectors used at ten different
stations in the world have been examined. Recommendations have been made on how the
collected energy can be increased by varying the tilt angle. In this study, the collector surface is
assumed to be facing towards equator. For Indian stations under consideration, the calculations
are based on the measured values of monthly mean daily global and diffuse solar radiation on a
horizontal surface. For other stations, the calculations are based on the data of monthly mean
daily global solar radiation on horizontal surface and monthly average clearness index. It is
shown that nearly optimal energy can be collected if the angle of tilt is varied seasonally, four
times a year. Annual optimum tilt angle is found to be approximately equal to latitude of the
station. It is found that the loss in the amount of collected energy is around 1 % if the angle of tilt
is adjusted seasonally instead of using opt for each month of the year. The loss of energy when
using the yearly average fixed angle is around 15 % compared with the monthly optimum tilt.
The heating/cooling potential of a dome shaped house has been evaluated on the basis of energy
balance under quasi-steady state condition by incorporating the effect of ventilation and earth-air
heat exchanger. The study has been carried out for composite climate of New Delhi. Effect of
parameters of earth-air heat exchanger (radius of pipe, length of pipe and velocity of air) on
heating/cooling potential has also been studied. Analysis of energy saving by using day lighting
and CO2 credit earned has also been carried out. It is observed that an over all 732 kWh energy
can be saved per annum by using day lighting which also corresponds to 1.49 tones/year carbon
credits earned.

Daylighting is one of the basic components of passive solar building design and its estimation is
essential. The Indian climate is generally clear with overcast conditions prevailing only through
the months of July to September, which provides good potential to daylighting in buildings.
Irrespective of this, for Indian stations, in comparison to many other regions of the world, the
availability of the measured illuminance data is scarce. Therefore, an analytical model that would

xxiv
encompass the weather conditions of New Delhi was selected. Hourly exterior horizontal and
slope daylight availability has been estimated for New Delhi station using daylight modeling
techniques based on solar radiation data.

Brief Profile

Dr. M. Jamil Ahmad is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, A. M. U.,

Aligarh. He has an academic of 21 years and published 2 book chapters, 16 research papers in
international journals, 17 research papers in international conferences and 7 papers in national
conferences. He was rewarded with Best Paper Award at the International Conference on
Contemporary Challenges in Management, Technology and Social Sciences held at M.G.
Institute of Management and Technology (MGIMT), Lucknow during April 5-6, 2014.

xxv
 Invited Speaker

K. S. Reddy
Professor
Heat Transfer and Thermal Power Laboratory,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Madras,
Chennai - 600036, India
E- mail: ksreddy@iitm.ac.in
Topic: Indigenous Concentrating Solar Thermal Systems for Process Heat and Power

Brief Profile

Dr. K. S. Reddy, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Madras, Chennai is specialist in

renewable energy technologies, concentrating solar thermal and PV systems, energy efficiency
and environment. Presently, he is also honorary professor at University of Exeter, U.K. and
Adjunct Professor, CEERI-CSIR, Chennai. He has authored more than 170 research papers in
reputed international journals and conferences. He has filed couple of patents in the area of
energy. He co-authored a book on Sustainable Energy and the Environment: A Clean
Technology Approach Published by Springer. Dr. Reddy has executed several research projects
related to solar energy and energy & environment sponsored by various national and
international agencies. He is actively involved in development of Concentrating Solar Power
technologies in India. He is associated with several Industries on power generation, process heat,
energy efficiency & conservation and characterization of engineering materials. He has also
organized several national & international workshops on advanced renewable energy
technologies at IIT Madras. Dr. Reddy is an expert committee member in various selection
committees. He has taught several courses related to thermal engineering.

xxvi
 Invited Speaker

M.K. Ghosal
Professor
Department of Farm Machinery and Power
Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology
Bhubaneswar, Odisha - 751003, India
Telephone: +91 9556271208
E- mail: mkghosal1@rediffmail.com

Solar Photovoltaic Application in Agriculture for Sustainable Farming and Mitigating

Greenhouse Gases to Environment
Attempts have been made to study the feasibility of using solar pumping based micro-irrigation
system in aerobic rice cultivation, short term storage of vegetables in a solar photovoltaic
powered refrigerator and small capacity (0.5 kW) roof top solar power plant for pumping water
to a kitchen garden of a small farmer for livelihood security. Submergence of rice field
continuously with water for longer period in a crop growing season in traditional method of rice
cultivation is now a major concern for global warming due to the emission of most potent
greenhouse gas i.e. methane to the atmosphere. Shifting from flooded to non-flooded method of
rice cultivation may therefore be the need of the hour to address the above issues. Efficient water
management through micro- irrigation, particularly by drip irrigation in non-flooded, unsaturated
or un-puddled rice cultivation system may be a viable option looking into the present days
major constraints of water stress and increasing concentration of atmospheric methane. The
erratic grid supply of electricity and increasing cost of diesel/petrol for use in pump sets are
becoming a great problem for the resource poor farmers of the country like India in achieving
assured irrigation. Feasibility of using a solar photovoltaic device for powering water pump and
drip irrigation system has been undertaken for aerobic rice cultivation in order to face the todays
challenges of energy crisis, water scarcity, global warming and ultimately climate change for
achieving sustainable production and productivity of rice mostly in the water-deficient, non-
irrigated and off-grid areas. There may be the saving of 40-45 % of water for irrigation purpose
compared to the conventional method, mitigation of 0.55 million tones of CO2 with the
replacement of existing diesel and electric pump sets and 0.2 million tones of CH4 from 4.0
million hectares of rice fields in the state of Odisha, India, through the system, developed by
adopting aerobic rice cultivation. The pay- back period of the set up was calculated to be 4 years
and total annual saving of Rs. 675 crore due to reduction in the use of electrical energy and
petroleum fuels through the existing pump sets in the state. Monthly income of Rs. 4000/-
throughout the year was achieved by adopting aerobic rice cultivation in 1 acre (0.4 ha) of land.
Similarly solar refrigerator of 100 kg capacity (0.56 m3) has been developed and its performance
has been studied for the storage of tomato both in winter and summer period. The performance
of the solar refrigerator developed has been compared with the domestic refrigerator (70 litres
capacity), modified IARI design zero energy cool chamber (100 kg capacity) and in a naturally
ventilated room condition. The shelf-lives of freshly harvested tomatoes were found to be 12, 8,

xxvii
6 and 4 days respectively in the developed solar refrigerator, domestic refrigerator, zero energy
cool chamber and in room condition during peak summer period by keeping them inside an
perforated polythene packet and storing in each cooling device under the present study. The unit
cost of solar photovoltaic electricity from the experimental set up was calculated to be Rs.
14/kWh compared to Rs. 5/kWh for the present tariff of grid electricity. The economics of using
the various cooling devices in this study for the storage of tomato was calculated to be
respectively Rs. 5.87, Rs. 8.56 and Rs. 1.96 per kg in developed solar refrigerator, domestic
refrigerator and zero energy cool chamber. The pay-back period of the developed solar
refrigerator was calculated to be about 2.5 years. This type set up can be easily constructed at the
farmers level and distress sale of vegetables can be avoided. Also another study relating to the
use of solar roof top power plant was undertaken in a small area of 200 m2 for creating assured
irrigation to leafy vegetables grown in the back yard of the house. The average cost of cultivation
and net income of growing greens in 200 m2 area in one cropping period in household level was
calculated to be Rs 750 and Rs. 4250 respectively. The total income from growing greens three
times in a year in 200 m2 area was calculated to be Rs. 12,750 per annum for which the monthly
income of about Rs. 1000/- is possible for a farm woman from her kitchen garden or in back yard
in cultivating greens during leisure period. Hence, looking into the present days concerns of
energy crisis, water scarcity in agriculture and environmental pollution, solar photovoltaic
system is the right choice for the farmers and need to be popularized for sustainable farming and
mitigating green house gases to the environment.

Brief Profile

Manoj Kumar Ghosal is presently, the Professor in the Department of Farm Machinery and
Power, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Orissa University of Agriculture
and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. He received his B. Tech. (Agricultural
Engineering) degree in 1988 from Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology,
Bhubaneswar, Odisha, M. Tech. degree in 1990 from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),
Kharagpur, West Bengal and Ph.D degree in 2004 from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),
Delhi, New Delhi, India. After obtaining M.Tech. Degree in 1990, he started his professional
career as Assistant Professor (Farm Machinery and Power) in August 1990 in Orissa University
of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, promoted to Associate Professor in 2002
and Professor in 2012 in the same department and University.
Dr. Ghosal has authored 5 books, 6 manuals, and 12 book chapters and has published 97 research
papers in peer-reviewed national and international journals as well as more than 40 popular
technical articles. His books include Renewable Energy Resources: Basic Principles and
Applications, Fundamentals of Renewable Energy Sources, Farm Power, Potential Use of Solar
Energy in Micro Irrigation, Renewable Energy Technologies etc. He is at present the associate
editor of the International Journal of Agricultural Engineering and the International Journal of
Tropical Agriculture, and is currently serving as the member in the editorial boards of a number
of national/international and scientific/technical journals. To his credit, he has guided 2 Ph. D.
and 7 M.Tech. students in the discipline of Agricultural Engineering till date. He is the fellow of
Institution of Engineers (India) and life member of Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers. His
present areas of research are in solar photovoltaic applications in agriculture, solar water
pumping, micro-irrigation, biomass briquetting, bullock energy utilization for sustainable farm
power etc.

xxviii
 Invited Speaker

Om Prakash Chaurasia
Professor & Ex HOD
Department of Mechanical Engineering
National Institute of Technology
Patna - 800005, India
Telephone: +91 9771402893, +91 9334814969
E- mail: om.prakash@nitp.ac.in,dromprakash67@gmail.com

Production of biodiesel from available nonedible oil ARENDI

in region Khagaria of Bihar

This talk will give a look to utilize the locally available resource for the production of biodiesel
which is the major requirement in this region for the doing cultivation and other things of locally
available. An survey and experiment were conducted to evaluate the potential of biodiesel
production from the available plant Arendi, Arendi is one of the very common plants available in
Khagaria region which has very good yielding. In this, the plant cultivation area, its total yield
has been calculated for this region. An experiment was also conducted in laboratory for the
production of biodiesel from the locally available plant seed of Khagaria. The total potential has
been calculated from the experimental basis in this region. The main pressure in this region is
lacking of employment. So it is not only production of biodiesel but also generation of
employment which is the one of the major factor of displacement of the people and to meet the
need of diesel which needed for agriculture this region.

Brief Profile

Dr. Om Prakash received his M.Tech in Design and Production of Thermal Power Equipment
from R.E.C. Tiruchirapalli in 1997and Ph.D. from IIT Delhi in 2005, he is a Professor and Ex
HOD in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Patna,
India. Dr. Om Prakash also has served in Rajaram Sinde College of Engineering Pedambay as an
Assistant Professor. He was appointed as a senior scale Lecturer in Department of Mechanical
Engineering at Delhi College of Engineering Delhi Selected by UPSC Group A Gazetted and
also appointed as a Lecturer in Department of Mechanical Engineering at Directorate of Training
and Technical Education, Delhi Selected by UPSC Group A Gazetted. He also worked as

xxix
maintenance staff in Indian Air Force Maintenance and Modification of fighter and transport
aircraft.

Dr. Om Prakash is life member of ISHRAE, ISTE, SEEM, institution of Engineering. He has
published many papers in international referred journals and national journals and he attend
many International conferences and National conferences. He has guide many M.Tech scholars
and Ph.D. scholars.

xxx
 Invited Speaker

P.K. Mishra
Professor & Head
Department of Chemical Engineering & Technology
IIT BHU
Varanasi (U.P.) - 221005, India
Telephone: 0542 6702035/36, +91 9415301462
E- mail: pkmishra.che@itbhu.ac.in
Topic: Innovate to Conserve

Brief Profile

Prof. P.K. Mishra is currently a professor and Head, Deptt. of Chemical Engineering &
Technology, IIT (BHU) Varanasi. He is also the honble secretary and coordinator in Malviya
Centre of Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship, IIT (BHU) Varanasi; and deputy
coordinator in Centre of Advanced Study, Chemical Engineering, IIT (BHU) Varanasi. His areas
of expertise include extraction, membrane separation processes; wastewater treatment
(bioremediation& adsorption); nanomaterials; biomaterials & bio-energy. He was a valued
member of governing council, NIESBUD, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship,
Government of India; technical advisor in S S Gas Lab Asia, New Delhi; technical advisor in BL
Agro Ltd., Bareilly; received second national prize for book writing of Ministry of Non-
Conventional Energy Resources, Govt. of India; was nominated DST-Lockheed of Indo-US
Science Forum for Technology; member of board of governors, Children Emancipation Society,
U.K., and also contributed in many other ventures.

xxxi
 Invited Speaker

Rahul Dev
Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad,
Allahabad (U.P.) - 211004, India.
E- mail: rahuldsurya@yahoo.com
Topic: Solar Distillation

Brief Profile

Dr. Rahul Dev is a professor in Mechanical Engineering Depatment at MNNIT Allahbad. He has
publishded several research papers to his credit, in esteemed journals and is teaching several UG
and PG courses at the institute. His areas of interest entail renewable energy, solar energy
applications like solar thermal (solar energy storage, passive buildings, solar stills, FPC),
daylighting and photovoltaics. consultancy in solar energy applications. He is also working in
several R&D projects and consultancies such as performance study of modified basin type multi-
wick solar desalination systems, solar energy applications, renewable energy, solar passive
architecture etc.

xxxii
 Invited Speaker

Sheela K. Ramasesha
Divecha Centre for Climate Change
Indian Institute of Science
Bangalore - 560012, India
E- mail: sheela@caos.iisc.ernet.in

Performance Analysis of Solar Photovoltaic Installations and Yield Forecast

The impact of seasonal variation on solar power was analysed using a solar photovoltaic (SPV)
system installed in Bengaluru, India. The performance of the SPV system is correlated with the
seasonal behaviour of SPV modules, with module temperature (Tmod) as the key factor of
comparison. The modules attained maximum efficiency at Tmod of 45C in summer and 55C in
winter. The drop in efficiency per degree rise in Tmod during summer (February-May), monsoon
(June-August) and post-monsoon (September-November) were 0.08% (for Tmod>45C), 0.04%
(for Tmod>35C) and 0.06% (for Tmod>38C), respectively. However, in winter (December-
January), the drop in efficiency for Tmod>55C was very minimal, which was attributed to
intermittent natural cooling of SPV modules, due to cool breeze and lower ambient temperatures.

This analysis was extended to establish a mathematical model which predicts the daily yield of a
SPV system installed at any location, based on the weather forecast. This model is in the form of
a simple mathematical expression involving the prominent atmospheric parameters, namely,
extra-terrestrial radiation, cloud-cover fraction, ambient temperature and relative humidity. The
deviations of this model from the measured values of yield were less than 15% for most of the
days. This model can be deployed in the management of distributed energy generation (DEG)
system consisting of SPV systems. Based on the forecast from this model, the fossil fuel fired
power plants can be tuned, thereby reducing emission of CO2 and other greenhouse gases into
the environment. This model is very simple to use as it uses the weather forecast data available in
the public domain. Hence, it would be a powerful tool for power management, especially for
private solar power producers availing net-metering facility.

Brief Profile

Dr. Ramasesha obtained her PhD degree from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. She
took up post-doctoral positions at University of Oxford, UK, Louisiana State University, USA
and Princeton University, USA. After returning to India, she worked in National Aerospace
Laboratories, Bangalore developing aerospace materials. She then shifted to General Electric

xxxiii
Research and Development Centre in Bangalore where she lead program on solid oxide fuel cells
and also got hands on experience in the solar PV sector.

In 2010, she moved back to IISc. In order to harness the available solar radiation to mitigate
climate change issues, in her group at Divecha centre for Climate Change, Research and
Development programs are designed to validate many concepts leading to application of solar
technologies in the country. The research is carried out in a wide range of topics in solar
technologies starting from designing and fabricating a semi-transparent solar cell all the way up
to studying the yield patterns of an installed 20 kW rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system and setting
up solar panels on a fast moving train.
She has published over 80 papers in International journals. She has filed 3 US patents and has 10
more patent applications.

xxxiv
 Invited Speaker

Vamsi K. Komarala
Associate Professor
Centre for Energy Studies, IIT Delhi
Hauz Khas, New Delhi - 110016, India
E- mail: vamsi@ces.iitd.ac.in

Practical implementation of third-generation solar cell ideas by adopting nano-photonics

concepts

The talk focusses on the efficiency enhancement of silicon/dye-sensitized cells by plasmonics

and photon up-conversion processes, and the stability of cells under UV illumination (due to
irreversible changes in dye/perovskite molecular structure) by down-shifting of incident photons.
Under plasmonics; the role of metal nanoparticles (size, shape, the dielectric environment
around) on textured silicon (with similar and different pyramidal heights and widths) solar cell in
light trapping will be presented. The simultaneous light interaction with metal nanoparticles
(nano-scale) and textured silicon (micron-scale) surface will be discussed [1].
Under up-conversion; the role of NaYF4:Yb3+, Er3+/NaYF4 core-shell nanoparticles in dye-
sensitized solar cells efficiency augmentation by converting near infra-red photons into visible
photons. The device efficiency enhancement based on the difference in the extinction coefficient
and the absorption wavelength range of dyes will be presented [2].
Under down-shifting; the nano-phosphor layer as an optical filter with visible light transmission
but UV light absorption, by placing on the front surface of silicon, dye-sensitized and perovskite
cells to provide stability, and performance improvement will be presented [3, 4].
References
[1] E Thouti et al., IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics 6 (2016) 1403.
[2] N Chander, et al., Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications 24 (2016) 692.
[3] N Chander et al., IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics 5 (2015) 1373.
[4] N Chander et al., Applied Physics Letters 105 (2014) 033904

Brief Profile

Vamsi Komarala is an Associate Professor in IIT Delhi, before joining in the institute he worked
in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and the University of Arkansas, USA as a research associate.
His primary interest is in optical properties of nanostructured materials, and implementation of
nanophotonics concepts for enhancing solar cell performance. Recently, he was recognized by
the Thomson Reuters (Web of Science) and included him in the list of highly cited authors of
2016.
xxxv
 Invited Speaker

Vivek Tomar
Research Fellow (Ph.D.)
Centre for Energy Studies, IIT Delhi
Hauz Khas, New Delhi - 110016, India
Telephone: +91 9953687084
E- mail: vivektomariitd@gmail.com
Topic: Energy Conservation

Brief Profile

Mr. Vivek Tomar is a research fellow at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. He has been
working with Prof. G.N.Tiwari from last four years and assists him in several research works.
Originally qualified as a physicist from University of Meerut and he has Master of Technology
in Energy Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. Mr. Tomar has published
several research articles in peer reviewed journals and present paper in many conference. He has
received several national and internal fellowships. His areas of interest include photovoltaic
systems, energy economics and planning, carbon trading and solar thermal application
engineering.

xxxvi
 Invited Speaker

Vivek Srivastava
Professor
Chemical Engineering
Ex-Dean
Industrial Research & Development
IIT Delhi
Hauz Khas, New Delhi - 110016, India
Telephone: +91 9818263545
E- mail: iitdchemvks@yahoo.com

Topic:

1. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Most important issue of the day even Delhi at the moment is
suffering (MCD workers strike)
2. Modeling and Simulation of Cooling Tower(Heat Mass Transfer Eqtns
framing and Modeling)

Message

It is pleasure that IIT (BHU) as venue is organizing the activity of SOLARIS and is bringing out
proceedings of the seminar. Solid waste policy in India specifies the duties and responsibilities
for waste management for cities and citizens of India .Report of a Committee for Solid Waste
Management in class one cities of India to Supreme Court recommends that cities should provide
free waste collection for all slums and public areas but charge the full for collection on 'polluter '.
The quantities of garbage collected and transported need to be monitored against targets
preferably by citizens monitoring through effective management information system .At least
80% of waste clearance vehicle should be on road and two shift use implemented where there is
shortage of vehicles. Offering a key io inclusive urban development PM Modi stated that
administration should focus on solid waste management and water treatment.PM Modi raised the
issue first in his Independence Day address then on Teacher's Day in India and even in USA.PM
launched the ambitious Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission).

I wish success of Conference. (SOLARIS)

xxxvii
 Brief Profile

Prof. Vinod Kumar Srivastava is the Ex-Dean of Industrial Research & Development and
Professor in Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He has more than 35
years of teaching and research experience as a faculty of chemical engineering in IIT, Delhi. He
is an expert in experimental and modeling in process simulations with over 60 publications. He is
the Editor-in-Chief of ISST Journal of Applied Chemistry (IJAC). He has supervised over 18
PhDs and over 60 M.Tech students. He has authored and co-authored more than 60 peer-
reviewed research publications mainly in international journals. He has conducted and sponsored
research on projects from Government and Private entities including DRDO, SAIL, MNES. He
has delivered invited talks and seminars in more than 40 conferences in different countries
including India, USA, Canada, and UK. He is also associated with several senior positions at
various reputable institutes. He was the president at Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers
(IIChE) from 2009 2010. He is a distinguished alumni, Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu
University, Varanasi, and a valued member of Engineering Council of India, Indian Institute of
Chemical Engineers (IIChE), Institute of Engineers (IE), Indian Society of Technical Education
(ISTE), Indian Institution of Plant Engineers (IIPE) and Oil Technologist Association of India
(OTAI).

xxxviii
 CONTENTS

About SOLARIS 2017 i

Chief Patrons Message iii
General Secretarys Message iv
National Steering Committee Members v
Organizing Committee Members vi
Sponsors & Donors vii
Brief about chief patron viii
Brief about chief guest, Solaris 2017 ix
Brief about organizing chairman x
Brief about vice - chairman xi
Brief about general secretary xii
Brief about guests of honor xiii
Brief about invited speakers xvii

Papers
Chapter 1: Renewable Energy 1-60
RE01: Energy conservation opportunities in automatic guided vehicle using raspberry PI
Nikhil S. Mattani, R. Menaka and A. G. Matani
RE02: Biodiesel from Waste Vegetable Oil as an alternative fuel for Diesel Engine
performance evaluation
Shiv Kumar Ray and Om Prakash
RE03: Role of renewable energy for sustainable development in Indian context
I. Nawaz
RE04: Techno-Economic Analysis of Solar Driven Solid Desiccant Evaporative System
for Domestic Cooling at the Capital of Chhattisgarh
Anil Kr Tiwari,and Nishant Shukla
RE05: Techno Economic Analysis of Double Glazing Unit Filled with Different Phase
Changing Material for Thermal Comfort Condition at Capital of Chhattisgarh
Anil Kr Tiwari, and Prakash Kr Sahu
RE06: Solar Energy Utilization in Aviation Industry towards Environment Protection
S. K. Doifode, and A. G. Matani
RE07: Smart grids mitigating the inefficiency in power systems towards controlling
technical and non-technical losses
A. G. Matani
RE08: Currency Notes Wastage Processing Techniques and Strategies towards Energy
Conservation and Environment Protection
A. G. Matani, S. K. Doifode, Ankush H. Umbarkar,Saurabh R. Sonawane, and
Kailas R. Dudhe
RE09: Energy Audit Plan Implementation for Minimizing Energy Consumption in
Foundry Units
Khwaja Faiz Ahmad and A. G. Matani
RE10: Evaluation of hourly solar radiation model by ASHRAE model
Seraj Ahmad, and Jamil Ahmad
Chapter 2: Photovoltaics 61-141
PV01: Effect of defects in the performance of mono-crystalline silicon PV modules after
long term outdoor exposure in composite climate of India
Pramod Rajput, G.N. Tiwari, O. S. Sastry
PV02: Improved Analytical Model for Electrical Efficiency of Semitransparent
Photovoltaic (PV) Module
Abhishek Tiwari, Namrata Agrahari, and G.N. Tiwari

PV03: Effects of window configuration and air ventilation strategy on energy generation
of window integrated semi-transparent SPV module
Sankar Barman, Amartya Chowdhury, Sanjay Mathur,and Jyotirmay Mathur
PV04: Periodic Modelling and validation of building integrated semi-transparent photo-
voltaic thermal (BISPVT) system in natural convection
G. N. Tiwari, Gourav Kumar Mishra
PV05: Energy conservation in passive buildings- A case study of an ancient architecture
in a composite climatic region
Heena Fatima Ali, and G. N. Tiwari
PV06: Periodic modeling of cooling based on semi-Transparent photovoltaic thermal
Trombe wall (SPVT-TW)
Firehun Taffesse and G.N. Tiwari
PV07: Performance Evaluation of Semitransparent Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) with
Thermoelectric Cooler (TEC) Collector
Neha Dimri, G.N. Tiwari, and T.S. Bhatti
PV08: Climate responsive design in vernacular architecture for passive cooling
Neha Gupta, and G.N.Tiwari
PV09: Application of Neural network for estimation of Cell Temperature effect on Cell
Efficiency
Ruby Beniwal,G.N. Tiwari and H.O. Gupta
PV10: Characteristic Variations of PV cell due to Change in Parameters using
MATLAB/Simulink model
Himanshu Sharma, Nimish Kumar, Yaduvir Singh, and Nitai Pal
Chapter 3: Solar Thermal 142-320
ST01: Artificial neural network for the prediction of hourly thermal energy produced by
PVT flat plate water collectors connected in series
H.Fatima, G.N. Tiwari, and T.S.Bhatti
ST02: Design and Fabrication of Concentrated Parabolic Collector for Steam Based
Application
Ramdas B. Patthe, Deepak C. Sonawane, Vinod B. Tungikar, and G N Tiwari
ST03: Effect of heat exchanger on energy and exergy of photovoltaic thermal (PVT) single
slope solar still
Poonam Joshi and G.N. Tiwari
ST04: Thermal analysis of integrated transparent photovoltaic thermal flat plate collector
water heater system for forced water heating applications
Deepali Atheaya,Vineet Saini, V.K Jain and G.N.Tiwari
ST05: Effect of concentration ratio for N partially covered photovoltaic thermal-compound
parabolic concentrator (PVT-CPC) collector
Rohit Tripathi, G. N. Tiwari and V. K. Dwivedi
ST06: Annual Performance of Solar Still Integrated with Evacuated Tubular Collector
 Shiv Kumar, Manoj Gaur and V. K. Dwivedi
ST07: Life Cycle Assessment Analysis and Energy Payback time estimation of Solar
Thermal Collector
S. Shukla, and Anil Kr Tiwari
ST08: Techno-Economic Analysis of Roof Integrated Water Solar Collector for Domestic
Heating and Cooling at the Capital of Chhattisgarh
Anil Kr Tiwari, and Sudhanshu Thawait
ST09: Energy and exergy analyses of double slope solar still incorporated with N identical
flat plate collectors
D B Singh, and J K Yadav
ST10: Experimental Analysis of Direct Evaporative Cooler with Fin-Structured Pads
Rahul Dev and Ashutosh Singh
ST11: Experimental evaluation of single basin solar still coupled with the ground earth
surface using artificial neural network
Mayank Sharma, Anil Kr. Tiwari, and Dhananjay R. Mishra
ST12: Techno-Economic Analysis of Solar Desalination System working on Humidification
and Dehumidification Technique for Climatic Condition of Central India
Taranjeet Sachdev, Anil Kr. Tiwari, and Vivek Gaba
ST13: Comparative study of Spiral tube flat plate collector for industrial effluent
evaporation Unglazed conditions
Deepak C. Sonawane, Ramdas Patthe, Vinod Tungikar, and G. N. Tiwari
ST14: Design and Optimization of Autonomous Solar Photovoltaic (PV)-Biomass Integrated
Renewable Energy System
K. S. Reddy, Aravindhan.S, and Tapas K. Mallick
ST15: Optical performance of Linear Fresnel Reflector with second-stage Compound
Parabolic Concentrator
K. S. Reddy, G. S. Chaitanya Prasad, and T. Sundararajan
ST16: Effect of PV area on energy and exergy of single slope solar still incorporated with N
identical flat plate collectors
V K Dwivedi
ST17: Effect of Al2O3-water based nanofluid on the thermo-physical characteristics of
active double slope solar still coupled with helically coiled heat exchanger
Lovedeep Sahota and G. N. Tiwari
ST18: Exergy analysis of a reverse absorber flat plate collector with partially covered
photovoltaic thermal (PVT) air collector
Rashmi Malik and G.N. Tiwari
Chapter 4: Solar Based Food Processing Technology 321-375
FPT01: Effect of photovoltaic area on the performance of flat plate air collector integrated
greenhouse solar dryer
Sumit Tiwari, and V.K. Dwivedi
FPT02: Studies on preparation and heating value of bio-coal from waste green coconut shell
for domestic cooking fuel
M.K.Ghosal, N. Mahapatra, N.Sahoo, and P.K.Rout
FPT03: Development and Performance Evaluation of Solar Refrigerator for Short-Term
Storage of Vegetables
D.K.Das and M.K.Ghosal
FPT04: Semitransparent Photovoltaic Thermal (S-PVT) Greenhouse: A Review
V. S. Gupta, R. K. Mishra and G. N. Tiwari
FPT05: Thermal modelling of solar greenhouse dryers: A Review
Gaurav Saxena, M.K. Gaur,Ankur Gupta, Shiv Kumar Dubey and Anand Kushwa
FPT06: Experimental identification of best fin configuration for pans of jaggery making
furnace
S.I. Anwar
Chapter 5: Miscellaneous 376-393

OTH01: A Comparative Analysis of Different MPPT Techniques for Optimized Performance

of Solar Photovoltaic Energy-Conversion System
G.S.Chaurasia, Sanjay Agrawal, and N.K.Sharma
OTH02: Filtration efficiency of mechanical filtration unit for sugarcane juice
R.D. Singh, and Dilip Kumar
OTH03: Artificial Neural Network Analysis of Building Integrated Photovoltaic Thermal And
Swimming Pool Integrated Photo-voltaic Thermal Systems
Sugandha Singh, T.S. Bhatti and G.N. Tiwari
OTH04: Light trapping in silicon wafer using silver nanoparticles stabilized with polymer
S. Mudgal, and V. K. Komarala
OTH05: Performance enhancement of plasmonic silicon solar cells comprised of silver,
aluminum and their alloy nanoparticles
P. K. Parashar, R. P. Sharma, and V. K. Komarala
OTH06: Silicon Surface Preparation for Device Fabrication
Krishna Singh, Sapna Mudgal, and Vamsi K Komarala
Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India

CHAPTER 1
RENEWABLE ENERGY
_____________________________________________________________________________
Ch. RE01

ENERGY CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES IN AUTOMATIC GUIDED

VEHICLE USING RASPBERRY PI
1, 2 3 3
Nikhil S. Mattani Dr. R. Menaka , Dr. A. G. Matani
1
M.Tech.- II Year ( Embedded Systems), VIT University, Chennai Campus (TN) 600 127, India, E-mail:
Nikhilmattani@gmail.com
2
Associate Professor- Embedded Systems, SENSE Department VIT University, Chennai Campus (TN) 600 127,
India.
3
Associate Professor- Mechanical Engineering, Government College of Engineering, Amravati -444604 [ M.S.]
India, E-mail: dragmatani@gmail.com, ashokgm333@rediffmail.com

* Corresponding author. Tel: +917588752635, E-mail: Nikhilmattani@gmail.com

Abstract: An automated guided vehicle or automatic guided vehicle (AGV) is a mobile robot that follows markers
or wires in the floor, or uses vision, magnets, or lasers for navigation. They are most often used in industrial
applications to move materials around a manufacturing facility or warehouse. Raspberry Pi is a single board
computer which can be effectively used for multi-functionalities .The goal of this project to make an automatic
guided vehicle where raspberry pi board along with web camera will detect road signs. Actually four wheel robot is
designed in such a way that board and camera will be kept on it. While they will move in a particular direction and
respond to that signs.

Keywords: Automotive electronics, real time state monitoring, intelligent transportation systems.

1.1 Introduction

Automotive Electronics sector are getting more demand due to use of embedded system for
different applications in car day by day. Most of luxurious cars having more automatic controls
like Airbags, ABS, ESP, ECU, ESP, climate control and more. Intelligent driver assistance
system nothing but provide the full assistance to the driver when drive driving the car on the road
along with considering the traffic intensity and white lane detection. Driver assistance is the
considered to be important in aspect with security of vehicles. Driving vehicle gives a certain
level of comfort to user but does not impart safety to user and hence systems must be introduced
to enhance security. In the world of automotive electronics where various systems come in
market that ensures safety like real time state monitoring, positioning, emergency services but
requires large cost. The use of vision for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is now widely
considered as one of the most convenient perception technologies.

Raspberry Pi is an ARM based credit card sized SBC (Single Board Computer) created by
Raspberry Pi Foundation. The Raspberry Pis GPIO pins are most commonly used with
Python, but this leads to a CPU bottleneck. In this test, a simple R Pi. GPIO program toggles a
pin as rapidly as possible while a frequency counter measures how quickly it actually switches.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India

1.2 Specifications
Board Raspberry Pi 2 Model B Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
Processor Broadcom BCM2836 Broadcom BCM2837
CPU Core Quadcore ARM Cortex-A7, Quadcore ARM Cortex-
32Bit A53, 64Bit
Clock Speed 900 MHz 1.2GHz (Roughly 50%
faster than Pi2)
RAM 1 GB 1 GB
CPU 250 MHz Video Core IV 400 MHz Video Core IV
Network 1 x 10 / 100 Ethernet (RJ45 1 x 10 / 100 Ethernet
Connectivity Port) (RJ45 Port)
Wireless None 802.11n wireless LAN
Connectivity (WiFi) Bluetooth 4.1
USB Ports 4 x USB 2.0 4 x USB 2.0
GPIOs 2 x 20 Pin Header 2 x 20 Pin Header
Camera Interface 15-pin MIPI 15-pin MIPI
Display Interface DSI 15 Pin / HDMI Out DSI 15 Pin / HDMI Out /
Composite RCA
Power Supply 1.8 A 2.5 A
(Current Capacity)

L298 Motor Driver:

The L298N H-bridge module can be used with motors that have a voltage of between 5 and 35V
DC. With the module used in this tutorial, there is also an onboard 5V regulator, so if your
supply voltage is up to 12V you can also source 5V from the board. H-Bridge's are typically used
in controlling motors speed and direction, but can be used for other projects such as driving the
brightness of certain lighting projects such as high powered LED arrays.

1.3 Applications:
[1] Pattern recognition using raspberry pi platform: The aim of this is to navigate and the control
robot (drone) movement in the space with the help of colored markers that define the different
types of movement.
[2] Traffic control system using raspberry pi: To reduce traffic density (high) based on which
signals will be allotted for a particular side. It will provide facility to handle emergency vehicles
automatically and efficiently.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India

[3] Design and Implementation of Autonomous Car using Raspberry Pi: Making a self driving
robot and to determine the marked or unmarked road edge. Also Ultrasonic sensor is used to
avoid collision with obstacles.
[4] Embedded Image Capturing System using Raspberry pi system: To capture the image and
creating database .Moreover the system is smaller, lighter and with lower power consumption, so
it is more convenient for the PC-based face recognition system.
[5] Raspberry Pi Based Human Face Detection: In this, video is captured real time using the
webcam and python codes were developed using face detection from a given image.

1.4 Current Work:

Actually, web cam needs to capture the road sign images and raspberry pi board has to detect the
signs. Till now camera is capturing some images and robot is running according to the signs
obtained from webcam using rasp-pi. From the distance of 12 inches, web cam detects those
signs and robot starts responding.

1.5 Results and Discussion:

Car manufacturer Peugeot Citroen has developed an Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV) to lift &
transport cars around their factory. The vehicle, which travels almost 8km a day is controlled by
a Raspberry Pi and uses a touch-screen display for monitoring and control. Automatic running
vehicle helps in detecting road signs and provides proper guidance to the drivers so that they
should be aware of the proper directions and symbols while driving. The person driving the car
makes realization about the road signs. By this, we can save power consume, thereby, resulting
in energy conservation opportunities.

1.6 Conclusion

The Raspberry Pi development board is an efficient circuit with greater capabilities and can
fulfill the operations satisfactorily required for the driver assistance system. The circuit works
efficiently with other peripherals like camera and is basically designed for real-time applications.
This system works with anti-collision system and lane departure system for the safety of the
vehicle in crucial traffic conditions. In future work, a GPS module can be added to the circuit to
periodically notify the user status when in problem to the nearest control room. The driver
assistance have broad sense of application and this project only implements a part of that but the
most important thing is, it reduces the fabrication cost of the system which will be 3-4 times
more when used by other development board.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India

References:

[1] Anup Thakurwar, Abhijeet Titarmare, Literature on safety module for vehicular driver
assistance, IOSR Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering , 10 (1) , Jan - Feb.
2015, pp. 75-79
[2] A. Jazayeri, H. Cai, J. Y. Zheng, Motion based vehicle identification in car videot ,
Proceedings of Intelligent Vehicles Symposium University of California, San Diego, CA,
USA, IEEE 2010, pp. 23-34.
[3] Florian Janda, Sebastian Pangerl, Andreas Schindler, A road edge detection approach for
th
marked and unmarked lanes based on video and radar, Proceedings of 16 International
Conference on Information Fusion Istanbul, Turkey, July 9-12, 2013, pp. 34-40.
[4] John Golias, George Yannis and Constantinos Antoniou, Classification of driver-
assistance systems according to their impact on road safety and traffic efficiency, Transport
Reviews, 22(2), 2002, pp. 179-196.
[5] Jae Il Roh, Hyunsuk Lee, Woojin Chung, Control of a car with a trailer using the driver
assistance system, Proceedings of International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics,
IEEE2011.
[6] Minakshee M.Patil , Narayan Pandharinath Pawar, Driver assistance system based on
Raspberry Pi, International Journal of Computer Applications ,95(16), June 2014, pp. 23-27.
[7] N. P. Pawar, M .M. Patil, Driver assistance system based on Raspberry Pi, International
Journal of Computer Applications, 95(16), 2014, pp.1-3
[8] Sabina Jeschke, Christian Brecher, Houbing Song, Danda B. Rawat, Industrial internet of
things: Cyber manufacturing Systems, Springer Publications, 2016, pp. 34-51.
[9] Saravanan Kannan, Arunkumar Thangavelu, RameshBabu Kalivaradhan, An intelligent
driver assistance system (I-DAS) for vehicle safety modelling using ontology approach,
International
Journal Of UbiComp (IJU), 1(3), July 2010, pp. 19-27.
[10] Venkaiah. J , Narendra Babu. T , Kondalrao. Punati , A novel method for
vehicle authentication and theft control system based on voice recognition, International
Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), 2(5), May 2013, pp. 214-221
[11] Ying-Wen Bai, Chen-Chien Cheng and Zi-Li Xie Use of ultrasonic signal coding and
PIR sensors to enhance the sensing reliability of an embedded surveillance system,
International Journal of Computer Applications, 95(16), June 2014, pp. 12-19.

Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

Ch. RE02

Biodiesel from Waste Vegetable Oil as an alternative fuel for Diesel

Engine performance evaluation

Shiv Kumar Ray1,*, Om Prakash2

1
Mech. Engg, NIT Patna, Patna, India, E-mail: shivroy2k5@gmail.com, Tel: +91 7782814080
2
Mech. Engg, NIT Patna, Patna, India, E-mail: om.prakash@nitp.ac.in, Tel: +91 9771402893
* Corresponding author

Abstract: The entire mankind is facing many challenges like energy sustainability, environmental problems and
rising costs of petroleum fuel. Biodiesel has several advantages among other new renewable alternative fuel in
terms of availability, performance and emission. In this paper a waste vegetable oil biodiesel and their
performance evaluation of WVBD05, WVBD10, WVBD20 and WVBD40 has been done. The specific fuel
consumption of WVBD blends is lower than that of petroleum diesel and among all WVBD05, the WVBD40
has highest BSFC but 4% lower than petroleum diesel. The maximum brake thermal efficiencies were obtained
for WVBD40, which were 8% higher than that of diesel. Diesel engine make Kirlosker TV1 has been run
successfully on biodiesel and its blends without any engine modifications. Waste vegetable oil, bio-diesel gave
the performance nearer to that of petroleum based diesel, making it a promising renewable source for the diesel
engines.

Keywords: Waste vegetable oil; Waste frying oil; Waste cooking oil; biodiesel yield, biodiesel performance.

Nomenclature
WVO: Waste Vegetable Oil FFA: Fee Fatty Acid
WFO: Waste Frying Oil PBD: Petroleum Based Diesel
WCO: Waste Cooking Oil

1. Introduction
The entire mankind is facing many challenges like energy sustainability, environmental
problems and mounting fuel costs. The conventional fuels are recognized for polluting the air
by emissions of nitrogen dioxides, carbon dioxides, particulate matter and other pollutants
which is a consequence of global warming and health problem. The worlds energy demand
has enormously increased which leads the shortage and depletion of conventional sources [1-
2]. Therefore, it is the cause of concern for giving thought to initiate research world-wide for
alternative energy sources. Exploring new energy resources, such as biofuel, is of growing
importance in recent years. Biofuels are emerging as substitutes for fossil fuel and among the
biofuels, biodiesel derived from various sources is being explored as promising alternative
conventional fuels which are renewable and available throughout the world. The American
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) defines biodiesel fuel as monoalkyl esters of long
chain fatty acids derived from a renewable lipid feedstock, such as vegetable oil. Bio
represents its renewable and biological source diesel refers to its use in diesel engines [3].
As an alternative fuel, biodiesel shows numerous merits when compared to that of the
petroleum diesel. Researchers have reported that particulate matter, unburned hydrocarbons,
carbon monoxide and sulfur levels are significantly less by using biodiesel, but nitrogen oxide
levels get increased with biodiesel [4]. Biodiesel provides lubricating properties that can
reduce engine wear and extend engine life. Vegetable oils may be the probable substitute for
the petroleum based petrochemicals in the nearby future. One of the first transesterified of
vegetable oil was performed in early 1846 when Rochieder described glycerol preparation
through ethanolysis of castor oil [5]. Scientists E. Duffy and J. Patrick conducted

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

transesterification of triglycerides in early 1853 [6]. In 1893 German inventor and mechanical
engineer, Rudolph Diesel published a paper entitled The theory and construction of a rational
heat engine. Rudolph Diesel used peanut oil to fuel one of his engines at the Paris Exposition
of 1900 [7].
Different process for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil has been used under
alkaline or acidic conditions and acid-catalysed process proved to be technically feasible with
less complexity than the alkali-catalysed process Zhang et. al. [8]. Biodiesel yield of 8890%
was obtained at the methanol and oil ratios of 7:18:1, with temperatures of 3050 and 0.75
wt% KOH Phan and Phan [9]. The biodiesel yields were inversely linked to the acid value
and viscosity of the feed stocks Predojevic [10]. Transesterification of WCO depends on the
quality of the feedstock oil and with an increase in temperature during transesterification,
results higher yield of biodiesel. Among all methanol has been reported to give the best result
in terms of biodiesel yield Banerjee and Chakraborty [11]. Ednildo et. al. confirms that the
removal of glycerine is critical for the production of biodiesel from waste vegetable oil [12].
Production of biodiesel in supercritical methanol was investigated Ghoreishi et. al. and
experimental biodiesel yield of 94.67% was achieved [13]. Guerra et. al. studied the effects
of direct pulse sonication and the type of alcohol on the transesterification reaction of waste
vegetable oil without any external heating or mechanical mixing. The optimum process
conditions for transesterification reaction of waste vegetable oil were determined as: 9:1
alcohol to oil ratio, 1% wt. catalyst amount, 12 minute reaction time at a power output rate
between 75 and 150 W. The biodiesel yields were greater than 99% at lower power density
and ultrasound intensity [14]. Piker et. al. used egg shells as catalyst for biodiesel production
from both commercial fresh soybean oil and waste cooking oil (WCO) at room temperature.
After 11 h of regular stirring, high yield of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) was obtained from
fresh soybean oil (98 wt.%) and WCO (97 wt.%) [15]. Pugazhvadivua et. al. investigated the
effect of temperature on the viscosity of waste frying oil and found that it requires a heating
temperature of 135 to bring down its viscosity to that of diesel at 30 . The engine
performance was improved and the CO and smoke emissions were reduced using preheated
waste frying oil [16]. The methyl ester was tested in a diesel engine with turbocharged, four
cylinders and direct injection. Obtained results were nearly the same with existing diesel fuel
and amount of emission such as CO, CO2, NOx, and smoke darkness of waste frying oils
ware less than diesel fuel Zafer et. al. [17]. Muralidharan et. al. studied performance, emission
and combustion characteristics of a single cylinder four stroke engine at variable compression
ratio, fuelled with waste cooking oil methyl ester and its blends with diesel and compared
with standard diesel. The blend B40 is found to give maximum thermal efficiency and
reduction in carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon and increase in nitrogen oxides emissions [18].
Sanli et. Al. tested biodiesels produced from waste frying oil using methanol and ethanol with
20% (v/v) blend with diesel fuel. The results showed that the brake specific fuel
consumptions and thermal efficiencies were higher than those of diesel. Ethyl ester biodiesel
had a slightly better thermal efficiency than methyl ester biodiesel. In comparison to diesel,
ester fuels emitted less CO and HC emissions, but they ceased to produce more NOx. CO2
emissions were very close to each other. In general, ethyl ester biodiesel released relatively
less emissions than methyl ester biodiesel [19]. Corsini et. al. used both straight and waste
vegetable oils to fuel a common-rail multi jet diesel engine in automotive configuration and
study its behavior and compared it with diesel. At higher loads the diesel, straight and waste
vegetable fuels show a similar behavior up to about 2800 rpm, but the biodiesel gives a larger
power output. This behavior may be ascribed to the combined effects of different density and
viscosity of vegetable oils, electronic unit intervention, and the injection time which varies
according to load [20]. Patel et. al. concluded in their experimental investigations on
computerized four stroke, single cylinder diesel engine fueled with diesel- waste cooking oil

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blends. This type of blend of fuel can directly use in the engine without modification in the
engine. As the waste cooking oil concentration increased in the diesel fuel the brake thermal
efficiency and Specific fuel consumption decreases but fuel consumption increases. The
Brake specific energy consumption decreased with increasing load. The results obtained
during the test confirmed that biodiesel from waste cooking oil and its blends could be used as
a fuel in diesel engine [21]. Srinivas et.al. carried experimental investigation on computerized
four stroke single cylinder diesel engine with Ethanol and Ethyl Hexyl Nitrate as additives to
the diesel-biodiesel blends. The biodiesel is obtained from the crude waste vegetable oil by
using the transesterification process. The results show a 25% reduction in HC emissions with
B20 and 35% reduction with B20+Additive and a 15.8% reduction in CO emissions with B20
and 16.3% reduction with B20+additive for the 20% waste vegetable oil blend and Additive
with a 15.4% increase for B20 blend and 1.29% decrease when Additive added to blend in
NOx emission at full load. There were a 0.275% decrease in brake thermal efficiency for B20
blend and 0.175% increase with Additive to blend for B20 at full load [22]. Parekh et. al.
evaluated the engine performance and emissions characteristics of WCO biodiesel on diesel
engine. Overall, the engine performance of the WCO biodiesel and its blends was only a little
poorer than diesel. From the view of emissions, NOx emissions were slightly higher in the
WCO than diesel while un-burnt hydrocarbon emissions were lower for WCO than diesel fuel
[23]. A comparative study had been done by Gada et. al. between blends of biodiesel derived
from used cooking oil (UCO) and diesel fuels. Diesel- UCO biodiesel blends of 10 and 20%
was prepared. Experimental investigations were tested in a four stroke, single cylinder, diesel
engine at a constant speed of 1500 rpm at variable loads. Diesel- UCO biodiesel blends
showed an increase in fuel consumption and specific fuel consumption in comparison with
diesel fuel. Biodiesel blends showed a decrease in engine thermal efficiency in comparison to
diesel fuel. It is recommended to use used cooking oil biodiesel up to 20% with diesel fuel
without any engine modifications [24].

2. Methodology
In the present investigation, biodiesel derived from waste vegetable oil by transesterification
process has been blended in different proportion 5, 10, 20 and 40% (vol.) with petroleum
diesel and referred as WVBD05, WVBD10, WVBD20 and WVBD40. Then the performance
evaluation has been carried out on a single cylinder four stroke direct injection diesel engine
for different load at a constant speed 1500rpm.
2.1. Properties of Diesel and Biodiesel
The properties of biodiesel and petroleum diesel such as viscosity, specific gravity, flash point
and calorific value is given in Table 1.

Table 1. Property ranges of fuels used in the reviewed studies [24]

Properties Biodiesel Diesel
Density (15 ) (kg/m3) 870895 810860
Viscosity (40 ) (cSt) 3.55.5 23.5
Cetane number 4565 4055
Cold filter plugging point () -5 to 10 -25 to 0
Cloud point () -5 to 10 -20 to 0
Pour point () -15 to 10 -35 to 0
Lower heating value (MJ/kg) 36.538 42.544
Water content (mg/kg) 0500 ---
Acid number (mg KOH/g) 00.60 ---

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Ester content (% w/w) >96 ---

Glycerin content (% w/w) 00.25 ---
Sulfur content (mg/kg) --- 15500

2.2. Experimental setup

For experiment a single cylinder, four stroke direct injection diesel engine make Kirlosker
TV1, 5.2 kW has been setup. The engine specifications are given in Table 2. To measure the
output engine shaft was coupled to an electrical dynamometer comprising with load panel.
Two separate fuel tanks has been designed to supply the Diesel and WVBD at different
proportion and time. To measure the fuel consumption a burette of 50ml fixed volume has
been used. To measure the airflow rate of the air supply to the engine an orifice plate with the
U-tube manometer has been designed and installed. An air surge tank has been designed to
minimise the fluctuation of air supply. A Schematic diagram of the experimental setup has
been given in fig. 1.

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the experimental setup.

(1) Engine; (2) Electrical Dynamometer; (3) Electrical load; (4) Diesel fuel tank; (5) WVO fuel tank;
(6) Burette; (7) Two-way control valve; (8) Air box; (9) Orifice plate; (10) U-tube manometer; (11)
Exhaust gas temperature indicator.

Table 2. Engine specifications

Make Kirloskar
Type TV1
Bore x Stroke 87.5mm x 110mm
Cubic capacity 0.661 litre
Power 7 BHP (5.2 kW)
Rated speed 1500 rpm
Compression ratio 17.5 : 1
Injection system Direct

3. Observations and Results

3.1. Fuel Consumption
The variation of fuel consumption with brake power is shown in Fig. 2. It is observed that as
the load increased, fuel consumption increased for all fuel blend. As percentage of biodiesel
increases, the fuel consumption tends to increase because of the lower heating value of

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biodiesel. At full load, the maximum increase in fuel consumption for blends B40 in
comparison with diesel fuel was about 2.8%.

Diesel WVBD5 WVBD10 WVBD20 WVBD40

1.4
Fuel Consumption(kg/hr)

1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Brake Power(kW)

Fig. 2. Fuel consumption verses break power

Diesel WVBD5 WVBD10 WVBD20 WVBD40

3

2.5
SFC(Kg/kW-hr)

1.5

0.5

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Brake power(kW)
Fig. 3. Specific fuel consumption verses break power

3.2. Specific fuel consumption

Fig. 3 shows the variation of specific fuel consumption (SFC) of the engine for diesel,
WVBD5, WVBD10, WVBD20 and WVBD40 with respect to brake power output. The
specific fuel consumption decreases with increase of load and increases with WVBD
percentage. The specific fuel consumption of WVBD blends is lower than that of petroleum
diesel and among all WVBD, the WVBD40 has highest SFC but 4% lower than petroleum
diesel. This may be due to fuel density, viscosity and heating value of the fuels.
3.3. Brake thermal efficiency
The variation of brake thermal efficiency (BTE) for different for different blends is given in
Fig. 4. It increased with an increase in percent load for all. This was due to a reduction in heat

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loss and increase in power with an increase in percent load. The maximum brake thermal
efficiencies were obtained for WVBD40, which were 8% higher than that of diesel.

DIESEL WVBD5 WVBD10 WVBD20 WVBD40

0.25
Break Thermal Efficiency

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Brake Power(kW)

Figure 4. Brake thermal efficiency verses break power

DIESEL B5 B10 B20 B40

50
45
40
35
A/F Ratio

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Brake Power(kW)

Figure 5. Brake specific fuel consumption verses A/F ratio

3.4. A/F Ratio

It can be seen in Fig. 5. higher A/F ratios is needed for higher brake power and for WVBD
and petroleum diesel blends. It may because, at low power the combustion takes place at lean
mixture, but at high power output a rich mixture is needed to fulfil the load demand. At
maximum load the A/F ratio of WVBD40 was 1.5% less than petroleum diesel.

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4. Conclusions
Waste vegetable biodiesel and its blends with diesel used as a fuel for diesel engine improved
the engine performance. The specific fuel consumption of WVBD blends has been tested is
lower than that of diesel. The WVBD40 blend has highest SFC in all blend tested, but it is
4% lower than that of diesel. The brake thermal efficiencies for WVBD40 is also highest but
it is 8% higher than that of diesel. The diesel engine was performed successfully on biodiesel
blends without any engine modifications. Hence, biodiesel from waste vegetable oil may be
considered as a low cost renewable substitutes for diesel fuel. The use of biodiesel instead of
fossil fuels can also help for reducing the environmental pollutions.

References
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[4] B. D. Alessandro, G. Bidini, M. Zampilli, P. Laranci, P. Bartocci and F. Fantozzi,
Straight and waste vegetable oil in engines: Review and experimental measurement of
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[5] A. Demirbas, Bio-diesel fuels from vegetable oils via catalytic and non-catalytic
supercritical alcohol transesterifications and other methods: a survey, Energy Conversion
and Management, Elsevier, 2003, vol. 44, pp. 20932109.
[6] A. Demirbas, Progress and recent trends in bio-diesel fuels, Energy Conversion and
Management, Elsevier, 2009, vol. 50, pp. 1434.
[7] A. Demirbas, Bio-diesel production from vegetable oils via catalytic and non-catalytic
supercritical methanol transesterification methods, Progress in Energy and Combustion
Science, Elsevier, 2005, vol. 31, pp. 466487.
[8] Y. Zhang, M.A. Dube, D.D. McLean and M. Kates, Bio-diesel production from waste
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Elsevier, 2003, vol. 89, pp. 116.
[9] Any N. Phan and Tan M., Phan Bio-diesel production from waste cooking oils, Fuel,
Elsevier, 2008, vol. 87, pp. 34903496.
[10] Zlatica J. Predojevic, The production of bio-diesel from waste frying oils: A comparison
of different purification steps, Fuel, Elsevier, 2008, vol. 87, pp. 35223528.
[11] A. Banerjee and R. Chakraborty, Parametric sensitivity in the transesterification of waste
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Elsevier, 2009, vol. 53, pp. 490497.
[12] A. T. Ednildo, S. C. Gilberto, M. F. Tiago., M. Q. Cristina, R. Massimo, T. Vincenzo,
and U. Giordano, Recovery of different waste vegetable oils for bio-diesel production: A
pilot experience in Bahia State, Brazil, Waste Management, Elsevier, 2013, vol. 33, pp.
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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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[13] S.M. Ghoreishi and P. Moein, Bio-diesel synthesis from waste vegetable oil via
transesterification reaction in supercritical methanol, Journal of Supercritical Fluids,
Elsevier, 2013, vol. 76, pp. 24 31.
[14] Edith Martinez-Guerra and Veera Gnaneswar Gude, Transesterification of waste
vegetable oil under pulse sonication using ethanol, methanol and ethanolmethanol
mixtures, Waste Management, Elsevier, 2014, vol. 34, pp. 26112620.
[15] A. Piker, B. Tabah, N. Perkas, A. Gedanken, A green and low-cost room temperature bio-
diesel production method from waste oil using egg shells as catalyst, Fuel, Elsevier,
2016, vol. 182, pp. 3441.
[16] M. Pugazhvadivua, K. Jeyachandranb, Investigations on the performance and exhaust
emissions of a diesel engine using preheated waste frying oil as fuel, Renewable Energy,
Elsevier, 2005, vol. 30, pp. 21892202.
[17] Z. Utlua, M. S. Kocakb, The effect of bio-diesel fuel obtained from waste frying oil on
direct injection diesel engine performance and exhaust emissions, Renewable Energy,
Elsevier, 2008, vol. 33, pp. 19361941.
[18] K. Muralidharan, D. Vasudevan, Performance, emission and combustion characteristics
of a variable compression ratio engine using methyl esters of waste cooking oil and diesel
blends, Applied Energy, Elsevier, 2011, vol. 88, pp. 39593968.
[19] H. Sanli, M. Canakci, E. Alptekin, A. Turkcan, A.N. Ozsezen, Effects of waste frying oil
based methyl and ethyl ester bio-diesel fuels on the performance, combustion and
emission characteristics of a DI diesel engine, Fuel, Elsevier, 2015, vol. 159, pp. 179
187. Corsini, A; Marchegiani, A. Rispoli, F. Sciulli, F. Venturini P. (2015) Vegetable
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[20] Mihir J. Patel, Tushar M. Patel and Gaurav R Rathod, Performance Analyis of C.I.
Engine Using Diesel and Waste Cooking Oil Blend, IOSR Journal of Mechanical and
Civil Engineering, 2015, 12(2), 27-33.
[21] K. Ramakrishna Srinivas, N. Balu, B. Naik and K KalyaniRadha, Performance and
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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India

Ch. RE03

Role of renewable energy for sustainable development in Indian context

I. Nawaz
Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering & Technology
Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar,
New Delhi-110025 (INDIA)
+919811398309, E-mail: islamnwz@yahoo.co.in

Abstract: Electricity provides us energy in usable form. Hence it is integral part of infrastructure required for
growth. Existence and development of adequate infrastructure is even more important in Indian context. Indian
power sector is one of the most diversified ones in the world. Sources for power generation range from conventional
ones (coal, natural gas, oil, hydro and nuclear power) to other viable renewable energy sources (wind, solar, and
organic waste). Demand for electricity in this vast country has been growing at a rapid rate and the trend is expected
to continue. Energy consumption rises with population and improvement in living standards. But one must consider
the environmental costs. Increased recognition of the important contribution of renewable sources is necessary to
devise policies aimed at climate change mitigation, rural development and improved health. One must relegate
renewable energy from the fringe to the mainstream of sustainable development. India has a vast supply of
renewable energy resources, and it has one of the largest programmes in the world for deploying renewable energy.
Indeed, it is the only country in the world to have an exclusive ministry for renewable energy; Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy. Since its formation, the Ministry has launched an ambitious programme on renewable energy.
Based on various promotional efforts put in by the Ministry, significant progress is being made in power generation
from renewable energy sources. As is well known, natural resources are fast depleting and pollution levels are
steadily increasing due to the use of fossil fuels. Hence the promotion of renewable sources deserves priority.

Keywords: Renewable energy sources, sustainable development, electrical power, pollution, population,
environment.

1. Introduction Optimum utilization of them will lead to poverty

India has tremendous energy needs. It is facing
increasing difficulty in meeting such needs through
merely traditional means of power generation.
Renewable energy (RE) has an important role to play
in meeting future energy needs, in rural as well as
urban areas. Development and utilization of
renewable energy should therefore be given high
priority. This policy would reflect increased
awareness of adverse environmental impact of
conventional fossil fuels. Need for sustainable energy
policy is rapidly being recognized throughout the
world. Greater use of renewable energy is important
for achieving sustainability in energy sector, in
developing as well as developed countries. India is
blessed with plenty of renewable natural resources.
reduction and sustainable development (SD).
Renewable energy resources and associated
technology are key component of sustainable
development. The reasons are described below. The
relationship between RE and SD can be viewed as a
hierarchy of goals and constraints that involve both
global and regional or local considerations. Though
the exact contribution of RE to SD has to be
evaluated in a country specific context, RE in
general, offers the opportunity to contribute to a
number of important SD goals:
Social and economic development;
Energy access;
Energy security;
Climate change mitigation and

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Solaris 2017 India
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India
Reduction of adverse environmental impact.
The mitigation of dangerous anthropogenic climate
change is seen as important driving force motivating
increased use of RE worldwide. This study provides
an overview of the scientific literature on the
relationship between above SD goals and RE. One
must note that renewable energy sources are
constantly being replenished through natural
processes; they have security of supply. This is unlike
fossil fuels, which are negotiated on the international
market and subject to international competition,
sometimes even resulting in crisis and shortages.
Important advantages of RE may be stated as
follows:
Their rate of use does not affect their
availability in future; thus, they are, in
principle, inexhaustible.
The resources are generally well distributed
all over the world, even though wide spatial
and temporal variations occur. Thus, all
regions of the world have reasonable access
to one or more forms of renewable energy
supply.
They are clean and pollution-free and
constitute sustainable natural form of
energy.
They can be continuously harvested at low
cost and are therefore a sustainable source of
energy.
Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
returns from renewable energy projects can be
beneficial for the community, as a whole.
In India, this feature has particular relevance since
the electricity grid does not usually extend to remote
areas; indeed it is prohibitively expensive to do so.
The situation presents a unique opportunity to install
power plants in the vicinity of regions where they are
actually needed. In this manner, much needed
income, skill transfer, and manufacturing
opportunities for small business would be injected
into rural communities.
2. Power scenario in India
The average electricity consumption in India is still
among the lowest in the world at just 1000 kWh per
person per year. This is expected to grow in near
future. An increase of nearly 20,000 MW of
generation capacity narrowed the country's peak
power deficit to 3.7 % in July from 6.3 % in June
2014, according to an official data [1]. India plans to
bridge the peak deficit using a number of avenues.
Many of them rely on increasing the fossil fuel
footprint and hence indeed increase and dependence
on fossil fuels. At the same time, the Indian
government is also making serious efforts to
accumulate the growth of renewable energy sources
contribution to power. Some of the highlights of the
current power production status in India are shown in
Table 1.

Renewable energy utilization may be done at small

scale. It is therefore suitable for community
management and self-reliance. In this way, the

3. Renewable energy scenario in India

Table 2 shows the actual plants and installations for

producing power from renewable energy sources.

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Solaris 2017 India
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India
4. Estimated potential of renewable energy
sources in India
5. Energy and sustainable development in
India
Sustainable energy involves the provision of energy
services in a sustainable manner. This in turn
necessitates that energy services be provided for all
people in ways that, now and in the future, are
sufficient to provide their basic necessities. Such
measures should be affordable, not detrimental to
environment, and acceptable to communities and
people. Linkage between sustainable energy and
factors such as efficiency and economic growth
should be kept in view. Energy sector plays a pivotal
role in attempts to achieve sustainable development,
balancing economic and social development with
environmental protection (encapsulated in the strap
line for the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on
Sustainable Development of people, planet, and
prosperity) [5]. Energy is central to practically all
aspects of sustainable development. Obviously
energy is also central to the economy because it
drives all economic activities. This characterization
of energy directs our attention to its sources in nature,
to activities that convert and reconvert this energy,
and finally to activities that use the energy to produce
goods and services and household consumption.
Traditionally, energy is treated as an intermediate
input in the production process. This understanding
of energys role identifies its importance and
contribution to development. All economic activities
and processes require utilization of some form of
Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
Estimated potential of Renewable Energy Sources in
India furnished by the Ministry of New and
renewable Energy Sources is as follows:
energy. This effectively makes energy a critical
primary factor of production. Given the state of
technological knowhow, capital and labour perform
supporting roles in converting, directing, and
amplifying energy to produce goods and services
needed for growth and poverty reduction. Energy
services are essential ingredients of the familiar three
pillars of sustainable development economic,
social, and environmental. Economies that have
replaced human and animal labour with more
convenient and efficient sources of energy and
technology are also the ones that have grown fastest.
No country in modern times has succeeded in
substantially reducing poverty without adequately
increasing the provision and use of energy to make
material progress. Indeed, by not ensuring a
minimum access to energy services for a broad
segment of the population, economic development of
developing countries such as India beyond the level
of subsistence has proven to be a real challenge. At
the national level, energy propels economic
development by serving as launch pad for industrial
growth. Important areas are transport and
communication, and access to international markets
and trade. Reliable, efficient, and competitively
priced energy supply also attracts foreign investment
- a very important factor in boosting economic
growth in recent times. At local level, energy
facilitates economic development by improving
productivity and enabling local income generation
through improved agricultural development
(irrigation, crop processing, storage, and transport to
15
Solaris 2017 India
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India
market) and through non-farm employment,
including micro-enterprise development. As an
indicator of local recognition of the importance of
energy for business, Indian manufacturers, (who were
asked to rank the constraints on their firms
activities), identified power breakdowns, and voltage
fluctuations as their top two problems. Many energy
sources are drawn directly from the environment,
requiring a sound management for these sources to be
sustainable. Furthermore, energy use affects the
environment. Emissions from fossil fuels, for
example, reach beyond the local and national levels
to affect the global environment and contribute to
climate change. The poorest people often live in the
most ecologically sensitive and vulnerable physical
locations.
6. Energy and environmental impact
These areas may be the most affected ones by the
predictable effects of climate change such as
increased frequency of extreme events. Examples are
floods, drought, rising sea levels, and melting ice
caps. The risks faced by poor people are often
increased by unsustainable use of biomass resources.
The connection intimate between energy,
environment, and sustainable development is worth
highlighting. Energy supply and use are related to
climate change as well as such environmental
concerns as air pollution, ozone depletion, forest
destruction, and emissions of radioactive substances.
These issues must be addressed if society is to
develop while maintaining a healthy and clean
environment. Ideally, a society seeking sustainable
development should use only energy resources,
which have no adverse environmental impact.
However, since all energy resources lead to some
environmental degradation, an improved efficiency
and environmental stewardship can help overcome
many of the concerns regarding the limitations
imposed on sustainable development by
environmental emissions and their negative impact.
Energy is directly linked to the broader concept of
sustainability and affects all aspects of civilization.
That is particularly evident since energy resources
drive much if not most of the worlds economic
activity, in virtually all economic sectors.
Also, energy resources, whether carbon-based or
renewable, are obtained from environment, and
wastes from energy processes (production, transport,
storage, utilization) are typically released to the
environment. Given the intimate ties between energy
and the key components of sustainable development,
the attainment of energy sustainability is being
Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
increasingly recognized as a critical aspect of
achieving sustainable development. Use of renewable
natural resources, combined with efficient supply and
use of fossil fuels with cleaner technologies, can help
reduce the environmental effects of energy use and
help India replacing the existing, inefficient fossil
fuel technology that pollutes the environment. As a
complementary measure, careful management of
energy resources is important to promote economic
growth, protect ecosystems and provide sustainable
natural resources. Thus, energy sustainability must be
considered in the context of energy use in the overall
energy system. This system includes processes and
technologies for harvesting of energy sources, their
conversion to useful energy forms. Such forms of
energy to provide services such as operating
communications systems, lighting and cooking.
Reform of energy sector is critical to sustainable
development in India. This includes reviewing and
reforming subsidies, establishing credible regulatory
frameworks, developing policy environments through
regulatory interventions, and creating market-based
approaches such as emission trading. Globally,
countries are developing strategies and policies to
enable sustainable development of their energy
resources, thus contributing to economic and social
development, while reducing air pollution and
greenhouse gas emissions. The energy sector is very
strategic to the development of Indian economy. In
addition to its macroeconomic importance, it has
major roles to play in reducing poverty, improving
productivity, and enhancing the general quality of
life. If India is to take the path of sustainable energy,
it is important to accurately and technically model the
energy demand and supply scenarios and their
impacts on economy, resources, and society along
with the environment, for both medium and long
terms. From such analysis, one may derive
information that is vital for policy construction and
suitable investment. In order to ensure sustainability
of energy supply and subsequent sustainable
economic development of the country, the
government has to intensify the implementation of
renewable energy technology and energy efficient
programmes. A number of successful countries
promoting renewable energy, such as Germany,
Denmark, and Japan. A strong and long-term
commitment from the government is crucial in
implementing any kind of policies, which will lead to
the development of renewable energies, in particular,
and a sustainable development, in general.
7. Concept of sustainable development
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Solaris 2017 India
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India
Traditionally, sustainability has been framed in the
three-pillar model. Reformulated they are
development, survival and environment. They are
interconnected and relevant for sustainability [6]. The
three-pillar model explicitly acknowledges the
encompassing nature of the sustainability concept
and allows a schematic categorization of
sustainability issues. The United Nations General
Assembly aims for action to promote the integration
of the three components of SD as interdependent but
mutually reinforcing pillars. This view subscribes to
an understanding where a certain set of actions (e.g.,
substitution of fossil fuels with RE sources) can
fulfill all three-development goals simultaneously.
The three-pillar model has been criticized for diluting
a strong normative concept with vague categorization
and replacing the need to protect natural capital with
a methodological notion of trans-sectoral integration.
The relationship between energy and sustainable
development is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Relationship between energy and sustainable
development
Energy, environment and sustainable development
have deep linkage. Energy is central to any
discussion of sustainable development because it is
central to all three dimensions. In terms of the
development dimension of sustainable growth,
energy is clearly an important motor of macroscopic
sector. In terms of environmental dimension,
conventional energy sources are major sources of
environmental stress at global as well as local levels.
In term of the survival dimension, energy is a
prerequisite for the fulfilment of many basic human
needs and services, and inequalities in energy
provision and quality often manifest themselves as
issues of social justice. Figure 1 presents the
proposed triangular diagram depicting the three
essential elements of sustainable elements. One may
elaborate upon the conceptual linkages between
energy and each of the three dimensions of
sustainable development.
8. Renewable energy barriers
There are many barriers to wider use of renewable
energy resources. While they can be overcome and
have been in many countries, doing so usually
requires large, concerted, prioritized efforts. The
main constraints to the more widespread use of
renewable resources are:
Lack of information by the public, and even
many government, commercial and
Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
industrial energy officials, about the
availability, costs and benefits of renewable
energy technologies;
Lack of knowledge by project initiators and
managers of the social and energy related
needs of rural communities. They often fail
to involve communities in the design of
projects. If projects fail to meet the local
needs, such failures can impede renewable
energy application for decades.
Failure to get the prices right, particularly
distorting the energy market when heavily
subsidized traditional energy is compared to
renewable energy options and the failure to
value all resources on a life-cycle cost basis
taking into account external costs, as well.
Preference for known fossil resources over
newer renewable resources by government,
commercial and industrial officials
responsible for making energy decisions.
Discrimination against intermittent energy
sources such as solar and wind power by
pool power dispatchers, utilities and
government procurement agencies, even
though these resources are usually
available. Dispatchers often require
commitments of availability. Utilities place
unreasonable interconnection requirements
such as excessive standby rates, cost
recovery through fixed unavoidable
charges, which lengthen the payback period
to intermittent resource providers.
Government agencies often require
burdensome approval requirements for
interconnection of intermittent resources.
Huge well-financed sales forces for
traditional energy sources and frequently a
financial stake by energy decision makers
in these sources;
Paucity of sales forces for renewable
energy resources and lack of financial and
political clout to promote them effectively;
Lack of personnel trained in installation,
operation and maintenance of renewable
energy equipment;
Lack of knowledge and personnel trained in
financing mechanisms available to support
renewable energy projects;
Import duty on renewable equipment and
other barriers to foreign investment
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Solaris 2017 India
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India
generally and as related to renewable
energy resources; and
The megre amount of R&D effort and
funding being devoted to improving
renewable technologies.
Renewable energy resources require substantial up-
front capital costs, but solar, wind, geothermal and
small hydroelectric technologies achieve
considerable savings from costless fuels, low
maintenance requirements, and elimination of future
fuel price and availability risks. For technologies not
yet commercially competitive, financing of initial
capital costs is required in developing countries.
Despite this formidable list of constraints, renewable
energy is the fastest growing energy resource in India
today. The barriers listed may be overcome. Today,
small hydro, geothermal generation, biomass, wind
farms, and photovoltaics in niche applications are
well established technologically and sufficiently
inexpensive to be competitive even in providing grid
electricity in India.
9. Important challenges
The challenge consists in harnessing the resources of
earth efficiently for energy production.
The developing countries as well as developed
countries are depending on fossil fuels as the
major sources of energy, which is causing a
major demand for the oil and in the rise of the
price of these fuels.
Fossil fuels damage the environment by
releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide.
Use of firewood unsustainably is causing
deforestation and air pollution.
Renewable sources of energy can provide better
quality life to people. Urban houses and industrial
sectors have to start using renewable energy
resources. It is possible to use solar power for water
heating and to use waste for power generation
effectively in the urban areas. India has abundant
renewable energy resources. Right technology is
needed to harness it and use it for the benefit of
mankind.
10. Focus areas
To ensure sustainable development, emphasis should
be on measures to integrate the use of renewable
energy in the mainstream uses of energy. Many
governments over the world are publishing a white
paper for the optimal use of renewable sources of
Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
energy. The present trend of using environmentally
friendly (or the so called green energy) is the
response of the people to the problem of global
climatic change from environmental pollution. It is
necessary to venture into large and economically
feasible energy projects like energy from sugar bags
and agricultural waste. Energy produced from
biomass, solar, wind and hydro projects are
renewable and safe for use.
11. Energy security and development
Proper awareness among people about the use of
renewable resources and their benefits may reduce
the pressure on natural resources and environment.
The market incentives provided by government for
promoting renewable energy use make sustainable
development a reality. The white papers published
by different countries on renewable energy give lot of
information about rural areas.
Schools and clinics in the rural areas get power
from the regional distribution from renewable
resources like solar wind.
Incentives are available for setting up solar
panels for solar water heating in households as
well as for commercial applications.
Renewable energy may in general support economic
development of the whole country. Promoting of
renewable energy will cause diversification of power
supply and will bring energy security. A country will
not have to depend on others for its energy needs.
Apart from facilitating sustainable development and
living, renewable energy may promote development
in the Socio-Economic areas. Government has to
implement integrated renewable energy centres that
will help to share the technology and services to the
communities, which need support for harnessing
renewable sources of energy. A good energy policy
by government should ensure adequate use of
renewable energy to cater to the needs of the people.
Sustainable energy production will lead to the
improvement in living standards of people.
12. Significance of renewable energy and
energy technology
Energy technology is an ever-growing niche that is
primarily concerned with harnessing and production
of useful power by applying renewable energy
sources. Some of the core intentions of the modern-
day iterations of energy technology are the following:
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Solaris 2017 India
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India
Safe production of energy
Economical production of energy
Environmentally friendly production of energy
The above might appear seemingly uncomplicated.
However many parameters must work in conjunction
in order to bring about the desired results. Although
energy is available from a variety of sources, it is
difficult to harness it properly and efficiently. Energy
technology has indeed undergone through a variety of
evolutionary stages. During the onset of energy
technology, researchers were primarily concerned
about extracting energy from the fuel sources. They
were aware of the distinction between two kinds of
sources (a) renewable energy sources and (b) non-
renewable energy sources.
13. Importance of renewable energy
sources
Despite common use in various applications even
today, non-renewable energy sources are losing
favour. The application of these energy sources will
lead to increase in global warming. Currently, there is
a radical shift in the application of energy
technology. The researchers are presently focusing on
methods, which promote efficient extraction of
energy from fuel sources. Such efficient techniques
help in reversing the effects of global warming and
the ever-increasing levels of pollution.
Energy technology engineers of this generation
increasingly focus on effective proliferation of
renewable energy sources. This is because the non-
renewable energy sources exist only in limited
quantities within the planet. It is only a matter of time
before we use up all this energy. Then there will be
have no option other than applying renewable energy
sources into our daily lives. As a rule of thumb, the
practical application of energy technology occurs in
converting any form of energy into electricity. For
the sake of illustration, we may look at a simple
example. The heating of water produces steam we
can use the same steam to run turbines, which can
effectively generate electric power. In this context,
one may consider the conversion of heat energy into
electrical energy. In the same way, it is possible to
convert heat energy into mechanical energy. In the
earlier example, if one uses the steam to run a
mechanical engine, this conversion takes place.
Transporting electrical energy across large distances
is a problematic scenario for energy technology
engineers. Power plants have usually been far away
Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
from residential or commercial establishments.
Perhaps this can explain why such engineers are now
researching about feasible options such as energy
islands. A practical application of energy technology
is the installation of solar panels and wind turbines
within a premise to power the major energy guzzling
devices. These suggestions might appear impractical
to some people; however, such actions are being tried
out for real in many parts within the United States.
14. Conclusion
There are plenty of relevant examples of sustainable
technology. Only a few of them have been identified
in this study. One must inquire into the efforts made
in developed as well as developing countries, for
successful adoption of cost renewable energy. Such
adoption would reduce pollution and improve the
economy. A wide variety of voluntary programmes
have also been undertaken to this direction in many
parts of the world. Legal and financial mechanisms
for implementing them may be versatile. In
particular, it is possible to meet Indias energy needs
to ensure development by proper utilization of clean
sources. One may meet environmental needs through
such initiatives. Such efforts may bring long-term
profits. Achievement of twin goals of development
and environment protection will require determined
action and political will. The governments and
international institutions of the world are expected to
demonstrate their sincere commitment. For
developed countries and international institutions,
pursuit of these goals will require substantial increase
in input resources. Greater investment will have to be
made to ensure sustainable energy, technology
transfer, peoples education and training. For such
countries and institutions, realization of concrete
goals will also require increased attention to
elimination of barriers. Policies will have to be
devised for adoption of sustainable energy measures
on long-term basis. Institutions for creation of
conductive climate should emerge to promote
sustainable energy. Public opinion should be
educated to ensure suitable legislation that may be
support the new measures and provide the sage guard
necessary to protect the environment.
15. References
[1] Good news: India's power shortage has finally
halved from its peak ... www.firstpost.com/.../good
news-indias-power-shortage-has-finally-halved from
its peak 2-2010735.html
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Solaris 2017 India
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India
[2] Power Sector at a Glance ALL INDIA | Welcome
To Minsitry of Powerpowermin.nic.in/power-sector-
glance-all-india
[3] Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Physical
Progress ... mnre.gov.in/mission-and-vision
2/achievements/
[4] An Overview of Renewable Energy Potential in
India
Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
www.geni.org/globalenergy/.../energytrends/.../renew
able/Renewable-Energy-Potential-for-India.pdf.
[5] Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable
Development - A/CONF ...www.un-
documents.net/jburgdec.htm
[6] The three pillars of sustainability- Thwink.org
www.thwink.org/sustain/glossary/ThreepillarsofSusta
inability.htm
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Ch. RE04

Techno-Economic Analysis of Solar Driven Solid Desiccant Evaporative

System for Domestic Cooling at the Capital of Chhattisgarh

Anil Kr Tiwari1, Nishant Shukla2

NIT Raipur, Raipur, India

Mo. No. 9302508788, E-mail: nishant.24.shukla@gmail.com

Abstract: The air conditioner should control the buildings sensible and latent load properly in order to provide
the indoor comfort conditions. The conventional mechanical vapour compression system usually controls the
latent load by the process of condensation of water vapour in which air is cooled below its dew point
temperature and then reheated again upto the required supply conditions. The conditions where latent load is
dominant these two processes i.e. over cooling and then reheating again will increase the consumption of
electrical energy and emission of CO2 remarkably .To avoid this wastage of primary energy and emission of
harmful gases, desiccant based evaporative cooling system is a good alternative to traditional air conditioning
system which is cost effective as well as environment friendly. It can be driven by thermal energy which makes
a good use of solar energy which is free as well as clean In this paper work, design and thermal analysis for a
solar powered desiccant evaporative system is presented. This system will satisfy the demand of household
cooling at Naya Raipur, while using lesser power than what the present air conditioning system consumes. We
estimated the possible energy savings annually, reduction in the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere annually
in Kg (Carbon Credit) and the money saved annually. The outcome of this work showed the superiority of
performance of the proposed solar driven desiccant evaporative cooling system over currently used air
conditioning system.

Keywords: Latent load, Desiccant, Thermal analysis, Cooling of house

1. Introduction
In order to provide the human comfort indoor conditions ,the cooling requirements
should not be mentioned in terms of sensible cooling capacity (temperature control) only but
latent cooling (control of humidity) should also be included especially for hot and humid
outdoor conditions. The range of human comfort conditions is illustrated in Fig. 1 [1]
respectively. The two components of the load are described by the sensible heat ratio which is
the ratio between sensible load to the total load, that is, sensible + latent. Smaller the value of
sensible heat ratio larger the value of latent cooling load:

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Fig.1 Thermal Comfort Zone according to ASHARAE

The value of sensible heat ratio is about 0.75 for the commonly used conventional
vapour compression air-conditioning systems which means that 75% capacity of the system is
used to control the sensible load and the remaining 25% for the latent load .So, the
conventional systems can provide the comfort conditions only when sensible heat ratio is
greater than 0.75 [2].The value of designed sensible heat ratio can be significantly less than
0.75 for the hot and humid climates and which cannot be achieved using a conventional air
conditioning system and hence thermal comfort conditions cannot be achieved. Second, the
condensate coming out due to the overcooling, can evaporate back to the conditioned space
which may result in increased humidity level in the comfort zone [3]. Moreover the power
requirement for conventional air conditioning system is also high. These problems of
conventional air conditioning systems can be addressed using a technology called desiccant
based evaporative cooling. This technology is a combination of a desiccant dehumidifier and
indirect evaporative cooler. The only energy used in this system is to drive the fans ,water
pump and to regenerate the desiccant dehumidifier during the regeneration process. This
energy can be provided from any low grade thermal energy source such as solar, waste heat,
etc. The sensible and latent loads can be controlled separately in this system using a
humidistat and thermostat for the control of wet and dry bulb temperatures respectively. This
system can operate on wide range of sensible heat ratios because of the decoupling of
sensible and latent cooling loads.

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1.1 Desiccant Technology

A desiccant material naturally attracts moisture from gases and liquid. The material
becomes wet as moisture is absorbed or collected on the surface; but when heated, the
desiccant dries out-or-regenerate and can be used again. Conventional solid desiccant include
silica gel, activated alumina, lithium chlorate salt and molecular sieves. Titanium Silicate a
class of material called 1m, and synthetic polymer are new solid desiccant material design to
be more effective for cooling application. Liquid desiccant include lithium chlorate, lithium
bromide, calcium chloride and triethylene glycol solution. In a dehumidifier, the desiccant
removes moisture from the air, which release heat and rises the air temperature. The air is
then cooled by heat re-covers units and cooling devices such as evaporative cooler or the
cooling coil of a conventional air conditional. In a standalone desiccant system, air is first
dried, and then cooled by a heat exchanger and a set of evaporative coolers. This system is
free of ozone-depleting CFC and HCFC refrigerant. In most systems, a wheel containing
desiccant continuously dehumidify outside air entering the cooling unit. The desiccant is then
regenerated by thermal energy supplied by natural gas, waste heat, or the sun. A desiccant
system can also supplement a conventional air conditioning system. The desiccants remove
the humidity load while the evaporator of the air conditioner lowers the air temperature.
Fig.1.1 shows principle of desiccant cooling.

Fig.1.1. Principle of Desiccant Cooling

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1.2 Proposed Solar Driven Evaporative Cooling System:

The proposed solar driven desiccant evaporative cooling system consists of a
dehumidifier (i.e. a desiccant wheel) which uses silica gel as the desiccant material, an
indirect evaporative cooler working on M-cycle and a solar water heater as shown in Fig1.2a.

Fig.1.2a Solar Driven Desiccant Evaporative System

The psychrometric of the integrated cycle is shown in Fig1.2b. The air is first
dehumidified in the desiccant wheel(1-2) following adiabatic dehumidification process.The
desiccant material chosen is silica gel. Then it goes into the Dew Point Indirect Evaporative
Cooler working on M-cycle, where it is sensibly cooled(2-3) and then is supplied to the
room. Further, for regenerating the desiccant in the desiccant wheel the air from outside is
sensibly heated in the heat exchanger(4-5), which then goes into the desiccant wheel where it
get humidified following the adiabatic humidification process(5-6).

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Fig 1.2b Figure showing the psychrometric processes of the system

2. Methodology:

For analysing the performance of our system following calculations are required:

1. Temperature and humidity of the processed air (i.e. T2 and w2).

2. Temperature of the supplied air (i.e. T3)
3. Mass flow rate of supplied air(i.e. 1)
4. Mass flow rate of water from the storage tank(w)
Following are the assumptions taken:

1. The reactivation temperature of the desiccant wheel is 70oC(i.e. T5=70oC)

2. The effectiveness of our dew point indirect evaporative cooler is taken as 0.8.
3. The effectiveness of our heat exchanger is taken as 0.8.
4. The efficiencies of other components like pump, fan are taken as 70%.

Now for calculating the Temperature and Humidity of the processed air, Jurinaks
formulation for silica gel and air-water vapour medium [4] is used which is

(1)

(2)
(3)

(4)

Where i= 1,2,5
Here temperatures are taken in oC and humidity in kg/kg of dry air.
F1 and F2 are combined potentials
are characteristics effectiveness

Three pairs of ( ) values are selected. They were (0.05,0.95),(0.08,0.8) and (0.1,0.7),
referring to good(GDP), medium(MDP), and poor(PDP) dehumidifier performances,
respectively

For calculating the temperature of supply air through the evaporative cooler Dew point
effectiveness method was used

(5)

Supply air flow rate was calculated by energy balance i.e.

Ql = a (h2 h3) (6)

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Where Q is the required cooling load in kW

And h is the enthalpy of moist air given by

hi = 1.005Ti + wi (2501+1.88Ti) (7)

Similarly mass flow rate of water (w) required in the heat exchanger for providing the
regeneration temperature of 70oC

a (h5-h6 ) = HE w (Tw T4) (8)

Tw is the temperature of water at the inlet of heat exchanger.

4. Results:

The result presented are for a residential building having 47.471 m2 of area, located in
Naya Raipur (CG).The results are as follows:

1.Power Saving:
A 2 Ton AC power consumes 2134 Watt of energy. So for 8 hrs of operation it will
consume 17.072 kWh similarly 2 units of 1.5 ton ac consumes 26.08 kWh for 8 hrs of
operation, thus the total energy consumption is 43.152 kWh (Units)/day or 1294.56 Units
/month.

The proposed system consumes 2128.5 Watts of energy. So for 8hrs of operation it will
consume 17.028 kWh /day or 510.84 Units/month.

Thus the system saves 783.72 Units/month.

2. Coal saved and carbon credit:

1 kWh is equal to 1 unit of electricity in India. 1 unit of energy generation requires

0.73 kg of coal in India, the coal has heat rate of 2350kcal/kWh. And the calorific value of
coal used in India is 3700 kcal/kg. Hence the specific coal consumption is 0.73 kg/kWh.

The coal saved in one year due to 9003.82 kWh of energy saved is 0.73 times
9003.82. Hence the coal saved in one year if the proposed system is adopted is 6572.78 kg.

Carbon credit is defined as the amount of Carbon di-oxide which is prevented from
escaping into the atmosphere i.e. the reduction in CO2 emissions. By burning 1 kg of coal
2.86 kg of carbon-dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Hence the carbon-dioxide saved
from escaping into the atmosphere in one year if the proposed system is adopted is 18798 kg.
Therefore the carbon credit is 18798 kg.

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4.Conclusion and Discussion:

This study shows that a solar driven desiccant air conditioning can be a technically
feasible alternative to conventional air-conditioning systems. Resource energy savings of
30%-80% can be realized over a wide range of operating conditions, when comparing steady-
state performance of the proposed system with conventional systems. These results show
promise for developing energy-efficient air conditioning by extending existing state-of-the-
art technology and warrant further research and analysis. Seasonal simulations of the
proposed systems should be undertaken to establish realistic energy savings when operating
under variable loads and transient-operating conditions.

Reference:

[1] NSI/ASHRAE55. Thermal environmental conditions for human occupancy. American

Society of Heating: Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers, Atlanta, GA; 1992.
[2] Davanagere S, Sherif A,GoswamiY. A feasibility study of a solar desiccant air-
conditioning systemPart II:Transient simulation and economics. Int J Energy
Res1999;23(2):10316.

[3] Henderson HI, RengarajanK.Model to predict the latent capacity of air- conditioners and
heat pumps at part-load conditions with constant fan operation. ASHRAE Trans 1996 ;
102(1):26674.

[4] J.J.Jurinak, Open cycle solid desiccant cooling-component models and system simulation,
PhD Thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1982

[5] Alizadeh S, Saman WY. An experimental study of a forced flow

solarcollector/regenerator using liquid desiccant. Solar Energy 2002;73(5):34562.

[6] Maisotsenko, V., Gillan, L.E., Heaton, T.L., Gillan, A.D., 2002. Method and apparatus of
indirect-evaporation cooling. US6497107 B2 Patent.

[7] Dai YJ, Wang RZ, Zhang HF, Yu JD. Use of desiccant cooling to improve the
performance of vapour compression air conditioning. Appl Thermal Engng2001;21:1185
205.

[8] Mazzei P, Minichiello F, Palma D. Desiccant HVAC systems for commercial buildings.
Appl Thermal Engng 2002;22:54560.

[9] Henning H-M, Erpenbeck T, Hindenburg C, Santamaria IS. The potential of solar energy
use in desiccant cycles. Int J Refrig 2001;24:2209.

[10] Shen CM, Worek WM. The second-law analysis of a recirculation cycle desiccant
cooling system: cosorption of water vapour and carbon dioxide. AtmosEnviron
1996;30(9):142935.

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Ch. RE05

Techno Economic Analysis of Double Glazing Unit Filled with

Different Phase Changing Material for Thermal Comfort Condition at
Capital of Chhattisgarh
Anil Kr Tiwari1, Prakash Kr Sahu2
Department of Mechanical Engineering
National Institute of Technology Raipur
* Corresponding author. Tel: 7389026575, E-mail: prakash.mechengg1991@gmail.com

Abstract: In this work comparative thermal performance analysis of double glazing unit filled with different
phase changing material is presented. It is based on the original combination of many concepts of the previous
designs and analysis. Our proposed system is a combination of above concepts. This system maintains inside
thermal comfort of room and reduce the amount of heating and cooling load with lower costs than traditional
cooling system (like air conditioning system) with similar thermal quality. Our present approach consists of
substituting the ordinary window with double glazing unit filled with PCM according to suitable environmental
condition. Thus this system lowering the cost and demand of conventional energy sources. In this work double
glazing unit filled with phase changing material compatible for a house (LIG) situated in Naya Raipur has been
designed. We have estimated the possible energy savings annually, reduction in the emission of carbon-dioxide
into the atmosphere annually in Kg i.e. Carbon Credit, the cost involved, the money saved annually and
predicted the payback period. The outcome of this work showed the superiority of performance of the proposed
double glazing unit filled with phase changing material over currently used high quality conventional cooling
system (A/C).

Keywords: Phase changing material, double glazing glass window.

1.1. Introduction
An ever-increasing world population combined with a large increasing in energy demand has
led to an important environmental crisis that already shows its clear beginning. The primary
energy production, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), has increased 49%
and CO2 emissions 43% over the past 20 years [1]. Research findings have specified that
buildings account for almost 41% of the worlds energy consumption, which constitutes 30%
of the annual greenhouse gas emissions [2]. The energy production from coal and fossil fuel
is the preponderant factors for CO2 emission into the atmosphere, which is widely believed
to be contributing to global warming. It is expected that the energy demand in the building
sector will rise by about 50% in 2050, and the space cooling demand will triple between 2010
and 2050 [3]. Hence, the building envelope should be optimized in order to minimize cooling
loads in hot climates. In highly efficient-energy applications for cooling, the energy savings
potential is estimated to be between 10% and 40%.
During recent years, developing the novel technology to promote energy efficiency and
conservation in buildings has been one of the major issues of governments and societies,
whose aim is reducing the energy consumption without affecting the level of thermal comfort
in a wide range of weather conditions [4, 5].

1.1.1 Phase change material (PCM):

A Phase Change Material (PCM) is a substance with a high heat of fusion which, melting and
solidifying at certain temperatures, is capable of storing or releasing large amounts of energy.
PCMs are latent heat storage materials. They use chemical bonds to store and release the

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heat. The thermal energy transfer occurs when a material changes from solid to liquid, or
liquid to solid. This is called a change in state or phase. PCMs, having melting temperature
between 200C to 320C, were used/recommended for thermal storage in conjunction with both
passive storage and active solar storage for heating and cooling in buildings. A large number
of PCMs are known to melt with a heat of fusion in the required range. However, for their
employment as latent heat storage materials these materials must exhibit certain desirable
thermodynamic, kinetic and chemical properties. Moreover, economic consideration and easy
availability of these materials has to be kept in mind.
1.2. Methodology
Double glazing unit filled with phase changing material is shown in the figure 1. It consist of
three regions, two glass layer (Glass1and Glass 2) and a PCM layer (phase1 and phase2). The
two glass surface layer are parallel to each other .Glass1 is at outer surface which is direct
contact to atmosphere i.e. solar radiation and glass2 is at inner side of the room.Phase1 and
phase2 only shows that PCM layer when it is in solid and liquid state respectively.

Fig. 1 Layout of double glazing unit filled with PCM

The mode of operation is as follows. The external glass receives the solar radiation, where
part of it is absorbed, another part is reflected and the rest, about 80%, is transmitted to the
PCM region (initially in the solid phase), which absorbs part of the energy received and
reflects the rest, while the internal temperature remains unchanged. At the interface between
the external glass sheet and the PCM, the radiation absorbed by the PCM and the heat
conducted by the glass surface raise the PCM temperature, converting a layer of the PCM to a
liquid. This process continues until all the PCM changes to liquid, and consequently, the
internal room temperature starts to change.

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1.2.1 Mathematical model

To solve mathematical model we assume a governing equation and boundary condition. The
assumptions are as follows:

i) Heat transfer through the glazing unit is simplified to one-dimensional unsteady heat
transfer process.
ii) Radiative exchange between the two glass surfaces facing the cavity filled with PCM is
neglected too.
iii) The PCM of liquid and solid states is highly nontransparent to the long-wav radiation.
iv)The glass and PCM are considered thermally homogeneous and isotropic media, and the
thermal properties of the materials are independent of temperature.
v) The scattering effect of PCM is omitted.

A one-dimensional unsteady energy equation for glass regions is given a

T 2T
g c p,g = kg 2 +
x (1)
3
Where, = Time (s),T = Temperature (K), g = Density of glass (kg/m ), c p , g = Specific heat
of glass (J/kg K) k g = Thermal conductivity of glass (W/m K), = Radiative source term
(W/m3).

The one-dimensional unsteady energy equation for PCM region is given as

H 2T
p = k p 2 + (2)
x
Where, = Time (s),T = Temperature (K), kp = Thermal conductivity of PCM, W/(m K) p =
Density of PCM, kg/m3, = Radiative source term (W/m3),H = Specific enthalpy of PCM
(J/kg).

The specific enthalpy of PCM in Eq. (2) is calculated by,
T
H= c p, p dT + QL (3)
Tref

Where,
= 0, T < Ts
T Ts
= , Ts T Tl
Tl Ts
= 1, T > Tl
Tref = Reference temperature (K),Cp, p = Specific heat of PCM (J/kg K), QL = Latent heat of
PCM in the whole phase change process (kJ/kg), = Local liquid fraction in the calculation
region, Ts = temperatures at which the phase of PCM starts to change from solid to liquid
(K), T1 = temperatures at which the phase of PCM completely changes to liquid (K)

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The equation (1), (2), (3) are the energy equation. To solve these equations we apply some
mathematical boundary condition.
In the exterior surface, the outer glass is exposed to solar radiation and the boundary
condition at x = 0 is given as
T
k g = qrad + hout (Tout Ta ,out ) (4)
x
qrad = Radiative heat exchange between exterior surfaces of outer glass with the outdoor
environment (W/m2), hout = Convective heat transfer coefficient of the exterior surface of
outer glass (W/m2 K), Tout = Temperature of the exterior surface of outer glass (K), Ta, out =
Ambient temperature (K)

The radiative heat exchange with the outdoor environment qrad is given by

qrad = qrad ,air + qrad , sky + qrad , ground (5)

Where, q rad,sky = Radiative heat fluxes for exchange with sky( W/m2), qrad, air = Radiative heat
fluxes for exchange with air ( W/m2), q rad,ground = Radiative heat fluxes for exchange with
ground ( W/m2)

In the inner surface of internal glass near to indoor environment, the boundary condition at x
= x3 is given as
T 4
k g = hin (Tin Ta ,in ) (Tout Ta4,in ) (6)
x
Where, hin = Convective heat transfer coefficient of the inner surface of internal glass
(W/m2K), Tin = Temperature of the inner surface of internal glass (K), Ta, in = Indoor air
temperature (K), = Surface emissivity of glass, = Stefan Boltzmann constant ( W/m2K4).

In the coupled surface between outer glass and PCM, when PCM is solid or liquid, the
boundary condition at x = x1 is given as,
Tg Tp
k g + I g p = k p (7)
x x
I g p = Radiative heat flux of coupled surface between outer glass and PCM (W/m2), Tg =
Temperatures of the coupled surface of outer glass (K) , Tp = Temperatures of the coupled
surface of PCM (K)

In the coupled surface between outer glass and PCM, when the first liquid layer of the PCM
near the internal face of the external glass sheet is formed, the boundary condition at x = x1 is
given as,
Tg Tp dS (t )
k g + I g p = k p + pH (8)
x x dt
Where, S(t) = Thickness of liquid PCM (m)

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In the liquidsolid interface in the PCM region where the phase change occurs, the boundary
condition at x = x1 + S(t) is given as,
Tp ,l Tp , s dS (t )
k p ,1 + I p ,1 p , s = k p ,s + pH (9)
x x dt
Where, I p ,1 p , s = Radiative heat flux of liquidsolid interface in the PCM region (W/m2), Tp,1
= Temperatures of liquid PCM near to liquidsolid interface (K), Tp, s = Temperatures of
solid PCM near to liquidsolid interface (K), kp, s = Thermal conductivities of solid PCM
near to liquidsolid interface (W/m K), kp,1 = Thermal conductivities of liquid PCM near to
liquidsolid interface (W/m K).

In the coupled surface between internal glass and PCM, when PCM is solid or liquid, the
boundary condition at x = x2 is given as,
Tp Tg
k p + I p g = k g (10)
x x
I p g = Radiative heat flux (W/m2) of coupled surface between internal glass and PCM

In the coupled surface between internal glass and PCM, when the first liquid layer of the
PCM near to the internal glass sheet is formed, the boundary condition at x = x2 is given as,
T dS (t ) T
k p p + I p g + p H = k g g (11)
x dt x
By applying all of the above boundary condition to general differential equation, we can
calculate temperature time lag and temperature decrement factor.

1.2.2 Temperature decrement factor:

Temperature decrement factor is the ratio of the temperature waves on the interior surfaces of
the amplitude of the double-glazing unit and it is given by,

Tg ,max Tg ,min
fg =
Ta ,max Ta ,min
(12)
If the temperature decrement factor is low, it means that the impact of the outdoor
environment on the indoor thermal environment is small and the thermal performance of
double-glazing unit is satisfactory.

1.3 Results
In this modeling, the variation of temperature has been recorded on a vertical south facing
wall with double glazing unit filled with phase change material during 6 hours duration on a
sunny day on 11 AM to 5 PM. The values of outside and inside convective heat transfer
coefficient are considered as 25W/m2k and 8W/m2k respectively. Thickness of the glass and
PCM are 6mm and 50mm respectively. The cross-sectional view of wall has been shown in
figure 2.

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Fig. 2 Cross-sectional view of wall

The averaged thermo-physical properties of glass and PCM are listed below in table 1.

Melting Densiy Thermal Cond. Specific heat

Material Latent heat(KJ/kgK)
temperature(0C) (kg/m3) (W/mk) capacity(J/kgK)
Glass - 2500 0.96 840 -
RT 21(PCM) 23 875 0.2 2000 155

Table 1.Properties of glass and PCM.

The obtained data has been validated with standard published results with reference
publication [6].

ValidaJon of internal temperature

35
34
33
32
Temperature

31
30
Ta,in
29
28 Reference
27
26
25
10 12 14 16 18
Time

Fig. 3 Comparison of internal temperature with reference data[6]

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The temperature decrement factor has been obtained by various researchers in range of 0.6 to
1. In our study temperature decrement factor has been obtained using equation (12) as
0.77616 which is another evidence of validation of this work.
1.3.1 Comparison between two systems

PCM material is good alternative of conventional cooling system. Although initial capital
cost of this system is high but running cost, maintenance cost is much lower as compare to
conventional cooling system. Amount of coal consumption is reduced and therefore emission
of Carbon di-oxide (CO2) into the atmosphere is also reduced in a great extent.

1.3.2 Cost Analysis

Initial total cost involved in this system for installation is 1,37,838.73 Rs which is higher
than air conditioning system for cooling purpose 45,890 Rs.( for 2 ton AC). But for same
level of comfort average running cost of air conditioning system is 2350.3 Rs/month which is
much higher than running cost of this system. Hence cost saving per month is 2140.4 Rs
approximately.

1.3.3 Energy analysis and carbon credit

Energy demand is continuously increasing so reduction in energy consumption is important

criteria. On a monthly average basis energy consumption by 2 ton air conditioning system is
512.16 kWh. If proposed system is applied then 453.8 unit of energy can be saved per month
and also 3975.288 kg coal can be saved per year. Hence the carbon-dioxide saved from
escaping into the atmosphere in one year if the proposed system is adopted is 11369.32 kg.
Therefore the carbon credit is11369.32 kg.

1.4 Discussion and Conclusions

Conclusively in this study thermal performance of phase changing material filled with double
glazing material has been investigated numerically. This is a powerful alternative of
conventional cooling system as it acts like smart material to control indoor space
environment. It prevents high temperature fluctuation in day time and stabilizes temperature
in thermal control range. It is as effective as conventional cooling machineries with the
advantage of environment friendly as it has zero carbon emission and totally operates
independently without any external energy source. Cost analysis signifies that although the
capital cost of the system is much more because of costly phase changing material but in due
span of time approximately in 2 years cost will be covered from saving of energy and
maintenance cost. The expected life of the unit is approximately 20 years. Thus one can
easily conclude that free and eco-friendly air-conditioning for remaining 18 years can be
considered as a major advantage. Also 11,370 kg of carbon credit is being saved during long
period of environmental conditioning. Thus conclusively this unit is eco-friendly, cost
effective and low maintenance solution from conventional cooling system like air-
conditioned.

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References
[1] IEA Roadmap targets, https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/IEA
Solar HC Roadmap Foldout Print.pdf.
[2] C. Initiative, Buildings and Climate Change, 2009
http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/SBCI-BCCSummary.pdf.
[3] Transition to Sustainable Buildings Strategies and Opportunities to 2050,
http://www.iea.org/Textbase/npsum/building2013SUM.pdf.
[4] S.A. Memon, Phase change materials integrated in building walls: a state of the art
review, Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 31 (2014) 870906.
[5] M. Pomianowski, P. Heiselberg, Y. Zhang, Review of thermal energy storage
technologies based on PCM application in buildings, Energy Build. 67 (2013)5669.
[6] Zhong, Kecheng, et al. "Simulation study on dynamic heat transfer performance of PCM-
filled glass window with different thermophysical parameters of phase change
material." Energy and Buildings 106 (2015): 87-95.

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Ch. RE06
Solar Energy Utilization in Aviation Industry towards Environment
Protection
1
Dr. S. K. Doifode, 2Dr. A. G. Matani
1
HOD-Chemistry Department, Government College of Engineering, Amravati 444 604 [ M.S.]
India E-mail: shamal.doifode123@gmail.com
2
Associate Professor- Mechanical Engineering, Government College of Engineering, Amravati 444 604
[M.S.] India, E-mail: dragmatani@gmail.com
* Corresponding author: 09890798181, dragmatani@gmail.com, ashokgm333@rediffmail.com

Abstract: Solar Impulse has been a pioneering example of what is possible with solar power to prove as inspiration
that renewable energy can be a beacon of hope in this day and age. The 17-stage journey covered some 42,000km,
taking in four continents, three seas and two oceans. Solar Impulse is no heavier than a car, but has the wingspan of
a Boeing 747. It is powered by 17,000 solar cells. Its experimental design presents a number of technical difficulties,
with the airplane being very sensitive to weather conditions. The cockpit is about the size of a public telephone box,
with the pilots having to wear oxygen tanks to breathe at high altitude and permitted to only sleep for 20 minutes at
a time. During daylight, the solar panels charged the planes batteries, which make up a quarter of the crafts 2.3
tone weight. The pilot also climbed to 29,000 feet during the day and glided down to 5,000 feet at night, to conserve
power. The plane flies at about 30mph, although it can go faster if the sun is bright. The plane's wingspan is longer
than a jumbo jet but its light construction keeps its weight to about as much as a car. It typically travels at a mere
30mph (48km/h), although its flight speed can double when exposed to full sunlight.

This paper highlights the latest developments in solar energy utilization in aviation industry in various parts of the
world. This paper also discusses the enormous potential of solar energy utilization in various areas of transport.

Keywords: Capabilities of renewable energy, flying laboratory full of clean technologies, reduce emissions and
improve quality of life, scientific adventure.

1.1 Introduction

Solar Impulse wants to mobilize this enthusiasm in favor of technologies that will allow
decreased dependence on fossil fuels and induce positive emotions about renewable energies.
Solar Impulse is no heavier than a car, but has the wingspan of a Boeing 747. It is powered by
17,000 solar cells. Its experimental design presents a number of technical difficulties, with the
airplane being very sensitive to weather conditions. During daylight, the solar panels charged the
planes batteries, which make up a quarter of the crafts 2.3 tone weight. The pilot also climbed
to 29,000 feet during the day and glided down to 5,000 feet at night, to conserve power. The
plane flies at about 30mph, although it can go faster if the sun is bright.

1.2 Novel example of utilizing solar cells

Solar Impulse 2 is powered by 17,000 solar cells and on-board rechargeable lithium batteries,
allowing it to fly through the night. Its wingspan is longer than a jumbo jet but its light
construction keeps its weight to about as much as a car. Solar Impulse 2 relies on getting enough
solar power during the day to survive the night. It is also extremely light - about the weight of a
car - and as wide as a passenger jet. Both of these combined means it is extremely susceptible to
the weather. In high winds it can struggle to stay aloft at the altitudes necessary to gather sunlight
Excess energy was stored in four batteries during daylight hours to keep the plane flying after

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Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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dark. Over its entire mission, Solar Impulse 2 cruised at altitudes of up to 5.5 miles (9 km) and at
an average speed of between 12.5 and 25 miles (45 and 90 km) per hour. However in high winds,
the plane struggled to stay aloft at the altitudes necessary to gather sunlight. The aim of the Solar
Impulse adventure was not to develop solar-powered planes for widespread use, but to show the
capabilities of renewable energy.

1.3 Flying laboratory full of clean technologies

After 15 years working on this demonstration of the improvements of these technologies to

leverage this demonstration and create a world council for clean technologies. That will allow all
these experts and specialists to advise the governments and big corporations on which types of
technology to use to profitably fight climate change and profitably protect the environment. Abu
Dhabi's green energy firm, Masdar, is the official host partner of Solar Impulse 2. Oil-rich Abu
Dhabi is investing billions in industry, tourism and renewable to diversify its economy away
from oil to raise awareness of renewable energy sources and technologies with their project.
Bertrand Piccard and Andr Borschberg - the two Pilots and Founders, will continue to fly
around the world with no fuel in 2016. With their solar aircraft, a flying laboratory full of clean
technologies, they will continue to promote the use of renewable energies and energy efficiency
on the ground, for a better quality of life. To keep its power running, the plane flew above the
clouds to collect sunlight during the day, before dipping down lower at night to save its batteries.
And owing to being completely solar powered, it packed a modest top speed of just 75 km/h (47
mph). For commercial flights, where electric planes could easily land and recharge, it's likely
that solar panels won't be mounted directly on the plane itself.

1.4 The novel message of using solar energy

The record breaking solo flight of 5 days and 5 nights without fuel from Nagoya to Hawaii gives
a clear message: everybody could use the planes technologies on the ground to halve our
worlds energy consumption, save natural resources and improve our quality of life. This
message is being spread by the pilots to the general public, students, key decision-makers and
entrepreneurs all over the world. The adventure began with Bertrand Piccards vision that clean
technologies and energy efficiency can reduce emissions and improve quality of life.

Main ambition for Solar Impulse is for the worlds of exploration and innovation to make a
contribution to the cause of renewable energies, to demonstrate the importance of clean
technologies for sustainable development; and to place dreams and emotions back at the heart of
scientific adventure. The public, which gets excited about great adventures, is ready to join the
dreams of pioneers and explorers. Solar Impulse wants to mobilize this enthusiasm in favor of
technologies that will allow decreased dependence on fossil fuels and induce positive emotions
about renewable energies.

1.5 NASA develops prototype of fully electric plane

At NASA, an experiment is underway that could upend the aviation industry - A fully electric
plane. As electric cars roll out across the world -- nixing the need to pay soaring fuel prices -
NASA is looking to the skies, unveiling the X-57, or "Maxwell". Maxwell, a single-seater plane

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that bears a striking resemblance to a Cessna, uses electric propulsion rather than burning fuel.
The craft would have 14 electric motors in total, dotted on the wings. The project is part of
NASA's $790 million "New Aviation Horizons" initiative: an ambitious 10-year program to see
the replacement of the roaring, gas-guzzling commercial jetliners we use today, with a quieter,
greener alternative. According to reports of NASA, Maxwell could be on the runway within four
years, quickly followed by a series of five larger electric planes, capable of holding more
passengers and cargo. Even though Maxwell is still a prototype, NASA researchers have
achieved success on a much smaller scale, successfully testing a small electric-powered plane
called the Greased Lightning GL-10. Solar Impulse speed is just 30 to 40 mph whereas Maxwell,
on the other hand, is predicted to reach speeds of 175 mph.

1.6 Conclusions

A positive and stimulating image of environmental protection must demonstrate that the
alternative energy sources, related to new technologies, can achieve what some consider
impossible. The same clean technologies used on Solar Impulse could be implemented on the
ground in our daily life to reduce 50% CO2 emissions in a profitable way. There is now potential
for making a drone that flies extremely high in the atmosphere, and stays three to six months in
the air nonstop to do communications, observation, measurement, in complement to what
satellites are doing, or maybe taking over for satellites in a cheaper, more flexible, more
sustainable way. The Solar Impulse team plans to develop their technology for drone use now. A
ground-breaking plane has defied expectations by travelling 25,000 miles (40,200km) around the
world without a single drop of fuel.

References

[1] Anil Ohri, Jyoti Ohri, Role of Information Technology in Energy Management, Proceedings
of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2007, WCECS 2007, October
24-26, 2007, San Francisco, USA, 2007, pp.12-17.
[2] Aupy, G., Benoit, A., Dufoss, F., and Robert, Y. Reclaiming the energy of a schedule:
models and algorithms, Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience Vol. 25,
2013, pp.15051523.
[3] Dr. A.G. Matani, Effective energy conservation techniques in industries, International
Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 2, 2013, pp.21-25.
[4] Dr . A.G. Matani , Information technology improving retail marketing in agriculture,
International Conference on Marketing and Society , Indian Institute of Management
th
,Kozhikode, 8-10 April 2007, pp.185-186.
[5] Dr. Ashok G. Matani , Dr. S.K. Doifode, Effective industrial waste utilization technologies
towards cleaner environment, International Journal of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Vol. 4,
2015, pp. 536-540.
[6] Gelenbe, E., Khaled, H., and Kaptan, V., Simulating autonomous agents in
augmented reality, . Journal of Systems and Software , Vol. 74, 2005, pp.255268.
[7] Hilty, L M., Coroama, V., Osss de Eicker, M., Ruddy, T. F., and Mller, E. , The role of
ICT in energy consumption and energy efficiency, Project FP7-ICT-2007-2, ICT-Ensure. EMPA.
2009.

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Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

[8] Koomey, J., Berard, S., Sanchez, M. and Wong, H., Implications of historical trends in the
electrical efficiency of computing, Annals of the History of Computing, Vol. 33, 2011, pp. 46
54, 2011.
[9] Orgerie, A.-C., Dias de Assuno, M., and Lefvre, L., A survey on techniques for
improving the energy efficiency of large scale distributed systems, ACM Computing Surveys ,
Vol. 46, 2014, pp. 24-45.
[10] Report of Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) and Boston Consulting Group
(BCG), GeSI SMARTer 2020, the role of ICT in driving a sustainable future.
[11] Report of National Transportation Statistics. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
United States Department of Transportation. 2015.
[12] Sakellari, G., Morfopoulou, C., Mahmoodi, T., and Gelenbe, E., Using energy criteria
to admit flows in a wired network, ISCIS 2012 (Paris). Spinger, 3(2), 2013, pp. 6372.
[13] Sakai, K., and Okabe, Y. , Quality-aware energy routing toward on-demand home
energy networking, Proceedings of 2011 IEEE Consumer Communications and Network
Conference (Las Vegas, 912 Jan.) IEEE, 2011, pp. 10411044.
[14] Takahashi, R., Takuno, T., and Hikihara, T. , Estimation of power packet transfer properties
on indoor power line channel, Energies , Vol. 5, 2012, pp. 21412149.
[15] Van Heddeghem, W., Lambert, S., Lanoo, B., Colle, D., Pickavet, M., and Demeester, P.
, Trends in worldwide ICT electricity consumption from 2007 to 2012, Computer
Communications , Vol. 50, 2014, pp.6476,
[16] Word Nuclear Association report, Comparison of life cycle green house gas emissions of
various electricity generation sources, 2011.
[17] http://www.bbc.com
[18] http://edition.cnn.com
[19] https://www.theguardian.com
[20] http://news.nationalgeographic.com
[21] http://www.iflscience.com
[22] http://www.dailymail.co.uk
[23] http://edition.cnn.com

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Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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Ch. RE07

Smart grids mitigating the inefficiency in power systems towards controlling

technical and non-technical losses
Dr. A. G. Matani
Associate Professor- Mechanical Engineering,
Government College of Engineering, Amravati 444 604 [M.S.] India
Email: dragmatani@gmail.com, ashokgm333@rediffmail.com

Abstract: It is very important to plan the smart grid adoption in a systematic manner factoring in financial,
technical, and institutional requirements. With regard to the proven technologies, developed countries have faced the
challenges and lessons learned over the years can be adapted by the developing countries to their context. Adoption
of smart grid technologies is important for increased energy efficiency and renewable energy integration; and to
provide quantitative and qualitative power supply, which are in turn key for sustained inclusive economic growth
and mitigating climate change impacts arising from power sector operations

This paper highlights the latest developments in enhancing energy efficiency by utilizing smart grid technology
towards cleaner environment and efficient energy generation and utilization

Keywords: Technological advancements, high-quality electric power service, better system reliability, high
penetrations of distributed, renewable generation sources.

1.1 Introduction

Due to rapid technological developments, demand for quality and reliability, and the need for distributed renewable
energy generation, developing countries have no choice other than integrating smart grid technologies in the
upgrading and development of their power systems. The energy efficiency and the smart grid industries will see a
rapid growth as the demand grows for reducing global greenhouse emissions, increasing amounts of renewable
energy integration into the grid and rising prices of fossil fuels. Today we are witnessing a paradigm shift; with
focus on technological advancements that are not only economically viable but environmentally sustainable. With
the successful and widespread development of smart grids, countries can expect high-quality electric power service,
better system reliability, and quality of service. These maximize energy use and energy savings, and enable higher
penetration and greater use of renewable energy sources to capture environmental benefits.

1.2 Smart Grids Mitigating the Inefficiency in Power Systems

Smart grids help to mitigate the inefficiency in power systems by monitoring where energy is wasted, both from the
viewpoint of technical and non-technical losses. Non-technical losses in developing countries can often be attributed
to uncollected debt, tampered meters and inconsistencies in billing due to corrupt meter readers or illegal
connections. Power theft often contributes significantly to overall system losses in developing countries, reducing
the economic performance of utilities. They account for power losses between 15-25% in India, 15% in South
Africa, 20% in Nicaragua; the main implications are financial losses for utilities, network instability and higher costs
for honest customers. High-voltage distribution lines can help prevent illegal connections and improve power quality
and reliability. A smart metering infrastructure can help reduce further theft. Additionally, meter-based tariffs
incentivize an efficient use of electricity, which can result in considerable load reduction

1.3 Environmental Benefits / Emissions Reduction Potential

Smart grid technologies reduce GHG emissions in a number of ways.

Increasing efficiency and conservation
Enabling renewable energy integration

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Enabling PEV integration

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) of United States calculates that a national smart grid could reduce
annual GHG emissions by 60-211 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMT CO2e) compared to
business-as-usual by 2030, an amount equal to 2.7-9.6 percent of GHG emissions from electricity generation in
2009.

1.4 Increasing Efficiency and Conservation

More than half of this potential reduction in GHG emissions would be achieved through energy efficiency and
conservation measures enabled by the smart grid, such as:
** Reducing transmission losses through better management of distribution systems.
** By having a better understanding of equipment conditions through real-time equipment monitoring, utilities can
keep vital components operating at high efficiency.
** Managing peak-load through demand response instead of spinning reserves.
** Increasing transparency in electricity prices, helping customers understand the true cost of electricity. The simple
act of giving consumers continuous direct feedback on electricity use could reduce annual CO2emissions by 31-114
MMT CO2e/year in 2030 as consumers adjust their usage in response to pricing and consumption information.

1.5 Renewable Energy and Distributed Storage

Renewable generation sources have clear advantages in terms of minimizing overall environmental impacts, namely
GHG emissions. These come in the form of cleaner generation and, in the case of small residential installations,
reduced electricity delivery distance and associated line losses. However, renewable energy sources such as wind
and solar have uncertain generation schedules, making them more difficult to manage and fully utilize in an
integrated generation portfolio framework. In the attempt to reduce system wide emissions, it will be the effective
and intelligent management of these intermittent, clean resources that will define success. Smart Grid technology
infrastructure will be a key component in the ability of the grid to integrate high penetrations of distributed,
renewable generation sources. The current grid and associated energy management systems will be capable of
effectively absorbing and dispatching a certain percentage of these resources. However, as renewable energy
penetration rates increase, there will be more inherent difficulty in managing these intermittent, distributed
resources, prompting a need for intelligent management systems.

1.6 Distributed Generation Policies to Take Advantage of Smart Grids

Smart Capabilities Smart Policies

Enable higher penetration levels of clean
distributed generation
Accelerate deployment and allow
interconnected distributed generators to
operate during utility outages
Dynamically integrate distributed wind
and solar resources
Optimize voltage and reactive power on
distribution systems
Increase demand response to allow loads
to follow variable renewable energy
resources
Provide incentives for clean distributed resources, adopt best practices
for net metering, require advanced metering infrastructure to support
net metering,52 and enable excess power sales through RPS set-asides,
state PURPA policies or feed-in tariffs
Update interconnection standards and utility operations to reflect smart
grid capabilities and provide incentives to distributed resources to
provide new services for the utility system
Improve utility planning for renewable resources and support
mechanisms to reduce integration costs for example, intra-hour
scheduling
Remove barriers to utility investments that improve distribution system
efficiency for example, through decoupling, where retail customer
rates for recovering fixed utility costs are adjusted periodically to keep
utility revenue at the allowed level
Offer customers dynamic pricing options and incentives for other types
of demand response programs; provide customers with easy access to
useful energy consumption data, evaluation tools and targeted advice;
foster innovation in the marketplace for controls that automate the
customers response; and incorporate demand response in integrated

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Provide physical connection and
communication with wholesale and retail
markets
Provide timely information on each
distributed generator, including type and
availability, allow tracking for RPS
compliance and reduce tracking costs
Easier and timely interconnection of
distributed generation for exporting power
to the grid
Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
resource planning
Provide access to new markets and revenue streams for customer
owned distributed generation
Better incorporate distributed generation into energy forecasting and
RPS compliance
Provide transparent cost information and fair cost allocation for
interconnection; streamline and update interconnection study
requirements for exporting power to the grid

1.7 Conclusions

The Smart Grid will enhance efficiency by reducing the information gap between utilities and consumers via
advanced metering infrastructure and accompanying data management technologies. Consumers will be able to
conserve energy via demand-response programs and demand-side management, particularly during peak demand
periods. This will also allow utilities to smooth generation and use base load generation sources more effectively.
Smart grids are also an important element for expanding the use of other low-carbon technologies, including electric
vehicles. The smart grid promises security, control, optimization, enabling self-healing and improved interaction
with a focus on customers.

References

[1] Anil Ohri, Jyoti Ohri, Role of Information Technology in Energy Management , Proceedings of the World
Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2007, WCECS 2007, October 24-26, 2007, San Francisco, USA,
2007,pp.12-17.
[2] Aupy, G., Benoit, A., Dufoss, F., and Robert, Y. Reclaiming the energy of a schedule: models and
algorithms, Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience vol. 25, 2013, pp.15051523.
[3] Dr. A.G. Matani, Effective energy conservation techniques in industries, International Journal of Mechanical
Engineering, vol.2, 2013, pp.21-25.
[4] Dr . A.G. Matani , Information technology improving retail marketing in agriculture, International Conference
on Marketing and Society , Indian Institute of Management ,Kozhikode, 8-10th April 2007, pp.185-186.
[5] Dr. Ashok G. Matani , Dr. S.K. Doifode, Effective industrial waste utilization technologies towards cleaner
environment, International Journal of Chemical and Physical Sciences, vol. 4, 2015, pp. 536-540.
[6] Dr. A. G. Matani, Strategies for better waste management in industrial estates, Journal of Industrial Pollution
Control, 2006, vol. 22(1), 2006, pp.67-72.
[7] Diouri, M., Tsafack Chetsa, G., Glck, O., Lefevre, L., Pierson, J.-L., Stolf, P., and Da Costa, G., Energy
efficiency in HPC with and without knowledge on applications and services:, International Journal of High
Performance Computing Applications. vol.27, 2013, pp.232243.
[8] Erol-Kantarci, M. and Mouftah, H.T., Energy-efficient information and communication infrastructures in the
Smart Grid: A survey on interactions and open issues:,. Communications Surveys and Tutorials. IEEE. 2014.
[9] Feng, W., and Elmirghani, J.M.H., Green ICT: Energy efficiency in a motorway model,. Third International
Conference on next generation mobile applications, services and technologies (NGMAST '09), 2009, pp. 389394.
[10] Fettweis, G. and Zimmermann, E., ICT energy consumption trends and challenges, The 11th International
Symposium on Wireless Personal Multimedia Communications (WPMC 2008), Finnish Lapland, Sep. 811, 2008,
pp.23-34.
[11] Gelenbe, E.,Energy packet networks: smart electricity storage to meet surges in demand, Proceedings of the
5th International ICST Conference on Simulation Tools and Techniques (SimuTools 2012). ICST, Brussels,
Belgium, 2012, pp.17.
[12] Gelenbe, E., ,Synchronizing energy harvesting and data packets in a wireless sensor, Energies ,vol. 8, 2009,
pp. 356369.
[13] Gelenbe, E. and Ceran, Elif Tugce, Central or distributed energy storage for processors with energy
harvesting, Proceedings of 4th IFIP Conference on Sustainable Internet and ICT for Sustainability 2015
(SustainIT'15), Madrid, Spain, .

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Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

[14] Gelenbe, E., and Morfopoulou, C. A. , Framework for Energy-Aware Routing in Packet Networks, Comput.
J. 54(6), 2011, pp. 850859.
[15] Gelenbe, E., and Lent, R., Trade-offs between energy and quality of service, SustainIT 2012 (Pisa, Italy).
IEEE, 2012, pp. 15.
[16] Gelenbe, E., Khaled, H., and Kaptan, V., Simulating autonomous agents in augmented reality, . Journal of
Systems and Software , vol. 74, 2005, pp.255268.
[17] Gartner, Inc. Report , Gartner Estimates ICT industry accounts for 2 percent of global CO2 emissions, 2009.
[18] Hilty, L M., Coroama, V., Osss de Eicker, M., Ruddy, T. F., and Mller, E. , The role of ICT in energy
consumption and energy efficiency, Project FP7-ICT-2007-2, ICT-Ensure. EMPA. 2009.
[19] Koomey, J.G. , Growth in data center electivity use 2005 to 2010, Oakland, CA, Analytics Press, 2011.
[20] Koomey, J., Berard, S., Sanchez, M. and Wong, H., Implications of historical trends in the electrical efficiency
of computing, Annals of the History of Computing, vol. 33, 2011, pp. 4654.
[21] Orgerie, A.-C., Dias de Assuno, M., and Lefvre, L., A survey on techniques for improving the energy
efficiency of large scale distributed systems, ACM Computing Surveys , vol. 46, 2014, pp. 24-45.
[22] Report of National Transportation Statistics. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. United States Department of
Transportation. 2015.
[23] Sakellari, G., Morfopoulou, C., Mahmoodi, T., and Gelenbe, E., Using energy criteria to admit flows in a
wired network, ISCIS 2012 (Paris). Spinger, 3(2), 2013,pp. 6372.
[24] Sakai, K., and Okabe, Y. , Quality-aware energy routing toward on-demand home energy networking,.
Proceedings of 2011 IEEE Consumer Communications and Network Conference (Las Vegas, 912 Jan.) IEEE, pp.
10411044, 2011.
[25] Takahashi, R., Takuno, T., and Hikihara, T. , Estimation of power packet transfer properties on indoor power
line channel, Energies , vol. 5 , 2012, pp. 21412149.
[26] Van Heddeghem, W., Lambert, S., Lanoo, B., Colle, D., Pickavet, M., and Demeester, P. , Trends in
worldwide ICT electricity consumption from 2007 to 2012, Computer Communications , vol. 50, 2014, pp.6476.
*****************************************************************************************

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Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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Ch. RE08
Currency Notes Wastage Processing Techniques and Strategies towards
Energy Conservation and Environment Protection

1* 2 3 4
Dr. A. G. Matani , Dr. S. K. Doifode , Ankush H. Umbarkar ,Saurabh R. Sonawane ,
5
Kailas R. Dudhe
1
Associate Professor- Mechanical Engineering, Government College of Engineering, Amravati - 444 604
[M.S.] India, Email: dragmatani@gmail.com , ashokgm333@rediffmail.com
2
HOD- Chemistry Department, Government College of Engineering, Amravati 444 604 [M.S.]
India, Email: shamal.doifode123@gmail.com
3 st
M.Tech. [1 Year ] Thermal Engineering, Government College of Engineering, Amravati 444 604 [M.S.]
India, Email: ankushumbarkar07@gmail.com
4 st
M.Tech. [1 Year ] Thermal Engineering, Government College of Engineering, Amravati 444 604 [M.S.]
India, Email: saurabhsonawane@hotmail.com
5 st
M.Tech. [1 Year] Thermal Engineering, Government College of Engineering, Amravati 444 604 [M.S.]
India, Email: kdudhe74@gmail.com
* Corresponding author. Tel: 09890798181, E-mail: matani.ashok@gcoea.ac.in

Abstract : The enormous increase in the quantum and diversity of waste materials generated by human activity and
their potentially harmful effects on the general environment and public health, have led to an increasing awareness
about an urgent need to adopt scientific methods for safe disposal of wastes. While there is an obvious need to
minimize the generation of wastes and to reuse and recycle them, the technologies for recovery of energy from
waste can play a vital role in mitigating the problems. Besides recovery of substantial energy, these technologies can
lead to a substantial reduction in the overall waste quantities requiring final disposal, which can be better managed
for safe disposal in a controlled manner while meeting the pollution control standards

This paper explores the potential of currency waste utilization towards environmental protection in India.

Keywords: Currency verification and processing system (CVPS), Biotechnology in processing of shredded currency
waste, Environmental status global warming and Solid waste disposal.

1.0 Introduction

Shortly after Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Sir made his surprise announcement,
Western India Plywoods Limited (WIPL) based in Valpattanam in Kerala approached The
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for buying the shredded notes through tender and the RBI gladly
complied. Normally, plywood and similar board manufacturing uses wood pulp as a major
ingredient to make hard board, press board and soft boards. WIPL found that when 7% of
shredded currency was mixed with wood pulp and pressed together, it made excellent boards,
without compromising the strength, density or quality of the boards. And, it was cost effective as
well. RBI sold the shredded currency at the rate of Rs 250 per ton to WIPL and absorbed the cost
of transportation. That made good commercial sense for WIPL as well. Much of the old currency
notes will be now used to make plywood, and soft and hard boards. Plywood, hard board and soft
board go into making all kinds of furniture and partitions.

WIPL has the advantage of operating a 2500-KW Swedish pulping machine that is heavy-duty
and can crush and press all kinds of wood pulp and also process these shredded currency notes,

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Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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unlike other processors in the newsprint and Kraft paper industry. The use of shredded currency
in plywood panel making is a better option than using it as landfill, since the currency uses a lot
of inks and chemicals that could negatively impact the soil in the long term.

1.1 Huge Potential in Every Waste

The RBI has taken the right path of processing rejected currency in a manner that adds
commercial value and yet does not negatively impact the environment. Nice to see the
Government sees waste as an opportunity for the industry. Money may not be growing on trees,
but it certainly can be used as a substitute for wood. An Indore-based company is set to use
soiled notes for making furniture and doors. After many failed attempts to recycle waste
currency notes into eco-friendly material, Rajratan Technique and Technology, Indore has finally
cracked it. It has succeeded in recycling waste currency notes into eco-friendly sheets. These
sheets, like plywood, can be used to make doors and furniture. The eco-friendly sheets, 32 sq ft
in size, will be waterproof. The recycled board is made from the industrial waste, municipal
waste, waste currency notes etc, being used for mass applications in industrial pallets, secondary
packaging, and furniture. It is a superior alternative of wood, a depletable resource that is so
precious for our environment.

In Western Countries in particular, incineration and recycling - of both paper and polymer
banknotes respectively are strongly recommended. Landfill disposal is strongly discouraged.
Several suppliers have developed and offered solutions that may facilitate the transition to more
environmentally friendly practices. Some Governments and Central Banks have adopted best
practices. Other Central Banks have encountered problems in doing so and do not have recycling
programs in place. These banks and other entities in the same situation are encouraged to
embrace the recommendations in the manner best suited to the needs of their particular
environments.

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1.2 Energy Conservation Opportunities in Recycling of Waste Paper

Energy consumption is reduced by recycling, although there is some debate concerning the
actual energy savings realized. The EIA claims a 40% reduction in energy when paper is
recycled versus paper made with unrecycled pulp (Energy Information Administration, 2006).
While the Bureau of International Recycling, BIR, claims a 64% reduction. Some calculations
show that recycling one ton of newspaper saves about 4,000 KWh of electricity. Recycling paper
to make pulp may actually consume more fossil fuels than making new pulp via the Kraft
process, however, since these mills generate all of their energy from burning waste wood (bark,
roots) and byproduct lignin (Jeffries, 1997). Pulp mills producing new mechanical pulp use large
amounts of energy; a very rough estimate of the electrical energy needed is 10,000 mega joules
(MJ) per tones of pulp (2500 KWH per ton), (Biermann & Christopher, 1993) usually from
hydroelectric generating plants.

It is the right of the consumers to demand fresh notes. They must be at least provided with re-
issuable notes. The notes identified for disposal were shredded and made into briquettes
weighing about 100gms. The present system has not only prevented environmental pollution but
also helped in manufacturing of eco friendly products, he said. Until 2001, the soiled and torn
currency notes that were taken back were incinerated. The briquettes are sold for industrial use
through tenders. A kg of such briquettes are sold for a minimum of Rs.6. On an average, nearly
8.28 lakh kg briquettes are manufactured every year. The shredded currency is recycled into
various products, including files, calendars and even paper weights. Such briquettes are also
distributed as souvenirs to the visitors at the stalls of RBI in exhibitions. More people must come
forward to make eco friendly products using shredded currency.

1.3 Conclusions

The recent introduction of a system to provide incentives to banks for collection of mutilated
currency has also contributed to the substantial increase in the number of notes received by the
RBI. Until 2001, the soiled and torn currency notes that were taken back were incinerated. The
briquettes are sold for industrial use through tenders. A kg of such briquettes are sold for a
minimum of Rs.6. On an average, nearly 8.28 lakh kg briquettes are manufactured every year.
The shredded currency is recycled into various products, including files, calendars and even
paper weights. Such briquettes are also distributed as souvenirs to the visitors at the stalls of RBI
in exhibitions. More people are now must coming forward to make eco friendly products using
shredded currency.

The soiled notes are examined, sorted and the unfit among them disposed of under the currency
verification and processing system (CVPS). Of the segregated notes, those considered to be
worth reissuing would be given for circulation. Nearly Rs.550 crores worth soiled notes is taken
out of circulation in the Tamil Nadu region every month. Such currency notes are replaced with
fresh ones as part of the RBIs clean note policy. The recent introduction of a system to provide
incentives to banks for collection of mutilated currency has also contributed to the substantial
increase in the number of notes received by the RBI. Thus, utilization of biotechnology in
processing of shredded currency waste would help in improve in the environmental status of the

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Indian handmade paper industry besides addressing the problem of global warming and solid
waste disposal.

References

** Baird, Colin, Environmental Chemistry , 3rd Ed. ,W. H. Freeman Recycling in Ohio, 2004,
pp. 500-512.
** Biermann, Christopher J., Essentials of Pulping and Papermaking. San Diego: Academic
Press , Inc, 1993.
** Chauhan, S., Khan, M.E., Sharma, A.K., and Jain, R.K., Enzymatic Pulping of Shredded
Currency Waste : A Potential Fiber Resources for Handmade Paper Industry , Proceedings of
National Conference on Application of Biotechnology in Sustaining the Environment, Indian
th
Science Congress Association Jaipur 5-6 Feb. 2008, pp.1--16.
** Berkeley, CA the Recyclers Handbook : The EarthWorks Press 1990.
** Hershkowitz, A. . Bronx ecology. Washington DC: Island Press. 2002, pp. 62 -68.
** Jeffries, Tom, Kraft Pulping: Energy Consumption and Production, University of Wisconsin
Biotech Center, 2007, pp. -10-21.
** Jain, R.K., Sharma, A.K., Kumar, A., Khan, M.E., Agarwal, S., and Chauhan, S. Improved
Process for Conversion of SCW into Different Varieties of Handmade Paper, Proceedings of 3-
days National Level Workshop on Utilization of SCW of RBI for HMP, KNHPI at Jaipur , 14
th
16 May 2007 , pp. 23-32.
** Jain,R.K, & Sharma A.K., Indian Handmade Paper Industry Prospects & Respectness
Proceedings of the International Conference on Pulp & Paper (PAPEREX-07 ) Delhi Dec.2007,
pp. 21-28.
** Kulkarni A.G. Utilization of Recycled Fiber An Overview, Interaction Meet of
th
Recycled Fiber in paper & Newsprint 12 April 2001, pp. 12-20.
**Khandelwal A, Chauhan S, Parihar S, Dixit P, Kumar S.R. Effect of Enzyme Treatment on
Recycling of Shredded Currency Waste of RBI for Making Handmade Paper. Current World
Environment, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2011, pp. 77-85.
** Marcot, Bruce G. , How Many Recycled Newspapers Does It Take to Save A Tree.
The Ecology Plexus, 1992.
** Tandon R., Mathur, A.G. Kulkarni, Practices Prevailing in Collection Sorting and Grading of
Recovered Paper- A Comparison, 2005 , IPPTA Journal Vol.3, pp. 93-94.
** Tandon R., Thakur V.V., Mohd. H. Chisty, R.M. Mathur. and A.G. Kulkarni, Enzymatic
Deinking An Alternative Technology for Quality Upgradation of Mix Office waste, 2005 IPPTA
Journal vol. 3, pp. 51-52.
** Tandon R., R.M. Mathur, Manju Prajapati, and A.G. Kulkarni, Recovery and Reuse of Waste
Paper in Indian Paper Industry, Interaction Meet of Recycled Fiber in Paper & Newsprint
th
12 April 2001, pp. 34-45.
** Various reports published in the Times of India newspaper Mumbai edition, 2016.
** Various reports published in the Indian Express newspaper Mumbai edition, 2016.
** Various reports published in The Hindu newspaper Chennai edition, 2016.
*************************************************************************

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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Ch. RE09

Energy Audit Plan Implementation for Minimizing Energy Consumption

in Foundry Units
1,* 2
Khwaja Faiz Ahmad , Dr. A. G. Matani
1
Government College of Engineering, Amravati, India.
2
Government College of Engineering, Amravati, India.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +91 8087749022, Fax: *******, E-mail: khwajafaiz.786@gmail.com

Abstract: The Amount of energy consumed on a daily basis in a foundry unit is tremendous, resulting in high
energy consumption costs. The cost of energy represents several percentage points of the overall costs of a
foundry. The electricity demand is very high, particularly for the induction melting furnaces. The required
thermal energy input is obtained by combustion of coal needed for the process of formation of cast iron in the
cupola furnace. Moreover, energy consumption by various machines in the foundry must be considered in the
overall energy consumption of the factory. With the world facing energy crisis and the lack of attention towards
efficient energy use in industrial sector poses a great concern for the energy management teams in the industries.
For this purpose, this work is targeted at the various opportunities and possibilities of finding solutions to the
energy wastage and energy conservation in one of the foundry plant located at MIDC Amravati (Maharashtra,
India).

Keywords : Energy audit, energy conservation, foundry, shot blast machine, compressors, induction furnace.

1. Introduction
Foundry is an energy intensive industry and energy accounting is essential to determine the
amount of actual energy use and the total energy waste. A good energy management is the
key towards energy conservation and it starts with an energy audit. For a comprehensive
business strategy in any industry, an effective energy audit is a very powerful tool to minimize
the energy expenses. A similar series of energy audits were done by M. Noro et al. in their
paper "Energy audit experiences in foundries" [1] in some foundries located in Vicenza
province, Italy. Their experiences of the first facilities' surveys and audits recommendations
demonstrated both potential advantage of energy savings and the related difficulties, often due
to the high investment costs.

1.1. Types Of Energy Audit

The type of Energy Audit [2] to be performed depends
on: Function and type of industry
Depth to which a final audit is needed
Potential and magnitude of cost reduction design
A detailed energy audit provides a comprehensive energy project implementation plan for a
facility, since it evaluates all major energy-using systems. In a detailed audit, one of the key
elements is the energy balance. This is based on an inventory of energy-using systems,
assumptions of current operating conditions and calculations of energy use. This estimated
use is then compared to the utility bill charges. Therefore, the job of the experts in energy
audit is to go through the target consumption of object areas, clarify boosting possibilities and
present the measure suggestions. Also with small technical changes can achieve significant
energy savings without investments.

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1.2. The Energy Audit Process

The energy audit[1] in the foundry visited was implemented by the following actions:
a) Analysis Of The Energy Consumptions And Costs, by analyzing the energy bills of the
last 1224 months for each energy vector of the foundry (electricity, natural gas, coke,
etc.);
b) Survey On Some General Data Of The Industry, such as the number of working
days/weather data of the facility and its location, the facility layout, the type and
operating hours of the production and services plants, the equipment list (technical
characteristics and models of both process-related and general energy-consuming
equipment such as heater, chillers, air compressors, etc.)
c) Analysis Of The Energy Consumed By The Equipment. This is an important step in any
energy audit: each equipment has to be imputed by the energy consumed monthly and
annually, differentiating between process uses (melting, moulding, etc.) and plant
services uses (heating, compressed air, lighting, etc.). This stage can be performed
by calculation (on the basis of power nominal data of the equipment, operating hours
and work load factors) and/or by measuring data (using power/energy meters and/or a
data logger systems to monitor the energy consumptions or energy-related parameters
during a significant interval). Such activity needs some tools to be implemented such
as walk-through tours, audit interviews, gathering detailed data (on the manufacturing
process, the electrical supply system, the electrical motors, the heating, ventilation and
air conditioning system, the lighting system, the air compressors and the compressed
air distribution system, the building envelope and windows characteristics) and
measurement instruments (wattmeter, thermometer, voltmeter, combustion analyzer,
etc.);
d) Accounting Of Neglected Energy Consuming Points In The Industry. This is an
additional step in the energy audit studied in this paper. Unlike the audit steps
mentioned by M. Noro et al. [1] in their paper which are very much accurate, this step
is the centre point of this paper. This includes energy savings at water pump of sand
plant Mular machine, compressor of shot blast machine, cooling water pump of
induction furnace, energy use during lunch break within the office and shop floor. The
study in this paper was concentrated on these areas as they were consuming much
more energy as was necessary. These were duly noted, the data was collected ,
organized and analyzed.

2. Methodology
The method employed for energy audit and its analysis in this work is the simple process of
observing and identifying unnecessary energy consuming steps with an attempt to eliminate
them. Various processes as well as equipments in the foundry shop floor were observed and
the energy consuming points were pointed out and studied. They are mentioned as follows:

2.1. Energy Saving Of Water Pump For Sand Plant Mular

Approach to the problem:
As observed at the foundry, the sand plant mular machine's water pump was operating
continuously because the machine operator(s) was/were not aware about the operating
switches of the motor from the switch panel. If the switch is kept 'ON', the motor runs
continuously. This aspect was ignored in the foundry resulting in high energy losses.
On the other hand, if the switch is kept 'OFF' from the panel, the motor operates
automatically when mular machine starts and after providing required amount of water
to mular machine, the switch turns to 'OFF' automatically, thereby shutting down the

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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pump when not required. A huge amount of electricity was saved by such a small step.
Now with the proper instructions to all operators of sand plant mular machine, the
switch of pump is kept on 'OFF' position from panel.

Energy saving : -
Power rating of pump - 0.5 HP = 372.85 watts
BEFORE
Motor pump running time : 17 hours (approx.)
AFTER 10 hours (approx.)
Time saved = 7 Hours.
Energy consumed = power (kW) x number of working hours x multiplying factor (here
it is taken as 6)

Energy BEFORE 0.373 X 17 X 6 = 38 kWh

consumption/day:
AFTER 0.373 X 10 X 6 = 22.38 kWh

The difference between the initial and the latter values is the energy savings
i.e.
Energy saved 38-22.38 = 15.62 kWh

1 unit is 1 kWh and tariff for 1 unit of electricity [3] (industrial purposes) is Rs.
6.71/unit
Total amount saved on energy consumption per day: 15.62 x 6.71 = Rs.104.80

1.2. Energy Saving Of Compressor (5hp) For Shot Blast Machine

Approach to the problem:
For the shot blast machine, a separate 5 HP compressor was being used. At the start of
this energy audit, a trial was conducted to provide air to the shot blast machine from
the 25 HP compressors in use for the sand plant in the foundry. It was observed that
the air from the 25 HP compressors was sufficient to fulfill the air requirement for the
shot blast machine. As a corrective measure for the energy wastage at the 5 HP
compressors of the shot blast machine, it is kept 'OFF' and the required air is being
supplied by the 25HP compressor in the foundry.

Energy savings:-
Due to shutting down of the 5HP compressor of the shot blast machine, the following
data was observed:-

Running time of the compressor per day is roughly about 6 hours.

Energy of the compressor (5hp) = 3728.5 watt.
Electricity units consumed = Power (kW) x Number of working hours.
Power (kW) = 3.728 kW i.e., unit consumed = 3.728 x 6 hrs. = 22.69 kWh (approx)
22.69 kWh x 6 (multiplying factor) = 136.1 units/ day.
Total Amount saved on the 5 HP compressor per day = 136.1 kWh x 6.71/unit = Rs.
913

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1.3. Energy Savings In Cooling Water Pump In Use For Induction Furnace
Approach to the problem:
The pumps required for cooling the induction furnace were running continuously
before this energy audit was to begin. A little inspection shows that when the furnace is
not running, it takes 4 - 4:30 hrs for its cool down. This energy audit was useful to give
instructions to the operators to keep a logbook and note down time when the furnace is
turned "OFF", and after 4 hours the maintenance personnel or security switches "OFF'
the motors and also a record is being maintained for that purpose.

Energy savings:
About 3 hours were saved as found by this energy audit by properly maintaining the
running of water pump for the cooling of the induction furnace. For this purpose 3
pumps are provided which feed cooling water to furnace.

The pumps are: PUMP 1 3 HP

PUMP 2 5 HP
PUMP 3 5 HP
TOTAL 13 HP
Electricity units consumed = Power (kW) x number of working
hours Electricity consumed = 9.694 kW x 3 Hours = 29 kWh
29 kWh x 6 (multiplying factor) = 174 units/day.
Total amount saved on the cooling water pump for induction furnace per day = 174
x Rs.6.71 = Rs.1168

1.4. Energy Saving In Lunch Break Period

Every energy audit aims at reducing energy consumption to the minimum as much as
possible. Energy consumed for lighting purposes i.e. within the shop floor, office use,
lighting of lamps, fans, computers, machines, and other such miscellaneous things
consummates an appreciably large amount of electricity resulting into high energy
expenses of the factory. Energy savings during the break period is a very good
approach towards energy conservation. This 1 hour period is a non-productive period,
and hence running of machines, lights, appliances etc on the shop floor is a waste of
energy and should be shut-down for an effective energy conservation implementation
plan.
Approach to the problem:
During the lunch break, maximum number of machines is in non-productive state and
hence they were shut down. The electric load due to lighting and illumination
purposes, fan and all the air compressors as well as all the pumps were turned OFF
in the lunch break. The energy units consumed before and after this energy audit were
noted, compared and the amount of energy saved by this step was determined.

Energy savings:
A few energy readings at the main energy meter of the foundry at the start and end of
lunch break was noted:

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Lunch starts Lunch ends Energy units Remarks

12:30 PM (kWh) 1:00 PM (kWh) consumed (kWh)
471199 471222 23 Induction furnace was ON
472081 472106 25 Induction furnace and core
shooter machine was ON
473017 473039 22 Induction furnace and core
shooter machine was ON
473777 473801 24 Induction furnace and core
shooter machine was ON
474728 474747 19 Induction furnace and core
shooter machine was ON
475423 475447 24 Induction furnace and core
shooter machine was ON
476514 476538 24 Induction furnace and core
shooter machine was ON
477213 477233 20 Induction furnace and core
shooter machine was ON
478032 478056 24 Induction furnace and core
shooter machine was ON
478818 478836 18 Induction furnace and core
shooter machine was ON
Average energy consumption 22.3 kWh

The core shooter machine as well as the induction furnace (if the furnace is turned on)
together consume about 13 kWh of energy during the lunch period.

A little observation is sufficient to note the following points:

Average energy consumed in the lunch period 22.3 kWh

before the energy audit
Amount of energy consumed by core shooter and 13 kWh
furnace (which are kept running)
Amount of energy saved by turning off the lighting 22.3 - 13 = 9.3 kWh (approx.)
load and other miscellaneous loads in the lunch
break

Total energy saved = 9.3 x 6 (multiplying factor) = 55.8 kWh per day i.e. 56 units/day

Total amount saved on energy savings = 56 KWh X Rs.6.71/kWh = Rs.375.00

during the lunch period per day

1.5. Total Energy Savings In The Foundry

From the obtained data, the following implications were imminent:

52
Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India

SN Energy savings at : Energy saved per day Amount of energy

(kWh) costs saved per day
(Rs.)
1. Water Pump for Sand Plant Mular 15.62 104.8
Machine
2. 5 HP compressor for Shot Blast 136.1 913
machine
3. Pump for cooling water for induction 174 1168
furnace
4. Savings during lunch break 56 375
5. Total 381.72 kWh Rs. 2560.8

For a 26 days working month, above energy savings amount to up to Rs.2560 x 26 days =
Rs. 66,580/-

2. Results And Conclusion

Even a small reduction in the energy consumption of an energy intensive industry
such as a foundry is highly appreciable. A proper energy audit was able to save about 382
kWh of electricity amounting to about Rs.67000/- per month. This was equivalent to about
another month's energy consumption value of the foundry. As the data in this audit varies
with the energy requirements of the foundry every month, the results depend on the energy
consumption. Another proposal to further increase the energy conservation in the foundry,
measures to utilize the solar power for lighting purposes in the office area can further
significantly bring down the energy requirements of the foundry.

References:
[1] M. Noro , R. M. Lazzarin ,(2016), Energy audit experiences in foundries International
Journal of Energy Environment Engineering 7(3), pp. :409423
[2] M.S. Prashanth et al. / Procedia Engineering (2014), A multi faceted approach to energy
conservation in foundries, pp. 1815 1824 .
[3] Press note : retail electricity tariff of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution
Co.Ltd.(Mahavitaran)
http://www.mercindia.org.in/pdf/Order%2058%2042/Press%20Release%20-
%20MSEDCL%20Tariff%20Order-%20English-03112016.pdf
[4] Dr. S. K. Doifode, Dr. A. G. Matani,(2015), Effective industrial waste utilization
technologies towards cleaner environment, International Journal of Chemical and Physical
Sciences, 4(2), 2015, pp. 536-540.
[5] Dr. A. G. Matani, Dr. S. K. Doifode, , A.D. Bhishnurkar (2015), Effective shop floor
utilization towards minimizing delay and transportation in manufacturing, International
Journal of Research in Advent Technology, 3(5), May 2015,pp.144-147.
[6] Dr. S. K. Doifode, Ankush D. Bhishnurkar, 2015, Production management manufacturing
excellence in Indian auto sector: challenges & solutions enhanced agricultural productivity
with improved rotavator design towards cleaner environment, International Journal For
Administration in Management, Commerce and Economics, 3(2), pp. 164-168.

************************************************************************

53
Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

Ch. RE10

Evaluation of hourly solar radiation model by ASHRAE model

Seraj Ahmad1, Jamil Ahmad2
Mechanical Engineering Department

AMU, Aligarh, India

1
Tel: +919807651317, E-mail: serajlko4@gmail.com
2
Tel:+919411208421, E-mail: jamil.amu@gmail.com

Abstract: In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop a new model to evaluate the hourly solar radiation
for moderate climate of Bangalore. The comparison of hourly solar radiation has been carried out by using
ASHRAE model. The root mean square error (RMSE) and Mean bias error (MBE) have been used to compare
the accuracy of this model. Hourly solar radiation estimated by constants obtained by new model (modified
ASHRAE model) for climate of Bangalore is fairly comparable with measured data.

Keywords: Solar radiation; Beam radiation and Diffuse radiation

Nomenclature
I hourly global radiation on the horizontal
surface ................................................ W/m2
Id hourly diffuse radiation on the horizontal
surface ................................................ W/m2
IN normal terrestrial beam solar radiation at
the ground level .................................. W/m2
z zenith angle ...................................... degree
LAT local apparent time........................... degree
ST standard time ........................................... hr
STL Standard time latitude ..................... degree
ET Equation of time correction .................. min
n day of the year, starting from 1st January
l longitude of the location .................. degree
Ii,pre ith predicted value of solar radiation W/m2
Ii,obs ith observed value of solar radiation .. W/m2
N total number of observations ......................

1. Introduction
Solar radiation available on the Earth's surface depends on local climatic conditions. A
knowledge of monthly-mean daily global and diffuse radiation on horizontal surface is
essential to design solar energy devices. Further, there is a need to have a knowledge of
hourly solar radiation on horizontal surfaces for better performance of solar energy devices.
Hourly values of solar radiation enable us to derive very precise information about the
performance of solar energy system. Such hourly data is useful for engineers, architects and
designers of solar systems to make effective use of solar energy.

The hourly solar radiation calculated for different locations in India by ASHRAE
model predicts higher beam radiation and lower diffuse radiation. This may be due to the fact
that the ASHRAE model have been developed for clear sky condition of USA. Nijegorodov
has modified the values of empirical coefficients of ASHRAE model valid only for climatic
conditions of Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

The objective of the present study is to develop a new model based on ASHRAE
for clear sky conditions to estimate hourly global (I) and diffuse (Id) radiation on a horizontal
surface. The analysis has been done for the clear sky of Bangalore.

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Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

2. ASHRAE Model
By using ASHRAE model, the hourly global radiation (I), hourly beam radiation in direction
of rays (IN) and hourly diffuse radiation (Id) on the horizontal surface on a clear day are
calculated by using the following equations:

I = I N cos z + I d (1)

I N = A exp[ B / cos z ] (2)

I d = CI N (3)

where the A, B and C are constants.

z is the zenith angle, which depends upon the latitude of the location ( ), hour angle ( )
and solar declination ( ), and is evaluated from the following equation :

cos z = sin .sin + cos .cos .cos (4)

Further, solar declination ( ) is obtained from

= 23.45sin[360.(284 + n) / 365] (5)

The hour angle ( ) is an angular measure of time and is equivalent to 15 per hour. It is
measured from noon-based local apparent time (LAT) from the following equation

= 15.0(12.0 LAT ) (6)

LAT value is obtained from the standard time (ST) by using the following relation

LAT = ST + ET 4.(STL l ) (7)

where STL is standard meridian for the local time zone (For India, its value is 81054), l is the
longitude of the location and E is the Equation of time correction (in minutes) given as
E = 229.2(0.000075 + 0.001868cos B 0.032077sin B 0.014615cos 2 B 0.04089sin 2 B)
where B = (n 1)360 / 365 and n = nth day of the year.
We have also calculated constants A, B of Eqn (2) for moderate climate of Bangalore.
The results are given in Table 1

3. Present Model
It is based on the ASHRAE Model described above. Since the evaluated constants A, B and C
in Eqs (2) and (3) are not validating the data for moderate climate of Bangalore, hence it
requires modifications. The expressions for hourly global and radiation are same as Eqs (1)

55
Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

and (2). The values of constants A and B have been revised by using regression analysis of
the solar radiation data.

The expression for hourly diffuse radiation has been modified to give more accurate results
and it is given by

I d = CI N + D (8)

where C and D are constants whose values have been determined from regression analysis of
solar radiation data. In this case the constants A, B, C and D have been evaluated for
moderate climate of Bangalore.

4. Statistical method used

There are numerous statistical methods available in solar energy literatures which deal with
the assessment and comparison of solar radiation estimation models. In the present study
statistical indicators, namely root mean square error (RMSE) and mean bias error (MBE) have
been used.
4.1 Root mean square error:
The root mean square error is defined as
1/2
100
% RMSE =
Gm
{(
2
I i , pre I i ,obs ) / N
} (9)

I I
where i , pre is ith predicted value, i ,obs is ith observed value, N is total number of observations
and Gm is mean of N measured values. The RMSE is always positive, a zero value is ideal.
This test provides information on the short-term performance of the models by allowing a
term by term comparison of actual deviation between the calculated value and the measured
value. However a few large errors in the sum can produce a significant increase in RMSE.
4.2 Mean bias error
The mean bias error is defined as

100
% MBE = ( I i , pre I i ,obs ) / N (10)
Gm

This test provides information on the long-term performance. A low MBE is desired. Ideally a
zero value of MBE should be obtained. A positive value gives the average amount of over-
estimation in the calculated value and vice versa. One drawback of this test is that over-
estimation of an individual observation will cancel under-estimation in a separate observation.

5. Results and discussion

The constants of ASHRAE model have been used to estimate the IN and Id for moderate
climate of Bangalore. The RMSE and MBE of hourly beam radiation and hourly diffuse
radiation for each month is given in Tables.

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Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

ASHRAE model produces root mean square error (RMSE) of 37.2% to 17% while
predicting hourly beam radiation and 55.68% to 28.26% while predicting hourly diffuse
radiation (Table 2). It yields mean bias error (MBE) of 35.56% to 14.9% while predicting
hourly beam radiation and -52.1% to -22% while predicting hourly diffuse radiation (Table
2). In order to have more accurate prediction, ASHRAE model is required to be modified for
Bangalore climate.

Present model (which is modification of ASHRAE model) produces root mean

square error (RMSE) of 16.3% to 2.32% while predicting hourly beam radiation and 26% to
2.4% while predicting hourly diffuse radiation. It yields mean bias error (MBE) of 7.13% to
0.29% while predicting hourly beam radiation and 2.8% to zero % while predicting hourly
diffuse radiation.

Figs. 1 give hourly variation in observed and predicted beam radiation using
ASHAE models for typical months of January (winter) for weather types a only. Figs. 2 give
hourly variation in observed and predicted beam and diffuse radiation using new constants for
typical months of January (winter) for weather types a only.

For new constants the evaluated values of percentage root mean square error
(RMSE) and percentage mean bias error (MBE) for beam radiation have been given in Table
2 for each month and a type of weather.
For new constants the evaluated values of percentage root mean square error (RMSE)
and percentage mean bias error (MBE) for diffuse radiation have been given in Table 2 for
each month and a type of weather. The new constants generally give better results for clear
sky conditions of Indian regions. The low MBEs are particularly remarkable. Therefore, their
use is recommended for moderate climate of Bangalore.

Table1: Evaluated new values of A, B, C and D for (a) weather type a at Bangalore for modified
ASHRAE model.

Month A B C D

Jan 1168.3 .2337 .1702 -25.53

Feb 1161.9 .3217 .2005 -17.16
Mar 1201.7 .2874 .224 -59.52
Apr 1331.3 .358 .1666 9.22
May 1133.6 .355 .1842 20.61
Jun 1020.6 .3587 .1981 26.61
Jul 1087.3 .4181 .1817 31.62
Aug 1017.9 .3802 .1766 29.52
Sep 1095.2 .3255 .0844 71.30
Oct 907.1 .1644 .1233 43.65
Nov 920.3 .1145 .1117 34.94
Dec 925.2 .1126 .2444 -81.05

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Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

Table 2: Percentage RMSE and MBE between predicted results and measured monthly mean hourly
observed value for Bangalore using ASHRAE model and Modified ASHRAE model.

ASHRAE MODEL MODIFIED ASHRAE MODEL

Beam Diffuse Beam Diffuse

Radiation Radiation Radiation Radiation

JAN RMSE 22.08 50.25 2.32 4.75
MBE 21.58 -46.91 -.29 -.003
FEB RMSE 26.24 55.68 7.59 2.42
MBE 25.45 -52.18 -6.83 .02
MAR RMSE 18.05 51.68 4.97 5.16
MBE 17.31 -47.71 -.52 .02
APR RMSE 17.02 41.03 9.95 6.66
MBE 14.99 -38.54 7.13 2.84
MAY RMSE 19.19 32.94 6.07 6.66
MBE 18.23 -31.35 -.97 -.02
JUN RMSE 30.16 38.16 10.22 26.43
MBE 28.17 -26.84 -1.37 .01
JUL RMSE 31.20 30.08 8.17 19.00
MBE 29.91 -22.33 -.64 -.009
AUG RMSE 37.19 28.26 9.37 12.12
MBE 35.56 -24.74 -.87 -.01
SEP RMSE 27.64 43.45 14.55 23.01
MBE 24.19 -36.79 -2.92 0.2
OCT RMSE 29.19 49.93 15.50 12.47
MBE 26.60 -48.31 -4.34 .002
NOV RMSE 24.51 54.23 13.51 18.93
MBE 21.02 -50.81 -3.67 -0.02
DEC RMSE 25.32 45.51 16.31 10.00
MBE 20.71 -41.72 -4.94 -.02

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Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

Fig 1 Variation of beam radiation with time for January using ASHRAE model

Fig 2 Variation of beam radiation with time for January using new constants

6. Conclusion and recommendation

ASHRAE model can be applied to estimate the hourly beam radiation for climate of
Bangalore by assigning new values to constants A and B. Moreover, to estimate hourly
diffuse radiation for climate of Bangalore, one more constant D has been introduced. By
assigning new values to constants C and D, more accurate prediction of diffuse radiation can
be made. The new values of constants A,B, C and D for each month and weather conditions
(types a) are given in Table 3 which can be used to generate the hourly beam radiation data

59
Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

for Bangalore. The present studies should be extended to the other climatic conditions of
India.
As indicated in Table 5 that almost all MBEs are close to zero for the a types of
weather conditions. It may be due to the fact that the model development and model
validation were conducted using the same database (11-year measured data). It is suggested
that independent sets of measured data should be used for the model evaluation for future
work.

References
1. American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers, ASHRAE
Applications Handbook (SI ,1999.
2. Nijigorodov, N., Improved ASHRAE model to predict hourly and daily solar radiation
components in Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, WREC, 1996, 1270.
3. Machler, M.A. and Iqbal, M., A modification of the ASHRAE clear sky irradiation model,
ASHRAE Transactions 1985, 91 (1a), 106.
4. Parishwad, G.v.,Bhardwaj, R.K., and Nema, V.K., Estimation of hourly solar radiation for
India, Renewable Energy, 1997, 12(3), 303.
5. Duffie J.,A, Beckman, W.,A, Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, 3rd edition; Wiley,
1991.
6. Tiwari G.N. Solar Energy: Fundamentals, Design, Modeling and Applications, Narosa
Publishing House, 2004.

60
Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India

CHAPTER 2
PHOTOVOLTAICS
_____________________________________________________________________________
Ch. PV01

Effect of defects in the performance of mono-crystalline silicon PV modules

after long term outdoor exposure in composite climate of India
Pramod Rajput1,*, G.N. Tiwari1, O. S. Sastry2
1
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauzkhas, New Delhi 110016, India
2
National Institute of Solar Energy, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, New Delhi, 110003, India
* Corresponding author. Tel: +919953971914, E-mail: pramodraj.rajput3@gmail.com

Abstract: Performance evaluation of photovoltaic (PV) module is an important to know about the reliability and
lifetime prediction during the outdoor exposure. In the present study performance of mono-crystalline silicon (sc-Si)
PV modules after 22 years of outdoor exposure has been evaluated in a composite climate of India. The main defects
are observed through visual inspection of PV modules: chalking of backsheet, corrosion in solder bonds (busbar, cell
interconnection ribbon and string interconnection ribbon), discoloration of encapsulant, decrease of insulation
resistance and hot spot etc. The current voltage (I-V) characteristic has been performed in outdoor condition to
quantify the reduction of electrical parameters. The degradation rate in maximum power (Pmax) is found to be
1.9%/year, which is closely related to Isc 1.8%/year, followed by Voc 1.4%/year and FF 0.9%/year.

Keywords: Photovoltaic, monocrystalline silicon, defect, degradation

Nomenclature
PV Photovoltaic KWp - Kilo watt peak

sc-Si - Mono-crystalline silicon Isc - Short circuit current

mc-Si - Multi-crystalline silicon Voc - Open circuit voltage

IEC - International Electro technical commission Pmax - Maximum power

STC - Standard Test Condition Wp - Watt peak

FF - Fill factor mp Maximum point

61

ARC alternating reporting condition v Temperature coefficient of voltage

I Temperature coefficient of current

Introduction
To assess the lifetime of PV module, it is an important to know about the performance and
degradation modes of PV module in real outdoor condition. The performance of different
technologies in PV module is affected by the different defects, which occurs during real operating
conditions and make adverse effect on the PV module [1]. The different defects, change the
performance of the PV module in a dissimilar way [2]. However, the performance of PV module
affected by change in packaging material, solder bond failure, change in electrical parameters,
moisture ingress etc. [3,4]. In context, Chandel et al. (2014) reported 1.4%/year degradation rate
of power in the Western Himalaya, India in sc-Si PV module after 28 years of outdoor exposure
[5]. Further, 1.17%/year power degradation has been observed in sc-Si PV module in Tilonia,
India [6]. In context, 1.24%/year degradation in power has been reported by Jordan et al., for
various technologies PV modules [7]. The long-term reliability of the PV module can be studied
from the degradation mechanism in outdoor operating conditions. The reliability issue and
performance degradation may be caused by packaging materials, semiconductor degradation,
solar cell interconnection, adhesion losses [8]. Som and Al-Alawai [9], have studied an effect of
degradation on () sc-Si based PV modules and (ii) mc-Si based PV modules. They observed that
sc-Si PV modules degraded fast in comparison to the mc-Si in one year due to severe corrosion.
The correlation of the visual defects and the shifts in the electrical parameters was analysed by
Sanchez-Friera et al. [10]. Further, it was reported that glass weathering, delamination at the cell-
EVA interface and oxidation of the antireflective coating and the cell metallization grid were the
most frequently occurring defects.

2. Experimental setup

The 3.6 kWp standalone PV system was installed at the roof of the guest house of National
Institute of Solar Energy formally kwon as the (Solar Energy Centre) during 1992. The system
composed 9 strings, every string consisted 10 PV modules. The PV module represents the 1990s
sc-Si technology PV module. The system is used to catering the load of guest house components
such as Fan, TV, and LED etc. The configuration of representing PV modules has been
represented in Table 1.

62

3. Methodology
To assess the reliability and degradation of PV modules, visual inspection is the first procedure to
identify the cause of performance degradation. We have observed deterioration of 5 PV modules
after 22 years of long term outdoor exposure as shown in Fig. 1. The details of 5 PV modules
degradation have been shown in Table 2. To quantify the electrical performance degradation by I-
V characteristics has been performed by the procedure IEC 60891 [11].
(1)
(2)
(3)

The percentage degradation rate after 22 years exposure of the electrical parameters like output
power (Pmax), short-circuit current (Isc), open circuit voltage (Voc) and fill factor (FF) has been
calculated with the help of two data point (1) name plate of the PV module (initial data) and (2)
after 22 years measurement (final data).

Rate of degradation ( )= (4)

4. Result and discussion
This section presents the defects and their effect on the performance of PV module after 22 years
of continuous outdoor exposure.

Module B-293 show the bubbles and delamination in back sheet and corrosion in the solder
bonds, however, the solder bond corrosion found to be in all PV modules. The electrical
parameters show the 50%, 5% and 20% losses in Pmax, Voc and Isc, which results also shown in I-
V characteristic curve as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. However Voc is not deteriorated.

63

 Fig
ure 1. (a) Corrosion in cell interconnection ribbon (b) Hot spot in sc-Si PV module (c)
Delamination in the backsheet of PV module (d) Bubbles in the backsheet

The reason is that these defects increase the series as well as the shunt resistance. Module B-625
shows the wrapping of the back sheet due to aging effect and moisture ingress through back
sheet. Which reported the degradation of Pmax, Voc and Isc as 70%, 10% and 40% respectively.
This attribute to overheating of PV module in harsh environment condition and moisture ingress
through back sheet. Module D-36733 display hot spot in solar cell resulting 20%, 5% and 20%
reduction in Pmax, Voc and Isc respectively. The defect is the cause of low shunt resistance, faulty
cell and bypass diode failure. The shunt resistance directly effects the Isc degradation. Moreover,
accelerating aging also deteriorate the solar cell. Module B-916 display the higher degradation in
electrical parameters as 80%, 10% and 60% in Pmax, Voc and Isc. In this module higher percentage
of corrosion in solder bond, delamination in back sheet and wrapping of back sheet has been
observed. The reason is that the back sheet is older material during the 1990 century. The
conductivity of back sheet is low due to moisture ingress and delamination. Effect of different
defects and their mechanism has been reported by Tamizhamani et al. [1] as shown in Table 3.
B-233 shows the bubbles in back sheet, which occurs due to overheating, moisture ingress and
failure of the adhesive at particular areas of the back sheet. The losses in electrical parameters
following bubbles are 20%, 5% and 40% in Pmax, Voc and Isc respectively. In context, power
degradation rate in sc-Si PV module has been reported by researchers at worldwide.
Chattopadhyay et al., [6] found to be 1.17%/year power degradation in Tilonia in India after 28
years outdoor exposure of sc-Si PV module. Similarly, Chandel et al., [5] reported 1.4%/year
power degradation in sc-Si PV module, which is closely related to present study 1.9%/year
64

degradation. Degradation in maximum power is closely related to Isc degradation, followed by the
stable value of FF and Voc.
B-293
B-625
D-36733
2.5 B-916
B-233

2.0

1.5
Current (I)

1.0

0.5

0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Voltage (V)

Figure 2. I-V characteristics at STC condition (1000 W/m2, AM 1.5 and cell temperature 250C)
B-293
2.5 B-625
D-36733
B-916
B-233
2.0

1.5
Current (I)

1.0

0.5

0.0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Voltage (V)

Figure 3. I-V characteristics at measured outdoor conditions

65

Table 1: Specification of representative modules:

PV module Specifications

Type of material sc-Si

Area of PV module 0.45 m2

Area of solar cell 95 cm2

Number of solar cells in a module 36 nos.

Maximum power (Pmax) 40 Wp

Maximum power voltage (Vmax) 16.2 V

Maximum power current (Imax) 2.47 A

Open circuit voltage (Voc) 21.1 V

Short circuit current (Isc) 2.70 A

Fill factor 70 %

Table 2 observed visual defects and measured values for irradiance, module temperature and maximum

power degradation in outdoor operation.

66

Module Degradation modes detected Irradiance Module Power
in modules (W/m2) temperature maximum
(0C) (Wp)

B-293 Bubble, delamination, 944 61.9 16.8

corrosion in solder bonds

B-625 Corrosion in solder bonds, 920 62.9 9.9

wrapping of backsheet

D-36733 Corrosion in solder bond, 786 53.5 21.8

hotspot

B-916 Corrosion of solder bond, 944 58.6 6.6

wrapping of the back sheet,
delamination

B-233 Bubble in backsheet, 958 60.5 25.1

corrosion in solder bond

Table 3. Failure mode, failure cause, failure effect and mechanism

Failure Mode Failure Cause Failure Effect Failure Mechanism

Solder bond Thermal expansion Decrease the power Thermo-mechanical

and contraction of within warranty fatigue
failure busbar, gridline, cell limits due to increase
interconnection the resistance.
ribbon and string
interconnection Burn of backsheet
ribbon behind the solder
bond failure

Hotspots Thermal expansion Encapsulant Thermo-mechanical

of interconnection or discoloration, fatigue or purely
solder bonds, decrease in power, electrical
Shadowing, faulty shattered glass
cell, low shunt
67

 resistance cell and
failure of bypass
diode

Broken cell During Broken in cell length Thermo-mechanical

transportation, and chipping in fatigue
difference in thermal active cell area result
expansion, in a small power
contraction of cell drop not module
components, thinner failure
cells

Soiling Low tilt angle of Transmission loss Strongly adhering

module and reduce and gradual
current/power, but hardering of soil
may not be affecting layer on superstrate
fill factor or weakly adhering
and rain/wind

Encapsulant Sensitivity of Moisture ingress, Interface bonds

delamination adhesive bonds to Enhanced breakage due to UV
ultraviolet light at encapsulant and temperature
higher temperature conductivity and
or to humidity in the interface
field, poor adhesive conductivity
bond at the interface
during processing

Conclusions
The following conclusions made on the basis of the present study. The degradation study of sc-Si
PV modules has been completed after long term aging effect in composite climate of India. The
study reveals the high temperature exposure, moisture and effect of soiling , which attribute to the
visual defect occurred in PV modules such as corrosion, hot spot, bubble and delamination in
back sheet are most prominent defects. These defects are responsible for degradation of electrical
parameters Pmax, Isc and Voc. The present study also reveals that the same technology PV modules
do not show the same behavior in different climatic conditions.

68

References
[1] Tamizhmani G, Kuitche J. Accelerated lifetime testing of photovoltaic modules 2014
<www.solarabcs.org>
[2] Munoz MA, Alonso-Garcia MC, Vela N, Chenlo F. Early degradation of silicon PV modules
and guaranty conditions Solar Energy 2011; 85, 22642274
[3] Quintana MA, King DL, McMohan TJ, Osterwald C. Commonly observed degradation in
field-aged photovoltaic modules 2002 In: Proc. 29th IEEE Photovoltaic Spec. Conf. New
Orleans, pp. 14361439.
[4] Ndiaye A, Kebe CMF, Charki A, Ndiaye PA, Sambou V, Kobi A. Degradation evaluation of
crystalline-silicon photovoltaic modules after a few operation years in a tropical
environment. Solar Energy 2014; 103, 7077.
[5] Chandel SS, Naik MN, Sharma V, Chandel R. Degradation analysis of 28 year field exposed
mono-C-Si photovoltaic modules of a direct coupled solar water pumping system in western
Himalayan region of India. Renewable Energy 2015, 78; 193-202.
[6] Chattopadhyay S, Dubey R, Kuthanazhi V, John JJ, Solanki CS, Kottantharayil A., Arora
BM, Narasimhan KL, Kuber V, Vasi J, Kumar A, Sastry OS. Visual Degradation in Field-
Aged Crystalline Silicon PV Modules in India and Correlation with Electrical Degradation.
IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics 2014; 4:1470-1476.
[7] Jordan, DC, Kurtz, SR. Photovoltaic degradation rates-an analytical review. 2013 Prog
Photovolt Res Appl, 21:12e29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ pip.1182.
[8] Quintana MA, King DL, McMohan TJ, Osterwald C. Commonly observed degradation in
eld-aged photovoltaic modules. 2002 In Proc. 29th IEEE Photovoltaic Spec. Conf. New
Orleans, 14361439.
[9] Som AK, Al-Alawai SM. Evaluation of efficiency and degradation of mono- and
polycrystalline PV modules under outdoor conditions. 1992 Renewable Energv, 85-91.
[10] Sanchez-Friera P, Piliougine M, Pelaez J, Carretero J, Cardona MS. Analysis of degradation
mechanisms of crystalline silicon PV modules after 12 years of operation in Southern
Europe. Progress in Photovoltaics. Research and Applications 2011; 19, 658666.
[11] Photovoltaic devices IEC 60891, 2009. Procedures for temperature and irradiance corrections
to measured I-V characteristics.

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Ch. PV02
Improved Analytical Model for Electrical Efficiency of
SemiTransparent Photovoltaic (PV) Module

Abhishek Tiwaria, Parijat Mathura, Namrata Agraharib, G.N. Tiwarib

a
University School of Information and Communication Technology, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University ,Sector 16C,Dwarka,N ew Delhi,
Delhi-110078

b
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi,Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016

Abstract: Based on the energy balance of Semi-transparent Photo Voltaic Module, an improved
analytical expression for solar cell electrical efficiency ( ) and solar cell temperature ( ) have
been derived. Numerical computations have been carried out for New Delhi climatic condition
for all weather conditions. It has been observed that there is an increase of 0.97% in electrical
efficiency of solar cell for New Delhi climatic condition in comparison with the results of
previous proposed model.

Nomenclature

Ambient temperature (Kelvin) : Transmittivity of glass

Heat loss coefficient from the bottom (W/m2) : Solar intensity (W/m2)

: Heat loss coefficient from the top (W/m2) : Length of glass (m)

: Solar cell efficiency at standard test : Thermal conductivity of glass (W/mK)

conditions (STC)
Area of module (m2)
: Packing factor of cell
: Overall top loss heat transfer coefficient
: Room temperature (Kelvin)
(W/m2K)
Absorption factor
: Overall bottom loss heat transfer coefficient
(W/m2K)

1. INTRODUCTION

Energy is the critical component that drives the economy of a nation and the energy consumption
is an indicator of a nations development. The electrical energy is a major need and fulfillment
of 247 power promise by the government of India is a daunting task. India is endowed with vast
solar energy and solar power in India is a fast growing industry. As of August 2016, the forecast

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for photovoltaic solar installations stands at approximately 4.8 GW (Gigawatt) in the calendar
year 2016. Indias solar projects underway stood at approximately 21 GW with about 14 GW
under construction. The government of India has set an ambitious task of expanding solar
capacity of 100 GW at an investment of around US $100 billion. The installed photovoltaic
modules can be used to fulfill two purposes namely, electrical energy generation and thermal
energy harvesting. In this paper we are mainly focused on electrical energy aspect of
photovoltaic module. Some of the advantages associated with solar energy are low maintenance
cost, environment friendly, CO2 mitigation etc. Crystalline silicon(c-Si) was the first material
used for giving practical solar cell [1]. The photovoltaic modules in northern hemisphere are
placed south oriented, having inclination for horizontal surface equal to latitude of system station
[2-4]. So, all the modules are considered to be south oriented in India at an angle of 30 0 with the
horizontal. The annual solar radiation intensity, annual power output and electrical efficiency
have been computed for clear day weather condition for New Delhi climatic condition [5].

Dubey et al. (2013) for the first time developed the expression for electrical efficiency of
photovoltaic module ( ). The assumption behind the expression is that electrical efficiency of
solar cell ( ) is considered to be constant for cell temperature ( ).In this paper, we have
developed a modified analytical expression for electrical efficiency of solar cell ( ). The new
model gives higher electrical efficiency as expected.

2. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION AND PRINCIPLE

The basic principle of operation of photovoltaic cell involves incident photon striking the
depletion region of PN junction [6]. The incident photon strikes the lattice atoms in the depletion
region and generation of hole-electron pair takes place which under the influence of electric field
in the depletion region causes movement of electrons towards the N side and holes towards the P
side. An attempt has been performed to analyze the electrical efficiency of photovoltaic cell
in two cases. In case 1, is considered as constant in temperature dependent electrical
efficiency formula whereas in case 2, it is considered that varies with photovoltaic cells
temperature . Here, one photovoltaic module has been adopted which has 36 PV cells
connected in series to increase the voltage and current is constant. The current and voltage for
each PV cell are rated as 4 A and 0.5 V, respectively. Its output power is 72 watts. The effective
area of silicon based (c-Si) PV module is 1 m2.

Fig. 1 Semi-transparent photovoltaic module

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TABLE 1. Basic specifications for semitransparent photovoltaic module

Parameters Values
5.8 (W/m2)
9.5 (W/m2)
0.12
0.83
298 Kelvin
0.9
0.95
0.003m
1.1 (W/mK)
1m2

3. MATHEMATICAL MODELLING
The cell temperature ( ) and electrical efficiency ( ) of photovoltaic module are calculated
using energy balance equations. Following are the assumptions that have been taken in order to
write the energy balance equation:
a) One dimensional heat conduction.
b) The ethyl vinyl acetate encapsulant is purely transparent.
c) In solar cells and photovoltaic modules, ohmic loss or i2Rt loss is considered to be negligible.
d) The photovoltaic module is assumed to be in quasi steady state.
e) No temperature gradient along the thickness of photovoltaic module .

4. ENERGY BALANCE EQUATIONS

Two cases have been considered to evaluate the electrical efficiency of semitransparent PV
module. The proposed cases are named as case 1 and case 2.

CASE 1

For semitransparent monocrystalline-Si photovoltaic module, the energy balance equation can be
written as [7, 8, 9]

(1)

In other words the mathematical equation above can be explained as follows:

(Absorbed solar radiation received by photovoltaic module) =

(Thermal energy loss from solar cells to ambient through top glass surface) +

(Thermal energy loss from solar cells to ambient through back glass surface) +

(Electrical energy generated from solar cells of photovoltaic module)

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where,

(2)

and,

(3)

Also, .

From (1), (2) and (3), the expression for cell temperature can be expressed as:-

Now,

(4)

According to [10], the photovoltaic cell efficiency is dependent on temperature and it is given as
follows:-

(5)

Now putting (3) in (4) we can have the expression of photovoltaic cell efficiency as given:

The module electrical efficiency can thus be written as:-

Electrical gain for case 1 =

Available Power for case 1 =

CASE 2

The alternative method that has been used to derive the temperature dependent electrical
efficiency of photovoltaic cell is as follows:-

For semitransparent monocrystalline-Si photovoltaic module, the energy balance equation can be
written as [7, 8, 9]
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From equation (4) the expression for solar cell temperature is as follows:-

Putting the above expression in equation (4), we have

The module electrical efficiency can be written as:-

Electrical gain for case 2 =

Available Power for case 2 =

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In order to solve mathematical equations, MATLAB 7.6.0 (R2008a) has been used.

1000 292
Ambient temperature Ta

290
Solar radiation intensity

800 288
286 Hazy day
(Kelvin)

600 284
Hazy and cloudy day
(W/m2)

400 282
280 Cloudy day
200 278 Clear day
276
0 274 Ambient temperature
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time (hours)

Fig. 2 Hourly variation of ambient temperature and solar radiation intensity for all weather condition in the month of
January for New Delhi climatic condition

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Solaris 2017-India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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320

310 JAN
FEB
Ambient temperature Ta

300 MARCH
APRIL
(Kelvin)

MAY
290
JUNE
JULY
280
AUGUST
SEPT
270 OCT
NOV
260 DEC
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time (hours)

Fig. 3 Hourly variation of ambient air temperature for all the months for New Delhi climatic condition

330 0.13
Photovoltaic cell temperature Tc (Kelvin)

Electrical efficiency of photovoltaic cell c

320
0.125
310

300 0.12
Tc1
290 Tc2
0.115
c2
280
c1
0.11
270

260 0.105
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time (hours)

Fig. 4 Hourly variation of photovoltaic cell efficiency and photovoltaic cell temperature for a typical clear day in the
month of January

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0.105
photovoltaic module m
Electrical efficiency of

0.1

0.095

0.09 m2
m1
0.085

0.08
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time (hours)

Fig. 5 Hourly variation of photovoltaic module electrical efficiency for a typical clear day in the month of January

5
Electrical energy (kWh)

4
3
2 Electric energy-1 (kWh)

1 Electric energy-2 (kWh)

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month

Fig. 6 Monthly variation of Electrical energy for clear day for New Delhi climatic condition

6
Monthly power output

5
4
(kWh/m2)

3
Power 1
2
Power 2
1
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Month

Fig. 7 Monthly variation of power output for clear day for New Delhi climatic condition

The hourly variation of solar radiation intensity I(t) for four different types of weather conditions
namely, clear day, hazy day, hazy and cloudy day and cloudy day with ambient temperature is
given in Fig.2. It is observed that the solar radiation intensity of clear day is much more than the
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Solaris 2017-India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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solar radiation intensity of the remaining type of weather conditions. Fig.3 shows hourly
variation of ambient temperature for each month in a year for New Delhi climatic condition.
The maximum ambient temperature has been found for the month of May and minimum ambient
temperature has been found for the month of January. Fig.4 shows hourly variation of
photovoltaic cell temperature to electrical efficiency photovoltaic cell for both the cases
(Case 1 and Case 2) for a typical clear day in the month of January. Here it can be observed that
the maximum photovoltaic cell temperature has been found for Case 1 whereas maximum
electrical efficiency of photovoltaic cell has been found for Case 2. This is due to increase in
photovoltaic cell temperature causing decrease in losses and thereby resulting increase in
electrical efficiency of photovoltaic cell . Fig.5 shows hourly variation of electrical efficiency
of photovoltaic module for a typical clear day in the month of January for both the cases. It
can be observed that the pattern of electrical efficiency of photovoltaic module is similar to
the pattern of electrical efficiency of photovoltaic cell . Monthly variation of electrical energy
for clear day for both the cases of glass to glass photovoltaic module has been presented in Fig.
6.Here the obtained electrical energy for Case 2 has been found to be higher than Case 1. The
maximum electrical energy has been recorded for the month of September for both the cases due
to the maximum availability of clear days whereas minimum electrical energy has been recorded
for the month of August due to minimum availability of clear days. Fig.7 shows monthly
variation of power output for clear day for both the cases of glass to glass photovoltaic module.
Here the obtained output power was maximum for the month of September for both the cases
due to the maximum availability of clear days whereas minimum output power has been
recorded for the month of August due to minimum availability of clear days. Apart from this, the
annual incident solar radiation intensity for New Delhi climatic condition was found to be
1794.68 kWh/m2. The annual power output obtained for New Delhi climatic condition by Case 1
was found to be 189.520 kWh/m2 and the annual power output obtained by Case 2 was found to
be 207.467 kWh/m2.

CONCLUSIONS

The following conclusions have been drawn:-

The annual power output has been increased by 17.947 kWh/m2 in absolute terms and by
9.47% in percentage terms.
The annual electrical efficiency obtained by Case 1 was found to be 10.56% and annual
electrical efficiency obtained by Case 2 was found to be 11.53%. So the overall annual
electrical efficiency has been increased by 0.97%.

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REFERENCES

[1] D.M.Chapin, C. S.Fuller and G.L. Pearson, A new silicon p-n junction photocell for converting solar
radiation into electrical power, Journal of Applied Physics, vol.25, no.5, pp.676-677, 1954.

[2] C.L. Cheng, C.S. Sanchez Jimenez and M .C. Lee, Research of BIPV optimal tilted angle, use of
latitude concept for south oriented plans, Renewable Energy, vol. 34, no.6, pp. 1644-1650,2009.

[3] G.N.Tiwari, Solar Energy: Fundamentals, Design, Modelling and Applications, Narosa publishing
House 2004.

[4] J.Duffe and W.Beckman, Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, Wiley, New York, NY, USA,
1974.

[5] Sanjay Aggarwal, G.N. Tiwari Energy and Exergy Analysis of hybrid microchannel photo-
voltaic thermal module, Centre Of Energy Studies, IIT Delhi,2010.

[6] G. N. Tiwari and R. K. Mishra, Advanced Renewable Energy Sources, CB4 0WF, RSC
Publishing Thomas Grahman House, Cambridge, UK, 2012.

[7] S. Dubey, G. S. Sandhu, and G. N. Tiwari, Analytical expression for electrical efficiency of
PV/T hybrid air collector, Applied Energy, vol. 86, no. 5, pp. 697705, 2009.

[8] E. Skoplaki and J. A. Palyvos, On the temperature dependence of photovoltaic module

electrical performance: a review of efficiency/power correlations, Solar Energy, vol.83, no.5,pp
614-624,2009.

[9] D. L. Evans, Simplified method for predicting photovoltaic array output, Solar Energy,
vol.27, no.6, pp. 555-560, 1981.

[10] W.Durisch, B.Bitnar, J.C.Mayor, H.Kiess, K.H. Lam, and J. Close, Efficiency model for
photovoltaic modules and demonstration of its application to energy yield estimation, Solar
Energy and Solar Cells, vol.27, no.3, pp. 189-216,1992.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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Ch. PV03

Effects of window configuration and air ventilation strategy on energy

generation of window integrated semi-transparent SPV module

Sankar Barman*, Amartya Chowdhury, Sanjay Mathur, Jyotirmay Mathur

Center for Energy and Environment, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur, India-302017
* Corresponding author. Tel: +91-7665186000, E-mail: 2014ren9507@mnit.ac.in

Abstract: This study evaluates the energy generation of a window integrated SPV module with and without
ventilated air cavity based on simulation data. WINDOW7.3 and EnergyPlus software were used to performed
the simulation work. The energy generation observed to be improved with ventilated air cavity compared to the
non-ventilation condition. Four window structures and three air ventilation strategies were considered in the
study. The analysis shows that both window configurations and ventilation strategies influence the energy
generation of the integrated SPV module. In a typical winter month, 1.39 % improvement in energy generation
has been observed for a particular combination of ventilation strategy and window configuration.

Keywords: BIPV, coated glass, double pane window, air cavity

1. Introduction
Thin film semi-transparent solar photovoltaic (STSPV) module integrated window has gained
the considerable interest of research community in the recent past. The integration of STSPV
module reduces direct solar heat through window systems besides generation of onsite
electrical energy. However, SPV modules convert only some fraction of the absorbed solar
radiation into electrical energy [1]. The leftover absorbed solar radiation transforms into heat
which increases the module temperature. The high operating temperature reduced energy
conversion efficiency. The high temperature also leads to accelerated light-induced
degradation of thin film SPV module [2] . Moreover, if properly not design or operate, the
SPV window system may become a source of unintentional heat gain or loss. In this context,
double layer structure of window or faade integrated SPV systems with intermediate air
cavity have found to be attractive in the findings of various research works [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
[8].

In addition to improvement in energy generation, application of ventilated air cavity

minimizes the overheating of SPV systems. Peng et al. [4] experimentally investigated and
compared the performance of SPV integrated double skin faade system with and without air
ventilation. Results indicated that the introduction of ventilated air cavity could improve the
energy generation while the non-ventilation system provided better thermal insulation
performance. Kaiser et al. [5] presented a comprehensive study on the effect of induced
forced convection on module temperature, conversion efficiency, and energy output.
Compared to the natural ventilation, substantial improvement in energy output was achieved
with the force convection. Effects of naturally ventilated air cavity on energy generation of
SPV integrated faade have been analyzed by Gaillard et al. [9]. While Han et al. [10] have
numerically investigated the optimum thickness of the air cavity from overall heat transfer
point of view. Significant energy saving potential in an office building with naturally
ventilated double glazing SPV systems were reported by Chow et al. [11]. Energy
performance of five different window systems in terms of Brazilian office building have been
reported by Dindone et al. [12]. Yoon et al. [13] had experimentally analyzed the temperature

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characteristic of double pane BIPV window surfaces and compared with normal clear
window.
Thus many studies have been carried to improve the energy performance of SPV integrated
window/faade systems. However, as far as the authors know, the following potential areas of
SPV double pane SPV window systems have not been explored fully. The potential areas are
mixing of systems ventilated air with the air in the living area, application of spectrally
selective glazing and changes of air cavity position with respect to SPV module. Therefore, in
this work the authors aim to investigate the change in SPV energy generation in four different
configured window systems with and without mixing the ventilated air with the occupant
area. Results have also been evaluated to find the best combination of window configuration
and ventilation strategy for maximum energy generation.

2. Methodology
2.1. Glass and SPV module properties
The window systems were configured with the combinations of clear or coated glass and a-Si
semi-transparent SPV module. Various properties of the glasses and SPV module are needed
to conduct the simulation work as well as to analyze the window performance. The optical
and thermal properties of the clear and coated glass were obtained from the WINDOW 7.3
software database. For the SPV module, the required properties were taken from an available
in the literature [14]. A list of the necessary properties are shown in Table 1.The thermal
conductivity of the considered SPV module has been calculated by the weighted average
formula.

Table 1: Optical and thermal properties of the considered glass and STSPV layer
Properties Band Side Clear glass Coated glass STSPV layer
Transmittance at normal Solar 0.847 0.631 0.409
incidence Visible 0.902 0.902 0.301
Reflectance at normal Solar Front 0.078 0.295 0.431
incidence Back 0.078 0.301 0.253
Visible Front 0.081 0.048 0.501
Back 0.081 0.047 0.275
IR hemispherical emissivity Front 0.840 0.837 0.447
Back 0.840 0.037 0.703
Thermal conductivity 1.000 1.000 1.200
2.2. Window systems and air flow strategies
Four window systems were designed to study the SPV output under various air flow
strategies. The four window systems are, A: Clear glass/air gap/SPV module, B: Low-E
glass/air gap/SPV module, C: SPV module/air gap/clear glass, D: SPV module/air gap /Low-
E glass. The investigated air flow strategies are, F0: No flow condition, F1: Flow strategy-1,
F2: Flow strategy-2, F3: Flow strategy-3. Figure 1 shows the considered window systems,
surface positions, and air flow strategies. The surface positions are mentioned in numerical
order from outside to inside. In the figure CL, SPV and Low-e represent clear glass, solar
photovoltaic module, and Low-e glass respectively.

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Figure 1: a) Window systems, b) surface positions and air flow strategies

In no air flow condition, all the openable doors remain closed. In flow strategy F1, the
openable doors in the window region are only opened. In this flow strategy, the air returns to
the ambient after absorbing heat from the window air cavity. The air flow types F2 and F3
included openable doors from both window and room regions.
2.3. Simulation model
To determine the optimal air gap between a glass and SPV module, initially, window systems
were modeled and simulate in WINDOW 7.3 software. Then the air gap was optimized for
minimum U-value. The minimum U-values were different for different window systems.
However, it was found to be lowest for the window system B. Subsequently, the air gap
between the two panes was used in EnergyPlus (EP) software to performed the thermal
simulation for all the window systems and air flow strategies. EP is a whole building thermal
simulation software developed by the United States Department of Energy. Among many
things, this software can be applied to simulate the energy performance of building integrated
SPV system. However, the limitation associated with the EP is that it can perform energy
simulation for opaque types of SPV module but not directly for semi-transparent SPV [12].
To address this issue, the simulations were carried in two steps. In the first step, the SPV
module was considered as a glass in the input file of EP. Therefore, the first step of EP
simulation furnishes the incident solar radiation and module temperature without SPV
generation.

In order to carry the EP simulation, a building geometry of size 333m (HWB) was
created in Sketch-up. Two double pane windows with the glazing size of 1.20.6 m were
fitted as separate zones in the south-facing wall. The detailed geometry of the building is
shown in Figure 2. The openable doors in the building geometry represent the openings for
air circulation. The model then imported into EP to perform the thermal simulation. In the EP,
IDF editor was used to change the building envelope materials as per required standard.
Hourly simulation of the considered window systems and airflow strategies were carried for a
whole year using the weather file of Jaipur, India (Latitude:26.82 N). For a particular window
system, the simulation was carried with each air flow strategies separately.

Figure 2: Building geometry

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2.4. Estimation of SPV module conversion efficiency and energy generation

The energy generation by the SPV module was calculated separately by applying the
wavelength based short-circuit current density (Jsc) method. The benefit of using this method
is that it clearly shows the quality of the incident solar spectrum from photovoltaic conversion
point of view. This is also necessary to evaluate the benefits of using a coated glass in front of
the SPV module. To apply this method AM 1.5 spectrum was assumed for the incident
radiation. As far as the angle of incident is concerned the radiation was assumed to be
incident normally. For the window systems having clear or Low-E glass as a front layer, the
incident radiation on the SPV module was calculated after considering the transmission for
the wavelength ranges from 320 to 2500 nm. Subsequently, the incident photon flux was
estimated for all the incident radiation. These incident flux densities were used to calculated
the wavelength dependent current densities from the external quantum efficiencies (EQE) data
of the considered SPV module. Once the current density was achieved, the open circuit
voltage, conversion efficiencies, and energy generations were estimated. The hourly module
efficiencies and energy generations were calculated for all the window systems and air flow
strategies. From the hourly values, average efficiency and energy generation for daily,
monthly and finally for the year were calculated successively. In the above method, 25 C
was taken as the reference SPV temperature. Therefore, the following equation of efficiency
was considered to incorporated the actual SPV temperature (!!" ).
! !!" = ! !!" {1 + !! (!!" 25)} (1)

Where, !! is the temperature coefficient for maximum power output. For a-Si the value of !!
is -0.2% per C [15]. ! !!" and ! !!" are conversion efficiency at reference and actual SPV
temperature.

3. Results and Discussions

The solar altitude angle changes with time of the year. In the northern hemisphere, a south
facing vertical window receives more solar radiation in the winter season. In addition, the low
ambient temperature in this season is favorable for higher energy conversion efficiency of
SPV module. Figure 3a. represents ambient temperature and the incident solar radiation on
the south facing the vertical wall on January 21st. The remaining sections of Figure 3
represent the SPV module temperature, conversion efficiency and energy generation for all
the window systems with air flow strategies F3.
40
800 40
Incident Radiation A
SPV module Temperature 0C

Ambient Temperature
700 35 35 B
Incident Radiation W/m2

Ambient Temperature 0C

C
600 30 D
30

500
a) 25
25 b)
400
20
20
300
15
15
200
10
100 10

5
0 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Time
Time

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24

Hourly Energy Generation W/m2

3.75 22 A
B

Conversion Efficiency %
A 20
C
B 18 D
3.50 C
D 16
14 d)
3.25 c)
12
10
3.00 8
6

2.75
4
2
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Time Time
Figure 3: Hourly variation of a) Ambient temperature, Incident solar radiation, b)SPV module back
surface temperature, c)Energy conversion efficiency d) Energy generation

As it can be observed from the figure that the SPV module temperature, efficiency, and
energy generation change among the window systems though the air flow strategy is same. In
case of A and B window systems, the SPV module was considered behind the clear and
coated glass respectively. The transparency of the front glasses is limited. Therefore, in these
two systems, some part of solar radiation cannot reach the SPV module. This resulted in
lower SPV module temperature in A and B window systems compared to C and D. The
presence of Low-E glass in B reduced the IR component of the incident radiation more than
clear glass. This further reduces the module temperature in B and resulted in a differences
between A and B window systems. On the other hand, due to highest incident solar radiation,
the energy generation is maximum at 13:00 PM although the peak conversion efficiency is at
09:00 AM for all the window systems. At 13:00 PM the energy generation with air flow F3
and no air flow condition are 20.02 and 19.76 W/m2 respectively. The corresponding
efficiencies are 2.98% and 2.94%. These show that the introduction of ventilated air cavity in
the window system leads to improvement in energy conversion efficiency (1.36 %) and
energy generation (1.32%). These are relatively low compared to a relevant work [4]. In that
work, the researchers had found an increment of 4.3% in conversion efficiency and energy
generation. But when the corresponding drops in SPV temperature due to ventilation is
considered, it was found to be almost similar in both the cases. The drop in SPV temperature
in our work was 6.1 C, while the same was 6.3 C in the referred work.

3.1. Monthly SPV generation

Monthly average energy generation for all window systems was calculated under all the
considered air flow strategies. The improvement in energy generation with different air
ventilation types in comparison to the non-ventilation condition for the typical winter and
summer months are summarized in Table 2. Due to lowest incident solar radiation in July, the
energy generation was lowest in this month irrespective to window configurations and air
flow strategies. Figure 4 shows the variation of energy generation among the window systems
and air flow strategies in typical winter (January) and summer (May) months. It can be seen
that the range of energy generation in the winter is much higher than that of in the summer
month. This is due to the fact that in the winter month the south facing vertical window
receives more radiation compared to the summer season. For example, in the case of window
system C with airflow strategy F3 the energy generation is 14.82 kWh/m2 in January while it
is only 4.75 kWh/m2 in the month of May.
Table 2: Improvement in energy generation compared to no air flow condition (F0) in winter and
summer months
Season Flow type/ Window system A B C D
Winter F3 1.39 1.23 0.41 0.42

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(January) F2 1.06 0.89 0.58 0.58

F1 1.02 0.91 0.69 0.72
Summer F3 0.38 0.37 0.17 0.20
(May) F2 0.29 0.27 0.17 0.20
F1 0.33 0.31 0.22 0.26

Further, the low ambient air temperature in the winter month helps in reducing the SPV
module temperature. This leads to more effectiveness of ventilated air cavity in the winter
season compared to summer. For example, in the summer month, the improvement in energy
generation for window system A with air flow strategy F3 is only 0.38% compared to 1.39%
in the winter. The simulation results also indicate that the effective air flow strategy is
different for different window systems. Across all the air flow strategies, F3 was found to be
most effective for A and B in both winter and summer seasons. While for C and D, F1 has
been the most effective air flow strategy. These findings are also illustrated in Table 2 and
Figure 4.
15.0 F3 F2 F1 F0 5.0 F3 F2 F1 F0
Monthly average energy generation

14.5 a) 4.5 b)
kWh/m2

14.0 4.0

13.5 3.5

13.0 3.0

12.5 2.5
A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D
Window Systems Window Systems
Figure 4: Monthly average energy generation a)Winter, b) Summer

3.2. Yearly SPV generation
From the monthly average data, the yearly energy generation per square meter of the SPV
module was calculated for all window systems and air flow strategies. Similarly, the annual
average conversion efficiencies were also calculated. The calculated annual average module
efficiency and energy generation ranges from 2.71 to 3.67 % and 33.03 to 38.16 kWh per year
per square meter respectively. These energy generations are equivalent to the findings of the
work from where the SPV optical and electrical data were considered [14].The variation in
conversion efficiency and energy generation among the considered window systems and air
flow strategies are shown in Figure 5. Across all the window systems and air flow strategies,
the maximum conversion efficiency was found for B and F3. While the maximum SPV
generation of 38.16 kWh per year per m2 was found for window system D with air flow type
F1. The difference in maximum efficiency and energy generations were found due to
variation in the amount of incident solar radiation and their spectral characteristics. The
improvement in energy generation with ventilated air cavity compared to the non-ventilated
condition are summarized in Table 3. The data show that the improvements are in between the
winter and summer months.

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Conversion Efficiency Energy Generation

F1 F2 39

Annual Energy Generation (kWh/m2)

Annual Average Efficiency (%) F3 F2 F0 F3 F1 F0

38
3.5
37

36

35
3.0

34

33

2.5 32
ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD
Window Systems
Figure 5: Annual conversion efficiency and energy generation

Further, the best combinations of window systems and air flow strategies have been the same
with monthly findings. For the window systems where SPV module was considered as the
front layer, in addition to ventilated air, the atmospheric wind also contributes to the reduction
of SPV temperature. This resulted in less effectiveness of ventilated air cavity for the window
systems B and D compared to A and B as shown in Table 3. The simulation results show that
both efficiency and energy generation changes with the position of air cavity in the window
systems. The energy generation decreases when the air cavity precedes the SPV module.
These reductions are equivalent to the drop in transmitivity of the front glasses in the working
range of the SPV module. The transmitivity of the front glasses in the visible spectrum is
same, Table 1. However, the decrease in energy generation for window system B is little more
than that of A as shown in Table 4. This is due to the fact that the Low-E glass blocks more
useful radiation compared to clear glass in the working range of a-Si solar cell which spans
from 350 to 750 nm wavelength.

Table 3: Improvement of annual average efficiency and energy generation compared to F0

Parameter Flow type/ Window system A B C D
Efficiency F3 1.04 0.93 0.33 0.35
(%) F2 0.79 0.69 0.41 0.45
F1 0.76 0.68 0.52 0.55
Energy F3 0.85 0.78 0.28 0.29
(%) F2 0.63 0.57 0.32 0.35
F1 0.61 0.56 0.42 0.45

On the other hand, when the energy conversion efficiency is considered, it was found to be
highest for the window system having Low-E glass in front of the SPV module. In this
window system, the front Low-E glass stops most of the infrared part of the available solar
radiation before reaching the SPV module. This helps in maintaining the relatively low
temperature of the SPV module, which indirectly contributes to enhancing the conversion
efficiency. Transmission of the high-quality solar spectrum from a photovoltaic conversion
point of view is another important contribution of the Low-E glass. The change in conversion
efficiency and energy generation of the SPV module among various window systems are
shown in Table 4.

Table 4: Variation in efficiency and energy generation due to change in air cavity position
Flow type Window systems Efficiency (%) Energy generation (%)

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F3 A vs C, B vs D +05.44, +35.05 -11.22, -14.24

F2 A vs C, B vs D +05.16, +34.67 -11.59, -14.63
F1 A vs C, B vs D +05.04, +34.55 -11.73, -14.75
F0 A vs C, B vs D +04.84, +34.39 -12.01, -14.91

4. Conclusions
The electrical performance of window integrated SPV module, with and without ventilated air
cavity, has been studied through simulation. The effects of change in air cavity position with
respect to the SPV module and mixing of cavity air with the occupant area have been
investigated in detail. Effects of Spectral characteristics of the incident radiation has also been
reported.

The introduction of ventilated air cavity improves energy generation compared to the non-
ventilated condition. On the yearly basis, the maximum improvement of 1.04 % has been
found in the SPV energy generation. The position of air cavity plays a significant role in the
performance of the SPV integrated window system. When the SPV module is placed behind a
conventional glazing, the energy generation decreases. The amount of reduction in energy
generation is equivalent to the limit of transmitivity of the front glass in the working range of
the solar cell. Further, the study shows that the most preferable air flow strategy changes
with change in position of the air cavity with respect to the SPV module. The thermal
performance is an essential part of a window system. Therefore, future studies should also
incorporate the thermal characteristics in the selection of SPV window structure and air
ventilation strategy along with the energy generation.

References
[1] Gaur A, Tiwari G.N., Performance of a-Si thin film PV modules with and without water flow:
An experimental validation, Applied Energy, 2014, pp. 184-191.

[2] Tayyib M, Theobald J, Peter K, Odden JO, Saetre TO., Accelerated light-induced defect
transformation study of Elkem Solar Grade Silicon, Energy Procedia, 2012, pp. 21-26.
[3] Peng J, Lu L, Yang H, An experimental study of the thermal performance of a novel
photovoltaic double-skin facade in Hong Kong, Solar Energy, Vol. 97, 2013, pp. 293-304.
[4] Peng J, Lu L, Yang H, Tao Ma, Comparative study of the thermal and power performances of
a semi-transparent photovoltaic faade under different ventilation modes, Applied Energy,
Vol. 138, 2015, pp. 572-583.
[5] A.S. Kaiser, B. Zamora, R. Mazn, J.R. Garca, F. Vera, Experimental study of cooling BIPV
modules by forced convection in the air channel, Applied Energy, Vol. 135, 2014, pp. 88-97.
[6] M. Fossa, C. Me ne zo, E. Leonardi, Experimental natural convection on vertical surfaces for
building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) applications, Experimental Thermal and Fluid
Science, Vol. 32, 2008, pp. 980-990.
[7] Meng Wang, Peng J, Nianping Li, Lu L, Tao Ma, Yang H, Assessment of energy performance
of semi-transparent PV insulating glass units using a validated simulation model, Energy,
Vol. 112, 2016, pp. 538-548.
[8] Jong-Hwa Song, Young-Sub An, Soek-Ge Kim, Sung-Jin Lee, Jong-Ho Yoon, Youn-Kyoo
Choung, Power output analysis of transparent thin-film module in building integrated
photovoltaic system (BIPV), Energy and Buildings, Vol. 40, 2008, pp. 2067-2075.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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[9] Leon Gaillard, Ste phanie Giroux-Julien, Christophe Me ne zo, Herve Pabiou,
Experimental evaluation of a naturally ventilated PV double-skin building envelope in real
operating conditions, Solar Energy, Vol. 103, 2014, pp. 223-241.
[10] Han J, Lu L, Yang H, Thermal behaviour of a novel type see-through glazing system with
integrated PV cells, Buildings and Environment, Vol. 44, 2009, pp. 2129-36.
[11] T.T. Chow, Zhongzhu Qiu, Chunying Li, Potential application of see-through solar cells
in ventilated glazing in Hong Kong, Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells, Vol. 93, 2009, pp.
230-238.
[12] Didone E L, Wagner A., Semi-transparent PV windows: A study for office buildings in
Brazil, Energy and Buildings, Vol. 67, 2013, pp. 136142.
[13] Jong-Ho Yoon, Se-Ra Shim, Young Sub An, Kwang Ho Lee. An experimental study on the
annual surface temperature characteristics of amorphous silicon BIPV window, Energy and
Buildings, Vol. 62, 2013, pp. 166-175.
[14] Chae YT, Kim J, Park H, Shin B. 2014, Building energy performance evaluation of building
integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) window with semi-transparent solar cells, Applied Energy,
Vol. 129, 2014, pp. 217-227.
[15] Tetsuyuki Ishii, Kenji Otani, Takumi Takashima, Shinji Kawai, Estimation of the maximum
power temperature coefficients of PV modules at different time scales, Solar Energy
Materials & Solar Cells, 2011, pp. 95:386-389.

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Ch. PV04
Periodic Modelling and validation of building integrated semi-transparent
photo-voltaic thermal (BISPVT) system in natural convection
G. N. Tiwari1, Gourav Kumar Mishra2, *
1
Bag Energy Research Society (BERS), Mahamana Nagar, Varanasi 221005, UP, India
2
Center of Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
* Corresponding author. Tel: +91 7838103394, E-mail: mishra.gourav@gmail.com

Abstract: This paper presents a modelling and validation of periodic variation of various temperature
distributions. The modelling has been done through appropriate condition of energy balance at the surfaces, which
takes into account the periodicity of solar irradiation and ambient temperature. The computation of energy balance
equations are at photovoltaic roof; room air enclosed by the PV modules, walls of brick and glass covering; room
underneath the first room; and reinforced concrete cement (RCC) floor of the first room. Using these equations,
two 5*5 matrices namely time-independent and time-dependent are obtained. The data of climatic parameters, heat
transfer coefficients and design parameters are used in matrices to evaluate the hourly variation of unknown
temperature distribution at different component of the system. Computations have been carried out for a typical
day of summer at Varanasi and the results have been validated experimentally for the system.

Key words: Building integrated semi-transparent photovoltaic thermal (BISPVT), periodic modeling, building
envelope, Off-grid system.

Nomenclature
Overall heat transfer coefficient from top Thermal conductivity of glass used in

through cell to ambient.... (2 1 ) solar cell module.. (1 1 )
Overall heat transfer coefficient from bottom
1 Depth of RCC ..(m)
through cell to room 1 . (2 1 )
Convective heat transfer coefficient from Depth of glass used in solar cell module
1
floor to room 1.. (2 1 ) .......(m)
Convective heat transfer coefficient
2 Specific heat of RCC(1 1)
from floor to room 2 (2 1 )
Overall heat transfer coefficient from side Specific heat of air in room 1 ..
1
through brick to ambient.... (2 1 ) ....(1 1)
Overall heat transfer coefficient from
1 Mass of air of room 1 ....(kg)
side through glass to ambient. (2 1 )
Area of east facing wall.. (2 ) 1 Number of air change of room 1
Thermal conductivity of RCC. (1 1 ) 1 Volume of room 1 ..(m3)
Greek symbols
Absorptivity of solar cell Density of RCC ...( 3 )
Transitivity of glass 0 Efficiency of PV cell at STC
Efficiency of solar cell 0 Temperature coefficient... ( 1 )
Ratio of glass to total area of east facing wall 0 Angular speed ................... (rad sec-1)
Packing factor of a PV module Angular speed ..............(rad hr-1)
Ratio of module to total area of PV roof
Suffix
c solar cell n/s North/south
f floor of room 1 r PV roof
g Glass gc glass used in solar cell module
e East gw glass used in wall
w West bw plastered brick used in wall

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1. Introduction
The integration of photovoltaic modules in present day buildings not only generate electrical
energy but also serve as a source for thermal energy. These photovoltaic modules are invariably
installed at the roofs or the facades of the buildings [1],[2]. Several ways to integrate the
photovoltaic (PV) into a building have been discussed in [3]-[5]. A Periodic model for BISPVT
system installed at Sodha Bag Energy Research Society (SBERS), Varanasi, has been
developed and the fourier coefficients have been evaluated for solar intensity, ambient air
temperature and sol air temperature [6]. This model has been experimentally validated only for
rooms at the second floor of the complex. The various graphs obtained for hourly variations of
temperature shows the maximum at around 20th hour of the day which do not show a close
resemblance with the practical data due to model inaccuracy. Moreover, the work does not
include the side infiltration of solar intensity. In the present work, an attempt has been made to
establish a more accurate model of BISPVT system.

In the present work, side infiltration of solar intensity in room formed by BISPVT system is
taken into account. The periodic variations of temperature of various component of the system
are obtained theoretically and the theoretical outcomes are validated with the experimental data
taken at the complex. The value of heat transfer coefficients and design parameters are
evaluated for the complex mentioned.

Incident solar radiation

on solar panel

Glass
Utca
Incident solar radiation
on glass of north wall.

Incident solar radiation

Incident solar radiation
on glass of east wall.
on glass of west wall.
Ubcr1 Usga
Room 1 Usba
X=0
X=L

Incident solar radiation

on glass of south wall. Wall of bricks
hcfr2
Room 2

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of BISPVT system installed at Sodha BERS Complex, Varanasi.

Schematic diagram of the BISPVT system has been done is shown in Fig. 1. PV modules are
installed on terrace of the building. To withstand the heavy wind, the modules are tightened
with the building with the help of concrete beam and aluminum frame. The ninety six PV
modules on roof of Room 1 give electrical power of 7.2 kWp as each module is rated at 75 Wp.
Room 2 and Room 1 are on the 2nd and 3rd floor of the complex which has been shown in Fig.
1. Room 1 is enclosed by PV module on top, RCC as floor and walls from four sides which is
covered by plastered bricks and glass. Area of east, west, north and south walls of Room 1 are
39.1348 m2, 39.1348 m2, 59.75 m2, 27.0548 m2 respectively. Area of PV roof and floor are
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88.6562 m2 and 82.4072 m2 respectively. Inclination of PV roof is 25.33, which is nearly equal
to latitude of Varanasi to ensure maximum radiation fall throughout year. With reference to
Fig.1, the solar energy on the PV roof can be bifurcated into thermal losses at the top and
bottom surface of the PV modules and the gain in electrical energy. Heat gain of room 1 is
through bottom loss of PV roof, side infiltration from glass portion of wall and infiltration from
non-packing area of the PV roof. Heat gain of room 2 is through conductive heat transfer along
the floor slab depth from x=0 to x=L as shown in Fig.1. Room 2 is enclosed by RCC on top and
bottom and plastered brick wall from all four sides. There is no provision for cooling in room
2 apart from cross ventilation and air circulation with ceiling fan.

2. Methodology
(i) Hourly variation of solar intensity (inclined roof, vertical wall) and ambient temperature
has been observed using Solarimeter and thermometer respectively for the month of May
22nd 2016 in Varanasi. The plots for the same are shown in Figs. 2, 4, 5 and 3 respectively
as observational plot.
(ii) Based on the thermal modelling, codes have been developed in MATLAB 2013 software.
(iii) Fourier coefficients of ambient temperature, solar Intensity at inclined roof and four
vertical walls were evaluated and shown in Table 1.
(iv) By putting the expression shown in Eqs. (9) - (12) in energy balance Eqs. (1) - (5). Two
matrix equations have been derived namely time dependent and time independent as shown
by Eq. 13 and 14 respectively.
(v) Using the value of design parameters(Table 2) and heat transfer coefficients(Table 3) and
climatic parameters (Table 1) in (a) matrix Eq. 13, values of A, B, Tco, Tro1, Tr02 and in (b)
matrix Eq. 14, values of Cn, Dn, Tcn, and Trn1, Trn2 has been evaluated.
(vi) After calculating the various constants as discussed in above step, the complete expression
for Tc, Tx=0, Tx=L, and Tr1, Tr2 which is explicit function of time has been evaluated. Finally
the hourly variations were computed by using these explicit expressions

Referring to Fig. 1, the energy balance equation for photo-voltaic module is given by
c g m (1-R )AR I = U (Tc -Ta )(1-R )AR + Ubcr1 (Tc -Tr1 )(1-R )AR + c g m (1-R )AR I
or, c g m I = U (Tc -Ta )+ Ubcr1 (Tc -Tr1 )+ c g m I (1)

The energy balance equation for floor of room 1 at x = 0 is given by (2)

2 (1 )(1 ) + = 1 (|=0 1 ) 1 |=0 (2)

The energy balance equation for air temperature of room 1 is given by (3)
1 (|=0 1 ) + 1 ( 1 ) (1 ) + (1 )2 (1 )(1 ) +
1
(1 ) = 1 1 + (1 ) + 0.331 1 (1 ) (3)

The energy balance equation for floor of room 1 at x = L is given by (4)

2 (|= 2 ) = 2 |= (4)

The energy balance equation for air-temperature of room 2 is given by (5)

2
2 (|= 2 ) = 2 2
+ 0.332 2 (2 ) (5)

As I(t) and Ta are assumed to be periodic, harmonic form of Fourier series expansion of the
functions is expressed as in [7],
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I = 0 + 6=1 () (6)

= 0 + 6=1 () (7)

= 0 + 6=1 () (8)

The higher order harmonics of the functions are small in magnitude and hence are neglected
for simplification of the mathematical analysis. Only the first six harmonics (n=6) are
considered for computation. The Fourier series replica of data taken in interval of an hour for
24 hour is evaluated by using the formulae given in appendix A of [8]. The values of Fourier
coefficients i.e. 0 , , , 0 , , , 0 , , ,( k is east, west, north, south) by using
appendix is shown in table 1.Since the temperatures 1, 2, and T are dependent on the
periodic functions I and Ta , they are also periodic in nature and are expressed in complex
exponential form as follows.

1 = 10 + 6=1 1 (9)

2 = 20 + 6=1 2 (10)

= 0 + 6=1 (11)

= + + 6=1( + ) (12)

By putting the expression shown in Eqs. (9) - (12) in energy balance Eqs. (1) - (5). Two matrix
equation has been derived namely time dependent and time independent as shown by Eq. (13)
and (14) respectively.

Time independent expressions of energy balance Eqs. (1) - (5) are as follows:
0 1 10 = 3
+ 1 1 10 = 4
1 1 0 + 1 10 = 5
1 2 + 2 20 = 0
2 + 2 + 2 20 = 6
Time-Independent matrix:

0 0 1 0 Ti3
1 0 1 0 Ti4
0 1 1 1 0 0 = Ti5 (13)
Ti1 2 0 0 2 10 0
[2 2 0 0 Ti2 ] [ 20 ] [ Ti 6]

Time dependent expressions of energy balance Eqs. (1) - (5) are as follows:
1 1 = 1 +
1 + 2 1 1 = 10
1 1 1 + 3 1 = 11
4 + 5 + 2 2 = 0
2 + 2 + 8 2 = 12
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Time-dependent matrix:
0 0 1 0 9
1 2 0 1 0 10
1 1 1 3 0 = 11 (14)
4 5 0 0 2 1 0
[ 6 7 0 0 ] [2 ] [12 ]
8

Note: Detailed expressions of elements of both matrix equations are given in appendix.
2.1 Tables
Table 1. Fourier coefficients of total solar intensity on (a.1) inclined roof, (a.2) east, (a.3) west, (a.4)
north, (a.5) south directions facing walls and (b) ambient temperature.
N 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
(a.1) In 20.42 411.16 218.18 65.23 21.50 30.67 21.70
n 3.33 0.47 4.17 3.08 1.03 4.62
(a.2) Ine 117.83 191.82 117.86 76.84 60.95 63.38 58.01
ne 2.66 5.15 1.46 4.60 1.38 4.13
(a.3) Inw 154.58 267.50 195.32 145.17 97.76 59.50 37.03
nw 3.63 1.12 4.92 2.30 5.87 2.88
(a.4) Inn 20.42 27.51 5.25 8.53 3.48 4.87 2.79
nn 3.16 0.85 5.71 3.33 1.71 4.95
(a.5) Isn 31.25 45.49 14.11 1.45 5.32 8.61 6.23
ns 3.07 6.22 0 4.57 1.47 3.85
(b) Tan 35.11 3.02 0.62 0.23 0.23 0.09 0.11
n 4.43 1.13 0.10 4.43 2.23 4.23

Table 2. Design Parameters (D.P.)

D.P. Values D.P. Values D.P Values
0 0.0045 (K 1) 0.1 (m) 0 /43200 ( 1 )
0.05 1.1 ( 1 1) /12 ( 1 )
0.83 1.1 ( 1 1) 0.003 (m)
0.7 3.98 ( 1 1) 0.004 (m)
0.6 88.6562 (2 ) 1 437.73 (kg)
0.4 82.4072 (2 ) 2 1170 (kg)
1 39.1348 (2 ) 1 1005 (1 1)
0.85 39.1348 (2 ) 2 1005 ( 1 1)
0.5 59.75 (2 ) 0.2 (m)
0.85 27.0548 (2 ) 2400 (kg m3 )
0.14 1 374.128612 (3 ) 1.279 (1 1 )
0 0.15 2 1000 (3 ) 1130 (J kg 1 K 1 )

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Table 3. Heat transfer coefficient (HTC)

HTC Values HTC Values HTC Values
12.83 (2 1) 2 3.4 (2 1) 1 3.074 (2 1)
9.04 (2 1) 1 3.1 (2 1) 11.22 (2 1)

3. Results

Fig. 2. Hourly variation of solar intensity Fig. 3. Hourly variation of ambient

on inclined PV roof of S.B.E.R.S. temperature at S.B.E.R.S.

Fig. 4. Hourly variation of solar intensity Fig. 5. Hourly variation of solar intensity
from north and south side on room1 at from east and west side on room1 of
S.B.E.R.S. S.B.E.R.S.

Fig. 6. Hourly variation of cell Fig. 7. Hourly variation of room1

temperature at S.B.E.R.S. temperature at S.B.E.R.S.
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70
Tr1 m=0.85,
Temperature (Celsius)

65 T |x=0 N1=0,N2=1
60 T |x=L
Tr2 L=0.2
55 Tc
50
45
40
35
30
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Time (hr)
Fig. 8. Hourly variation of temperature of room1, room2, cell, x=0, x=L at S.B.E.R.S.

4. Discussion and Conclusions

The hourly variation of solar intensity on inclined roof, north-south wall and east-west wall
observed through solarimeter and evaluated through Matlab codes is shown in Figure 2, 4 and
5 respectively. The hourly variation of ambient temperature observed by taking average of two
thermometer reading and evaluated through codes is shown in Fig. 3. It has been observed that
the observational and theoretical plot are in good co-relation. Fig. 6 and 7 are hourly variation
of cell temperature (observed through infrared temperature sensor) and room1 temperature
(average of four thermometers hanged at different places inside room1) respectively is shown.
It has been observed that for the packing factor of 0.85, number of air change for room 1 and
room2 as 0 and 1 respectively, depth of RCC slab as 0.2m describes the system as the
observational and theoretical plot are in good co-relation. Moreover, the MATLAB codes
replica for mathematical computation is justified. The hourly variation of temperature
distributions evaluated theoretically on room 1, room 2, cell, T|x=0 and T|x=L is shown Fig. 8. It
has been observed that maximum temperature of cell and room1 is 67.64, 44.6 respectively.
The range of room2 temperature for same design parameters is varying from 36.5 to 41. The
temperatures do not fall in the thermal comfort zone which ranges between 20 to 30C, when
no cooling is provided apart from fan [9]. So, further the study can be made to bring down the
temperature of room 2 in the thermal comfort zone by increasing number of air changes and by
flowing water with optimum mass flow rate to recede the heat energy going in the building
envelope.

Appendix
Ti1 = ( + 2 ) 2 = 2.8 + 32 , 2 = 0.2 /
Ti2 = (2 + 0.332 2 ) 2 = (1 )2 (1 )(1 )
Ti3 = 1 0 + 0 4 = 2 (1 )(1 )
Ti4 = 4 0 + 1 1 = 1 +

Ti5 = 2 0 + (1 ) 1 + 3 2 = 1

Ti6 = 0.332 2 0 3 = 1 + ()1 1

= 1 + 4 = ( 2 )
= (1 )(1 ) 5 = ( + 2 )

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1 = 1 + 2 + 1 + 0.331 1 6 = 2
8 = 2 2 2 0.332 2 7 = 2
1 = ( ) 9 = 1 +
1
1
3 = =,,,[ + (1 1 = [ + ] where,
1
) ] + 0.331 1
1 2.8 + 31 , 1 = 0.1 /

1 1 1
1
= [ + ] where, = [ + ] where,
0 0
0 = 5.7 + 3.8 , = 1.57 / 0 = 5.7 + 3.8 , = 2 /

1
0 1
=
= [
0
+

]

3 = =,,, 1 = =,,,

References
[1] Tonui JK, Tripanagnostopoulos Y, Performance improvement of PV/T solar collectors with
natural air flow operation, Solar Energy, 82, 2008, 112.
[2] Bazilian MD, Prasad D, Modelling of a photovoltaic heat recovery system and its role in a
design decision support tool for building professionals. Renew Energy 27, 2002, 5768.
[3] Kimura K, Photovoltaic systems and architecture. Solar Energy Mater Solar Cells 35, 1994,
409419.
[4] Taleb HM, Pitts AC, The potential to exploit use of building-integrated photovoltaic in
countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Renew Energy 34, 2009, 10921099.
[5] Zhai XQ, Wang RZ, Dai YJ, Wu JY, Ma Q, Experience on integration of solar thermal
technologies with green buildings. Renew Energy 33, 2008, 19041910.
[6] Tiwari, GN, Saini, H, Tiwari, A, Deo, A, Gupta, N, Saini, PS, Periodic theory of building
integrated photovoltaic thermal (BiPVT) system. Sol. Energy 125, 2016, 373-380.
[7] Baldasano J, Clar J, Berna A, Fourier analysis of daily solar radiation data in Spain, Sol.
Energy 41(4), 1988, 327-333.
[8] Taffesse F, Verma A, Singh S, Tiwari GN, Periodic modeling of semi-transparent
photovoltaic thermal-trombe wall (SPVT-TW), Sol. Energy 135, 2016, 265-273
[9] Nicol JF, McCartney KJ, Assessing adaptive opportunities in buildings.CIBSE National
Conference, 1999, 219-229.

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Ch. PV05

Energy conservation in passive buildings-

A case study of an ancient architecture in a composite climatic region

Heena Fatima Ali1,*, G. N. Tiwari2

1
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi Hauz Khas, New Delhi-16, India
2
Bag Energy Research Society (BERS), 11B, Gyan Khand IV, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad 201010, Uttar
Pradesh, India

* Tel: +91 8010104158, E-mail: esz148252@ces.iitd.ac.in

Abstract: The ancient building architecture is an amalgamation of aesthetics, functionality & preservation of
energy. The planning, designing & construction of these buildings is such that even today architects take
inspiration from them as they are not time bound. The technologies considered while designing these buildings
hold true to the current energy needs of the buildings designed today.
In this research, the focus is on the different passive energy conservation technologies used in ancient buildings,
their viability in todays world & their effectiveness to fulfill increasing energy needs in modern buildings.

Keywords: Passive cooling, Evaporative cooling, micro-climate

Nomenclature
! inside heat transfer coefficient ..... W/m2 C
! outside heat transfer coefficient ... W/m2 C
! total heat transfer coefficient ....... W/m2 C
!" convective heat transfer coefficient (wetted
surface) ......................................... W/m2 C
!" convective heat transfer coefficient
(wetted surface) ............................ W/m2 C
!" radiative heat transfer coefficient
(wetted surface)W/m2 C
I(t) solar intensity ..................................... W/m2
K thermal conductivity ...................... W/m C
L thickness ................................................... m
N number of air changes ............................... -
! rate of useful energy gain ................... W/m2
!! radiant heat exchange between sky &
a surface.......W/m2
!! rate of heat transfer ................................. W
T surface temperature ............................... C
!! ambient air temperature ........................ C
!! room air temperature ............................. C
!!" solair temperature ................................. C
!!"# sky temperature ...................................... C
!! overall heat transfer coefficient .... W/m2 C
! rate of long wavelength radiation
exchange between ambient air & sky . W/m2
! solar radiation absorbed by surface ...... C
! emissivity ............................................... C
! Stefan-Boltzmann constant ............. W/m2K4

1. Introduction
Construction industry and infrastructure constitutes major global economic sector, with an
annual cost of approximately $3 trillion [1]. With world second largest population and third
largest GDP India is expecting a massive growth in infrastructure sector. Buildings present a
very high energy consumption of about 40% of the total energy demand & out of it about
70% energy is used for lighting, cooling, heating & ventilation of the building to provide
comfort to the occupants [2].

To support the massive demand of economy and infrastructure it is even more essential now
to strike a balance on energy conservation and development. Along with, curbing the use of
depleting non-renewable sources of energy, a need of cleaner form of energy has also arisen
to control the damages caused on the environment [3]. This gives way to look back & see how
with the passive techniques in the ancient times comfort was achieved in buildings.

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2. Need of Passive Design Buildings

The modern architecture and engineering tends rely heavily on active systems to provide
comfort to the habitant but that comfort comes with a cost not just monetary but dilution of
non-renewable resources. A passive design involves taking advantage of local climatic
condition by incorporating design techniques & features that can maintain a comfortable
environment inside the building with minimum power consumption. Passive design is a
creative way to use the sun to our advantage, both for heating and cooling. Along with, being
a cost effective alternative than the present day mechanical methods, this design creates
harmony between the nature, building & occupants [4].

3. Methodology
Considering old buildings as a model of passive
design strategies, a case study is conducted on a
schools hostel building at Jamia Millia Islamia
(Fig. 1), New Delhi. This building was designed by
architect Carl Heinz in 1930s; its a load bearing
structure with two stories, with a total area of
Figure 1, view of JMI, hostel building

Figure 2, ground floor plan Figure 3, first floor plan

approx. 2400sq.m with 60m x 40m outer dimension (see Fig.2 & 3). The building comprises
of large resting rooms with storage, reading rooms, dining rooms, kitchen, pantry, toilets,
bathrooms, wardens office & residential unit. This case study is an attempt is to mark out the
viability of ancient passive deigns in the present modern world.

Thermal response of any building depends on components listed below which together work
for maintaining occupants comfort:

4. Climate
Every building behaves differently in a different kind of climate. The first step to design a
building is to identify the climate of the region where it is to be built. Two types of climatic
considerations are explained below [4]:
4.1. Macro Climate
Here the referenced building is situated in New Delhi, which falls under composite climate
zone (see Table 1, [5]). As the large part of year falls under summer months, the buildings
here are designed to minimize the heat gain.

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Table 1, Climatic Chart of New Delhi

32 43 C (summer-day) 27 32 C (summer-night)
Temperature
10 25 C (winter-day) 4 10 C (winter-night)
Relative Humidity 20 25 % (dry period) 55 95 % (wet period)
Summer Western Disturbance from Winter North Western
Thar Desert Winds from Himalayas
Wind Monsoon South Western Winds
Spring South Western
from Arabian Sea
Predominant wind direction is toward east as most days are summer

4.2. Micro-climate
The effects of macro-climate on a building can be controlled by properly designing micro-
climate, as per the thermal need of the buildings occupants. On identifying the kind of
climate of the concerned area, the duty of a designer is to set balance between buildings
macro & micro climate i.e. to sync outer conditions with inner living condition to achieve
thermal comfort for the occupants of the building.

5. Orientation
While designing a building the first thing a designer is concerned about is the orientation of
the building. The referenced building is in southern hemisphere with composite climate, so
the architect has placed all the resting & reading rooms of students in north east direction,
helping in reducing heat gain & better illumination. All the administrative offices, kitchens &
store rooms are placed along the sun path, which even if gain more heat will not affect the
comfort of the students (Fig. 4). Opening in courtyard is provided in west-east position to
channel better flow of air.

Figure 4, building shadow analysis & wind analysis at 9am, 2pm & 6pm in summers

6. Site condition, Context & Landform

At the time when the hostel was built there was no other building present in the surrounding,
the site was only few meters away from the lake (Fig. 5 & 6) bringing in cool breeze to the
hostel. But presently, a lot of faculty building are built around this building (but not close
enough to cast a shadow on the building), even the school campus has extended (Fig. 7).

Figure 5, old picture showing Figure 6, old picture of hostel

presence of lake near hostel 98
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Figure 8, sketch showing water breeze

moving towards land at daytime

Figure 7, aerial view of school site

The site before was on higher side, helping cool lake breeze move towards land at day time.
The land gets heated faster; the air above it gets warmer & rises up. Due to pressure
difference the cold breeze from water body moves towards the land (see Fig. 8). Presently the
lake is dried up & the land is filled flat.

7. Vegetation
Vegetation is one of the methods to cool the ambient air. Solar radiations help in
photosynthesis & some of its parts leads to evaporative heat loses from trees & plants, leading
to addition of moisture in the ambient air. The windows along the sun path are shaded by the
trees mentioned in Table 2, [5], helps in cutting down the heat gain (see Fig. 9 & 10).

Figure 9, vegetation around hostel building Figure 10, neem tree along the south
west face of the building, helps in:
shading the building, filtering west wind,
moisturizing the hot dry wind.

The building is shaded by trees &

plants along the sun path; the northern
face of the building is kept clear
without any vegetation shade to allow
the light enter the building (see Fig. 11).
Below is the list of trees present along
the building:
Figure 11, aerial view of hostel building with
vegetation around

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Table 2, List of the Trees around the Hostel Building

Common
Botanical Height Spread Rate of Root Drought
Name Foliage
Name (M) (M) Growth System Resistant
(English)
Eugenia 12.2
Jamun 9.1 10.7 Medium Medium Medium BLE
Jambolana 13.7
Azadiracta 13.7 10.7
Margosa Fast Medium Good BLE
Indica 15.2 12.2
Cassia Indian Very
7.6 10.7 6.1 9.1 Fast Small D
Fistula Labumum Good

8. Build-Form & Open-Covered Spaces

The building form of the referenced building is symmetrical cuboids with punctures inform of
courtyards (see Fig. 2 & 3), helping to reduce the solid surface area of the building. Lesser
surface area receives lesser direct solar radiations, cutting down the heat gain [6].

9. Building Fabric
Table 3, List of Building Materials in Referenced Building
In the referenced building, use of Construction Material Description
local materials was done which is
economical, saves energy & time Wall, Dome & Arch Clay Brick Wall (230mm
(see Table 3); even Bricks were to500mm thk.) with lime-
made on site. Trombe walls act as water mortar
insulator here; absorb solar
radiation in daytime, maintaining Slab 300mm thk RBC
thermal comfort & in night time Windows & Doors Wooden frames
releases heat to living space when
the temperature is comparatively Shading Reinforced Brick &
lower inside. Sandstone Jali
Clay brick and sandstone were used
in the construction of the building along with lime mortar. The walls are double brick wall
offers lesser thermal conductivity through the wall and mortars made from lime were able to
allow a certain amount of moisture to pass through them mainly due to their high open
porosity helps in cooling of the walls. The existing buildings for aesthetic purpose rely on lot
of different material like steel, aluminum sections & glasses etc. with higher thermal
conductivity, raising the need of active design system. Energy balance equation for bare
surface trombe wall is as follows:
! = U! (T!" T! ) (1)
!" ! ! ! ! !!
where, !!" = !!
+ !! , !! =
!!
+
!
+
!!
(2) & (3)

10. Features in the referenced building

10.1. Courtyard
Courtyard in traditional architecture is the basic element that governs the relation between
building & its surrounding as mentioned by Hamza Salman Al-Mamoori [7]. The referenced
building has one inner & one outer courtyard. Rooms & both these courtyards are
interconnected by verandas & passages, helping in better air movement within the building. In
daytime, the air in courtyards gets warmer & rises up, cool air from adjacent spaces replaces

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it, producing air flow as described by Sharma et al [8]. Moreover, presence of two courtyards
(in opposite direction) help in maintaining air flow inside the building throughout the day,
when one is cool & other is exposed to sun. In night, the roof gets cooled by radiative cooling;
the cooled air from roof sinks in courtyards & enters the adjacent spaces. Vaisman &Horvat
[9] suggested that courtyards increase illuminance hours from 9%-20%. Roof transfer heat to
the night sky via longwave radiation exchange and convection. The radiant heat exchange
between sky and the body / surface can be expressed as:
!! = (T4!"# T4 ) (4)
Rate of long-wavelength radiation exchange between ambient air and sky can be expressed as:
!
R = [ T! + 273 ! T!"# + 273 = 60 !/! ! (5)

Figure 12, view of Figure 13, air movement from Figure 14, air movement in
internal courtyard outer to inner courtyard courtyard at daytime
10.2. Dome
Domed roof here is used to support roof of wide double space which
helps in maintaining thermal comfort inside the building when there
was no technological advancement & even today maintains the same.
Radiations falling on dome are of varying quantity causing difference
in temperature, increasing air speed around the dome & eventually
pulling out air from the dome openings. The hot air accumulated in
dome goes out & cool air replaces it causing cool air flow inside the Figure 15, sketch
showing hot air trapped
building. Domes are better thermal exchanger & better for summer
along dome profile
than flat roofs studied by studied by Al- Jawadi & Al- Sudany [10].
10.3. Wind Tower
Wind towers are vertical shafts inlets & outlets at top to exchange
air from outside described by Ghaemmaghami & Mahmoudi [11].
In the referenced building a similar kind of feature unidirectional
square towers with inlet/outlet fins on all four sides are present
along predominant wind direction path. Due to pressure difference
the hot air is pulled out & is replaced by cold air, producing cool air
movement in the building. A 12-15C drop in temperature is
examined on incorporating wind towers for cooling suggested by Figure 16, view of wind
tower in hostel building
Gupta & Tiwari [12].
10.4. Ventilation/ Infiltration & Height of Building
Ventilation is one of the important aspects of designing a building. Ventilation through
windows helps in maintain air flow in the building, but it effects heating & cooling of a
building also. Infiltration leads to 9.4% to 56% increase in cooling load [12]. Cracks, gaps &
opening of doors due to entry/exit of occupants are main sources of infiltration.
The ventilation losses can be given by,
Q ! = 0.33NV (T! T! ) (6)

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10.5. Evaporative Cooling

In the referenced building, during summers water is sprinkled in the courtyard & the adjacent
lawn which causes evaporative cooling effect Tiwari et al [13]. The water draws heat from the
surface, making hot air to rise & cold air from the building replaces it making air to move
inside the building. The rate of thermal energy per unit area can be expressed as,
!" ! !!
! = U! T!" T! where, !!" = + !! , ! = !" + !" + !" (7), (8) & (9)
! ! ! !
! ! ! !!
!!"# = + + (10)
!! ! !!

10.6. Shading
Solar shading devices block direct solar radiation
gain & helps in maintaining thermal comfort by
reducing heat gain [4]. A drop of 2.5-4.5 C
temperature is observed in rooms with shading
devices mentioned by Gupta & Tiwari [12]. Here
R.B.C. overhangs are placed on each window
openings along the sun path to restrict radiation entry
in living spaces. Secondly, the building is designed
in such a way that the resting rooms of the students
are segregated from exterior by a presence of buffer Figure17, Figure 18, RBC
in form of passage along the north east direction. verandah section shade on windows
along the sun path
10.7. Openings
Several small punctures in walls in form of
slits, circular/ rectangular openings increase
the velocity of air flow.The larger outer arch
converges into smaller arch and an opening
allowing higher air velocity entering the
building because of large reduced area. The
transverse horseshoe arch not only helps in
Figure 19, view of Figure 20, inner view
load transfer but also facilitates better air
main entrance with of the main entrance
movement along the edges. punctures in the wall
11. Results
This building predates the development of four-season climate management systems typically
had some inherent capability to moderate external influences on interior conditions. In this
structure, the building itself is the system for ventilation and human comfort. The
performance of these buildings relies on building materials, thermal mass, moisture buffering,
landscape, siting, overall form, horizontal and vertical communication among interior spaces,
and exterior wall openings. Passive designing in this building utilizes natural sources of
heating and cooling, such as the sun and cooling breezes. It is achieved by appropriately
orientating the building on its site and carefully designing the building envelope which
minimize unwanted heat gain and loss helping the building to achieve lifetime of thermal
comfort, low energy bills and low greenhouse gas emissions. Good passive design is critical
to achieve a lifetime of thermal comfort

12. Discussion and Conclusions

When technology started to control the environment, it influenced not only building design
but perceptions and technical definitions of occupant comfort. Air-conditioning and other
active design technology components consumes large amount of energy and are responsible

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for huge carbon emission. We can reduce the potentially adverse impact of our environmental
management strategies if we rely on passive and operable features of the building that can
moderate the environment and afford protection for the contents and collections, and rely on
these features rather than on mechanical systems to the extent practical.
It is recommended that designers should adopt a passive design approach that uses the
building architecture to maximize occupant comfort and minimize energy use. Of course, the
application of passive design must be carefully considered within the specific constraints and
opportunities of each project.

References

[1] M. Santamouris and D. Kolokotsa, "Passive cooling dissipation techniques for buildings
and other structures: The state of the art," Energy and Buildings, vol. 57, p. 7494,
February 2013.
[2] A. R. Kumar, K. C. K. Vijyakumar and P. S. S. Sinivasan, "A Review on Passive
Cooling Practices in Residential Buildings," International Journal of Mathematical
Sciences and Engineering (IJMSE), vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1-5, March 2014.
[3] S. Barber and M. Behm, History of Passive Solar Energy, East Carolina.
[4] A. Ali, "Passive Cooling & Vernacularism in the Mughal buildings in North India: A
Source of Inspiration for Sustainable Development," International Transaction Journal
of Engineering,Management, Applied Sciences & Technologies, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 15-27,
2013.
[5] "Chapter-2, Climate & Buildings," [Online]. Available: mnre.gov.in/solar-
energy/ch2.pdf.
[6] H. M. H. Abed, "Effect of Building Form on the Thermal Performance of Residential
Complexes in the Mediterranean Climate of the Gaza Strip," Gaza Palestine, 2012.
[7] H. S. Al-Mamoori , "How to Activate Courtyard in Buildings of Gridiron Planning
Pattern to Be of Sustainable Thermal Comfort," Procedia Environmental Sciences, vol.
34, p. 190201, December 2016.
[8] A. Sharma, K. K. Dhote and R. Tiwari, "Climatic Responsive Energy Efficient Passive
Techniques in Buildings," in Eighteenth National Convention of Architectural Engineers,
Jaipur, 2002.
[9] G. Vaisman and M. Horvat, "Influence of internal courtyards on the energy load and
hours of illuminance in row houses in Toronto," in Energy Procedia, 6th International
Building Physics Conference,IBPC, 2015.
[10] M. H. Al-Jawadi and J. A. Al-Sudany, "Domes and their Impact on Thermal
Environment inside Buildings," in XXXVII IAHS, World Congress on Housing,
Santander, Spain, 2010.
[11] P. S. Ghaemmaghami and M. Mahmoudi, "Wind tower a natural cooling system in
Iranian traditional architecture," in Passive and Low Energy Cooling for the Built
Environment, Santorini, Greece, 2005.
[12] N. Gupta and G. N. Tiwari, "Review of passive heating/ cooling systems of buildings,"
Energy Science & Engineering, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 305-333, October 2016.
[13] G. N. Tiwari, . A. Kumar and M. S. Sodha, "A reviewCooling by water evaporation
over roof," Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 22, no. 2, p. 143153, 1982.

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Ch. PV06

Periodic modeling of cooling based on semi-Transparent photovoltaic

thermal Trombe wall (SPVT-TW)
Firehun Taffessea and G.N. Tiwarib
a
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delh-110016, India
b
Bag Energy Research Society (BERS):www.bers.in, Mahamana Nager, Varanasi-221005, (UP), India

* Corresponding author. Tel: +919650911659, E-mail: firezetaffesse@gmail.com

Abstract: In this paper, periodic modeling of semi-transparent photovoltaic thermal trombe wall based cooling
of a single room dimension 30 m2 in summer in New Delhi was developed. Effect of thickness of Trombe wall
and insulation on room air temperature have been obtained. From thermal comfort point of view thermal load
leveling and decrement factor for a particular day of summer was evaluated. Based on the investigation by using
this method of cooling the room air temperature maintain constant near to 33oC. For optimum thickness of
trombe wall which is 0.33 a room air temperature has been reduced by 15% and thermal load leveling which is
equal to 0.0249 for total thickness of trombe wall and insulation is 0.325 m.

Keywords: Periodic modeling, cooling, photovoltaic thermal, Trombe wall

1. Introduction

Passive cooling systems have the same basic components as passive heating system, but work
in a different manner. Whereas the purpose of passive solar cooling systems is to draw out or
to protect heat entering to the building and thereby cooled it. There are a number of researches
which were proposed for optimization energy inside the building by using natural air
circulation in order to achieve better thermal stability. Bansal N. K. et al (1990) discussed
about the building design and constructed for hot and dry zone of India to keep the room air
temperature conditions within comfortable limit. Guohui G. (1997) have studied the use of
trombe wall for summer cooling of building using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and
validated the experimental and predicted ventilation rate has a very good agreement.
Moreover Mehran R. et al (2015) have studied a new design of trombe wall in combination
with solar chimney and water spraying system in a test room under Yazd (Iran) desert climate.
The result shows that the stored energy of the trombe wall plays important role in the air
ventilation during non-sunny period and the water spraying system enhances thermal
efficiency by approximately 30%. Maria K. et al (2016) have discussed analysis of the
impact on energy use of green and cool roofing techniques applied to a typical steel goods
storage building for different climatic conditions. Simulations shows that the green roof has
consistency positive impact on energy saving during hot/dry and hot/humid climate when the

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rejection of solar heat given leads to reduced cooling load. Ana B. et al (2016) have studied
the effect of ventilation and shading device in the temperature fluctuation for a test cell with
classical trombe wall for a real climatic condition in Portuguese. This configuration provides
better stability and cell temperature reduction. In this paper, periodic modeling of cooling
based of semitransparent photovoltaic thermal trombe wall has been developed to optimize
the room air temperature, packing factor, transmittivity, thermal load leveling (TLL) and
decrement factor, for cooling of the room by minimizing solar gain entering to the room and
introducing the insulation inside wall of the room.

Tx=L
Tx=0

Tfout

Ta Lo Tr

I(t)
Heavy wall
hi

Tfin=Ta Insulation

Li

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of SPVT-TW with air duct for cooling the building.

2. Mathematical modeling of SPVT based cooling of the room

The following assumption has been made to develop the mathematical modeling of the
system

One-dimensional heat transfer through the Trombe wall has been considered.
The thermal losses through side walls are negligible.
Physical and thermal properties of air are constant, for operating temperature range.
Flow is laminar and incompressible.
The system is under periodic condition.
No ventilation has been considered.

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Based on these assumption the energy balance equation by considering the figure 1. At
different point are as follows.

For PV module

( )
g cI(t)Am = U t (Tc Ta )A m + U b Tc Tf A m + mI(t)Am (1)

For x=0 (Fig. 1):

T
g2 bb (1 )I(t)A m + h bf (Tf T x =0 )A m = k A m (2)
x x =0

For x=L (Fig. 1)

T
k = h i (T x =L Tr ) (3)
x x =L

For non-air conditioning room:

Energy balance equation for room air is as follows:

dTr
M a Ca = h i (T x = L Tr )A r (4)
dt
=m! f C f (Tfout Tfin )

The energy balance equation for flowing fluid (air) in Y-direction with the mass flow rate of
m! f given by

dTf
! f cf
m dy = U b (Tc Tf )b dy + h bf (T x =0 Tf )b dy (5)
dy

Now, since I(t) and Ta are periodic in nature, they can be expressed in terms of Fourier series,
as follows:

I(t) = I o + real I n e i n e inwt (6)
n =1

and,

Ta = Tao + real Tan e i n e inwt (7)
n =1

where I o , I n , Tao , Tan , n , and n are Fourier coefficients and are evaluated for known I(t) and
Ta. Further, since Ta and I(t) are periodic, all the temperatures can be expressed in periodic
form as follows:

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6
Tc = Tco + real Tcn e inwt (8)
n =1

6
T = Ax + B + real (C n e n x + D n e n x )e inwt (9)
n =1

6
Tr = Tro + real Trn e inwt (10)
n =1

n =6
Tf = Tfo + real Tfn e inwt (11)
n =1

Substitute Eqs. (6-11) into Eqs. (1-5) and simplified finally we will have time independent
and time dependent equations.

Time independent part of the equation in matrix form

2
U h g U g
0 b bf 12 U tb - PF1 I o b 12 0
U tT U tT
2
g 12 h bf h bf U b g 12
AK ( h bf
) eff I o U+tT( U t + U b g13 )T 0
UaotT
h
B L +
i =
K (i)eff I o + hbf g13 0
h hi
(12)
TA r h i L Arhi 0 0 (A r h i )
co

Tro 0

Similarly time dependent part of the equation

2
U h g U b h bf g 12 U b g 12
b bf 12 U tb PF1 I o PF1 I n e i n 0
U tT U tT U tT
2 2
h bf g 12 h g g 12 h bf U b
K n + h bf (K n h bf + bf 12 ) 0
U tT U tT U tT
(K n h i )e n L (K n + h i )e n L 0 hi

A r h i e n L A r h i e n L 0 (A r h i + M a c a inw)

C n G1
D G
n = 2 (13)
Tcn 0

Trn 0

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Using matrices in Eqs. (12) and (13), all the unknown constants for time independent and
dependent parts can be evaluated. Then, the known constants Tc, Tr, and Tf can be obtained
from Eqs. 8, 10 and 11 respectively. Further, T x =0 and T x =L can be obtained as follows:

T x =0 = B + real (C n + D n )e inwt , and (14)
n =1

T x = L = AL + B + real (C n e n L + D n e n L )e inwt (15)
n =1

Similarly the thermal load leveling (TLL) and decrement factor (f) can be find by the
following expressions (Ozel, 2013)

Tr max Tr min
TLL = (16)
Tr max + Tr min

(T x = L ) max (T x = L ) min
f= (17)
(T x =0 ) max (T x =0 ) min

3. Methodology
The following steps have been considered for analysis of cooling based on SPVT-TW

Hourly variation of solar radiation and ambient air temperature, depicted in Fig, 2, and
the design parameters and nomenclature are indicated in Firehun T. et al.(2016), have
been used for computations.
Fourier coefficients for Eqs. (6 and 7) are determined and listed in Table 1.
Constants for (a) time independent part: Tco, A, B, Tro and Tfo (Eq. (12)) and (b) time
dependent part: Tcn, Cn, Dn, Trn and Tfn (Eq. (13)) are computed using matrix
inversion.
The known constants Tr, Tc, Tf, T x =0 and T x =L are computed.
Table 1. Fourier coefficients of: Total solar intensity reach on PV module and ambient
air temperature for different number of harmonics.
n 1 2 3 4 5 6

In 533.3645 155.882 38.1191 18.6611 18.5101 0.3465

n -1.5692 -1.5676 -1.566 -1.5644 -1.5628 -1.5612

Tan 5.4195 0.9819 0.0294 0.0199 0.0344 0.0170

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n 0.0926 0.0686 -0.0145 0.0069 0.0079 -0.5708

4. Results and discussion

After mathematical modeling of the system, simulation is developed using MATLAB 2013b
software and the effect of different parameters such as thickness of Trombe wall and
insulation.

Fig. 2. Hourly variation of ambient air temperature and solar radiation.

Fig. 2 shows the hourly variation of solar intensity and ambient air temperature as
measured on June 21st, for New Delhi.

For Lt=0.25 m For Lt=0.35 m

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For Lt=0.45m For Lt=0.55 m

Fig. 3. Hourly temperature distribution for Trombe wall

Fig. 3. Shows the temperature distribution at outside surface of trombe wall and room
air temperature room air temperature fluctuation is reduced when increases thickness
of trombe wall and insulation, for high value of this thickness Lt=0.55 m the room air
temperature maintain near to 33.6 oC.

(a) (b)

Fig. 4. Variation in thermal load leveling for (a) thickness of trombe wall and insulation (b) for packing
factor

Figure 4a. Shows effect of variation in thickness of trombe wall with insulation on thermal
comfort, as increasing the thickness causes thermal load leveling is decreased and provides
better thermal stability. Whereas variation in packing factor of photovoltaic module as shown
on Fig. 4b. also affect thermal stability of the room. For less value of packing factor provides
better thermal stability of the room.

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Fig. 5. Variation of thermal load leveling with transmittivity of PV module

Figure 5. Shows the effect of transmittivity of PV module on thermal comfort of the
room, increases of transmittivity leads the room air fluctuation will be reduce,
optimum value of transmittivity to have better thermal stability of room air during
summer season equal to 0.7 which gives less value of thermal load leveling.
5. Conclusions
Mathematical periodic modeling of semi-transparent PV module thermal
trombe wall for cooling the room during summer season was developed.
By increasing thickness of trombe wall and insulation we can have better
thermal stability to room.
Design parameters has significant effect on stability of room air temperature.
Therefore by considering optimum values of packing factor and transmittivity
can achieve the required thermal stability of room.

6. References

Bansal N. K, Sodha M., Sharma A. and Rakshit R., 1991, A solar passive building for hot arid
zones in India. Energy Convservation and management 32, 1-9.
Briga sa, Boaventura-chuna J., Carlos Lanzinha J. and Paiva A, 2016 An experimental
analysis of trombe wall temperature fluctuation for high range climate conditions: influence
of ventilation opening and shading devices. Energy and building. 138, 546-558.
Gan G., 1998, A parametric study of trombe wall for passive cooling of building. Energy and
building, 27, 37-43.
Kolokotroni m., Wines C., Babiker R. and Silva B., 2016, Cool and green roofs for storage
buildings in various climate. Procedia engineering 169,350-358.
Ozel, Meral, 2013. Determination of optimum insulation thickness based on cooling
transmission load for building walls in a hot climate. Energy Convers. Manage. 66.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

Rabani M., Kalantar V., A. Dehghan A., K. Faghih A., 2015, Emperical investigation of the
cooling performance of a new design trombe wall in combination with solar chimney and
water spraying system. Energy and building. 102, 45-57.

Taffesse F., Singh S., Verma A., Tiwari G.N., 2016, Periodic modeling of semitransparent
photovoltaic thermal trombe-wall. Solar Energy, 135, 265-273.

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Ch. PV07
Performance Evaluation of Semitransparent Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT)
with Thermoelectric Cooler (TEC) Collector

Neha Dimri1,*, G.N. Tiwari2, T.S. Bhatti1

1
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
2
Bag Energy Research Society (BERS) (www.bers.in), Mahamana Nagar, Varanasi
221005, UP, India
* Corresponding author. Tel: +9711426878, E-mail: nehadimri.91@gmail.com

Abstract: In this paper, a thermal model for semitransparent photovoltaic thermal with thermoelectric cooler
(PVT-TEC) collector has been derived. The derivation is based on overall energy balance maintained by each
component of the semitransparent PVT-TEC collector. The overall electrical efficiency of the proposed
semitransparent PVT-TEC collector has been evaluated. The overall electrical efficiency of the proposed
semitransparent PVT-TEC collector is found to be increased by employing a thermoelectric cooler (TEC)
module. The range of variation of overall electrical efficiency is calculated to be 0.1109 to 0.134, using the
derived thermal model.

Keywords: photovoltaic thermal, solar thermoelectric cooler, solar energy

Nomenclature
L length of collector ................................m hp1 first penalty factor due to top glass cover
b breadth of collector ..............................m hp2 second penalty factor due to bottom glass
cf specific heat of fluid ......................J/kgK cover
dx elemental length ...................................m hp3 third penalty factor due to TEC module
I(t) global radiation ..............................W/m2 o solar cell efficiency at standard test
!! mass flow rate of fluid .....................kg/s condition (I(t) = 1000 W/m2, To = 25 C)
Kg thermal conductivity of glass ........W/mK tc conversion efficiency from thermal
Ktc thermal conductivity of TEC energy to electrical energy of TEC
module............................................W/mK module
Ki thermal conductivity of insulation..W/mK o temperature coefficient of solar cell
Lg thickness of glass ..................................m efficiency..............................................K-1
Ltc thickness of thermoelectric cooler
module...................................................m Greek Letters
Li thickness of insulation ..........................m efficiency
ht,gs heat transfer coefficient from solar cell ()eff product of effective absorptivity and
to bottom glass cover....................W/m2K transmittivity
ht,gs-tc heat transfer coefficient from bottom absorptivity
glass cover to TEC module...........W/m2K packing factor
htf heat transfer coefficient from TEC transmittivity
module to fluid .............................W/m2K
Ut overall heat transfer coefficient from top Subscripts
of solar cells to ambient through top a ambient
glass cover.....................................W/m2K eff effective
Ub overall heat transfer coefficient from f fluid
bottom of insulation to ambient.....W/m2K fi fluid inlet
Ut,gs-a overall heat transfer coefficient from fo fluid outlet
bottom glass cover to ambient......W/m2K g glass
Utc-a overall heat transfer coefficient from m module
TEC module to ambient................W/m2K sc solar cell
Ufa overall heat transfer coefficient from tc TEC module
fluid to ambient ............................W/m2K th thermal

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1. Introduction
Designing and manufacturing of photovoltaic systems is one of the solutions to face the
energy crisis, which is all around the world. Many researchers have developed different
configurations of hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems over the past few decades [1-6].
PVT systems allow the enhancement of electrical energy of photovoltaic (PV), by removing
thermal energy from the back of solar cells and subsequently decreasing the operating
temperature of the solar cells. Since the electrical efficiency of a solar cell is higher for lower
operating temperature, PVT systems provide higher electrical efficiency than PV systems.
Further, the withdrawn thermal energy can be utilized for space heating applications, etc.
Although the overall energy generated by PVT systems is higher, a major component of it is
in thermal form, i.e. low-grade energy. Therefore, a device which converts heat directly into
electricity, i.e. Thermoelectric (TE) module, needs to be incorporated to enhance the high-
grade energy output. Thermoelectric (TE) modules work on the principle of Seebeck/Peltier
effect [7]. When a temperature difference is introduced across the two sides of a TE module,
the charge carriers drift from hot to cold side. This in turn leads to generation of electrical
energy.

PVT collectors employing a TEC module have not been studied in detail as of now. In this
research, an attempt has been made to develop a thermal model of semitransparent
photovoltaic thermal (PVT) with thermoelectric cooler (TEC) collector using energy balance
equations. The performance of the proposed semitransparent PVT-TEC collector is then
evaluated theoretically, in terms of overall electrical efficiency.

2. System Description
In this study, the PVT system is integrated with a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) module in
order to obtain an increased overall electrical efficiency of the proposed semitransparent
PVT-TEC collector (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Cross-sectional view of proposed semitransparent PVT-TEC collector

A TEC module is placed in between bottom glass cover and air duct. The global radiation
incident over the packing area of PV module is absorbed by the solar cells and thus,
contributes to the electrical energy output. The incident global radiation is transmitted through
the non-packing area of PV module and gets absorbed by the TEC module. This is known as
direct gain. Thermal energy is transferred from the solar cells to the bottom glass cover and
subsequently, to the TEC module, i.e. indirect gain. Due to direct and indirect gain, a
temperature difference arises between both the ends of TEC module and thus, electrical
energy is generated. So, the electrical energy output is increased by placing a TEC module in
the PVT system. Also, there is a transfer of thermal energy from back-side of TEC module to
the air owing below it, and therefore, the temperature of air increases at outlet. The flow of air
below TEC module also aids in reducing the temperature of the back-side of TEC, thereby
maintaining a temperature difference between both the ends.

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3. Thermal Model
The following assumptions have been made in writing the energy balance equations for each
component of the proposed semitransparent PVT-TEC collector:

(i) The semitransparent PVT-TEC collector is in quasi steady state.

(ii) No temperature gradient is present across thickness of air column, solar cell and
glass covers.
(iii) Heat capacity of glass covers and solar cells is negligible.
(iv) Ohmic losses in solar cells are neglected.
(v) One-dimensional heat flow is considered.

Fig. 2. Cross-sectional view of an elemental length 'dx' showing air flow pattern below TEC module

By considering Fig. 2, the energy balance equations for each component of the
semitransparent PVT-TEC collector, considering an elemental area, bdx, are as follows:

(a) For semitransparent PV module:

!! !!" !!" !(!)!"# = [!! (!!" !! ) + !,!" (!!" !!",!" )]!"# + !! !!" !(!)!!" !"# (1)

(b) For bottom glass cover:

!,!" (!!" !!",!" )!"# = !,!"!!" (!!",!" !!",!" )!"# (2)

(c) For TEC module (Fig. 2):

!!! !!" 1 !!" ! ! !"# + !,!"!!" !!",!" !!",!" !"# = !" !!",!" !! !"# + !!" !,!"!!" !!",!" !!",!" !"# (3)

(d) For fluid flowing below the TEC module:

!!! (4)
!" (!!",!" !! )!"# = !! !! !" + !! (!! !! )!"#
!"

Upon solving Eqs. (1) - (3), the following expressions are calculated for Tsc (solar cell
temperature), Tbs,gs (bottom glass cover temperature) and Tbs,tc (back-side TEC temperature).

(!")!"" !(!) + !! !! + !,!" !!",!" (5)

!!" = ,
!! + !,!"

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!! (!")!"" !(!) + !!,!"!! !! + !,!"!!" !!",!" (6)

!!",!" = ,
!!,!"!! + !,!"!!"

and

(!")!"" !(!) + (1 !!" )!!"!! !! + !" !! (7)

!!",!" =
(1 !!" )!!"!! + !!

Rewriting Eq. (4) using Eqs. (5) - (7) and solving for the initial condition Tf |x=0 = Tfi, the
following expression for Tf is derived.

!! (!")!"" !(!) (!!" + !! )!" (!!" + !! )!" (8)

!! = + !! 1 !"# + !!" !"#
(!!" + !! )! !! !! !! !!

The outlet fluid temperature (Tfo) can be calculated by using the boundary condition Tf |x=L =
Tfo. The above equation can be integrated to determine the average fluid temperature (Tf ) as
follows:
!
1 (9)
!! = !! !"
! !

Solving further,

(!!" + !! )!" (!!" + !! )!" (10)

!! (!")!"" !(!) 1 !"# !! !! 1 !"# !! !!
!! = + !! 1 + !!"
(!!" + !! )! (!!" + !! )!" (!!" + !! )!"
!! !! !! !!

By substituting the value of !! from Eq. (10) in Eqs. (5) (7), we can evaluate the
expressions for !!" (average solar cell temperature), !!",!" (average bottom glass cover
temperature) and !!",!" (average back-side TEC temperature), respectively.

The solar cell efficiency, (sc), of a PV module is given by

!!" = !! [1 !! (!!" !! ) (11)

The electrical efficiency (m) of PV module is given by:

!! = !! !!" !!" (12)

The electrical energy produced by the PV module (Esc) can be expressed as follows:

!!" = !! !(!)!" (13)

The electrical energy output of the thermoelectric cooler (TEC) module (Etec) is given by

!!"# = !!" !|!!! !|!!!!" !!" !!" !" (14)

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= !!" [!!",!" !!",!" ]!!" !!" !"

where, tc is the conversion efficiency from thermal energy to electrical energy of the TEC
module.

The overall electrical energy generated by the semitransparent photovoltaic thermal with
thermoelectric generator (PVT-TEC) collector is the summation of electrical energy output of
PV module and of TEC module, expressed as:

!!" = !!" + !!"# = [!! !(!) + !!" [!!",!" !!",!" ]!!" !!" ]!" (15)

4. Results and Discussion

The hourly variation of global solar radiation, I(t), and ambient air temperature, Ta, used for
numerical calculations is shown in Fig. 3. The climatic data used in this study is obtained
from Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune, India for a typical month of January for
New Delhi, India. Table 1 lists the design parameters used in various calculations. Fig. 4
depicts the hourly variation of average solar cell temperature, average back-side TEC
temperature, PV modules electrical efficiency and overall electrical efficiency of the
proposed semitransparent PVT-TEC collector.

Fig. 3. Hourly variation of global solar radiation, I(t), and ambient temperature, Ta

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Table 1. Various design parameters of semitransparent PVT-TEC collector

Parameters Values
L,b 2m,1m
sc , tc 0.9 , 0.8
g 0.95
sc 0.89
o , tc 0.15 , 0.08
o 0.0045 / K
cf 1005 J/kg K
f 0.0025 kg/s
Kg , Ktc , Ki 0.816 W/m K , 1.82 W/m K , 0.166 W/m K
Lg , Ltc , Li 0.003 m , 0.004 m , 0.100 m
ht,gs , ht,gs-tc , htf 5.58 W/m2 K , 455 W/m2 K , 5.8 W/m2 K
Ut , Ub 9.17 W/m2 K , 0.62 W/m2 K
Ut,gs-a , Utc-a , Ufa 3.4691 W/m2 K , 3.4428 W/m2 K , 2.0486 W/m2 K
hp1 , hp2 , hp3 0.3783 , 0.9924 , 0.6468

70 0.14

60
Electrical Eciency, in frac;on

0.13
50
Temperature , C

0.12
40

30
0.11

20 Average Solar Cell Temperature

Average Back-side TEC Temperature 0.1
10
Overall Electrical Eciency
PV module's electrical eciency
0 0.09
08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Time , hours
Fig. 4. Hourly variation of average solar cell temperature, average back-side TEC temperature, PV
modules electrical efficiency and overall electrical efficiency of semitransparent PVT-TEC collector

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It can be seen from Fig. 4 that average solar cell temperature is higher than average back-side
TEC temperature, as expected. As shown, the PV modules electrical efficiency decreases
with the increase in the average solar cell temperature. It may be a result of higher electrical
energy losses at higher temperatures due to collision of electrons in depletion region of solar
cell. Therefore, the overall electrical efficiency also decreases with increase in average solar
cell temperature. As can be seen, the overall electrical efficiency of the proposed
semitransparent PVT-TEC collector is increased by employing a TEC module. The flow of air
below the TEC module reduces the temperature at back-side of TEC module. As a result, a
temperature difference arises between the front and back sides of TEC module. This leads to
generation of electrical energy across the TEC module. The range of variation of overall
electrical efficiency is from 0.1109 to 0.134.

5. Conclusions

The following conclusions are made, based on this study:

1. A thermal model for semitransparent photovoltaic thermal with thermoelectric cooler

(PVT-TEC) collector has been developed.
2. The overall electrical efficiency of the proposed semitransparent PVT-TEC collector
is calculated to be in the range of 0.1109 to 0.134 and is increased by addition of a
TEC module due to Peltier/Seebek effect.
3. The PV modules electrical efficiency decreases with the increase in the average solar
cell temperature.

References
[1] Deepali Atheaya, Arvind Tiwari, G.N. Tiwari, I.M. Al-Helal, Analytical characteristic
equation for partially covered photovoltaic thermal (PVT) compound parabolic
concentrator (CPC), Solar Energy 111, 2015, pp. 176-185
[2] Deepali Kamthania, Sujata Nayak, G.N. Tiwari, Performance evaluation of a hybrid
photovoltaic thermal double pass facade for space heating, Energy and buildings 43 (9),
2011, pp. 2274-2281
[3] Swapnil Dubey, G.N. Tiwari, Thermal modeling of a combined system of photovoltaic
thermal (PV/T) solar water heater, Solar Energy 82 (7), 2008, pp. 602-612
[4] A. Tiwari, M.S. Sodha, Performance evaluation of hybrid PV/thermal water/air heating
system: A parametric study. Renewable Energy 31(15), 2006, pp. 2460- 2474
[5] A. Tiwari, M.S. Sodha, Performance evaluation of solar PV/T system: An experimental
validation, Solar Energy 80 (7), 2006, pp. 751-759
[6] A. Tiwari, M.S. Sodha, A. Chandra, J.C. Joshi, Performance evaluation of photovoltaic
thermal solar air collector for composite climate of India, Solar Energy Materials and
Solar Cell 90 (2), 2006, pp. 175-189
[7] B.Y. Ohara, H. Lee, Exergetic analysis of a solar thermoelectric generator, Energy 91,
2015, pp. 81-90

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Ch. PV08
Climate responsive design in vernacular architecture for passive cooling

Neha Gupta1,*, G.N.Tiwari2

1
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas,
New Delhi 11 00 16, India.
2
Bag Energy Research Society (BERS), 11B, Gyan Khand IV, Indirapuram,
Ghaziabad - 20 10 10, (UP), India.

* Corresponding author. Tel: 9971931119, E-mail: ar.nehagupta@gmail.com

Abstract: The traditional architecture is known for providing comfortable indoor climatic conditions to its
occupants via passive and natural methods. Today, the architecture is completely isolated from the outdoor and
completely dependent on artificial means for cooling/ heating of the indoor areas even if the outside conditions
are pleasant. It therefore becomes very important to understand the passive methods and apply them in todays
buildings for energy conservation. This paper makes an effort to review and investigate some examples of
vernacular architecture and its building elements from India, Iran and Nepal.

Keywords: Vernacular Architecture, Day Light, Openings, Passive Cooling.

1. Introduction
Traditional buildings are time tested and well known for energy conservation. It therefore
becomes necessary to understand and incorporate the passive technologies used in vernacular
architecture in present day architecture. Since todays buildings are completely dependent on
mechanical devices for heating/ cooling and providing comfortable indoor thermal conditions.
It has been estimated that about 40 % of the worlds energy is dedicated towards the building
sector [1]. Lifetime energy requirements of a building include the energy used in that building
right from the construction stage to its occupancy and also include the energy that is necessary
to sustain and maintain the building throughout its life which is dependent on selection of site,
orientation of building, building material, shading devices, faade treatments, openings,
windows, form and space utilization, courtyard planning, skylights, structure etc. Hence,
incorporating these methods with passive solar techniques will help reduce the lifetime energy
requirement of a building substantially. The combination of various passive heating and
cooling techniques in order to achieve comfortable thermal temperature conditions has always
been visible in vernacular architecture. Its applicability was already mapped in several studies
[2] [3]. These techniques include Trombe wall [4] [5] solar shading [6] [7], natural ventilation
[8] [9], natural daylight [10] [11], radiative cooling [12] [13], courtyard planning [14] [15]
and evaporative cooling [16] [17] [18]. Semitransparent photovoltaic modules can also be
used to produce electrical power and daylighting at the same time [19] [20].

Further, a few examples are illustrated from the history.

Trombe walls can be seen in the great pyramid of Gizeh to maintain 23 C in the kings and
the queens chamber throughout the year. Kubota and Toe [21] investigated various
vernacular passive cooling techniques (night ventilation, roof insulation, shading devices,
courtyard planning, micro climate modifications) and their potential for improving the indoor
thermal comfort for modern terraced houses located in Malaysia. Field studies were conducted
in two traditional timber Malay houses and two traditional masonry Chinese shop houses. In
the former case, the results showed that the indoor temperatures were higher by 1 C than the
outdoor temperatures during the day under open window conditions and by 2 C at night
under closed window conditions. The outdoor temperature of Malay house was recorded to be
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1.7 C higher than the terraced house. The indoor temperature was 5 C lower than the
outdoor temperature in case of courtyard planning at the peak period whereas the values for
both indoor and outdoor temperatures were same during the night. For hot- humid climatic
conditions, the periods of indoor operative temperatures exceeding the 80% comfortable
upper limit in Malay houses, Chinese shop houses, daytime ventilated and night ventilated
terraced houses were 47%, 7-8%, 91% and 42% respectively.

2. India
Amber Fort, Rajasthan, India comprises of various passive cooling techniques. Along with
those, a garden has been positioned just at the center of the lake to modify the microclimate
for comfortable outdoor sitting during summers. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1. Passive cooling of Amber fort, Rajasthan, India. (Source: Clicked by author)

In Shahjahanabad, India, the lower floors are used to spend the hot days while the nights are
spent on the terrace taking advantage of the radiative cooling. The rooftops are sprinkled with
water for evaporative cooling effect. Whereas during the winters, the days are spent on the
sunny rooftops and the nights in the enclosed rooms. The buildings in Shahjahanabad, India
were designed to allow the heavy cool air to enter the building. There was no provision of
parapet wall towards the courtyard and solid parapets were constructed towards the street.
Large openings are provided towards the courtyard to take advantage of radiative cooling so
that the cool air is passed through the interiors. Apart from the above techniques, indigenous
planning layout was also followed for places and simple small dwellings as seen in
Shahjahanabad, Jaisalmer and many other cities in India. This type of a dense clustering
layout ensured that the buildings were not exposed to the outer sun. This prevents the solar
gain and the hot winds from entering the premises and also allows the cold wind to circulate
within the building.

Ancient buildings were able to keep themselves cool without using the movable screens or
curtains rather with the use of some passive techniques as seen in Diwan-e-Khas, Red Fort,
Delhi, India (Fig. 2). Two sets of columns spaced at 4 m have been placed. The provision of
curtains and screens has been provided in these sets for use as per the need. During summers,
three screens were used, out of which two were made of sprinkled grass to take advantage of
the evaporative cooling. Whereas during winters, these screens were replaced by heavy
quilted curtains. During the days, these curtains were rolled up to allow the sun to penetrate
and were rolled down in the evening hours to retain the solar gain. These type of screens and
curtains are also presently seen in Deegh Palace, Rajasthan, India. Roll up bamboo screens

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were also used in vernacular architecture as screening device for shading purposes and also
for east and west orientations.

River Yamuna

Sets of column

Cool air
Water and ice channel
Thron
e Space for curtain and screening

Hot and dry wind

Fig. 2. Passive cooling of Diwan-e-Khas, Red Fort, New Delhi.

Along with these provisions, the entire building has been surrounded by a garden in Red Fort,
New Delhi or by a water garden in Deegh Palace, Bharatpur, India. This was done in order to
reduce the surrounding temperatures using landscaping. The small spaces were constructed to
keep them sheltered from sun by the neighboring buildings. In case of large open spaces,
plantation and water pools were used as landscaping element to protect them from the solar
gains.

The details of the windows and the openings were also taken care of in the vernacular
architecture. Examples included small windows (lesser than 100 mm in diameter) used in
Amber fort, India in order to ensure the visibility without letting the light or air in (Fig. 3a).
Openings installed for ventilation purpose were seen in Shahjahanabad, India. These were
installed near the floor level and near the roof level in order to let the cool air in from the
bottom opening and let the hot air out from the top opening (Figs. 3b and 3c). At some places
jalis (perforated stone or latticed screen) have been used to maintain privacy, let the air and
light enter the building and also allow the visual connectivity from inside to the outside
surroundings (Fig. 3d and 3e). Diffused light is allowed to enter the interiors during sunshine
hours, and at the same time the interiors are not visible from the outside. For the outside view,
small opening is provided at the eye level of the viewer in sitting position. [22]

Hot air

View Hot air

Cold air
Cold air

(a) (b) (c)

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Jali

Wind

Jali
View Viewing pane

Courtyard
(d) (e)

Fig. 3. Openings (a) Small opening for visual connection, (b) near floor and roof for ventilation (c)
Junagarh fort, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India (d) ventilation and visual connectivity with jali and (e)
Junagarh fort, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India.
Source: Clicked by author

Courtyard planning is visible in havelis and forts of Jaisalmer, India for cooling effect.
Another planning tool widely seen in vernacular architecture is thick walls i.e., Trombe walls.
They can be seen in Shahjahanabad, Jaisalmer, India. The natural, ventilated air also enters
the chambers at the same temperature. The Trombe wall of 600 mm thickness is also seen in
all the buildings of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. The inside temperature range was
found to be about 25-28 C when the outside temperature was in the range of about 45- 48 C.
[22].

PC features of vernacular architecture for Kerela, India have been discussed by Dili et al. [23].
These included courtyard planning, verandah, scale and proportions, orientation of the
building, local building materials (mud, laterite, granite, lime mortar, wood, bamboo, clay
roofing, coconut palm leaves etc), steep sloped roofs, decorative jalis (for ventilation and DL),
strut comprising walls spaced by slats forming fenestration design thus creating comfortable
indoor thermal conditions without input of an external cooling source. The temperature near
the courtyards was found to be in the range of 3-8 C lower than the ambient with RH
between 50- 80% (while the outside RH= 32-95 %) [23], [24].

3. Nepal
Rectangular floor plans with low height walls (maximum 750 mm) and high ceilings to
encourage the ventilation are constructed for the subtropical climate. The ratio of the
rectangular plot is 1:2 with north- south orientation of the longer side in order to reduce the
solar gains. Roof overhangs, semi- open spaces, horizontal layout are common features to
enhance the circulation of cool breeze an avoid the heating of the internal spaces [25]. Local
available material is used for the construction of walls like wattle and daub, cane mats, loosely
woven bamboo strips, un plastered walls of wood or reed with gaps are used to allow the
daylight [26]. To ensure permanent air circulation and day lighting, provisions have been
made in the roofing style. Pitched well insulated thatch roof with triangular openings at either
ends and large overhangs to prevent direct sun inside the houses is another passive cooling
concept incorporated. Minimum openings are provided in the faade with low cill level such
that the hot air rises and escapes from the openings provided in the roof.

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4. Iran
Contemporary houses in Iran are environmental friendly and offers a good solution to the
climatic constraints. Compact layout with small openings, low height verandahs and central
courtyards are another significant vernacular element in Iranian architecture. Orientation,
proportions and dimensions being the basic elements of the enclosed and open courtyards
with water features and trees to modify the micro climate [15]. Loggia, talar and evyan are
another interesting Iranian architecture feature which is a semi open living space, closed on all
three sides along with the top connected to the open courtyard. This feature can also be seen
in vernacular architecture of Spain, Mexico and Middle East. These have raised floors with
few levels above the adjoining courtyard to allow the penetration of natural day light and
ventilation in the room beneath it (basement level) [27]. These spaces are often south oriented
and provide natural ventilation, day lighting and shadow cooling effect. Buildings are
generally oriented towards prevailing wind direction and wide windows on both sides for
cross ventilation with high ceilings to enhance the circulation of air were some of the passive
cooling concepts used (e.g., Bushehr city, hot and humid climate). Internal and external
Trombe walls are often used to increase the time lag between day and night. This thermal
mass acts as heat reservoirs in summers during the day and releases the same at night to
achieve comfortable temperature range [28]. Wind tower coupled with the earth air
exchanger, local materials like sun- dried or fired mud- brick were also used (eg., Yazd city,
hot and dry climate) [29]. The cooler air was further allowed to pass over wet charcoal or
fountain for more cooling [22]. Ground floor level were often lower than the natural ground
level, basements (concept of earth shelters) with 1:3 plan proportions is another strategy to
combat the solar gains (e.g., Rasht city, temperate humid climate) [28].

5. Conclusion
It has been seen that passive cooling techniques like ventilation, window and wall shading
devices, natural cross ventilation, trees, water bodies, courtyards and verandahs are very
effective in maintaining the indoor comfort thermal conditions.

6. References

[1] W. B. C. f. S. Development, "Energy Efficiency in Buildings Tranforming the Market.,"

WBCSD, Geneva, 2009.
[2] S. Bodach and J. H. Werner Lang, "Climate responsive building design strategies of
vernacular architecture in Nepal.," Energy and Buildings, vol. 81, pp. 227-242, 2014.
[3] S. Chandel, V. Sharma and B. M. Marwah, "Review of energy efficient features in
vernacular architecture for improving indoor thermal comfort conditions.," Renewable
and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 65, pp. 459-477, 2016.
[4] F. Stazi, A. Mastrucci and C. d. Perna, "Trombe wall management in summer conditions:
An experimental study.," Solar Energy, vol. 86, no. 9, pp. 2839-2851, September 2012.
[5] E. Krger, E. Suzuki and A. Matoski, "Evaluation of a Trombe wall system in a
subtropical location.," Energy and Buildings, vol. 66, pp. 364-372, November 2013.
[6] M. A. Kamal, "An overview of passive cooling techniques in buildings: Design concepts
and architectural interventions.," Acta Technia Napocensis: Civil Engineering &

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Solaris 2017 India Climate responsive design in vernacular architecture for passive cooling
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Architecture, vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 84-97, September 2012.

[7] G. Papadakis, P. Tsamis and S. Kyritsis, "An experimental investigation of the effect of
shading with plants for solar control of buildings.," Energy and Buildings, vol. 33, no. 8,
pp. 831-836, October 2001.
[8] G. A. Faggianelli, A. Brun, E. Wurtz and M. Muselli, "Natural cross ventilation in
buildings on Mediterranean coastal zones," Energy and Buildings, vol. 77, pp. 206-218,
2014.
[9] K. Wan and F. Yik, "Building design and energy end-use characteristics of high-rise
residential buildings in Hong Kong.," Applied Energy, vol. 78, no. 1, pp. 19-36, May
2004.
[10] N. Gupta and G. Tiwari, "Review of passive heating/cooling systems of buildings.,"
Energy Science & Engineering, 2016.
[11] C. B. P. Manual, Daylighting and fenestration design., CHPS, 2013.
[12] Cavelius, Ralf, Isaksson, Charlotta, Perednis, Eugenijus, Read and G. E. F., "Passive
cooling technologies.," Austrian Energy Agency, p. 125, 2005.
[13] Erell, E., Etzion and Y., "A radiative cooling system using water as a heat exchange
medium.," Architectural Science Review, vol. 35, pp. 39-49, 1992.
[14] H. S. Al-Mamoori, "How to activate courtyard in buildings of gridiron planning patterns
to be of sustainable thermal comfort.," Procedia Environmentl Sciences, vol. 34, pp. 190-
201, 2016.
[15] F. Soflaei, M. Shokouhian and S. M. m. Shemirani, "Traditional Iranian courtyards as
microclimate modifiers by considering orientation, dimensions, and proportions.,"
Frontiers of Architectural Research, vol. 5, pp. 225-238, 2016.
[16] J. M. Salmeron, F. J. Snchez, J. Snchez, S. lvarez, J. L. Molina and R. Salmeron,
"Climatic applicability of downdraught cooling in Europe.," Architectural Science
Review, vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 259-272, 2012.
[17] H. Xuan and B. Ford, "Climatic applicability of downdraught cooling in China.,"
Architectural Science Review, vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 273-286, 2012.
[18] A. A. Badran, "Performance of cool towers under various climates in Jordan.," Energy
and Buildings, vol. 35, no. 10, pp. 1031-1035, 2003.
[19] N. Gupta, A. Tiwari and G. Tiwari, "Exergy analysis of building integrated
semitransparent photovoltaic thermal (BiSPVT) system.," Engineering Science and
Technology, an International Journal, 2016.
[20] G. N. Tiwari, H. Saini, A. Tiwari, N. Gupta, P. S. Saini and A. Deo, "Periodic theory of
Building integrated Photovoltaic Thermal (BiPVT) System.," Solar Energy, vol. 125, pp.
373-380, 2016.
[21] T. Kubota and D. H. C. Toe, "Comparative assessment of vernacular passive cooling
techniques for improving indoor thermal comfort of modern terraced houses in hot-
humid climate of Malaysia.," Solar Energy, vol. 114, pp. 229-258, April 2015.

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Solaris 2017 India Climate responsive design in vernacular architecture for passive cooling
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

[22] V. Gupta, "Indigenous Architecture and Natural Cooling.," Energy and Habitat, pp. 41-
48, 1984.
[23] A. Dili, M. Naseer and T. Z. Varghese, "Passive control methods of Kerela traditional
architecture for a comfortable indoor environment: comparative investigation during
various periods of rainy season.," Building and Environment, vol. 45, pp. 2218-2230,
2010.
[24] A. Dili, M. Naseer and T. Z. Varghese, "Passive environment control system of Kerala
vernacular residential architecture for a comfortable indoor environment: A qualitative
and quantitative analyses.," Energy and Buildings, vol. 42, no. 6, pp. 917-927, 2010.
[25] S. Bodach and J. H. Werner Lang, "Climate responsive building design strategies of
vernacular architecture in Nepal.," Energy and Buildings, vol. 81, pp. 227-242, 2014.
[26] J. M. Boch-Isaacson and D. Dobereiner, Architecture and construction management in
the highland and remote areas of Nepal., Kathmandu: Boch-Isaacson, 1987.
[27] A. Foruzanmehr, "Peoples perception of the loggia: A vernacular passive cooling system
in Iranian architecture.," Sustainable Cities and Society, vol. 19, pp. 61-67, 2015.
[28] R. Soleymanpour, N. Parsaee and M. Banaei, "Climate Comfort Comparison of
Vernacular and Contemporary Houses of Iran.," Procedia- Social and Behavioral
Sciences, vol. 201, pp. 49-61, 2015.
[29] A. Foruzanmehr and M. Vellinga, "Vernacular architecture: questions of comfort and
practicability," Building Research and Information, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 274-285, 2011.

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Ch. PV09
Application of Neural network for estimation of Cell Temperature effect
on Cell Efficiency

Ruby Beniwal1,*, G.N. Tiwari2 and H.O. Gupta1

1
Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida, India
2
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India
* Corresponding author. Tel: +91 9717874337, E-mail: ruby.beniwal@gmail.com, ruby.beniwal@jiit.ac.in

Abstract: This paper presents a new application of artificial neural network for modeling of semitransparent PV
module to estimate cell temperature effect on cell efficiency. Solar irradiation, ambient temperature and cell
temperature are used as inputs and thermal efficiency and electrical efficiency are used as outputs. Cascade
neural network with different hidden layers has been used to estimate the cell efficiency with minimum root
mean square error (RMSE). The opaque PV module is also compared with semitransparent PV module in terms
of electrical energy output and efficiency.

Keywords: Photovoltaic, glass to glass, artificial neural network (ANN), cell efficiency

1. Introduction

Nowadays, one of the best valuable resources of energy is identified i.e. solar energy.
Appropriate technologies for its efficient collection and utilization are trying to develop. The
photovoltaic (PV) module is a good device which converts the incident solar radiation into the
electrical energy. However, in this device absorbed thermal energy has been exhausted. The
conventional solar thermal systems can be integrated with the photovoltaic module which is
called photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems. It can be used to maximize the energy gain. It is
more interesting research area in the solar thermal.PVT systems can be utilized the thermal
energy in addition to the electrical energy generated from the solar cells due to the radiation
absorbed from the sun. Different algorithms have been developed by researchers to evaluate
the performance of the photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems. An artificial neural network
(ANN) is a good approach to evaluate the performance of any PVT system. Yoru, Karakoc,
and Hepbasli (2009) have presented application of ANN to energy analysis.
The efficiency of PV module is more sensitive to the PV module (solar cell) temperature as
compare to ambient temperature. The higher the cell temperature lowers the efficiency and
vice versa. The cell temperature of PV system can be lowered by utilizing the thermal energy
associated with it. This type of system is known as PVT systems. It allows enhancement of
performance of solar cell by decreasing cell temperature. Kamathania, Nayak, and Tiwari
(2011) have evaluated performance of a hybrid PVT double pass facade for space heating.
Then further Kamathania and Tiwari (2012) have analyzed performance of hybrid PVT
double pass air collector using ANN. Singh, Agarwal, Tiwari and Chauhan (2015) have
presented improvement in efficiency of glazed PVT system using genetic algorithm. Shyam,
Tiwari and Helal (2015) have presented comparison study on different configuration of PVT
collector and derived analytical expression for instantaneous thermal efficiency.
In this research, an ANN model has been designed to estimate the cell temperature effect on
cell efficiency. ANN can be considered as simplified mathematical model as compare to
analytical model. They prevent need to use costly physical models. ANN can work with
analogue or numerical data with the use of different variables.

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2. Description of PV module (Solar Cell) temperature effect on PV module efficiency

An energy balance equation can be used to determine temperature of a solar cell. A PV

module absorbed solar energy and convert this solar energy into thermal and electrical energy.
Electrical energy can be extract from PV module using external circuit. Thermal energy can
be extracted from PV module using heat transfer method. For lowest solar cell temperature,
maximum heat transfer is required. In heat transfer method, losses (upward and back) play
important role. An energy balance equation for a unit area of PV module can be explained as
IT = c I T + U L (T c - T a ) (1)

where is the transmittance of glass, is the fraction of the radiation incident on the
surface of the PV module (absorbed), and c is the efficiency of the PV module (conversion of
incident radiation into electrical energy). The efficiency of PV module is associated to
maximum power point and solar cell temperature. UL is the loss coefficient; it includes
convection losses and radiation losses from top and bottom. Ta is ambient temperature.

The nominal operating cell temperature (NOCT) can be defined as PV module

temperature at solar radiation 800 W/m , wind speed of 1 m/s, an ambient temperature of
20oC, and no load operation (i.e. with c = 0).

/ U L = (T C,NOCT T a )/ I T, NOCT (2)

From Equation (2), /UL can be calculated using Ta, IT,NOCT, TC,NOCT,.
/UL becomes as a constant and TC can be established from the relation:
T c = T a + (I T / U L ) (1 c / )
(3)
The electrical efficiency (el), can be calculated by:
0 1 0 Tc 298
el
(4)
where 0 is PV module efficiency at 298 K temperature, Tc cell temperature in Kelvin and 0
is silicon efficiency temperature coefficient (4.5 x 10-3K-1).

2.1. PV module (solar cell) Energy balance equations:

The following assumptions should have been made for the PV modules energy balance
equations:

For good approximation, one dimensional heat conduction should be taken.

System should be taken in quasi-steady state.
PV module ohmic losses should be taken negligible.
2.2.1. For Opaque PV module:

g c c I t (1 c ) T I (t ) Ut c ,a Tc Ta hc , p Tc Ta g c c I t
(5)

or,

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g c c I t (1 c ) T I (t ) U Lm Tc Ta m I (t )
(6)
U Lm U t ,ca hcp
where, and m c g c

g c c (1 c ) T c c I (t )
Tc Ta
U Lm (7)

g c c (1 c ) T c c I (t )
Tc Tref (Ta Tref )
(8) U Lm
The electrical efficiency of the PV module (temperature dependent) can be calculated as,

1 (Tc Tref )
c ref ref
(9)

where, ref is the PV modules electrical efficiency at the reference temperature (Tref ) and at
1000 W/m2 solar radiation. ref is the temperature coefficient of PV module. The values of ref
and ref can be taken as constant.

[Tc-Tref ] used from Eq. (8) in Eq. (9), we can calculate temperature dependent electrical
efficiency of the PV module as:

g c c (1 c ) T c c I (t )
c ref 1 ref (Ta Tref )
U Lm

or,

g { c c (1 c ) T }
ref 1 ref (Ta Tref ) I (t )
U Lm
c
ref ref g c
1 I (t )
U Lm
(10)

2.2.2. For Semitransparent PV module:

I t Ut c,a Tc Ta hc, p Tc Ta I t
c g c g c c
(11)

or,

I t (Ut c,a hc, p )(Tc Ta ) I t

c g c g c c
(12)

or,

I t U Lm (Tc Ta ) I t
c g c m
(13)
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U Lm U t ,ca hcp
where, and m c g c

From Eq.(13)
( c g c m ) I (t )
Tc Ta
U Lm (14)

or,
( c g c m ) I (t )
Tc Tref (Ta Tref )
U Lm (15)

With the help of equation (15), Eq. (9) becomes,

( c g c c g c ) I (t )
c ref 1 ref (Ta Tref )
U Lm
(16)
Regular variation of PV module cell temperature w.r.t. PV module cell efficiency for a
particular clear day has been used for estimation. This data show that PV module cell
temperature has been inversely changed with PV module cell efficiency. Singh, Agarwal,
Tiwari and Chauhan (2015) data for hourly variation electrical efficiency of PV modules is
considered for analysis. It shows that the higher efficiency is obtained by using glass to glass
type PV modules. It is due to the solar radiation falling on non packing area of glass to glass
module and transmitted through the glass or absorbed by the blackened plate. But, in case of
glass to tedlar all the radiation is absorbed by the tedlar and affected the conduction.

3. Artificial neural network architecture

Architecture of artificial neural network is linked with the rules (learning algorithm) applied
to design the network. It could be single layer feedforward, multi-layer feedforward and
cascade feedforward etc. In single layer feedforward, nodes (neurons) are organized in the
form of layers. In multi-layer feed-forward one or more hidden layers also present, whose
hidden nodes function is to intervene between external input and network output. Cascade
feed-forward network are similar to feedforward network, but consist of a link from the input.
It has been shown in fig.1. In this research work cascade neural network with different
hidden layers has been used to estimate the cell efficiency with minimum root mean square
error (RMSE).

Fig. 1 : Cascade feed-forward network

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4. Methodology

These steps have been followed to estimate cell temperature effect on cell efficiency
I. Solar irradiation, ambient temperature and cell temperature has been used as inputs for
training of ANN and thermal efficiency and electrical efficiency are used as outputs.
II. Define the network as per defined parameters.
III. MATLAB is used for the ANN design.
IV. Weights of ANN have been defined to train network for given epochs and start with
zero input.
V. When outputs are closure to desired values then ANN is trained otherwise same
procedures will be repeated with new weights.
VI. Hourly electrical efficiency and PV module (solar cell) temperature have been
estimated for both PV modules i.e. glass to tedlar (opaque) and glass to glass
(semitransparent) by analytical and neural network.
VII. It has been shown in fig.2 and fig.3.
VIII. Hourly cell temperature effect on cell efficiency for semitransparent PV modules has also
been observed and shown in fig.4.
IX. Values obtained through ANN model has been compared with analytical model
values.
X. The RMSE can be calculated using following expression.

Where,

5. Result

In this research artificial neural network is used for modeling of semitransparent PV module
to estimate solar cell temperature effect on PV module (cell) efficiency. Feedforward network
consists of a series of layers and can be used for any kind of input to output mapping. A
cascade feedforward network is the variation on the feedforward network which has
additional connections from the input to output. In network, trainlm is used as a training
function. Cascade neural network with different hidden layers has been used to estimate the
cell efficiency with minimum root mean square error (RMSE). It is found less than 2% which
can be ignored. The performance of glass to tedlar (opaque) PV module has also been
compared with Glass to Glass (semitransparent) PV module in terms of electrical energy
output and efficiency and it shows Glass to Glass (semitransparent) PV module performance
is improved than glass to tedlar (opaque) PV module. Hourly electrical efficiency and cell
temperature have been shown in fig.2 and fig.3 for both PV modules i.e. glass to tedlar and
glass to glass by analytical and neural network. It shows close relation between analytical and
neural network values. PV module (solar cell) temperature effect on cell efficiency for
semitransparent PV modules has also been observed and shown in fig.4. It shows that increase
in PV module (solar cell) temperature decreases solar cell efficiency and vice-versa.

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Fig.2: Hourly electrical efficiency estimation from analytical and neural network for both PV modules

Fig.3: PV module (solar cell) temperature estimation from analytical and neural network for
semitransparent PV modules

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Fig.4 : PV module (solar cell) temperature effect on PV module (solar cell) efficiency for
semitransparent PV modules

6. Conclusion

An artificial neural network has been designed for modeling of semitransparent PV module to
estimate cell temperature effect on cell efficiency. Cascade neural network with different
hidden layers has been used to estimate the cell efficiency with minimum root mean square
error (RMSE). The opaque PV module has been compared with semitransparent PV module
in terms of electrical energy output and efficiency. It shows semitransparent PV module
performance has improved result than opaque PV module.

References

Y. Yoru, T.H. Karakoc, and A. Hepbasli, Application of Artificial Neural Network (ANN)
Method to Energy Analysis of Thermodynamic Systems, Proc. 8th Int. Conf. on Machine
Learning and Applications, Miami Beach, 2009, pp. 1315.
D.Kamathania, S.Nayak, and G.N.Tiwari, Performance evaluation of a hybrid photovoltaic
pass facade for space heating, Energy Building, 2011,vol.43,no.9,pp. 2274-2281.
D. Kamathania and G.N. Tiwari, Performance Analysis of a Hybrid Photovoltaic Thermal
Double Pass Air Collector using ANN, Applied Solar Energy, Vol. 48, No. 3, 2012, pp. 186
192.
S. Singh, S. Agarwal,G.N. Tiwari, and D. Chahan, Application of genetic algorithm with
multi-objective function to improve the efficiency of glazed photovoltaic thermal system for
New Delhi(India) climatic condition, Solar Energy 117, 2015, pp.,153-166
Shyam, G.N., Tiwari, I.M. Al-Helal, Analytical expression of temperature dependent
electrical efficiency of N-PVT water collectors connected in series, Solar energy (114), 2015,
61-76.

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Ch. PV10

Characteristic Variations of PV cell due to Change in Parameters using

MATLAB/Simulink model

Sharma Himanshu1,*, Kumar Nimish1, Singh Yaduvir1, Pal Nitai1

1
Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT(ISM), Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India

* Himanshu Sharma. Tel: +91 8130320486, E-mail: himanshu26sharma@ee.ism.ac.in

Abstract: This paper concentrates on MATLAB programming on the mathematical equations of a photovoltaic
cell. This MATLAB programming deals with the variation in the output characteristics of a Photovoltaic Cell
with the change in internal and external parameters such as solar radiation, cell temperature, shunt resistance,
series resistance and saturation current. It also states the use of MPPT. The programing on mathematical
equations of the PV cell model developed on MATLAB for characteristic variations and Maximum Power Point
Tracking.

Keywords: PV cell; Solar radiation; Series and Shunt resistance; Saturation current; Temperature; MPPT

1. INTRODUCTION
Photovoltaic modules connected in series and parallel to make a solar panel. Solar cells
connected with each other to create photovoltaic module. A big photovoltaic system is made
up of a components called solar panels to provide energy to industries and homes. So,
according to the requirement of the power generation the solar cells are connected in series
and parallel.
This paper is presenting the performance of the solar cell during the change in their
parameters like irradiation, series and parallel resistance, ambient temperature, diode current
etc. in the MATLAB programming solar cell equivalent circuit model. In the MATLAB
programming, many commands executed to change the particular parameter with respect to
the time to get the desire outputs. In the end, a unique MPPT algorithm is developed to get the
maximum output from the solar cells.

2. PV CELL MODEL
PV cell, the basic unit of solar energy generator; works on the principle of conversion of solar
energy of photons (light) into electrical energy. Photons strikes the junction diode to liberate
electrons and produce ions, thus generating charge and hence electricity. Shown below is the
basic PV cell Model, Which shows that the complete overview of the cell voltage generation
after charge generation. Validity of equation is clear from the fig. 1.

Fig. 1. Equivalent Model of PV cell.

I = Iph - Id - Ish (1)

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I = Iph - Is(e(q(V + IRs)/NKT - 1)) - (V + IRs)/Rsh (2)

where, Iph Current generated by a PV cell, Id Current flow across the diode, Ish Current
flow across the shunt, V Voltage generated by a cell, Rs & Rsh Series and Shunt
resistances, Vt - Thermal voltage, A - Modified Ideality constant.

Fig. 2. Showing constants value.

Constants shown in fig.2 are like daily life needs for analysis of a PV cell. The output of a PV
cell is very much dependable on the external factors such as solar radiation, temperature and
internal factor such as the semiconductor material.

A solar panel is a set of solar photovoltaic modules electrically connected and mounted on a
supporting structure. A photovoltaic module is a packaged, connected assembly of solar cells
[3]. The solar panel can be used as a component of a larger photovoltaic system to generate
and supply electricity in commercial and residential applications. Thus, a number of PV cells
have to be connected in series and parallel as per the needs of power generation.

This paper is carried out a Matlab Programming model of mono-crystalline PV cell that made
possible the prediction of the PV cell behaviour under different varying parameters such as
solar radiation, ambient temperature, series resistor, shunt resistor, diode saturation current,
etc. Discussed below is the variation in performance characteristic of a PV array with Ns,
number of cells connected in series. Series of commands are fed to Matlab processor which
helps us in plotting the variations. Finally the use of MPPT in modelling a PV module has
been stated [4] [5].

3. EFFECT OF SOLAR RADIATION

The output equivalent model are depends upon two inputs which are solar irradiation and the
temperature. Equation 3 represent the relation between photovoltaic current and solar
irradiation.

Iph = [Isc + Ki(T - 298)]/1000 (3)

Above equation shows the variation of photocurrent generation due to radiation changes. In
this case are not sure of the radiation levels; it just keeps on changing each minute/second of
the day.

From the fig. 3 and fig. 4, it is clear that the photocurrent generated and the output power
increases as the level of solar radiation increases. It is because the number of photons striking
the semiconductor increases and so the number of ions generated will increase [7]. Fig. 5 is
showing the MATLAB programing of the change in the solar radiation.

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Fig. 3. Current vs Voltage at different Fig. 4. Power vs Voltage at different

solar radiations. solar radiations.

Fig. 5. MALAB Programing for changing of solar radiations.

4. EFFECT OF VARYING CELL TEMPERATURE

The relation between temperature and reverse saturation current is expressed in the equation
below as:

Is(T) = Is(T/Tnom) 3 exp[(T/Tno m - 1) Eg/NVt] (4)

Fig. 6. Matlab Program for changing in temperature on PV Cells.

As the temperature of the cell increases the covalent bonds inside semiconductor material
weakens and thus the chances of their breakage increases, thus the photo current increases.
But since it is often dont face high temperature rise or drop, it can only effect the
photocurrent and power generation only by a small value. As shown in the fig.7 and fig. 8 it is

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also notice that the drop in photocurrent and power generation is also high in case of higher
temperatures [8] [9].

Fig. 7. Current Vs Voltage at Fig. 8. Power Vs Voltage at

different temperatures. different temperatures.

5. EFFECT OF VARYING Rs
The resistance which is connected in series should be low and in some cases it can be
neglected. Figs. 9 and 10 shown that effect of change in the RS on I-V and P-V curve.

Fig. 9. Current Vs Voltage on varyation of Rs Fig. 10. Power Vs Voltage on varyation of RS

Rs is the series resistance of the equivalent PV cell circuit model. It is clear from the model
that if the value of Rs increases the net current I will decrease and vice versa. But since the
value of Rs is very small, in the range of 10-3, we dont find significant characteristic
variations on varying the series resistance Rs. As it is clear from the above graphs, the plots
for different values of Rs almost overlap and are indistinguishable. Thus Variation of Rs can
be neglected.

6. EFFECT OF VARYING Rsh

As it is clear from the PV cell model, Rsh is connected in parallel, so the current flowing
through it is inversely proportional to the resistance across the path. Thus if the value of Rsh
increases the value of I also increases because Ish decreases. It should be noted that the value
of Rsh is generally high, in the range of 103 ohm. We can see that the value of I suddenly
falls as the decrease Rsh. This is because the resistance is made very low and thus the shunt
current increases.

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Fig. 11. Effect of Varying Rsh on I-V Fig. 12. Effect of Varying Rsh on P-V

7. EFFECT OF VARYING Is
The below plots evidently depict the variation in characteristics with respect to different Is.
We can see that as the value of reverse saturation current is increases, the current across the
diode also increases. Thus the drop in both power and current is faster at the limiting value at
saturation. This effects the Maximum Power produced. The I-V and P-V graphs on variation
of the IS is shown in the fig. 13 and fig.14.

Fig. 13. Effect of varying is on I-V Fig. 14. Effect of varying is on P-V

8. EFFECT OF MPPT ON PV PANELS

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is different from the mechanical tracker.
Mechanical Tracker adjusts the inclination of solar panel in order to obtain maximum photons
colliding; whereas, MPPT are used to vary external loads in order to obtain Maximum Power
output, which is constant, and is independent of the characteristic variations. Thus MPPT can
be used along with mechanical tracker but these two are completely different [6].
We use a Solar Battery to store charge. This can be used to power different appliances even at
night when solar radiation is zero. MPPT is used in modules along with the inverter. These
modules can be connected in series to form an array.
The MATLAB instructions shown below in fig. 15 points out the maximum power points in
the P vs. V curves for different characteristic variations. Fig. 16 to fig. 20 showing the
different maximum power points on variations of the different input and output
characteristics.

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Fig. 15. Matlab Program for MPPT on PV panels

Fig. 16. MPPT on different solar radiations Fig. 18. MPPT on different Rs

Fig. 17.MPPT on different Temperatures Fig. 19. MPPT on different Rsh

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Fig. 20. MPPT on different Is

The plots shown above are the same power v/s voltage variation upon changing parameters.
But these curves track maximum powers output for different output voltages.
Now we can use respective I vs. V plots to track the values of current and voltages at which
maximum power is achieved. Now MPPT will alter the external load or use an external power
source to maintain the same values of current and voltage to obtain the maximum power
output.

9. CONCLUSION
A MATLAB programming model is thus presented, for the characteristic variation of
parameters. This model clearly represents the power and current outputs of a PV cell
connected in series and parallel to form an array. We have also discussed the role of MPPT in
maintaining a constant power output and making the modules more efficient.

References
Do not number the Reference section. Format the references according to the examples
below. Number the references in the order they appear in the text. Use Arabic numerals
within brackets for the numbering, with a hanging left indent of 75 mm. Use a 6 pt space after
each reference.

[1] O. Wasynczuk, Dynamic behavior of a class of photovoltaic power systems, IEEE

Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems, vol. PAS-102, no. 9, 1983, pp. 3031-
3037.
[2] Zvonimir Glasnovic, Jure Margeta, A model for optimal sizing of photovoltaic irrigation
water pumping systems, Solar Energy, vol. 81, Issue 7, July 2007, pp: 904-916.
[3] J. C. H. Phang, D. S. H. Chan and J. R. Philips, Accurate analytical method for the
extraction of solar cell model parameters Electronics Letters, vol. 20, no. 10, 1984,
pp.406-408.
[4] M. Veerachary, T. Senjyu, and K. Uezato, Voltage-based maximum power point
tracking control of PV system, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic
Systems, vol. 38, no. 1, 2002, pp. 262-270.
[5] J.Surya Kumari, Ch. Saibabu, Maximum Power Point Tracking Algorithms for Grid-
Connected Photovoltaic Energy Conversion System, International Journal of Power

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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Electronics and Drive Systems (IJPEDS, ISSN: 2088-8694, a SCOPUS indexed Journal),
Vol 3, No 4: December 2013, pp: 424-43.
[6] C. C. Hua and C. M. Shen, Study of maximum power tracking techniques and control of
dc-dc converters for photovoltaic power system, Proceedings of 29th annual IEEE
Power Electronics Specialists Conference, vol. 1, 1998, pp. 86-93.
[7] Kodanda Ram R B P U S B, Venu Gopala Rao Mannam, Operation and Control of Grid
Connected Hybrid AC/DC Microgrid using various RES, International Journal of Power
Electronics and Drive Systems (IJPEDS, ISSN: 2088-8694, a SCOPUS indexed Journal),
Vol 5, No 2: Special Issue on Renewable Energy, Systems and Drives 2014, pp: 195-202.
[8] J. A. Gow and C. D. Manning, Development of a photovoltaic array model for use in
power-electronics simulation studies, IEEE Proceedings- Electric Power Applications,
vol. 146, no. 2, 1999, pp. 193-199.
[9] Himanshu Sharma, Nitai Pal, Pradip Kumar Sadhu, Modeling and Simulation of Off-
grid Power Generation System using Photovoltaic TELKOMNIKA Indonesian Journal
of Electrical Engineering (ISSN: 2302-4046, e-ISSN: 2087-278X), Vol 13, No 3: March
2015.

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CHAPTER 3
SOLAR THERMAL
___________________________________________________________________________
Ch. ST01

Artificial neural network for the prediction of hourly thermal energy

produced by PVT flat plate water collectors connected in series

H.Fatima1,*, G.N. Tiwari2, T.S.Bhatti1

1
Indian Institude of Technology Delhi,New Delhi,India
2
Bag Energy Research Society (BERS):www.bers.in, Mahamana Nager, Varanasi-221005, (UP), India
* Hoor Fatima. Tel: +918860900442, E-mail:hoor.iitd@gmail.com

Abstract: The use of renewable energy sources leads to an interest of researchers in the field of photovoltaic
thermal system (PVT) systems. However a PVT system has the ability to extract heat from the back surface of
the PV module and its efficiency is reported higher than that of the conventional PV systems. It is therefore
desirous to study the operation of the PVT water collector system by developing a detailed understanding on its
performance metrics in varying weather conditions and different locations for commercial scale technology
development. Due to lack of availability of the data, it is difficult to predict the accurate performance of the N-
PVT water collector system for selected locations. In this paper, an artificial neural network(ANN) model is
developed to accurately predict the performance of the N-PVT water collector system connected in series for
several locations. The meteorological data from Bangalore, Mumbai, Srinagar & Jodhpur are used as an input for
training and data from New Delhi station is used for testing purpose.. The result shows that ANN model gives
better prediction result as compared to the other available methods.

Keywords: Solar radiation, Photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors, Thermal energy, Artificial neural network (ANN)

Nomenclature (Optional)
Ac Area of collector ......................................m2
Cf specific heat......................................J/kg
FR Flow rate factor....................dimensionless
I(t) Incident solar intensity........................W/m2
! mass flow rate.....................................kg/s
N number of collectors ............. dimensionless
!u rate of useful energy transfer .................kW
Tfi inlet fluid temperature............................
Ta ambient temperature..............................
Tfon Outlet fluid temperature..........................
U heat transfer coefficient .................W/m2
Greek
absorptivity
transmitivity
()eff product of absorptivity and transmitivity

1.1. Introduction
Continuous depletion of fossil energy sources has lead to a greater interest in the extraction of
renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass for sustainable energy supply
.State-of-the-art research in solar energy utilization involves the development of an integrated
photovoltaic thermal (PVT) system which contains a PV module to convert the solar energy
into electrical energy and a solar thermal module to convert the solar energy into heat. Since a
PVT system has the ability to withdraw heat from the back surface of the PV module, its
electrical efficiency is reported to be higher than that of the conventional PV systems
[1][2].The carrier of thermal energy of a PVT system may be either air or water. The
performance of N partially covered collectors connected in series is reported by [3][4] and it

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has been concluded that partially covered PVT water collector is beneficial if thermal energy
is the primary requirement of the user and fully covered collectors are beneficial if primary
requirement is electrical energy. It is therefore desirable to study the operation of the PVT
system by developing a detailed understanding on its performance metrics in varying weather
conditions and different locations for commercial scale technology development. The input
variables which are difficult to quantify such as location (high traffic zones, polluted
environment etc,) and climate (dust, storm, rain etc.) are difficult to include in a simple
mathematical model. Thus it is imperative to search for an alternative intelligent modelling
technique capable of correlating both qualitative and quantitative conditions to the
performance of the PVT system. In this regard soft computing approaches based on artificial
intelligence can be explored as an improved technique to effectively predict the performance
of PVT systems. Mellit et al. have introduced the use of artificial neural networks (ANN) for
the analysis of a PVT system [5]. Scientist from Turkey have investigated the thermal of solar
air collectors using predictive modelling by ANN [6]. The measurement of solar radiation is
the key to analyze any solar energy system. Solar radiation is being predicted successfully
using ANNs in several studies at varying climate conditions and locations [7-16]. A review of
artificial intelligence based techniques underlines the importance of these methods in
predictive modelling of solar radiations [17]. Utilizing AANs, Kalogeria and co-workers were
the first to predict the performance parameters of flat plate solar collectors [18]. In general,
the ANN analysis shows a fair agreement between the experimented and predicted outputs.
In this work, aim is to develop a comprehensive artificial intelligence based tool for the
modelling of the N-PVT water collector system which will propel its commercial
development. For a successful integration of the PV module with the thermal system, semi-
transparent type PV module is used. Thermal energy yield and outlet water temperature at the
end of Nth collector has been predicted for New Delhi condition. The mathematical model will
be cross-validated with ANN model for all weather and location conditions carried out.

1.2. Methodology

1.2.1 Description of N-PVT flat plate water collector connected in series

Tfo,1

PV module PV module PV module PV module

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Fig. 1. Arrangement of partially covered PVT water collector connected in series

Tfo,2 Tfo,3 Outlet, Tfo,N
The schematic diagram of the partially covered N-PVT flat plate water collector has been
shown in Fig.1. The diameter of the tube is 0.0125m placed at a distance of 0.125m from each
other. Dubey and Tiwari[10][11] reported a performance analysis of a 2m2 flat plate collector
with 0.165 m2 PV area connected in series as shown in Fig2 .The thermal energy gain Glazing
Glazing Glazing Glazing
equations suggested in [10][11] for N-PVT flat plate collector connected in series can be
given as, .
.
.
.
QQ = N . Ac [( )eff , N I (t ) U L , N (T fi Ta )] (1)
, N = N . Ac [( ) eff , N I (t ) U L , N (T fi Ta )]
u ,uN (1)
PV module PV module
and the outlet temperature at the end of Nth collector of N identical sets of PVT flat
PV module PVplate
module
water collector connected in series is given by
( AFR ( ))1 1 K KN ( AFRU L )1 1 K KN (2)
T foN = .
( ) I (t ) + .
( )Ta + T fi K KN
Inlet Tfi m C (1 K K m C (1 K K
f f f f
st
1 Collector nd
2 Collector
rd
3 Collector Nth Collector
1.2.2 Artificial neural network structure
ANN is considered as a system that receives an input, processes the data, and provides an
output. Output is set according to the desired target based on the error. The error data is
passed back into the system to adjust the network parameters according to the type of network
used. A study is performed to find the appropriate ANN structures, size of training dataset,
number of hidden neurons and the type of training algorithm for the most suitable model. The
output is compared to the desired output and calculates the mean square error (MSE).The
error is back propagated and weight has been adjusted using learning function as shown in
Fig.2. This process was repeated until the desired output is reached. Matlab Neural Network
Toolbox 15.1 has been used for design an ANN model. As shown in the Fig.3, the input layer
has 4 neurons and output layer has 2 neurons whereas there are 15 neurons in the hidden
layer. Levenberg-Marquardt(LM) algorithm has been used for the training purpose, transsig
has been taken as transfer function between and MSE has been taken as a performance
function. The input data has been normalized in the (0,1) range.

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Fig.2. Methodology adapted for ANN Fig.3. Structure of ANN model

1.3. Results and Discussions

In this paper a developed ANN model were used for predicting the thermal performance of a
N-PVT water collectors connected in series. The model has been trained with the climatic
data obtained from Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), pune, India for Bangalore,
Jodhpur, Srinagar and Mumbai cities and the hourly variation in outlet water temperature and
the thermal energy gain at the end of the Nth collector has been predicted for New Delhi
location and is compared with the results obtained from equation 1 & 2. Due to complexity of
the data only the hourly variation of total solar radiation and ambient for a typical day in April
for New Delhi condition has been shown in Fig.4.

Fig.4. Hourly variation of Global solar radiation and ambient temperature for a typical day in April.

The performance of the ANN model has been evaluated and shown with MSE is shown in
Fig.5. Ambient temperature, global solar radiation, number of clear days and number of PVT
modules were used as the input parameters for calculating the daily thermal energy and outlet
water temperature as output..It has been observed that the best performance of the model
occurred at iteration(epoch) 151. The regression plot of correlation coefficient (R) shown in
the Fig.6. shows the relationship connection between the outputs and targets for ANN model.
The R-value of 0.99 shown in Fig.6 good relationships between target and ANN output.

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Fig.5. Performance plot of the proposed ANN model with best MSE

Fig.6. Regression plot of the proposed ANN model with best MSE

The hourly variation of outlet water temperature at the end of Nth collector of N-PVT water
collected system for constant mass flow rate of 0.04 kg/s has been predicted for a typical day
in April for New Delhi conditions at a clear day by changing the number of collectors
connected is shown in Fig.7. It has been observed that there is good agreement between the
theoretical and analytical results.

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Fig.7. Hourly variation of outlet water temperature for a typical month of April

Hourly variation of thermal energy gain for a particular day in April has been predicted as
shown in Fig. 8.Figure shows that increase in number of collector will increase the thermal
energy gain and it has been cross validated using the ANN model.

Fig.8. Hourly variation of thermal energy gain for a particular day in April

It has been observed that the ANN model of N-PVT water collector system shows good
agreement with the analytical results.

1.4. Conclusions
In this paper, the ANN model has been developed for partially covered N-PVT flat plate
water collector system. Partially covered N-PVT system was analyzed and it shown an
excellent results if the primary requirement is thermal energy. The hourly variation of outlet
water temperature and thermal energy yield has been predicted using the ANN model at the
end of the Nth collector. The proposed ANN model developed in this paper is capable of
analyzing the thermal performance of the N-PVT water collector system installed at a
specific location and for specific weather conditions. This model can be used to optimize the

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number of collectors for the best possible N-PVT system, according to the nature of the
orientation and location it placed..

References
i. M. Wolf, Performance analyses of combined heating and photovoltaic power systems
for residences, Energy Conversion, Volume 16, Issue 1, 1976, Pages 79-90
ii. E.C. Jr. Kern, and M.C. Russell. Combined Photovoltaic and Thermal Hybrid
Collector Systems. United States: N. p., 1978
iii. S. Dubey, G.N. Tiwari, Thermal modeling of a combined system of photovoltaic
thermal (PV/T) solar water heater, Solar Energy, Volume 82, Issue 7, July 2008, Pages
602-612
iv. S. Dubey, G.N. Tiwari, Analysis of PV/T flat plate water collectors connected in
series, Solar Energy, Volume 83, Issue 9, September 2009, Pages 1485-1498
v. A. Mellit, S. A. Kalogirou, Artificial intelligence techniques for photovoltaic
applications: A review, Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, Volume 34,
Issue 5, October 2008, Pages 574-632
vi. M.Caner, E.Gedik, A. Keeba, Investigation on thermal performance calculation of
two type solar air collectors using artificial neural network, Expert Systems with
Applications, Volume 38, Issue 3, March 2011, Pages 1668-1674

vii. A. Mellit, A.M. Pavan, A 24-h forecast of solar irradiance using artificial neural
network: Application for performance prediction of a grid-connected PV plant at
Trieste, Italy, Solar Energy, Volume 84, Issue 5, May 2010, Pages 807-821
viii. M. Benghanem, A. Mellit, S.N. Alamri, ANN-based modelling and estimation of daily
global solar radiation data: A case study, Energy Conversion and Management,
Volume 50, Issue 7, July 2009, Pages 1644-1655
ix. S. Rehman, M. Mohandes, Artificial neural network estimation of global solar
radiation using air temperature and relative humidity, Energy Policy, Volume 36,
Issue 2, February 2008, Pages 571-576
x. F.S. Tymvios, C.P. Jacovides, S.C. Michaelides, C. Scouteli, Comparative study of
ngstrms and artificial neural networks methodologies in estimating global solar
radiation, Solar Energy, Volume 78, Issue 6, June 2005, Pages 752-762
xi. J. Mubiru, E.J.K.B. Banda, Estimation of monthly average daily global solar
irradiation using artificial neural networks, Solar Energy, Volume 82, Issue 2,
February 2008, Pages 181-187
xii. A. Szen, E.Arcakliolu, M. zalp, Estimation of solar potential in Turkey by
artificial neural networks using meteorological and geographical data, Energy
Conversion and Management, Volume 45, Issues 1819, November 2004, Pages
3033-3052
xiii. J. Soares, A. P Oliveira, M. Z. Bonar, P. Mlakar, J.F Escobedo, A. J Machado,
Modeling hourly diffuse solar-radiation in the city of So Paulo using a neural-
network technique, Applied Energy, Volume 79, Issue 2, October 2004, Pages 201-
214
xiv. P.L. Zervas, H. Sarimveis, J.A. Palyvos, N.C.G. Markatos, Prediction of daily global
solar irradiance on horizontal surfaces based on neural-network techniques,
Renewable Energy, Volume 33, Issue 8, August 2008, Pages 1796-1803
xv. H. K. Elminir, Y.A. Azzam, F. I. Younes, Prediction of hourly and daily diffuse
fraction using neural network, as compared to linear regression models, Energy,
Volume 32, Issue 8, August 2007, Pages 1513-1523

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 Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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xvi. O. enkal, T. Kuleli, Estimation of solar radiation over Turkey using artificial neural
network and satellite data, Applied Energy, Volume 86, Issues 78, JulyAugust
2009, Pages 1222-1228
xvii. A.K. Yadav, S.S. Chandel, Solar radiation prediction using Artificial Neural Network
techniques: A review, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 33, May
2014, Pages 772-781
xviii. S. A. Kalogirou, Prediction of flat-plate collector performance parameters using
artificial neural networks, Solar Energy, Volume 80, Issue 3, March 2006, Pages 248-
259

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Ch. ST02
Design and Fabrication of Concentrated Parabolic Collector for Steam
Based Application

Ramdas B. Patthe1, Deepak C. Sonawane1, Vinod B. Tungikar2, G N Tiwari3

1
Research Scholar, Department of Production Engineering, S.G.G.S.I.E. &T. Nanded, Maharashtra, India
2
Professor, Department of Production Engineering S.G.G.S.I.E. &T. Nanded, Maharashtra, India
3
Professor, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi

* Corresponding author. Tel: +91 81492 82995, E-mail: patthe.ramdas7@gmail.com

Abstract: Concentrated Parabolic Collector (CPC) is used in various industrial process heat applications where
medium range temperature is maintained at around 150C. Flat Plate Collectors are not effective to supply water
at temperature more than 120C. Steam produced by concentrated parabolic collector has been used for
applications like Chemical industry, Polymer and paint industry, Textile industry, Agriculture fields and some
domestic use. Concentrated Parabolic Collector (CPC) is a superior type of collector manufactured in the shape
of two meeting parabolas. It be related to the non-imaging family, although it having the highest concentrating
ratio. The intermittent tracking is required if needed. An experimental demonstration set up is to be ready for
steam generation which having an aperture area of 96 m2 and concentration ratio of 13.2.By advantage of its
symmetrical geometry, the fabricated CPC system requires lesser mirror area compared to traditional CPC
collector. It is simple in design, easy for experimentation and has a lower fabrication cost compared to other
available concentrating solar systems. This research paper mainly contains the design and fabrication of
parabolic collectors for concentrating sunlight.
.

Keywords: Concentrated Parabolic Collector, Fabrication, Tracking, Solar application, CPC

1. Introduction
CSP technologies are based on the idea of concentrating DNI to create steam used in
electricity generating Rankine cycles. The CSP systems under consideration use glass mirrors
that continuously track the position of the sun. The absorbed solar energy can be harnessed
and transferred in two waysindirectly and directly. One method uses a heat transfer fluid
which absorbs solar radiation energy and transfers the heat to water via a series of solar steam
generator heat exchangers, thus indirectly producing steam. Another method eliminates the
intermediate heat transfer process by circulating water directly through the concentrated solar
radiation path, thus directly producing steam. [1] The indirect method is common to all
existing commercial parabolic trough plants, which make up the majority of CSP applications
today. Nevertheless, directly producing steam has its advantages when applied to certain
technologies in certain applications and was the focus of evaluation in the current study. Most
of the central receiver and LFR projects under development will utilize direct steam
generation. DSG line-focus and central receiver technologies with the ability to produce high
temperature, high pressure steam for direct integration with fossil steam cycles was selected
for this analysis. Compound Parabolic Collector (CPC) is used in industrial application where
medium pressure steam at around 150C is required. Flat Plate Collectors are not efficient
enough to deliver water at temperature more than 100C. Hence Concentrating Collectors are
used. The name CPC may suggest that this collector also belongs to the family of focusing
collector, but in fact this is more alike to FPC, due to its mostly fixed orientation and medium
temperature water delivery.[2,3]
2. Literature Review
Gianluca Coccia established the geometrical and structural characteristics of the PTC
prototype. The thermal efciency is useful in dening the performance of a PTC. The
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prototype has conrmed that the manufacturing process is reliable and the design is functional
for industrial process heat applications. [4]
I. Santos-Gonzlez projected CPC geometries based on numerical simulation and materials
availability. A ray tracing analysis was used for this configuration to measure optical energy
losses due to truncation. A module with aperture area of 2.1 m2 was constructed. The module
contains total 12 CPCs, acceptance angle of 30, concentration ratio of 1.8 and a tubular
receiver covered by some selective surface. To test different operational conditions like inlet
temperature and mass flow rate an experimental setup was designed. [5]
J.Macedo-Valencia et al. presented the different stages of design, modelling, and performance
evaluation of a parabolic trough collector (PTC) for heating water. The goal is diversify the
use of PTC for laundries, nursery (soil sterilization) and child food among others mainly. Due
to the easiness, components of the PTC were made from medium density fibre board using the
CNC technology. For providing more stiffness to the PTC structure, two equal leg aluminium
angles were used. The useful energy and efficiency of PTC were found experimentally. [6]
Irving Eleazar Perez Montes, et al. studied the results of a Parabolic Trough Solar Collector
(PTSC) for the production of process heat. New design has been developed by considering
increased optical efficiency through the selection of different materials which has less weight
and greater mechanical strength. Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is used to manipulate
and recorded variables of a control system and data acquisition as temperature and angular
positions, in order to ensure the conditions of solar normal incidence on the absorber. [7]
Yong Kim et al. investigated the thermal performance of evacuated CPC solar collector with a
cylindrical absorber. Solar collector has modified with the evacuated glass envelop for
tracking system. The conductive and convective heat losses can be eliminated by the vacuum
space in most of the CPC solar systems by inserting doubled layered evacuate glass tube for
the receiver. Due to quick temperature response and easy availability of water, it was selected
as cooling fluid. To adjust the orientation of the solar collector, manual tracking system has
been used. Numerical model has been developed based on the irradiation. [8]
L. Xu et al. developed energy balance equations to examine the dynamic thermal performance
under the condition of intensely varying direct normal solar irradiance. Due to variations in
the outlet high temperature and DNI, the differential control volume methodology was used to
model the solar irradiance. For the influence of the effective direct normal solar irradiance,
the empirical equation for the dynamic test method has been developed. For obtaining reliable
estimation of the transient thermal performance even on a heavily overcast day select proper
characteristics flow times which directly affect the thermal efficiency of the system. [9]
Abdullahi et al. investigated the capacities of two tubular receivers in the single compound
parabolic concentrator. The optical efficiency of a CPC with two tubular receivers aligned
horizontally and vertically was anticipated using advanced ray tracing method. Average daily
optical efficiency has been increased by 17% in single tube configuration. This research work
enlighten the potential of using either two tubular receivers or single elliptical one aligned
horizontally in one concentrator to improve the optical efficiency. To simulate the optical
performance of CPC, Optisworks software was used. [10]
The Luz et al. has demonstrated its facility to work in a commercial power plant atmosphere
like no other solar technology in the world. The paper includes how the economics of future
PTC plants are expected to expand. This paper shows parabolic trough collectors used for
concentrating sunlight mainly. Solar Collector Assembly is an autonomously tracking group

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of parabolic trough solar collectors made up of the metal support structure, parabolic
reectors mirrors, the receiver tubes and the tracking system that includes the drive, sensors,
and controls. DSG also increases the cost of the solar eld piping by accumulating the solar
eld uid steam working pressure to above 100 bar, which reduces the total plant investment
cost. [11]
Wisut et al. established a system with design, fabricate and test to measure thermal efficiency
of the compound parabolic concentrating (CPC) solar collector. The testing of collector
according to ISO 9806 - 1 found that the thermal efficiency of the CPC collector was equal to
78%. To determine the energy production base of Phitsanulok province, the mathematical
model was developed on solar radiation and ambient temperature data. [12]
Bin et al. proposed a new small-sized parabolic trough solar collector, which could overcome
the shortcomings of conventional solar collectors. An experimental set up was developed, and
extensive tests were conducted to evaluate the thermal performance of the proposed collector.
It was found that the thermal efciency of designed PTC reached about 67% under the
condition of solar radiation of less than 310W/m2, proving that the PTC could collect solar
radiation efciently. The thermal efciencies were respectively about 26% and 56% under
condition of frosting and wind velocity of 5.0 m/s. [13]
Rachel developed a system to use CPC to collect more solar energy and to generate
superheated steam. Copper tubes treated with NALSUN selective coatings act as absorbers
and also covered by borosilicate glass envelope. The reector absorber assembly lodged in a
single glass wool segregated wooden box forms the Concentrated Parabolic Collector.
Numerical modelling was created by using various heat balancing equations and a reasonable
agreement between numerical computed values and the experimental values was observed.
The time taken for cooking rice was found to be 95 min including the warm-up time.
Experimentally calculated optical efficiency values of 0.59 are in good agreement with
theoretically predicted values of 0.63 including experimental errors. [14]
3. Methodology
Solar energy is used for generating steam in this work. No fossil fuel is utilized for producing
the steam. It leads to pollution free environment, less fatigue to the labor and also less time
required processing the turmeric than traditional methods, which also contribute to the green
energy mission.
It improves the quality of the turmeric. To process the turmeric the equipment design and
fabricated named as Blancher uses steam generated by Concentrated Parabolic Collectors
(CPC).
Steam is generated using CPC solar panels. During sunny period, the sun radiations are
reflected on a glass tube which is centrally placed of the CPC. In the glass tube, water is
flowing at the inlet due to sun radiations it will get super-heated and water is converted into
steam up to gaseous stage. For separation of steam and hot water, steam water separator is
used by which steam is supplied to the blancher.
This steam is used for processing of turmeric. Steam is supplied through steam valve of
blancher. The blancher has hexagonal shape. Steam pipes with small holes are connected to
central pipe. On each face of hexagon one steam pipe is placed. At the upper side of blancher
casing, inlet pad for loading of rhizomes is provided. In the same way, on the other end hand
wheel is connected for unloading of processed rhizomes. After completion of blanching
process, extraction of some useful constituents takes place.

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4. Design of CPC system

The curve of a parabola has the property that its height increases very slowly as compared to
its aperture, until the focal plane is reached; and it increases sharply beyond the focal plane.
In the conventional design of CPC, foci of both the parabolas lie at the bottom of the CPC,
and sections above the focal points of both are used. This causes rapid increase in height with
an increase in the aperture for conventional CPC.
The concentration ratio of the modied CPC is (1/Sin h), where h is angle of half acceptance
in degree. For small values of h, it is comparable with that of conventional CPC; but is lower
for higher values of acceptance angle. However, the height is always close to half of the
aperture, which is substantially less than that of a conventional CPC. This makes the modied
CPC easy to install and handle; and quite economical.

5. Fabrication of CPC System

CPC is normally placed with its receiver pipe along EW, requiring tilt adjustments along N
S. The angle of declination of the sun has a seasonal variation; and also a diurnal variation.
The diurnal variation is less than 60 from 8 am to 4 pm (local time) for most of the days in a
year. Thus, two tilt adjustments in a day would enable concentration of solar radiation daily
for 6 hour. Mirror strips of width 20 mm, length 1500 mm and thickness 2 mm, are glued to
the curved strips. Receiver pipe (not shown in Fig. 4) is placed horizontally along the line of
the CPC system, resting on independent stands, placed beyond alternate frames .The receiver
pipe is stationary; while the CPC can be tilted. The tilt adjustment is done manually, and a
chain and hook arrangement is used to lock the CPC in any desired position. The thickness
of all metallic strips is 3 mm. Each frame has an aperture area of 6 m2.

Fig.1- Experimental CPC set up for steam generation

In the fabricated system, sixteen such frames were arranged in two parallel rows, making the
total area of solar eld 96 m2, Water was circulated through receiver pipes for direct steam
generation. The circulating path contained also a storage tank and a 0.4 kW pump. Fig. 1
shows a photograph of the experimental set-up with two rows of CPC, their support structure
and the stationary receiver pipe. (The glass tube surrounding the receiver pipe is not included
in the photograph.) The receiver pipe was of 48 mm outside diameter and was coated with
commercially available solar selective black paint (Solkote) having coefcient of absorption
0.85. The receiver pipe was surrounded by two concentric glass tubes of 60 mm and 70 mm
outside diameter and having 2 mm thickness. These concentric glass convective heat losses.
The gap between receiver pipe and inner glass tube; or that between inner and outer glass
tubes contained air at atmospheric pressure; and no vacuum was maintained in the gaps.

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Insulation was provided for the exposed parts of the system. Also, a pyrometer (Model
DAM 8101) was used to measure solar intensity.

6. Conclusions
Solar energy could be one of primary source of renewable energy that has
environmental advantages compared with conventional energy sources. Its main
advantage it is ecologically clean and does not produce any waste products or
polluting air which provides human activity for sustainable development. Compound
Parabolic Collector solar systems are one of the most promising of a wide range of the
available solar technologies. Continuous breakthroughs are being achieved. Mainly due to the
considerable amount of solar CPC plants that are being under operation in different countries.
Within this continuous improvement effort, Direct Steam Generation (DSG) has been under
development. DSG will lead to cheaper systems, not only for electricity generation but for
industrial heat process requirements. Vacuum annulus has been assumed between stainless
steel absorber and the glass envelope. The thermal radiative interaction between those parts
has been considered without constant temperature assumption over the glass envelope. This
entire CPC system is ready to carry out experimentation to process raw rhizomes steam based
application. Qualitative turmeric will be available after processing with the help of solar
energy. The effects of the operating parameters like mass flow rate on the performances of the
CPC system are numerically investigated.

References
1. G. N. Tiwari, Solar Energy- Fundamentals, Design, Modeling and Applications, (Book,
Narosa Publications, 2012)
2. S.P. Sukhatme, Solar Energy: Principles of Thermal Collection and Storage, (Book, TMH,
New Delhi, 2008)
3. Chetan Singh Solanki, Renewable Energy Technologies, (Book, Prentice Hall of India,
New Delhi, 2009)
4. Gianluca Coccia , Giovanni Di Nicola, Marco Sotte, Design, manufacture, and test of a
prototype for a parabolic trough collector for industrial process heat, Renewable Energy 74
,2015 pp. 727-736
5. I. Santos-Gonzlez , M. Sandoval-Reyes, O. Garcia-Valladares, N. Ortega,V.H. Gomez,
Design and Evaluation of a Compound Parabolic Concentrator for Heat Generation of
Thermal Processes, 2013 ISES Solar World Congress, Energy Procedia 57, 2014 , pp. 2956
2965
6. J.Macedo-Valencia, J. Ramrez-vila, R. Acosta, O.A. Jaramillo and J.O Aguilar, Design,
construction and evaluation of parabolic trough collector as demonstrative prototype, 2013
ISES Solar World Congress, Energy Procedia 57 , 2014,pp 989 998
7. Irving Eleazar Perez Montes, Arturo Mejia Benitez, Omar Mercado Chavez, Alvaro Eduardo
Lentz Herrera, Design and Construction of a Parabolic Trough Solar Collector for Process
Heat Production, 2013 ISES Solar World Congress, Energy Procedia 57 ,2014, pp. 2149
2158
8. Yong Kim, GuiYoung Han , Taebeom Seo, An evaluation on thermal performance of CPC
solar collector, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 35,2008, pp. 446
457
9. L. Xu, Z.F. Wang, G.F. Yuan, F.H. Sun, X.L. Zhan, Thermal performance of parabolic
trough solar collectors under the condition of dramatically varying DNI, International
Conference on Concentrating Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems, Solar PACES 2014,
Energy Procedia 69 ,2015, pp. 218 225

154
Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi, India

10. B. Abdullahi, R. K. Al-dadah, S. Mouhmud, Optical Performance of Double Receiver

Compound Parabolic Concentrator, The 6th International Conference on Applied Energy
ICAE2014, Energy Procedia 61,2014, pp.2625 2628
11. Hank Price, David Kearney, David Kearney, Gilbert Cohen, Randy Gee, Eckhard Lupfert,
Rod Mahoney, Advances in Parabolic Trough Solar Power Technology, Journal of Solar
Energy Engineering, MAY 2002, pp 109-125
12. Wisut Chamsa-ard, F, Sukruedee Sukchai, Sorawit Sonsaree, and Chatchai
Sirisamphanwong, Thermal Performance Testing of Heat Pipe Evacuated Tube with
Compound Parabolic Concentrating Solar Collector by ISO 9806 1, 11th Eco-Energy and
Materials Science and Engineering (11th EMSES), Energy Procedia 56 2014 pp. 237 246
13. Bin Zou, Jiankai Dong, Yang Yao, Yiqiang Jiang, An experimental investigation on a small-
sized parabolic trough solar collector for water heating in cold areas, Applied Energy 163
,2016, pp. 396407
14. Rachel Oommen,S. Jayaraman, Development and performance analysis of compound
parabolic solar concentrators with reduced gap lossesV groove reector Renewable
Energy 27, 2002, pp. 25927
15. G. D. Rai, Non- conventional Energy Sources, (Book, Khanna publishers, New Delhi,
2011)

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Ch. ST03
Effect of heat exchanger on energy and exergy of photovoltaic thermal

(PVT) single slope solar still

Poonam Joshia* and G.N. Tiwarib

a
Centre for Energy Studies, IIT Delhi, Hauz-Khas, New Delhi 11 00 16, India

b
Bag Energy Research (BERS), SODHA BERS COMPLEX, Plot No. 51, Mahamana Nagar, Karaudi Varanasi,

(UP), India 221005.

Abstract

In this abstract, an effect of heat exchanger on energy and exergy of PVT active solar distillation system has
been presented. Single slope solar still has been incorporated with N identical partially covered photovoltaic
thermal (PVT) flat plate collector (FPC) with heat exchanger placed inside basin. The purpose of providing heat
exchanger is to use fluid in heat exchanger other than saline or brackish water depending on the requirement.
However the proposed system is beneficial for distillation of high concentrated brackish/ saline water.

Keywords: PVT-FPC, Heat exchanger and Solar still.

Nomenclature

module area (m2) evaporative heat transfer coefficient (W/m-K)

area of glass (m2) incident solar intensity (W/m2)

area of solar still basin (m2) thermal conductivity of glass (W/m-K)

spe p yo w length of glass (m)

total heat transfer coefficient from water to mass flow rate of flowing fluid (kg/sec)
glass (W/m2 0C)
radiative heat transfer coefficient (W/m-K) Mw mass of water (kg)

convective heat transfer coefficient (W/m- N number of photovoltaic thermal flat plate
K) collector connected in series
rate of useful energy (kW) inner radius of the tube (m)

outer radius of the tube (m) ambient temperature (0C)

outlet temperature of fluid of the Nth PVT temperature of water (0C)

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flat plate collector (0C)
inlet temperature of fluid in the photovoltaic temperature of inner glass (0C)
thermal flat plate collector (0C)
temperature of outer glass (0C) U overall heat transfer coefficient for the system
(W/m2 0C)

1. Introduction
Access to clean water is a major problem nowadays around the world. The use of conventional methods
like reverse osmosis, electro- dialysis, vapor compression etc. are energy intensive methods and has
environmental drawbacks. India has 16% of world population but only 4% is accessible to clean water. Solar
distillation system can be classified as follows:

1.1 Passive solar still

In passive solar still solar intensity is received directly from basin water and is the only source of energy for
raising the water temperature and utilizes internal heat from the still for the evaporation of water. In natural
circulation the hot water is circulated due to pressure difference between the basin and the source of
available hot water. There have been many designs of passive solar still, Dev and Tiwari [1] found that
passive solar still with inclination 450 gives better performance and lower water depth gives better
efficiency. Dev et al. [2] have concluded that non - linear characteristic curves are more accurate than linear
characteristic curve for analysis of performance, thermal testing and design modification. Kumar and Tiwari
[3], they found that with decrease in absorptivity (0.9-0.6) with time, decreases energetic and exergetic
efficiencies by 21.8 % and 36.7 %. Manokar et al. [4] have done an extensive review on different parameters
affecting the rate of evaporation and condensation on passive solar still. . Passive solar still operates at
normal temperature ( ). Its distillate output is low which restricts its use on commercial scale. To
overcome this restriction, active solar stills have been proposed and developed.
1.2 Active solar still

In this case of high temperature distillation, an external thermal energy is required to be fed into the basin. Hot
water available from external source (Flat plat collector/solar concentrator/evacuated tubular collectors) is fed to
basin of solar still to increase the water temperature in the basin. It results in increased evaporation and hence the
yield (distilled water) is increased. Researchers Tiwari and Dhiman [5] have done analysis on the effect of
temperature dependence of internal heat transfer coefficients on the performance of solar still. It was concluded
that convective and Radiative heat transfer coefficient can be considered constant during solar still performance.
Tiwari et al. [6] have studied exergo-economic and enviro-economic analysis of PVT integrated solar distillation
system. In such active solar still, the brackish/saline water as a fluid has been considered in the collectors as well
as in basin of solar still. In this case, the brackish/saline water corrodes the tube of FPC and hence the life of
FPC is reduced. This problem has been solved by integrating heat exchanger between flat plate collectors
FP s nd b s n o sol s ll by o searchers. Lawrence and Tiwari [7] have analyzed a distillation
system integrated with flat plate collector for higher operating temperature range under thermo syphon mode of
operation. They found in the system that it is very difficult to control the reverse heat flow from the distillation

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unit to the collector panel during off sunshine hours or low insulation periods which affect the system
significantly. In order to solve the above problem a new design (Fig 1) is proposed.
The proposed system is different from the previous work done by researchers in following ways:
a) Photo-voltaic thermal (PVT) has been taken for analysis for weather January and June according to Indian
lm , o yp lm ond on nd p om n n lys s s b n don .
b) Various energy, exergy and efficiencies have been calculated for optimum mass flow rate, number of
collector and length of heat exchanger for three cases and two whether climate.
c) T n lys s s b n don o Nth oll o o s s.
d) In heat exchanger the high temperature boiling point fluids can be taken so that maximum heat transfer can
be done in water.
The case for which analysis is done is partially covered Photovoltaic thermal collectors (PVT-FPC). (Ac =1.365;
Am = 0.605).

2. Thermal Modeling
In order to write the energy balance equation of hybrid photovoltaic thermal solar still, the assumptions
Singh et al. [8] have been made
For outer surface of glass cover

( ) ( ) (1)

For inner glass cover

( ) ( ) (2)

For basin Liner

(3)
For water mass
( ) (4)

where,

Here, the outlet fluid temperature at photovoltaic thermal collectors is given by [Dubey and Tiwari [9],
Shyam et al. [10]].

( )

( )
( ) (5)

The energy balance for forced circulating fluid in coil type heat exchanger for an elemental length can be
written as

( ) (6)

where, * ( ) ( ) +

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( )( ) ( ) ( )
[ ( )
] [ { ( )
}]

( )( )
[ ( )
] (7)

Above Eq. can be re-arranged as follows.

(8)

where,

( ) ( ) ( )( )
[ { }] [ ]
( ) ( )

( )( )
and a= ( ( )
)

For higher length of heat exchanger (without heat exchanger) i.e. L

( ) ( ) ( )
[ { }] [ ]

( )( )
[ ]

Analysis
3.1 Energy and Exergy analysis
Energy analysis has been performed using first law of thermodynamics:

[ ]

[ ]

[( ) ] [ ]

4. Methodology

The following procedures have been used to evaluate the hourly water temperature , outlet
temperature ), inlet temperature , temperature of basin ( , yield ) and determine the thermal and
electrical energy, overall thermal energy and overall exergy:

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 Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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i. Solar intensity on a horizontal surface and ambient air temperature has been taken from Indian Metrological
Department (IMD), Pune, India for the month of June. Liu and Jordan formula has been used to evaluate solar
radiation I(t) for inclined surface at 30 north latitude with the help of MATLAB 2010.
ii. Eq. (5) has been used to calculate the T foN i.e. outlet fluid temperature. Then, temperature of water is
evaluated from Eq. (8) for climatic condition of New Delhi.
iii.For known temperature of water , one gets inner glass temperature and basin temperature . For the
known value of inner glass temperature , outer glass temperature ) is calculated for the single slope
solar still.
iv.Further hourly energy and exergy of PVT active solar still integrated with heat exchanger have been evaluated.

5.Results

1000
22 40
1000

Solar radiation (It) 20 800 Solar Intensity (It)

Ambient temperature (Ta) 0 38
Ambient temperature ( C)
Ambient temperature ( C)

Ambient temperature ( C)
800 18
Solar Intensity (W/m )

Solar Intensity (W/m )

2

600 36
16

600 34
14
400

12 32
400
200
10
0

0
30

200 8
0 28
6
0 5 10 15 20 25 0 5 10 15 20 25
Time (h) Time (h)

1(a) 1(b)

Fig.1(a) Hourly variation of solar intensity and ambient air temperature for a typical day of January

Fig.1(b) Hourly variation of solar intensity and ambient air temperature for a typical day of June

90
0.8 1.0
80
120
0.7
Heat transfer coefficient (W/m C)

70 mew
Heat transfer coefficient (W/m C)

0.8
hew 100
0.6 mew 60 hrw
hew hcw 80
0.5 0.6
hcw 50 h1w
Yield (kg)

Yield (kg)

0.4 hrw 60
40
h1w 0.4
0.3 30 40

0.2 20 0.2
2 0

20
2 0

0.1 10
0.0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25
0.0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 Time (h)
Time (h)

2(a) 2(b)

Fig 2(a) Variation of mew, hew, hrw, hcw, h1w and yield with time for PVT for January

Fig 2(b) Variation of mew, hew, hrw, hcw, h1w and yield with time for PVT for June

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100

90 January (Without L) 0.8

January (With L)
80 0.7
June (Without L) January
Temperature of water ( C)

70 June (With L) 0.6 June

0

Thermal energy (kWh)

60 0.5

50 0.4

40 0.3

30 0.2

20 0.1

10 0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25
0 5 10 15 20 25 Time (h)
Time (h)

(3) (4)

Fig 3 Variation of temperature of water with time (h) for PVT in January and June

Fig 4 Variation of thermal energy with time (h) for PVT in January and June

1.4
0.30
1.2
January
June 0.25
Overall thermal energy (kWh)

1.0
Electrical exergy (kWh)

0.20
0.8

January
0.6 0.15
June

0.4 0.10

0.2 0.05

0.0 0 2 4 6 8 10
0 5 10 15 20 25
Time (h)
Time (h)

(5) (6)

Fig 5 Variation of overall thermal energy with time (h) for PVT in January and June

Fig 6 Variation of electrical exergy with time (h) for PVT in January and June

0.35

0.30
Overall exergy (kWh)

0.25

0.20
January
June
0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Time (h)

(7)

Fig 7 Variation of overall exergy with time (h) for PVT in January and June

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6. Results and Discussion

Figs. (1a-1b) shows hourly variation of solar intensity and ambient air temperature of New Delhi, India
for the month of January and June. Figs.(2a-2b) shows the hourly variation of mew, hew, hrw, hcw and h1w. As h1w is
the summation of all the three heat transfer so it is showing highest value; hourly yield, evaporative heat transfer
coefficient, radiative heat transfer coefficient and convective heat transfer coefficient then follows same trend.
Radiative and convective heat transfer coefficients are constant in comparison to evaporative heat transfer
coefficient, yield and total heat transfer coefficient. Fig. (3) show the comparison between with and without heat
exchanger for the month of January and June. It can be seen that without heat exchanger the temperature of
water is higher as compared to with heat exchanger because there is direct contact of water in the basin when
there is no heat exchanger. Fig.4 shows the hourly variation of thermal energy (kWh) with time (h) for two
months. Fig.5 shows the overall thermal energy (kWh) i.e. the sum of thermal energy and electrical energy with
time (h). The electrical exergy is divided by 0.38 so as to convert it into thermal energy. Fig.6 shows hourly
variation of electrical exergy. During off sunshine hours there is no electrical exergy in all two cases and both
the months. Electrical exergy is more in the month of January as the ambient temperature is less. From Fig.7
d p s n ov ll m l x y W v on w m o wo w ond ons. I s sum o
thermal exergy and electrical exergy; graph shows that overall exergy is high in the case of January it is so
because for the two cases contribution of solar PV is 0.695 m2 and 2 m2.
7. Conclusions

On the basis of above results and discussion for the two different climatic conditions of New Delhi,
India following conclusions can be drawn:
i. A comparison is made between with and without heat exchanger in the basin of solar still for two months
connected with partially covered photovoltaic thermal collectors.
ii. Variation of thermal and electrical energy and exergy are dependent on solar intensity I(t) and ambient air
temperature (Ta) of that particular day.
iii. Various energy and exergy has been calculated for hourly for a particular day in the month of June and
January.

8. References
[1] Rahul Dev, G.N.Tiwari, Characteristic equation of passive solar still, Desalination, 245, (2009), 246-265.
[2] Rahul Dev, H.N. Singh, G.N. Tiwari, Characteristic equation of double slope passive solar still, Desalination,
267,(2011), 261-266.
[3] Shiv Kumar, G.N.Tiwari, Analytical expression for instantaneous exergy efficiency of a shallow basin
passive solar still, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 50, (2011), 2543-2549.
[4] A. Muthu Manokar , K. Kalidasa Murugavel, G. Esakkimuthu, Different parameters affecting the rate of
evaporation and condensation on passive solar still A review,38, (2014), 309-322.

[5]G.N. Tiwari, N.K. Dhiman, Performance study of high temperature distillation system, Energy Convers,
Manage, 32, (1991), 283-291.

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[6] G.N. Tiwari, J.K. Yadav, D.B. Singh, I.M. Al-Helal, Ahmed Mahmod Abdel-Ghany, Exergoeconomic and
enviroeconomic analyses of partially covered photovoltaic flat plate collector active solar distillation system,
Desalination 367 (2015) 186-196.
[7] S.A. Lawrence , G. N. Tiwari, Theoretical evaluation of solar distillation under natural circulation with heat
exchanger, Energy Convers, Mgt 30, (1990), 205-213.
[8]D.B. Singh, J. K. Yadav, V. K. Dwivedi, S. Kumar, G.N.Tiwari and I. M. Al-Helal, (2016), experimental
studies of active solar still integrated with two hybrid PVT collectors, Solar Energy 130, 207223.
[9]Dubey, S. and Tiwari, G.N., (2009), Analysis of PV/T flat plate water collectors connected in series, Solar
Energy 83,14851498.
[10] Shyam, Tiwari, G.N., Al-Helal, I.M., Analytical expression of temperature dependent electrical efficiency
of N-PVT water collectors connected in series, (2015).

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Ch. ST04

Thermal analysis of integrated transparent photovoltaic thermal flat plate

collector water heater system for forced water heating applications

Deepali Atheaya1*,Vineet Saini2, V.K Jain2 and G.N.Tiwari3

1*
Bennett University, Tech Zone II, Greater Noida - 201310, UP, India
2
AIARS (M&D), Amity University, Sector-125, Noida, UP -201303, India
3
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi,
Hauz Khas, New Delhi 11 00 16, India
* Corresponding author. Tel: 9910446852, E-mail: deepali.atheaya@bennett.edu.in

Abstract: In this research paper, a novel design of integrated transparent photovoltaic thermal flat plate collector
(PVT-FPC) water heater system has been proposed. The effect of packing factor has been further studied on the
performance of water heater system. A Matlab 2014 programming has been done to evaluate the water
temperature (Tw ) daily thermal and electrical energy drawn from fully covered photovoltaic thermal flat plate
collector (PVT-FPC) water heater system. It is observed that an overall thermal performance of the combined
integrated transparent photovoltaic thermal flat plate collector (PVT-FPC) water heater system is improved
significantly as compared to simple flat plate collector water heater system. An overall exergy analysis of the
above system is also carried out.

Keywords: photovoltaic; flat plate collector, exergy

Nomenclature (Optional)
A area .........................................................m2 Ut overall heat transfer coefficient ....... W/m2K
AC total receiver area ...................................m2 Ut,cp overall heat transfer coefficient from solar
CW specific heat of water......................... J/kgK cell to plate.. W/m2K
dx elemental length ....................................... m Ut,pa total (top and bottom) overall heat transfer
F flat plate collector efficiency factor coefficient from plate to ambient..W/m2K
dimensionless UL1 overall heat transfer coefficient from
FR flow rate factor dimensionless blackened surface to ambient...... W/m2K
Lrm length of receiver covered by PV module. m O efficiency at standard test condition(1000
PF1 first penalty factor due to glass W/m2, To=25oC)
cover.dimensionless O temperature coefficient of efficiency K-1
IT total radiation W/m2
PF2 second penalty factor due to absorber
plate .dimensionless

1.1. Introduction
There is a growing demand of hot water in house applications and in industries. Solar energy
is used to extract the thermal and electrical energy which are used for heating water and
electricity generation purposes. A flat plate collector has been utilized to obtain the hot water.
Kern and Russell [1] proposed the idea of integrated photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors
for sustainable forced mode of operation. Hendrie [2] reported that photovoltaic thermal
systems is basically the integration of photovoltaic module and a thermal system which gives
rise to an overall reduction in system cost. It was suggested by Dubey and Tiwari [3] studied
an integrated PVT solar water heater and found that an increase of solar radiation on the
surface of a PV module gives rise to high solar cell temperatures due to which solar cells are
deteriorated and the module efficiency is reduced. Gaur and Tiwari [4] suggested that the
thermal energy can be extracted from the back side of solar cells to increase the solar cell
efficiency.

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Kalogirou and Tripanagnostopoulos [5] investigated a hybrid PVT solar collector system for
combined domestic hot water and electricity generation. The photovoltaic panel has been
utilized to get the electricity as well as the thermal energy. Vats et al. [6] investigated an
effect of packing factor on a building integrated semitransparent photovoltaic thermal
(BISPVT) system. It was reported that an increase of packing factor increases the electrical
efficiency of system. Aste et al. [7] reviewed thoroughly water flat plate PVthermal
collectors. Hazi et al. [8] studied PVT systems for water heating industries in Romania and
found its payback time to be reduced.
Ziapour et al. [9] have studied an integrated collectorstorage solar heater with PV attached to
it with natural circulation mode. It was reported that an increased collector area lead to a
decreased total PVT efficiency. Recently, Sun et al. [10] designed and tested a PVT hot water
system for tall buildings and it was found that PVT modules having 20 tilt angle generates
maximum energy outputs. Therefore, in this paper a transparent photovoltaic thermal flat
plate collector is combined with a solar water heater for forced mode circulation and its
performance is evaluated.

1.2. Brief description of proposed integrated transparent photovoltaic thermal flat plate
collector water heater system
The Fig. 1 shows diagram of integrated fully covered photovoltaic thermal flat plate collector
(PVT-FPC) water heater system. The PV panel is pasted at the top of flat plate collector. The
solar radiation falls on PV module so there is a transfer of thermal energy from the back
surface of the solar cells and from the non-packing area of PV panel. This thermal energy is
used to heat water and it is stored in an insulated water tank.

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of integrated transparent photovoltaic thermal flat plate collector
water heater system used for forced water heating applications.
The pipes carrying water are also insulated to reduce the heat losses. A pump is used for the
circulation of the water through the collector system.
1.3. Thermal modeling
Various assumptions have been considered while doing analysis of integrated transparent
(PVT-FPC) forced circulation water heater system
The integrated transparent photovoltaic thermal flat plate collector water heater system is in
quasi steady state.
The water pipes are insulated to reduce thermal losses
The ohmic losses in the solar cells are considered negligible
One dimensional flow of heat is considered for the study

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The temperature across thickness of solar cells and glass material is constant
Following Atheaya et al. [11] the rate of thermal energy available at the outlet of integrated
transparent PV thermal flat plate collector system is as follows:
. dT
Q u = PF2 ( ) m ,eff Frm A c I t A c Frm U t (Tfi Ta ) = M w C w w + U t (Tw Ta ) (1)
dt
The above Eq. (1) can be further solved by assuming perfectly insulating connecting pipes,
Tfi=Tw
dT
A c Frm [PF2 ( ) m ,eff I b U t (Tw Ta )] = M w C w w + U t (Tw Ta ) (2)
dt
dTw 1 AF AF UT
+ [ ]
+ c rm Tw = c rm PF2 () m,eff I b + U t Ta + t a (3)
dt M w C w M w C w M w Cw M w Cw

dTw
+ aTw = f ( t )
dt
1 A F A F U t Ta
where a = + c rm and f ( t ) = c rm [PF2 () m ,eff I b + U t Ta ] + (4)
__
M wCw M wCw M wCw M wCw
f (t)
Tw =
a
( )
1 e at + Two e at (5)

tank water at t = 0 and f(t)bar is the average value of f(t) for the time interval between 0 and t.
where, Two is the temperature of storage.
1.4. Energy Analysis
The daily thermal energy available from an insulated hot water storage tank can be evaluated

as Q u = M w C w (Tw Ta ) (6)
The electrical energy generated by the PV modules in Watt (W) as follows:
.
E el = m I t A c (7)
1.5. Exergy Analysis
The overall exergy effiency of the system is the sum of thermal exergy and electrical exergy
The thermal exergy can be calculated by following
. . . (T + 273)
E w ,th = M w C w (Tw Two ) M w C w (Ta + 273) ln w (8)
(Two + 273)
And the electrical exergy of the system by following chow et al. (2009) is given as
.
E el = m I t A r (9)
Following, Patela (2003) and Szargut (2003) , an exergy of can be obtained as
4 T T 4
E xi = I b 1 a + a (10)
3 Ts Ts
.
E xc
Exergy efficiency of thermal energy = (11)
A a E xi

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1.6. Results
Fig 3. shows the effect of total solar radiation and ambient temperature for the month of
January 2016. M The above climatic data is taken from IMD Pune. It can be observed from
the Fig. 3 that solar intensity is high at 1 pm (1050W/m2) and the ambient temperature is high
(16.5C).
18

1000
16

Ta

C
800 14

o
Ambient temperature,
It
2
Solar Intensity, W/m

12
600

10

400
8

200
6

08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00

Time, hour
Fig. 3. Effect of total solar radiation (It) and ambient temperature (Ta) for the month of
January 2016.

Fig. 4 shows the effect of packing factor on the on the temperature of storage water tank
(Tw). It can be observed from the Fig. 4 that as the packing factor is increased the water tank
temperature is reduced. This is due to the reason that when the packing factor is increased the
area of solar cell is increased and the thermal energy which is transferred to the water tank
also lowers and hence the water tank temperature lessens.
100

90
Packing factor = 0.89
80
Packing factor = 0.75
Water tank temperature, C

Packing factor = 0.50

o

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00

Time, hour

Fig. 4. Effect of packing factor on storage water tank temperature

In the Fig. 5. daily thermal energy in kWh of integrated transparent photovoltaic panel flat
plate collector water heater system is presented.

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Fig. 5. Daily thermal energy in kWh of integrated transparent photovoltaic panel flat plate
collector water heater system.

Fig. 6. Daily electrical energy in kWh of integrated transparent photovoltaic panelflat plate
collector system.

Fig. 7. Variation of overall exergy efficiency of the overall exergy efficiency

The thermal energy from the system is calculated by using Eq. (6). It was reported that the
daily thermal energy for packing factor 0.5, 0.75 and 0.89 are 3.73, 3.02 and 2.49

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respectively. The electrical energy (See Fig. 6) from the system is calculated by using Eq. (7)
and it was found that the daily electrical energy for packing factor 0.5, 0.75 and 0.89 are 1.51,
1.3 and 0.93 respectively.
Fig. 7. shows the variation of overall exergy efficiency of the overall exergy efficiency with
respect to time. It can be seen from the figure that for the fully covered PV integrated with the
solar water heater system the overall exergy effiency shows a decreasing trend with a
maximum overall exergy effiency as 11% and minimum as 7.2%. The overall exergy
efficiency has been computed by the help of Eq. 11. The values of design parameters have
been given in Table 1.

Table 1.
Parameters Values
Ar, g, Mw 2 m2 , 0.95, 100 kg
F , Frc, Frm 0.9680, 0.8693, 0.8110
Kg , Ki , Kp 0.816 W/m2K, 0.166 W/m2K, 64 W/m2K
Lg , Li, Lp 0.003 m, 0.100 m, 0.002 m
PF1, PF2, hpf 0.3782, 0.9512, 100 W/ m2
hi, hi1, h0, c, p 5.7 W/m2, 5.8 W/m2, 9.5 W/m2, 0.9, 0.8
cf , o 4179 J/KgK , 0.15
Ut, Ut,ca, Ut,cp 5.4 W/m2k, 4.8 W/m2k, 5.58 W/m2k
c 0.5, 0.75, 0.89
Kg/sec

1.7 Conclusions
In this paper the thermal modeling of integrated fully covered photovoltaic thermal flat plate
collector (PVT-FPC) water heater system was done. The effect of packing factor on the
performance of above system was evaluated and it was found that the system with a packing
factor of 0.50 is self-sustainable as both the good amount of thermal and electrical energy is
extracted from the system.

References
[1] Kern, E.C., Russell, M.C., 1978. Combined photovoltaic and thermal hybrid collector
systems. In: Proceedings of the 13th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists, Washington DC,
USA, June5-8, 11531157.
[2] Hendrie, S.D., 1979. Evaluation of combined photovoltaic /thermal collectors. In:
Proceedings of international conference ISES, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, vol.3, 1865-1869.
[3] Dubey S, Tiwari, GN. 2008. Thermal modeling of a combined system of photovoltaic
thermal (PV/T) solar water heater. Solar Energy 82, 602612.
[4] Gaur, A., Tiwari, G.N., 2014. Performance of a-Si thin film PV modules with and
without water flow: An experimental validation. Applied Energy 128, 18419.
[5] Kalogirou, S.A., Tripanagnostopoulos, Y., 2006. Hybrid PV/T solar systems for domestic
hot water and electricity production. Conversion and Management 47, 33683382.
[6] Vats, K., Tomar, V., Tiwari, G.N., 2012. Effect of packing factor on the performance of a
building integrated semitransparent photovoltaic thermal (BISPVT) system with air duct.
Energy and Buildings 53, 159165.
[7] Aste, N., Pero, C., Leonforte, F., 2014. Water flat plate PVthermal collectors: A review
Solar Energy 102, 98115.

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7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

[8] Hazi, A., Hazi, G., Grigore, R., Vernica, S., 2014. Opportunity to use PVT systems for
water heating in industry. Applied Thermal Engineering 63, 151-157.
[9] Ziapour, B.M., Palideh, V., Mohammadnia, A., 2014. Study of an improved integrated
collector-storage solar water heater combined with the photovoltaic cells. Energy
Conversion and Management 86, 587594.
[10] Sun, L.L., Li, M., Yuan, Y.P., Cao, X.L., Lei, B., Yu, N.Y., 2016. Effect of tilt angle and
connection mode of PVT modules on the energy efficiency of a hot water system for
high-rise residential buildings. Renewable Energy 93, 291-301.
[11] Atheaya, D., Tiwari, A., Tiwari, G.N., Al-Helal, I.M., 2015. Analytical characteristic
equation for partially covered photovoltaic thermal (PVT) compound parabolic
concentrator (CPC). Solar energy 111, 176185.

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Solaris, 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India
Ch. ST05
Effect of concentration ratio for N partially covered photovoltaic thermal-
compound parabolic concentrator (PVT-CPC) collector
Rohit Tripathi 1,*, G. N. Tiwari 1, V. K. Dwivedi 2

1
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016,
India
2
Mechanical Engg. Department, Galgotias College of Engineering & Technology, G. Noida, U.P.,
India
* Corresponding author. Tel: +91 9958268783, E-mail: rohittripathi30.iitd@gmail.com

Abstract: In this paper, overall energy and exergy performance of partially covered N photovoltaic thermal -
compound parabolic concentrators (PVT-CPC) (25% covered by glass to glass PV module) collector connected in
series have been carried out at constant flow rate of water. Further, comparison has been made for four different
concentration ratio or cases (i-iv) (CR=1=2=3=4), respectively. The ratio of aperture and receiver, Aa: Ar has been
considered as 1:1 [case (i)], or 2:1 [case (ii)], or 3:1 [case (iii)], or 4:1 [case (iv)]. It has been observed that case
(iv) have most preferable to obtain highest thermal gain where is case (i) is acting and performing like a
conventional N-PVT collector and chosen for delivering minimum thermal gain. In this case, concentration
property is not working in collector system because aperture area has equal to receiver area. Case (ii) has been
found to be best for overall exergy point of view due to lower input energy from case (iii-iv).

Keywords: PVT, compound parabolic concentrator, concentration ratio.

Nomenclature (Optional)
Absorptivity of the solar cell Tc Solar cell temperature (0C)

Mass flow rate of water (kg/s) Tp Absorption plate temperature (0C)

Transmissivity of the glass Lp Thickness of absorption plate (m)

Specific heat of water (J/kg K) Kp Thermal conductivity of plate

(W/m K)

0 Temperature coefficient of efficiency Tfi Inlet fluid (water) temperature (0C)

(K-1)

Utc,a Overall heat transfer coefficient from Tf Flowing fluid (water) temperature
cell to ambient (W/m2 K) (0C)

Utc,p Overall heat transfer coefficient from Tfom Outlet water temperature at the end
cell to plate(W/m2 K) of PV module (0C)

, Length of receiver covered by glass or o Efficiency at standard test condition

PV module (m)

, Length of aperture covered by glass or Tfoc Outlet water temperature at the end
PV module (m) of portion covered by glass (0C)

Solar cell efficiency TfomNOutlet water temperature at the end

of Nth PV module (0C)

PV module efficiency TfoN Outlet water temperature at the end

of Nth PVT-CPC water collector
(0C)

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Breath of receiver (m) hi Heat transfer coefficient from

bottom of PVT to ambient (W/m2
K)

Area of receiver covered by glass ho Heat transfer coefficient from top of

(m2) PVT to ambient (W/m2 K)

Area of receiver covered by PV hi Heat transfer coefficient for space

module (m2) between the glazing and absorption
plate (W/m2 K)

1.1. Introduction
The solar energy occurs all over the word to the concern of global crisis on fossil fuels. Energy experts
has focused that oil has reached at a peak price whereas gas and coal are demanded more than oil. By
this scenario, energy prices has become higher. Now the need of sustainable energy sources has taken
place. The green energy like solar energy has been introduced as major source of sustainable energy to
switch from fossil fuels. This green energy is accepted to take a challenge to minimize CO2 emissions.
Solar energy has the ability to complete international demand of energy in significant proportion. The
very first system is introduced for solar energy which is capable to produce thermal as well as electrical
output, named as PVT collector. The first design of PVT has been developed by [6]. In the thermal
energy based system, the collector is directly exposed to the sun and the heat from the sun is directly
transmitted to the black absorber or plate through glass. A theoretical model of PVT using techniques
of convectional thermal plane collector has been developed [5]. The performance of PVT has been
studied on the effect of flow and air duct [2] and [7] respectively. Analysis of PVT flat plat collector
connected in series has discussed [4]. Concentrating systems offer a possibility of increasing the thermal
output from the system. A compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) is a low concentrating which has
less than 4 concentration ratio. It has essentially two half parabolas in parallel. A CPC has advantage
that for a tilted parabolic reflector, the parabolas half that is closer to the sun will focus the suns rays
below the parabolas focus. Two types of PVT water heating namely tube-in-plate configuration and
parallel plate configuration. Tube-in-plate configuration and parallel plate configuration have evaluated
[3] and [11]. Numerical models of PVT system has been developed and this type of PVTs were placed
in performance analysis of the glass and without glass PVT collectors [8].

An analytical equation for electrical efficiency of PV module with and without flow as function of
climatic have developed and found that semitransparent PV module with duct gives higher electrical
efficiency as well as higher outlet air temperature [13] i.e. it gave higher thermal efficiency. It was then
suggested that if the thermal performance was not totally important then the collector should not be
covered. The analytical expression and thermal modelling of N partially covered photovoltaic thermal
(PVT)Compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) collectors connected in series has been presented and
discussed four different cases on the based on PV coverage area on collector [11-13]. In present paper,
an attempt has been performed for obtaining higher thermal energy by considering different
concentration ratio on N PVT-CPC collector connected in series.

1.2. System Description

The collector area of PVT-CPC is divided in two portions, one is PVT and second is compound
parabolic reflector or concentrator and further partially PVT is classified as PV module area and glass
area. The lower portion of collector is coved by PV module and rest upper portion is covered by glass.
The cut section view section of first collector of N-PVT-CPC collector has been shown in Fig.1 (a).
The arrangement of series connection of N number of PVT-CPC collector has been shown in Fig. 1
(b). The output at end of glass to glass PV module at the first collector (T fom1) turns into the input of
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the glass upper portion of collector and the outlet water temperature of the first PVT-CPC water
collector is (Tfo1). This Tfo1 has been become inlet to the second collector and so on. Now T fi is as inlet
at first collector and T foN is considered as outlet at Nth collector of proposed system. A metal (cu) tube
below the plate which is black, taken as absorber has been considered as receiver in collector. The
aperture and receiver area of PVT-CPC has been considered as considered as Aa and Ar respectively.
Four cases has been considered on the basis of concentration ratio of collector. Cases are as case (i):
concentration ratio (C) =1, case (ii): C=2, case (iii): C=3, case (iv): C=4. The ratio of Aa and Am is 2:1.
The direct radiation falls on Aa of CPC-PVT. It reflects from reflector, incidents on PVT collectors.
The direct radiation is passed through the non-packing area or glass portion of PVT-CPC and comes
to be absorbed by the black absorber copper plate. The thermal gain of solar cells is indirectly passed
to the black absorber plate. So the temperature of absorber plate increases. It increases the temperature
of the flowing water through tubes below the absorber.

X Xo
Absorption plate

Glazed surface
Solar cell

1 1

Air gap
Inlet Outlet

L Insulation
X Xo
Cut section of metallic tubes

Figure. 1 (a)

1st collector 2nd collector 3rd collector Nth collector

Tfo1 Tfo2 Tfo3 Outlet,
TfoN

Inlet, Tfi

Figure 1 (b)
Figure 1(a). Cross section side view of proposed partially covered PVT-CPC first water collector,
Arm=0.25 m2 and Arc = 0.75 m2, 1(b). Arrangement of N-PVT-CPC water collectors connected in series
at XX.

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Table 1.2.1. Details of basic specification of parameters for partially covered N PVT-CPC collector.
= 1 m2 , = 9.17 W/m2 oC , = 5.58 W/m2 oC

= 0.25 m2 , = 7.87 W/m2 oC , = 4.8 W/m2 oC

= 0.75 m2 1 = 0.3782 = 4179 J/kg K

= 2 m2 2 = 0.9512 = 0.018 kg/s

= 0.5 m2 = 0.9842 1 = 3.47 W/m2 oC

= 1.5 m2 = 100 W/m2 = 4.7 W/m2 oC

= 0.9680 = 5.7 W/m2 , = 7.87 W/m2 oC

= 0.8693 m2 = 5.8 W/m2 = 0.166W/moC,

= 0.8110 m2 = 9.5 W/m2 = 6 W/m oC,

= 0.816 W/m oC = 0.84 = 0.100 m

= 0.003 m = 0.95 = 0.002 m

1.3. Modelling
Following assumptions have been taken to write the basic energy balance equations for proposed number
of PVT-CPC collectors connected in series:
(a) The PVT-CPC system is in quasi steady state.
(b) Ohmic losses in PV modules are neglected.
(c) Heat capacity of glass cover, insulation, absorber and solar cell materials etc. are neglected.
1.3.1 Energy balance equation for solar cell of semitransparent PV module (Figs. 1a and 1b)
c g I Aam
c b Utc ,a Tc Ta Utc , p Tc Tp Arm I Aam
m b (1)

1.3.2 Energy balance for absorber plate below the Photovoltaic module

2
c g 1 c Ib Aam Utc, p Tc Tp Arm F 'hpf Tp T f Arm Utp ,a Tp T f (2)

1.3.3 Energy balance for flowing water as fluid below the absorber plate

dT f
mf c f dx F ' hpf Tp Tf Armbdx (3)
dx
For N number of PVT collectors the outlet water temperature at the end of N th collector is followed [13],
from Eqs. 1, 2 and 3, one can get outlet fluid temperature like (T foN) as

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Ib AFR 1
1 K pN Ta AFRU L 1
1 K pN
TfoN . .
K pN Tfi (4)
m f cf 1 Kp m f cf 1 Kp

where, is the collector efficiency factor calculated by following Duffie and Beckman (1991) and
Tiwari (2004).

With help of Eq. (4), the rate of thermal energy gain from partially covered N-PVT-CPC water e has
been evaluated by following equation
. .
Quthe, N m f c f T foN T fi (5)

The rate of useful thermal exergy from the partially covered N-PVT-CPC water collector has been
evaluated by following equation
. . . (TfoN 273)
Quthx, N m f c f TfoN Tfi m f c f (Ta 273)ln (6)
(Tfi 273)
The temperature dependent electrical efficiency of solar cells in PV modules of partially covered N-
PVT-CPC water collectors has evaluated following as

cN 0 1 0 Tc T0 (7)

The above Eq. (7) can be further rewritten as following

0 1 0
XI b YTa ZT fi T0
Now, U tc , p U tc ,a (8)
cN
Ib
1 0 0
U tc , p U tc ,a

where X , Y , Z , , and are defined in Appendix.

The temperature dependent electrical efficiency of PV modules of N PVT-CPC water collector is

following as

mN g c cN (9)

The rate of useful electrical gain from proposed system has been evaluated by following equation

. N
Q xel , N Arm Ib mN (10)
1

The overall thermal energy gain is obtained from proposed system can be calculated by following
expression
.
. . Q xel , N
Qu ,overall Quthe , N (11)
0.38
The overall exergy is obtained from proposed system can be evaluated by following expression

. . .
Qux ,overall Quthx , N Q xel , N (12)
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1.4. Results
The beam radiation and an ambient temperature on horizontal surface for a clear day (type a) in month
of January for New Delhi have been found from IMD, Pune, India. The beam radiation has been
calculated at 30o on south facing for New Delhi location. The variation of beam radiation and ambient
temperature with the time of the day have been shown in Fig. 2.

1000 16
Ib 15
900
Ta
14
800

Ambient air temperature, Ta ( C)

13
Beam radiation, Ib (W/m )
2

700
12

600 11

500 10

9
400
8
300
7

o
200
6

100 5
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time of the day (hr)

Figure 2. Hourly variation of beam radiation and ambient air temperature of a typical day of January,
New Delhi, India

for C=3 mN
for C=4
mN
200 0.14
average Tc for C=3 average Tc for C=4

Electrical efficiency of PV module (in fraction)

180
Avergae solar cell temperature, Tc ( C)

0.12
o

160
mN
average Tc for C=2

for C=1
for C=2

140
0.10

120
mN

100 0.08
Average Tc for C=1

80
0.06
60

40 0.04

20
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time of the day (hr)

Figure 3. Hourly variation of average solar cell to electrical efficiency of PV module of N PVT-CPC
collector for four different cases.

The hourly variation of average solar cell and electrical efficiency of PV module for all cases has been
shown in Fig. 3. Here, it can be seen that the electrical efficiency is totally inversely proportional to the
solar cell temperature, which is expected. It is observed that case (iv) has maximum solar cell
temperature due to high concentration ratio or high input energy and minimum electrical efficiency.
Hourly variation of outlet fluid temperature at Nth collector of PVT-CPC has been shown in Fig. 4. Case
(iv) has been found to achieve highest temperature for water due to maximum input energy.

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c=1
105 January, mf=0.018 kg/s, N=4 c=2
100 c=3
95 c=4
90
85

Outlet fluid temperature, TfoN( C)

o 80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time of the day (hr)

Figure 4. Hourly variation of outlet fluid (water) temperature at Nth collector of N PVT-CPC for all
cases

c=1
0.12 January, mf=0.018 kg/s, N=4 c=2
c=3
c=4
0.10
Electrical gain (kWh)

0.08

0.06

0.04

0.02

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time of the day (hr)

Figure 5. Hourly variation of electrical gain at Nth collector of PVT-CPC for all cases.
overall thermal energy: C=1
C=2
C=3
January, mf=0.018 kg/s, N=4 C=4
7 Overall exergy: C=1
C=2
C=3
Overall thermal energy/exergy (kWh)

6 C=4

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time of the day (hr)

Figure 6. Hourly variation of overall thermal energy and exergy for all cases of N PVT-CPC
collector

Hourly variation of electrical gain, overall thermal energy and exergy have been shown in Fig.
4 and 5. Here, the maximum electrical gain has been found for case (i) due to lowest temperature
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of solar cell. The maximum overall thermal energy and exergy have been achieved for case (iv)
only, due to maximum input solar energy.

1.5. Conclusions
Under study, significant outcomes of the work are concluded as following

Maximum electrical efficiency has been obtained for case (i) [concentration ratio (C)
=1:1 (work as PVT)] of N PVT-CPC collector connected in series, due to lowest solar
cell temperature.
Maximum electrical gain has been evaluated for case (i) of N PVT-CPC collector, due
to maximum electrical efficiency of PV module.
The overall thermal energy and exergy has been noted maximum for case (iv)
[concentration ratio (C) =4:1]of partially covered N PVT-CPC collector, which 3.6, 1.8
and 2.9 times higher than for case (i), case (ii) and case (iii), respectively.

References

[1] A.K. Bhargava, H.P. Garg, R.K. Agarwal, Study of a hybrid solar system-solar air heater
combined with solar cells, Energy, Convers, Manage, 31 (5), 471479.

[2] T.T. Chow, Performance analysis of photovoltaicthermal collector by explicit dynamic

model, Solar Energy, 75, 14352.

[3] S. Dubey, G.N. Tiwari, Analysis of PV/T flat plate water collectors connected in series,
Solar Energy 83, 14851498.

[4] S.D. Hendrie, Evaluation of combined photovoltaic/thermal collectors, In: Proceedings

of International Conference ISES, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, vol. 3, pp. 18651869.

[5] E.C Kern, M.C. Russell, Combined photovoltaic and thermal hybrid collector systems, In:
Proceedings of the 13th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 11531157.

[6] J. Prakash, Transient analysis of a photovoltaic-thermal solar collector for co-generation

of electricity and hot air/water, Energy Convers, Manage, 35, 967972.

[7] G.N. Tiwari, Solar Energy: Fundamentals, Design, Modeling and Applications, Narosa
Publishing House, New Delhi.

[8] G.N. Tiwari, R.K. Mishra, S.C. Solanki, Photovoltaic modules and their applications: a
review on thermal modeling, Appl. Energy 88, 22872304.

[9] A. Tiwari, M.S. Sodha, Performance evaluation of hybrid PV/thermal water/air heating
system: a parametric study, Renewable Energy, 31 (15), 24602474.

[10] R. K. Mishra, G. N. Tiwari, Energy and exergy analysis of hybrid photovoltaic thermal
water collector for constant collection temperature mode, Solar Energy, 90 (2013) 5867.

[11] R. Tripathi, G. N. Tiwari, I.M. Al-Helal, Thermal modelling of N partially covered

photovoltaic thermal (PVT)Compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) collectors connected in
series, Solar Energy, 123 (2016) 174184.
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Solaris, 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Varanasi, India

[12] R. Tripathi, S. Tiwari, G. N. Tiwari, Performance of Partially Covered N - Number of

Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) - Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) Series Connected
Water Heating System, International Journal of Electrical, Computer, Energetic, Electronic
and Communication Engineering Vol: 10, No: 1, (2016) 35-42.

[13] S. Dubey, G.S. Sandhu, G.N. Tiwari, Analytical express for electrical efficiency of PV/T
hybrid air collector, Appl. Energy, 86 (2009) 697705.

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Ch. ST06

Annual Performance of Solar Still Integrated with Evacuated Tubular

Collector

Shiv Kumar*,1, Manoj Gaur2 and V. K. Dwivedi3

1. Dy. Director, Department of Technical Education, New Delhi (India)

2. Associate Professor, MITS, Gwalior (MP)
3. Prof., Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology, Greater Noida (UP)

* Corresponding author:- Tel: 9868878227, E-mail: skdubey_1966@rediffmail.com

Abstract: A single slope solar still has been integrated with an Evacuated Tube Collector (ETC) and operates in
natural mode (EISS). Annual performance and thermal - economic analysis have been carried under New Delhi
(India) climatic conditions. Performance has been estimated based on the climatic data recorded in the year
2008-09 at IIT Delhi. Annual yield of 1070 kg has been estimated accounting 300 clear days in a year, which is
about 2.35 times higher than the yield obtained from passive solar still. The annual average values of energy and
exergy efficiencies are obtained as 28.2% and 2.11%. The energy and exergy production costs of distilled water
produced from integrated solar still are estimated as Rs.2.42/kWh and Rs. 32.2/kWh respectively, accounting the
carbon trading.

Keywords: Evacuated tube collector, solar still, annual performance, energy and exergy production cost.

Nomenclature

Eout Annual output Energy ------------- kWh UAnet Net Annualized cost-------Rs.
Ein, solar Input annual solar energy----------kWh My Annual yield----------------kg
Ex,out Annual Exergy output---------------kWh Epc Energy Pay back time------years
Exinsolar Annual input solar exergy-------- kWh n Number of years

1. Introduction
Water and energy are the two most essential things for the sustainable development. The
availability of clean drinking water to everyone remains a challenge in many parts of the
world. Solar energy plays an important role for sustainable development in coming years as
an alternative energy source. Solar stills are one of the most famous desalination
technologies which use the solar energy in producing potable water. In recent years, various
studies (i.e. experimental and theoretical) have been conducted on different configurations of
solar stills to enhance the performance and productivity. Sampathkumar et al. [1] presented
the detailed review of various designs of active solar stills.
Many active designs of solar still (i.e. Solar still integrated with parabolic concentrator,
evacuated tube collector (ETC) and flat plate collectors (FPC), hybrid photovoltaic (PV-T)
solar still) have been studied by various scientists to enhance the daily yield. The current
research in renewable energy indicates a growing interest for solar collectors with evacuated
tubes. The evacuated tube solar collector has more advantageous than the at plate collectors
for water heating purposes. In at plate collectors, sun rays are perpendicular to the collector
only at noon and thus a proportion of the sunlight striking the surface of the collector is

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always likely to be reected. But in evacuated tube collector, due to its cylindrical shape, the
sun rays are perpendicular to the surface of the glass for most of the day. However, Kim et al.
[2] have found a significant increase in the outlet temperature of water and thermal efficiency
(about 16.7%) of ETC by using tracking mechanism in comparison to that of stationary ETC.
The natural circulation is a most interesting technology used for solar energy exploitation due
to its effectiveness, simplicity and low maintenance than the system using an auxiliary pump
but produces lower desired output. The limitation of ETC is that it can only be used for a low-
pressure system, as the tubes can only withstand a few metres of water head. El-Nashar [3]
has predicted a decrement in the performance of ETC by 60% when the transmittance of glass
tubes decreases from 0.98 (clean glass) to 0.6 (very dusty glass). Recently, Sharma and Diaz
[4] have studied the mini-channels design of ETC and reported that reducing the heat path
from the absorber surface to working fluid increases the operating temperatures.

At present the annual economic growth rate in India is 6-8%. For energy, India depends on oil
and gas imports, which account for over 65% of its consumption [5]; it is likely to increase
further considering the economic development, the rise in living condition of people and
rising prices. Climate change policies currently focus on reducing the concentration of
industrial atmospheric greenhouse gases due to burning fossil fuels and deforestation. Solar
distillation is an increasing interest as a solution to reduce fossil fuel consumption and
consequently the emission of greenhouse gases, and contributes to achieve energy security
with almost negligible running cost. Carbon credit trading is an administrative approach used
to control pollution. A credit gives the owner a right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide. Many
state governments of USA have rallied around green pricing programs to energy conservation
and reduce CO2 emissions. Green pricing programs show promise particularly in urban areas,
where ample solar energy is available to meet energy demand.
Fath et al. [6] have recommended the acceptable cost of the distilled water for potable use in
remote areas, if produced from solar stills at $0.03/liter (i.e. Rs. 1.20/liter). The main
drawback in water distillation remains the high energy consumption. However, cost analyses
carried out by different researchers conclude that the solar stills can be used to provide fresh
water at reasonable cost. Ghoneyem and Ileri [7] have reported the cost of production $20/m3
for large size solar distillation plant. Al-Hinai et al. [8] have reported the production cost of
distillate to $16.3/m3 using a cluster of 250 simple solar stills and 52 weeks operational time.
In present work, annual performance of solar still integrated with ETC in natural mode has
been investigated. Numerical simulation has been performed to investigate the yield, energy
and exergy efficiencies and energy & exergy production cost. The analysis is based on annual
performonce, investment, energy and exergy output for the expected life span of 15 years.
Further CO2 emission/ mitigation and revenue earned due to carbon credit are taken into
account as per norms of Kyoto Protocol for India.
2. Experimental setup
Fig. 1 shows the schematic diagram of proposed design of ETC integrated with Solar still and
operates in natural mode (EISS). It consists of a solar stills connected with number of
evacuated tubes.

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Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of EISS system

3. Thermal-Economical Analysis

Following are the assumptions made for the writing the energy balance equations of different
components of EISS:
(a) The solar distillation unit is vapor leakage proof and is in quasi steady state.
(b) The heat capacities of glass and basin material are negligible.
(c) Temperature dependant heat transfer coefficients have been considered.

The thermal analysis of solar still has been carried based on the equationsas reported [9].
(i) Energy efficiency

This is ratio of energy output to solar energy input to the system.

Eout n
= 100 (1)
Ein,solar n

(ii) Exergy efficiency

This is ratio of exergy output to solar exergy input to the system.

Exout n
= 100 (2)
Exin,solar n

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(iii) Energy/Exergy production cost

This is the finance invested for per unit of energy output.

Net annualized cos t UA net

E pc = =
Annual energy / exergy output E out (3)

One can observe that embodied energy (Ein), annual energy output (Eout) and life of system (n)
have an important role in the evaluation of the energy matrices.

Embodied energy is an indicator of the level of energy consumption. This involves the
assessment of the overall energy required to extract the raw material, manufacture products
and components, build, and maintain the component element whichever is being assessed.
(iv) Energy payback time (EPBT)

Energy payback time (EPBT) is defined as the time required recovering the energy invested in
the system. Energy payback time (EPBT) of solar still can be evaluated by using the
following equation.

Embodied energy
EPBT= (4)
Annual output of energy from system

The embodied energy of single slope passive and EISS solar stills can be evaluated by
multiplying mass of each component with their energy density.

(v) Carbon trading

The emissions trading mechanism is one of the great innovations in environmental policy and
may be a useful tool to lower the cost of production. The advantage of allowing trade is that
some firms can reduce their emissions more economically than others. It relieves the pressure
on the countries to reduce carbon emissions or purchase carbon credits. The fabrication cost
and embodied energy used for the expected life of present solar stills are given in Table 1.
The expected salvage value of the materials at the end of life has been assumed to be zero.

Table 1: Capital investment and embodied energy of the solar stills (1= Rs. 63)

Sl. No. Parameters Passive EISS (Natural)

1 Cost of solar still (Rs.) 3500 20000
2 Fabrication cost (Rs) 500 2000
3 Total cost of the system, P (Rs) 4000 22000
4 Embodied energy used, Ein (kWh) 659 2000
for 15 years
5 Salvage value of the system after Zero Zero
15 years

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(a) CO2 Emission

Once the distillation unit is fabricated some amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) being emitted
during its fabrication. The same is countable for the entire life time of the system. The
average carbon dioxide emission for electricity generation from coal fired power plants in
European countries is approximately 0.98 kg of CO2 per kWh (Watt et al., 1998). In addition,
if the transmission and distribution losses for Indian condition are taken to be 40% and
domestic appliances losses are around 20%, and then the value 0.98 may be taken as 1.58.
Therefore annual CO2 emission (kWh) can be calculated.

Ein 1.58
CO2 emission (Tons) over the life time = (6)
1000

(b) CO2 mitigation

Annual CO2 mitigation (kg of CO2) per year can be obtained using following equation.

Net CO2 mitigation (Tons) =

( Eout n Ein ) 1.58 (7)
1000

(c) Carbon credit

As at present, the market rate is fluctuating and present value of 2.17 per ton of CO2
mitigation in the European Climate Exchange (http://www.revistadae.com.
br/novosite/noticias_interna.php?id=7168). Therefore carbon credit earned by the system in
terms of Indian currency ( 1 = Rs. 63) for entire life span of solar still is expressed as;

Net carbon credit earned (Rs.), CCE =

( Eout n Ein ) 1.58 2.17 63 (8)
1000

CCE
Net annual carbon credit earned (Rs.), CCE Y = (9)
n

CCE Y
Annual cash flow per liter due to carbon trading (Rs./ liter of yield) = (10)
MY

4. Results and Discussion

Annual daily yield estimated from passive and EISS solar stills for 0.03 m water depth and 10
number of evacuated tubes is shown in Fig. 2. Measured climatic data of the typical days have
been used to evaluate annual perforfmance.

The annual output has been obtained by averaging the daily experimental data and further
multiplying by number of clear days (300 days/year in present case). For total value of total

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radiation (1326 kWh/m2), yield obtained from the solar still operates in Passive and Intigrated
solar stil (EISS) in natural are found to be 455.55 kgand 1070kg respectively.

Fig. 2. Daliy yield in diiferent months

The annual energy and exergy output estimated using the equation reported [ 10] are found to
be 304 &725 kWh from these designs. The exergy output estimated is based on the average
value of ambient and water temperature. Variation of daily energy efficincy estimated
theoretically is shown in Fig. 3, found to be highest in EISS. The efficiency of about 33.3%
and 26.0% has been obtained in summer months with EISS and passive solar still
respectively. However, as expected that the solar stil at lower water depth is more efficient
but boiling point restrict the operation of EISS below 0.03 m.

Fig. 3. Variation of daily energy efficiency obtained during the different months in different solar stills
for 0.03 m water deapth in basin (2008)

Further, variation of daily exergy efficiency of these three designs of solar stills is shown in
Fig. 4. The exergy efficiency is based on the average value of water and ambient temperature

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of the day. The exergy efficiency varies from 1.3% to 2.5% for these designs and higher when
solar stil obtained in natural mode (EISS). This has been observed that exergy efficiency is
higher in the month of August, possibly due to higher value of the term (Tw-Ta)/Tw. The
exergy efficiency (0.9%) of the passive solar still is found to lower in the month of November
as expected.

Fig. 4. Variation of daily exergy efficiency obtained during the different months in different solar
stills for 0.03 m water deapth in basin (2008)

The utilization of the solar distillation system as a source of distilled water for commercial
purpose should be determined by its energy conversion and economics. The better economic
return on the investment depends on the production cost and quality of the distillate. Due to
different expected life of the solar still (15-30 years) and collector (15 years), the expected life
span of 15 years of the complete system has been considered.
Table 2 shows the estimated values of energy/exergy efficiency obtained. The total energy
output from the present distillation unit under steady is obtained as 304.5 kWh &725 kWh
from passive, EISS (natural) solar stills respectively.
Table 2. Energy production factor (EPF), life cycle conversion efficiency (LCCE) and thermal
efficiency, CO2 emission/mitigation and carbon credit earned and Energy, Exergy
production cost
Cost. (Rs./kWh)
CO2 mitigation

Cost. (Rs./kWh
Efficiency (%)

Due to carbon
Carbon credit
efficiency (%)

CO2 emission
Type of solar

Production

Production
fabrication

in 15 years

mitigation

Cash flow
(Rs./year)

(Rs./liter)
Net CO2

Energy
Energy

Exergy

Exergy
earned
during

(Tons)

(Tons)

(Tons)

credit
still

Passive 22.7 1.68 1.04 7.2 6.17 55.19 0.12 0.95 12.7

EISS 28.2 2.11 3.16 17.18 14.0 125.44 0.11 2.4 32.2
(Natural)

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The life time CO2 emission (3.16 Tons) and mitigation (17.18 Tons) are estimated with the
use of EISSS. Therefore net CO2 mitigation evaluated for the life span of is found to be
14.02Tons and about 2.5 times higher than the passive solar still. The net annual carbon
credit earned according to European trading emission is estimated as Rs. 55.15 and Rs. 125.44
from passive and EISS (Natural) if traded at the present rate of 2.17/Ton. The cash flow due
to carbon credit is estimated to be around Rs. 0.11/kg of distillate.
The minimum energy production cost of distilled water produced is obtained about
Rs.0.95/kWh from passive solar still, accounting the carbon trading and if system is financed
by the Government agency for the domestic use at 2.0% interest rate for 15 years. However,
energy production cost would be increased about twice (Rs. 1.7/kWh) with increase in interest
rate (5%) on finance. The cost of energy production is found to be higher for EISS (natural
mode) and estimated as Rs. 2.4/kWh.

Exergy production cost obtained from different designs of solar stills is depicted in the table
and minimum exergy production cost of distilled water produced is obtained about
Rs.12.7/kWh accounting the carbon trading. However, exergy production cost is found to be
higher for EISS (natural mode) and estimated as Rs. 32.2/kWh.

5. Conclusions and Recommendation

The following conclusions have been drawn from the annual performance of two designs of
solar stills under consideration.
a. Annual yield of 1070 kg has been estimated accounting 300 clear days in a year,
which is about 2.35 times higher than the yield obtained from passive solar still.
b. The annual average values of energy and exergy efficiencies are obtained as 28.2%
and 2.11%.
c. The energy and exergy production costs of distilled water produced from integrated
solar still are estimated as Rs.2.42/kWh and Rs. 32.2/kWh respectively, accounting the
carbon trading.

References

[1] K. Sampathkumar, T.V. Arjunan, P. Pitchandi, P. Senthilkumar, Active solar distillation-

a detailed review, Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., 14 (2010) ,pp. 15031526.

[2] Y. Kim, G.Y. Han, T. Seo, An evaluation on thermal performance of CPC solar collector,
Int. Commun., Heat Mass Transfer, 35 (2008), pp. 446457.

[3]. A. El-Nashar, Seasonal effect of dust deposition on a field of evacuated tube collectors
on the performance of a solar desalination plant, Desalination, 239 (2009), pp. 6681.

[4] N. Sharma, G. Diaz, Performance of a novel evacuated-tube solar collector based on mini
channels, Solar Energy, 85 (2011),pp. 881890.

[5] Prabhakant, G.N. Tiwari, Evaluation of carbon credits earned by energy security in India,
Low Carbon Technology, 2009, pp. 110.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

[6] H.E.S. Fath, El-Samanoudy, M., Fahmy, K., A. Hassabou, Thermaleconomic analysis
and comparison between pyramid shaped and single-slope solar still configurations,
Desalination 159, 2003, pp. 6979.

[7] A. Ghoneyem, A. Ileri, Shoftware to analyze solar still and an experimental study on the
effects of cover, Desalination, 114, 1997, pp.3744.

[8] H. Al-Hinai, M.S. Al-Nassari, B.A. Jubran, Effect of climatic, design and operational
parameters on the yield of a simple solar still, Energy Conversion and Management, 43,
2002, pp.16391650.

[9] S. Kumar, Thermaleconomic analysis of a hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PVT) active

solar distillation system: Role of carbon credit, Urban Climate, 5 (2013), pp. 112-124.

[10] G.N. Tiwari, M. K. Ghosal, Renewable Energy Resources: Basic Principles and
Applications. Narosa Publishing House, 2005. New Delhi.

Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology, Greater Noida (UP)

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Ch. ST07

Life Cycle Assessment Analysis and Energy Payback time estimation of

Solar Thermal Collector

S. Shukla1,*, Anil Kr Tiwari1

1
National Institute of Technology, Raipur, India
* Shweta Shukla Tel: +919039219184, E-mail:shwtshukla9094@gmail.com

Abstract: In this work efforts have been made to establish the extent of how exactly Solar thermal systems and
their energy output are really clean. Furthermore carbon-dioxide emissions and energy payback time are also
calculated to further strengthen the results. In the present work, life cycle assessment of solar thermal collector is
carried out not only on their operational phase, but also on their whole lifecycle i.e., from the cradle to the grave,
including the production phase (raw materials extraction, components production and final product assembling),
the distribution to the user and the product disposal by recycling or landfill. Such an expansion of the system
boundaries allows finding out hidden impacts, which are associated with the other phases of the collector
lifecycle. The life cycle assessment (LCA) is used as a tool to estimate the effective energy and environment
impacts related to products or services. Thus utilization of the proposed models helps to determine the location
and magnitude of energy losses in a system as well as to find means to reduce losses to make the energy system
more efficient. The final outcomes of the current work revealed energy and CO2 payback time.

Keywords: Life Cycle Analysis Assessment, Solar Thermal Collector, Energy Analysis, Volatile Organic
Compound.

1.1 Introduction
Solar energy is considered as one of the most renewable, clean and sustainable source of energy which
can be harnessed and converted effectively to any desired form of energy. Many devices viz. solar
thermal collector, solar panels, solar heaters etc. are utilized now a days to convert solar energy to the
desired form of energy. One such device is Solar Thermal Collector which converts solar radiation
into useful heat energy. In the solar collector device, a transport medium is used as an absorber of heat
energy which on absorption of solar radiation increases its internal energy.

The general consensus is that the solar thermal collector is clean energy source without any harmful
emission. But very little attention has been paid to the emission during the production and
transportation phases of solar thermal collector. Thus for an accurate estimate, it is necessary to do a
complete assessment of emission throughout the life cycle of the solar thermal collector. The life cycle
of solar thermal collector comprise of the production phase (raw materials extraction components
production and final product assembling), the distribution to the user, the utilization phase and the
product disposal by recycling or landfill. The life cycle assessment (LCA) is a useful tool to estimate
the effective energy and environment impacts related to products or services. Such an expansion of
the system boundaries allows finding out hidden impacts, which are associated with the other phases
of the collector lifecycle.

Fulvio Ardente et al [1] studied life cycle assessment of solar thermal collector for sanitary warm
water, an energy balance between the employed energy during the collector life cycle and the energy
saved thanks to the collector use has been investigated. A sensitivity analysis for estimating the effects
of the chosen methods and data on the outcome of the study was carried out. Riccardo Battisti et al [2]
in his paper discussed life cycle assessment of a solar thermal collector with integrated water storage.
The study aims at drawing a thorough environmental profile of the collector, highlighting the most
relevant contributions to the total impacts, measured by means of a set of aggregate environmental
indicators. In order to evaluate the possible improvements of the system configuration, several
sensitivity analyses were performed, for different phases of its life cycle. Chr. Lamnatou et al [3]

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studied life cycle analysis of a patented building-integrated solar thermal collector which was
developed and experimentally tested at the University of Corsica, in France. The results reveal that the
reference system can considerably improve its environmental performance by utilizing collectors
connected in parallel. Thus the present work aims to capture the overall environmental impact of the
solar thermal collector through life cycle assessment analysis as well as to calculate the CO2 and
energy payback time so as to accurately estimate the time after which the system can be considered a
clean energy source.

1.2 Methodology
1.2.1 Selection of Functional Unit
For the deployment of life cycle assessment analysis of a solar thermal collector it is necessary to
define the functional unit (FU). Functional unit is defined as the reference unit expressed as
quantified performance of the product system [4]. All the data collected and processed for the present
work is based on the functional unit. There are alternate ways [5] to define the functional unit some of
which are discussed below.

FU equal to the entire equipment - The results are presented as global quantities concerning the whole
collector. Probably, this is the most intuitive choice but it could cause misunderstanding. In fact, there
are various typologies of collectors, which can be roughly divided in two main categories: collectors
with forced circulating flow and collectors with natural circulating flow. Performing the LCA related
to these two collectors types, the results could be not comparable.

Impacts per unit of collector area - This alternative may be misleading. Enlarging the collector surface
S, the specific environmental impacts could decrease. So, two collectors with the same total impacts
could have different specific ones. In fact, the collector with the greater surface would be considered
as more ecological not necessarily being. Furthermore, a greater extension does not imply a
proportional growth of the energy harvest, due to the non-linear relationship between the collector
surface and the collected energy.

Impact per unit of energy output - This alternative is generally chosen for energy systems [6, 7]
because it refers to the environmental impacts of the energy performances of the plant. However, it is
difficult to apply this FU to the LCA of solar collector .The output of this system is an extremely
variable data, depending on the solar energy input

Fig 1: Representation of a typical Solar Thermal Collector with storage tank [9]

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1.2.2 System Selection

The present work focuses on collection of the data for the life cycle analysis of solar thermal collector
from different existing literatures. The average dimensions of the solar thermal collector for which the
data are collected is 2.0051.1650.91m with a total net surface of 2.13 m2. The three main
components of the solar thermal collector of which the functional unit is comprised of are absorbing
collector, water tank and external support. A typical figure of the solar thermal collector is shown in
Fig 1: Furthermore, the details of the materials used in the solar thermal collector and their masses are
enlisted in Table 1 below. The data collected are from various literatures and are mentioned as it is.

Table 1.Details of employed materials and masses

Absorbing collector Water tank Support

Material Mass (kg) Material Mass (kg) Material Mass (kg)
Galvanized steel 33.9 Galvanized steel 49.6 Galvanized steel 27.1
Glass 10.5 Stainless steel 21.0 Stainless steel 0.52
Copper 8.22 Rigid PUR 4.8
Thermal fluid 6.1 Thermal fluid 5.4
Rigid PUR 4.23 Copper 3.8
Aluminum 4.1 Epoxy dust 0.71
Thermal fluid 0.91 Steel 0.42
Epoxy dust 0.32 Welding rod 0.23
Welding rod 0.11 Brass 0.11
Brass 0.04 Magnesium 0.21
Flexible PUR 0.011
PVC 0.012
Total 68.4 Total 86.3 Total 27.6

1.2.3 Phases of Life Cycle

The following section deals with the analysis of life cycle phases of the solar thermal collector as well
as the studys assumptions and the related energy and environmental impacts occurring during the
collectors life cycle. The following phases have been investigated: production and delivery of energy
and raw materials, production process, installation, maintenance, and transports occurring during each
step.

1.2.3.1 Transports
The energy and environmental impacts referred to the transport of 1000 kg of products for 1 km route
(tkm) is assumed as the unit for the transportation phase of the life cycle assessment [8]. Using this
unit, the environmental impacts are calculated by means of the masses and the distances. It has been
assumed that every transport occurs by means of trucks with 28,000 kg capacity with half load
transport for double way. Regarding all the input materials employed during the life cycle steps and
considering the mean distance values, it has been estimated a global transport load of 154 tkm. Details
of estimated transports air emissions are shown in Table 2.

Table 2.Estimated transports air emission

Emissions Unit Quantity Emissions Unit Quantity

C6 H 6 mg 5.9 NOX g 259.7

CO2 kg 20 Pb mg 2.1

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CH4 mg 890.4 Zn g 0.9

1.2.3.2 The production process

Data regarding the collectors production process have been referred from a field analysis study in the
existing literature [9].In the production process, metal transformation and assembly contributes to the
emissions. The three main components (absorbing collector, water tank and support) are produced in
different periods, then packed and stored in warehouses.

Production of the absorbing collector: The absorbing collector is mainly comprised of three parts: the
framework, the absorbing plate (including the pipes for the thermal fluid flow) and the glass. The
framework is obtained using a zinc steel plate. Both the absorber plate and pipes are copper made. The
pipes are separately worked and then welded to the plate by acetylene welding. Absorber and pipes are
black painted to increase their absorbance. The absorbing plate, the framework and the glass are
successively assembled together.Fig.2 shows the production process flow-sheet.

Production of the water tank: The water tank mainly consists of two parts: the framework and the
external covering. The water tank is made using a galvanized steel sheet cylindrical shaped (diameter
0.444 m). The external covering is separately produced and painted. Finally, the water tank parts are
assembled together and polyurethane (PUR) is injected into empty spaces. Fig 3 shows water tank
manufacture process flow-sheet.

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Production of the support: The support consists of various steel bars. These are cut, drilled and finally
fastened together with bolts.

Table 4: Composition emission in plasma cutting Table3: Main air emission due to welding
Mild Stainless Collector Water tank
steel(0.008m) steel(0.008m)
Used electrode (kg) 0.1 0.2
Fe (%) 67-73 38-44
Cr (mg) 0.3 0.6
Mn (%) 2-10 4-10
Cr (VI) (mg) 0.1 0.2
Cr (%) - 12-30
Mn (mg) 99.1 198.2
Ni (%) - 4-8

Cu (%) 0-1.4 2-6 Ni (mg) 0.4 0.8

Mo (%) - 0-1

Air emissions in the factory: Power energy being the only energy source directly employed during the
production process, there are not direct emissions from fossil fuels combustion. Dusts have been
indirectly estimated as percentage (about 1.5%) of the process scraps mass as per the Environmental
Management System. Particular emissions are produced during the plasma cutting, the coating and the
welding. These processes are described in the following paragraphs. No water emissions have been
detected.

Shielded metal arc welding - Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) is employed to weld
together various collectors parts with welding rods. Hazardous metals are reported during the
welding process [10].It has been assumed to use the welding rod class E6010. The specific air
pollutants, produced consuming 1 kg of rod E6010, mainly include: Mn (9.9110!! g/kg); Ni
(0.0410!! g/kg); total Cr (0.0410!! g/kg) [10].Table 3 shows welding emissions related to
the water tank and the collector production.

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Plasma cutting - Regarding dry plasma cutting of 0.008 m plate the reported data is release of
304010!! kg of fumes per cutting minute [11]. Table 4 shows the main components of
fumes in dry plasma cutting [11]. Dry plasma cutting is used in the water tank production to
cut and drill some stainless and mild steel plates. The used plates are assumed to have a
thickness of 0.003 m. Concerning the components of fumes, average values of Table 4 have
been chosen.
Surface coating - The production process includes the application of epoxy powders. The
coating is applied by melting the powder on the surfaces. The coating air emissions are
summarized in Table 5.

Table 5: Air emissions of epoxy dust coating Table 6: Installation-transport air emissions

Collector Water tank Transport

Used epoxy Transport air
0.45 0.74 air Value Value
dust (kg) emission
emission
VOC content C6H6 (mg) 0.72 NOX (g) 62.23
7.0 7.0
(g/kg) CO2 (kg) 10.17 Pb (mg) 0.25
Estimated Cd (mg) 0.06 Particulate (g) 12.43
VOC 3.35 6.12 CH4(mg) 317.0 Zn (g) 0.12
emission (g) 1.2.3.3 The Installation Process
The installation consists of transport of the FU from the factory to storehouses, transport from
storehouse to the user place and Installation of FUs parts. The average conditions assumed for the
aforementioned steps are Functional unit: 1 tkm of 28,000 kg capacity truck and Covered distance
(double way) to be 100 km. The installation consists of fastening of the support on the roof and
fastening of the water tank and the collector to the support. Specific impacts related to transports are
referred from studies [8, 12]. Table 6 shows the calculated transports air emissions.

1.2.3.4 The Maintenance

It is assumed as per the suggestions of retailers that the FU would have an average useful life of 15
years. The ordinary maintenance cycles consist of one operation every 45 years. Regarding the
maintenance phase, main assumptions are that two maintenance operations, travels of maintenance
technicians, each operation includes the substitution of the components namely sealing, magnesium
anode, electrical resistance & thermal fluid
Air emissions produced during the transports are summarized in Table 7.
Table 7: Maintenance phases- transport air emissions
Global distance : 80 (km)
NH3 (mg) 81.0 CH4(mg) 480.0
Cd (mg) 0.03 N2O (g) 0.8
CO (g) 28.1 Ni (mg) 0.21
Cr ( mg) 0.14 NOX (g) 22.0
Particulate (g) 3.21 Cu (g) 0.005
1.2.4 Energy analysis
The analysis of the energy consumptions throughout the life cycle of the solar thermal collector is
discussed in the subsequent section. The energy consumption is further subdivided in two different
categories namely direct energy and embodied energy. Direct is defined as the energy directly
used during a life cycle step, whereas, Embodied is the energy consumed by processes employed
during the production phase of solar thermal collector. Besides, it is necessary to state how much of
the energy consumption is related to the feedstock rate. This is defined as heat of combustion of raw
material inputs, which are not used as an energy source, to a product system. The overall energy
consumption is calculated by multiplying the used energy quantities by their calorific values. The
details of the energy consumption during all the life cycle phases are discussed next.

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1.2.4.1 Direct energy consumption

The Functional Units LCA involves two direct energy consumptions i.e., the electricity used for the
production (medium voltage) and installation (low voltage) and the diesel oil used for transports
(during every life cycle phase). All these quantities have to be valued as primary, which are the energy
embodied in natural resources (e.g. coal, crude oil, sunlight, uranium) that are not transformed to end
product [14]. The secondary sources are transformed into primary quantities by means of specific
conversion factors. They represent the effective MJs of energy that are necessary to deliver one MJ of
energy to users, including all the energy losses occurring during the energy source life cycle. Table 8
summarizes direct energy consumption in terms of end-energy and primary-energy.
Table 8: Direct energy consumption
End- Primary End Primary End-
Electricity Electricity Diesel for Primary
energy energy Energy Energy energy
MV LV transport energy MJ
MJ MJ MJ MJ kg
Absorbing Materials(process
66.6 191.0 Installation 0.56 1.8 6.62 346.5
collector input)
Water tank 113.0 324.0 Installation 3.30 172.7
Support 9.6 27.6 Maintenance 2.96 155.1
Disposal 0.45 23.6
Total 542.6 MJ Total 1.8 MJ Total 697.9 MJ
1.2.4.2 Embodied energy consumption
Analogous to the direct energy consumptions, also the embodied energy consumptions have to be
computed as primary. Table 9: summarizes the primary energy demand for all the employed raw
materials. Data regarding the embodied energy of materials refers to the Italian official environmental
database [12]. Missing data are taken from other sources [15, 16]. General assumptions are that the
company uses epoxy powders as coating. Missing information about these powders, data have been
referred to epoxy resin. However, epoxy powders are about 0.6% of the overall empty mass and they
could be neglected, following 1% cut-off criteria [4].

Table 9: Embodied energy consumption. Table10: Main energy consumption.

Fuel Feedstock Total Primary energy consumption
(MJprim) (MJprim) (MJprim) Non- renewable sources
Collector 3297.1 215.3 3512.4 Coal (kg) 193.7
Water tank 3641 485.9 4126.9 Natural gas (N-m3) 42.8
support 1066.4 - 1066.4 Coke (kg) 1.5
Other (HDPE Wood (kg) 7.6
pipes- 64.9 42.0 106.9 Lignite (kg) 39.2
resistance) Oil (kg) 89.01
Other Uranium (kg) 0.001
147.0 141.9 289.0
(packaging) Renewable sources (MJ) 673.8
Maintenance 544.1 627.2 1171.3 Fuel energy (GJ) 10.1
Total Feedstock energy (GJ) 1.5
8760.5 1512.3 10,272.9
(MJprim) Total primary energy (GJ) 11.5

1.2.4.3 Global energy consumption

The global energy consumption is obtained by adding embodied and direct contributions Table10
shows energy consumption (split in the energy carriers).It is possible to point out that:
The global energy consumption is 11.5.GJprim.and the direct energy consumption is only 11%,
while the indirect is 89%.The energy consumption for the production (542.6 MJprim of
electricity) is less than 5% of the global consumption. This value shows the low prevalence of
the factory process on the global energy balance.

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The energy consumption related to the water tank manufacture is about 4.4 (38.6% of the
global). The production of the collector has a comparable energy demand (3.7 GJprim and 32%
of the global) while the support comprises a lower consumption (about 1.1GJprim )
Transports cause the consumption of about 700 MJprim (6.1% of the global).

1.2.5 Environmental impacts

The main environmental impacts can be included in two different class viz. Air emissions and Wastes.
Environmental impacts have been divided into direct and indirect. Direct impacts are those directly
related to the production process and to transports. Indirect are the impacts related to the production of
process input (as raw materials and energy sources). The FUs manufacture caused the direct emission
of some air pollutants and the production of a small quantity of wastes.

1.2.5.1 Air emissions

Table 11: shows the direct and indirect air emissions. In detail, we could observe that
The overall CO2 emission is about 650 kg;
Indirect emissions are generally dominant and they are mainly related to the raw materials
production (with an incidence of about 8090%). The other emissions (related to the
production and transports) have an overall incidence of 1020%.
Direct emissions of some metal pollutants (as Fe, Mn, Mo, Cr) related to the production
process are dominant. These emissions are mainly due to cutting and welding phases.

Table11: Direct and indirect air emissions.

Indirect air emissions Direct air emissions
Production Total
Raw materials Electricity Transports
process
CO2 (kg) 580.4 36.2 33.8 - 650.4
CO (kg) 4.4 0.01 0.1 - 4.5
SO2 (kg) 3.3 0.2 0.03 - 3.5
CH4 (kg) 2.1 0.05 0.001 - 2.2
NOX (kg) 1.3 0.1 0.4 0.1 1.8
Dust (kg) 0.5 0.02 0.03 0.07 0.6
Fe (kg) 0.0004 5.610!! - 0.1 0.1
Cr (total)
0.01 0.004 0.0003 10.7 10.7
(g)
Ni (g) 0.3 - 0.0004 4.7 5.1

1.2.5.2 Wastes
Wastes directly produced by company are about 4.4 kg. The overall produced wastes are summarized
in Table 12.

1.2.5.3 Potential environment impacts

The ecoprofile o the collectors can be summarized employing following potential environmental
indexes:
Global warming potential (GWP)
Photochemical ozone creation potential (POPC)
These indexes have been calculated employing the characteristics factors regarding the complilation
of the Indian Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) [13]. Results are summarized in Table 13.
Table12:Wastes production. Table13:Potential environmental impacts

Wastes production Potential environmental impacts

Normal wastes (kg) 59.5 GWP (kgCO2 eq.) 722
Ashes (kg) 7.2 POPC (kgC2H4 eq.) 0.4

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1.2.6 Energy and CO2 payback times

The energy payback time is an indicator generally used in economic studies to state the time to recover
an initial investment. The energy payback time (EPT ) can be defined as the time necessary for a solar
equipment to collect the energy (valued as primary) equivalent to that used to produce it. [1 ]

!"# !"!#$%
EPT = !!"#$!% ! !!"#
(1.)

where
LCAenergy, primary energy consumed during all the life cycle phases (GJ);
Euseful , yearly useful saved energy (GJ per year);
Euse , energy employed during the use of the renewable system (GJ per year).
In passive collector system the water circulation occurs naturally and, consequently, the
Euseis null. The energy saving referred to the use of solar collector has been calculated cosidering the
average temperatures and solar inputs for the city of India. The useful primary energy saving Eusefule
is estimated 6.7 GJ per year [1]. The payback time related to the studied equipment results lower than
3 years. This value shows the great energy convenience of such technology.
Knowing the yearly Eusefule, we have also calculated the yearly emission saving (EMS-i). It
represents the emissions that the auxiliary system would produce to deliver as much energy as that
saved by means of the solar collector. The EMs depends on the typology of the employed auxiliary
heater. The global impacts during the life cycle and the emission saving are summarized by the
emission payback time (EMPT) It is defined as the time during which the avoided emissions due to the
employment of the solar plant are equal to those released during the production and use of the
renewable plant itself. It is possible to calculate the EMPT relatively to the pollutant i as [1]

!"!
EMPT-I = !" (2.)
!!! ! !"!"#!!

where
EMi ,global emissions of generic pollutant i related to the production, assembly, transport,
maintenance and disposal of thee solar plant (kg);
EMS-i , yearly emission saving of generic pollutant i (kgi /year);
EMUSE-i , yearly emission of pollutant i related to the use of renewable plant (kgi /year).The EMuse
could be caused by the use of the conventional energy that the plant needs to work (main the
electricity used by pumps). The global warming potential (GWP) related to the collector life cycle is
722 kgCO2 eq. (Table 13.). Considering a domestic gas boiler as auxiliary system, it is assumed a
specific global warming factor of 0.0657 kgCO2 eq. per MJ of useful heat [12]. The yearly CO2-
eq.emission saving is estimated to be 407 kgCO2 eq. [1]. Similar to the energy payback time, even CO2
payback time resulted lower than 3 years. The positive judgement revealed by the low values of
energy and CO2 payback times substantially agree with the results of different studies [13].

1.3 Results and discussions

The present work results underline that, from an environment point of view, the most critical phase is
the collector production; besides, LCA outputs could be used for collector Eco-design , choosing
different materials and components, inorder to improve its global environmental performance.
Regarding the studied FU, it has been estimated that global energy consumption is of 11.5 GJ.
Howerver, energy used during production and installation process is only 5.2% of the overall
consumption; another 6.1% is consumed for transports during the various life cycle phases. The
remaining percentage are used for the production of raw materials, used as process inputs. These
results shows that the direct energy requirement is less important than the indirect one ( infact,
production processes consist mainly in cutting, welding, bending, and assembling steps with a low
energy demand). Thus, including or neglecting some materials, the results will be sensibly modfied.

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For instance excluding the collectors support, primary energy demand decreases of 1GJ ( 10% of the
overall consumption). Additionally, maintenance can involve a large primary energy consumtion
related to the substitution of spare parts.The production of the solar collector causes mainly direct
emissions of metals ( Fe, Mn, Mo, Cr, etc) related to cutting and welding phases. Regarding the other
pollutants, it is possible to comment in a similar way as done in the energy analysis. Infact, the indirect
emissions ( related to production of raw materials) are about 70-90% of the overall releases, and the
results sensibly depend on the materials included in the calculations. Direct emissions related to
transport have an incidence of 10-15%. Water soil releases and wastes are very low.
The present work also focused on the calculation of energy and CO2 payback times.
According to the LCA assessment, energy and CO2 payback times are lower than 3 years. These
results permit to state a positive qualitative judgement regarding the environmental performances of
the solar collector that is not sensibly influenced by all the uncertainties.

References

[1] Ardente F, Beccali G, Cellura M, Lo Brano [10] US Environmental Protection Agency

V. Life cycle assessment of a solar thermal
collector: sensitivity analysis, energy and
environmental balances.Renew Energy
2005;30:109-30.
[2] Battisti R, Corrado A. Environmental
assessment of solar thermal collectors with
integrated water storage. J Clean Prod 2005;
13:1295-300.
[3] LamnatouChr, Notton G, Chemisana D,
Cristofari C. Life Cycle Analysis of a building
integrated solar thermal collector, based on
embodied energy and embodied carbon
methodologies. Energy Build 2014 84:378-87.
[4] ISO14040 Environmental management-
Life cycle assessment-Principles and
framework; 1998.
[5] Ardente F, Beccali G, Cellura M, Lo Brano
V.The environmental product declaration EPD
with a particular application to a solar thermal
collector Proceedings of conference ECOSUD
2003 Siena; 4-6, 2003.
[6] The Swedish Environmental Management
Council.Product-specific requirements (PSR)
Electricity and district heating generatio2001.
[7] The Swedish Environmental Management
Council. Product-specific requirements (PSR)
Electricalmanipulating industrial robot; 2002
[8] ANPAItalian National Agency for
Environment Protection. Bancadati italiana a
support della valutazion del ciclo di vita-
Manualesettoretrasporti (Italian language);
2000.
[9] Ardente F, Beccali G, Cellura M, Lo Brano
V. Life cycle assessment of a solar thermal
collector. Renew Energy 2005; 30:1031-54.
(EPA). Compilation of air pollutant emission
factors, 5th ed., vol. I: stationary point and area
sources. Chapter 12: Metallurgical industry;
section 12.19: electric arc welding January
1995.
[11] von Bromsen B, Lilieberg L, Frojd N.
Emission of fume, nitrogen oxides and noise in
plasma cutting of stainless and mild steel, the
Swedish Institute of Production Engineering
Research, doc IE-174-93 edition; March 1994.
[12] ANPA-Italian National Agency for
Environment Protection Bancadatiitaliana a
support dellavalutazione del ciclo di vita.
Italian environmental database version 2.0;
2000
[13] ANPA-Italian National Agency for
Environment Protection.Regole per la
redazionedellaDichiarazioneAmbientale di
Prodotto (Italian language)July 2001.
[14] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC). Third assessment report
Annex B Glossary of terms; 2000.
[15] O ko-Institut (Institutfurangewandte O
kologie).Global emission model for integrated
systems (GEMIS) German environmental
database.
[16] Boustead Ltd. Boustead Model,
environmental database; 200117
ISO14041.Environmental management Life
cycle assessment, Goal and scope definition
and inventory analysis; 1999.

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Ch. ST08

Techno-Economic Analysis of Roof Integrated Water Solar Collector for

Domestic Heating and Cooling at the Capital of Chhattisgarh
Anil Kr Tiwari1, Sudhanshu Thawait2
NIT Raipur, Raipur, India

Mo. No 9039359035, E-mail: thawait.sudhanshu@gmail.com

Abstract: In this work design and thermal analysis for a solar roof is presented. It is based on the original
combination of many concepts of the previous designs. This design will satisfy the demand of household heating
and cooling at New Raipur, with lower costs than standard roofs. Our present approach consists of substituting
the roof with the collector, joining both in a single system making the internal insulation layers of the high
quality roof unnecessary. In addition, the expensive water-coil collector is replaced by an inexpensive water
pond obtained by using a metallic roof. Moreover, eliminating internal insulation layers reduces the cost while
allowing the utilization of the metallic roof as a heat interchange device for the household indoor space. We
estimated the possible energy savings annually, reduction in the emission of carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere
annually in Kg (Carbon Credit), the cost involved and the money saved annually. The outcome of this work
showed the superiority of performance of the proposed roof-integrated water solar collector over currently used
conventional roof.

Keywords: Solar collector, Roof design, thermal analysis, Cooling and heating of house

1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Solar Energy option has been identified as one of the promising alternative energy
source for future. Various devices (i.e. Solar Collector) are used for thermal collection and
storage of this energy. A solar collector is a special kind of heat exchanger which converts
solar radiation energy to heat energy by using usually air, water or oil. They are easier to be
constructed, require little maintenance and use both beam and diffuse radiation of the sun.
Many feasible designs of roof-integrated solar collectors have been developed. It is
common knowledge that a small solar collector (i.e. 4 m2), can satisfy the domestic hot water
demand in many places worldwide. Hence, we can expect that extending the collector onto
the whole roof could provide the household with heating as well. As Hassan and Beliveau
(2007) have demonstrated. The use of water ponds on roofs for house cooling in arid regions
is well known (Nahar et al., 1999; Jianget al., 2001; Jain, 2006). The water is cooled during
the night by evaporation and radiation heat losses, and is protected against solar irradiation by
a scrollable cover.In the pioneer work of Harold Hay (1977) and his patented Skytherm
system, water bags are mounted over a simple metallic roof that is protected by a folding
cover with good thermal insulation. Although Hay could be considered a pioneer in this field,
he did not see one potential of his innovative idea, and neither did his followers, like Hammon
(Alves and Milligan, 1978), who were more interested in improving details in Hays design,
such as the folding cover. Our proposed system is a combination of above concepts.

1.2 Analyses of different roof techniques

1.2.1 The classical roof concept
Classic roofs are designed following two main goals:
To prevent rain or snow infiltration.
To provide good thermal insulation.

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We, on the other hand, are proposing to maximize the degree of adaptability of the
building to the environment. Note that new developments in low-conductivity windows (triple
glazing filled with low-conductivity gases, low-emissivity coating, new low-conductivity
transparent materials, etc.) provides a way to obtain very good insulation by using multiple-
glass windows.
The combination of these techniques offers a starting point for the proposed design.
This design combines new materials and construction techniques available for developing an
innovative roof system.

1.2.2 General description of the proposed concept

Fig.1.1 Schematic drawing of a flat-plate Fig.1.2. Schematic drawing of the new roof-
and conventional roof. integrated solar collector

Fig.1.1 presents a flat-plate solar collector and a conventional roof. Our present
approach is illustrated in Fig. 1.2. It consists of substituting the roof with the collector, joining
both in a single system making the internal insulation layers unnecessary. In addition, the
expensive water-coil collector is replaced by an inexpensive water pond obtained by using a
metallic roof with a trapezoidal profile. Moreover, eliminating internal insulation layers
reduces the cost while allowing the utilization of the metallic roof as a heat interchange
device for the household indoor space.

2. Mathematical modeling
Let us first analyze the energetic behavior of the solar collector. The solar radiation,
after reflection and absorption by both the glass cover is transmitted inside. This transmitted
radiation is further partially reflected and absorbed by the water mass.
The fraction of solar flux, at different section of the system is shown in the figure and
can be mathematically expressed as,
If attenuation (gradual loss in intensity of any kind of flux through a medium) of solar flux
absorbed by the water mass is considered then, fraction of the solar flux lost to the ambient,
through water and glass covers will

= (1-Rg1) (1-Rg2) (1-g1) (1-g2) (1-Rw) (1-w) (1-b) !! ! !!! !! (1)

Fraction of the solar flux available to use will be,

Ed = (1-)I (2)

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Where I is the solar energy available at the earth surface

Fig 2.1: fraction of solar flux at different section of the system

The energy balance of the water inventory for the diurnal cycle is given by:

Ed = McT (3)
2.1 Summer case:
In this case the heating is provided from the top plate, minimizing convective force (Incropera
and DeWitt, 2007)

The heat power from the environment, Qce, can be calculated for a given outdoor (To) and
water (Tw) temperatures, as
Qce =AU(To - Tw) (4)
On the other hand, the cooling power provided to the indoor ambient at Ti can be estimated
using the proper correlation for the free convection configuration (bottom side of a cold plate)
in turbulent flow, reflected by Eq. (5) (Incropera and DeWitt, 2007):

NuL = 0.15RaL1/3 if 107 < RaL < 1011 (5)

being
RaL = g(T)L3/()
The convection coefficient to the indoor ambient hi can be calculated as:
hi = NuLk/L (6)
Hence, the space cooling power to the indoor ambient, Qci can be estimated as:

Qci = Ahi(Ti - Tw) (7)

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Thus, the water temperature increase during the diurnal cycle, Tci, can be calculated from
Eq. (4), using the total heat power on the water inventory: Qci + Qce.
On the other hand the nocturnal cycle is used for cooling the water by vaporization and by
infrared losses to sky. The infrared loss power Qil is function of the equivalent sky
temperature Tsky, which falls in the 230285 K range according to the environmental
conditions (Incropera and DeWitt, 2007), being Qil:
Qil = A(Tw4 Tsky4) (8)
Where = 0.97 is the total emissivity of water at 300 K and is the StefanBoltzmann
constant. Taking a fixed value of 250 K for Tsky and neglected the heat loosed by water
vaporization (in a conservative approximation), the Qil power can be estimated for a given Tw,
and so, the water temperature decreasing during the nocturnal 12-h cycle, Tcd, can be
calculated from the water energy balance, Eq (3). The water will be heating and cooling
following the daily cycle, according with a periodical stationary process in which:

Tci = Tcd (9)

From a given set of ambient temperatures (To , Ti) and other problem parameters, the set of
Eqs. (2) (9) allows us to estimate the average water temperature, and the average space
cooling power provided to the household. This could be enough to satisfy the total cooling
demand of an average house, considering that solar radiation will also be blocked.
2.2 Winter case
In this case, we are heating the indoor by free convection from a top plate so, the correlation
becomes:
NuL= 0.27RaL1/4 if 105 < RaL<1011 (10)
Hence, calculating the right Rayleigh number, the actual hi and the convective heating power
Qhi can be calculated by equation (6) .The space cooling power to the indoor ambient, Qci can
be estimated by equation (7) as in the summer case.. The radiation heating power can be
calculated again by using Eq. (8), substituted Tsky now by Ti.
Estimation of various heat losses in the flat plate solar collector is important for their thermal
performance evaluation and upward heat losses have a major contribution in the total heat
losses in flat plate collectors.
The heat loss can be calculated by,

Qloss = Ut A (Tw Ta) (11)

The Top heat loss coefficient given by Klein

!!

! 1 ! !!" + !! !!" ! + !! !
!! = !.!! + + (12)
! !!" !! ! 1 2! + ! 1
+ !
!!" !+! ! + 0.05!(1 ! ) !

Where, f = (1-0.04hw + 0.0005hw2) (1+0.091N), C = 365.9 (1.0 0.00883!+0.0001298! !

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Tpm = mean plate temperature, N = number of glass

3. Design of proposed system for Jr-MIG-2 New Raipur
To establish the superiority of performance of the proposed roof-integrated water solar
collector over currently used conventional roof we will apply the proposed system
theoretically for a house Jr-MIG 2 located at sector 29 new Raipur (C.G.).

3.1 Cooling and heating load required

There is a plan initially to install split AC in the hall and room of the house. Whose capacity
is calculated by the housing board as 5 tons (17.58 kW)
Required heating = total heat loss from the house
Total heat transfer from the house = heat loss through the wall + heat loss through infiltration
Heat loss through the wall
! !
= (13)
! 1 ! 1
+ +
! !!"## !
For hi
NuL= C GrL1/4 (14)
Where GrL = g(T)L3/(2)
We get the heat transfer 634.88 Watt, Heat transfer due to infiltration is calculated as 5.015
Watt. Thus the total heat transfer is 639.895 watt/day.

From IMD Annual average direct solar radiation is found to be 5.25 kWh/m2/day thus for the
whole month it is found to be 416.6 W/m2, Average maximum temperature = 40oC (May),
Minimum temperature = 5oC (Dec)

3.2 Cooling and heating load calculation

3.2.1 Summer case

To get high h value we use forced convection by installing 3 fans, this allows us to control the
cooling of the house by just regulating the fan speed. Five different speed of the fan is taken
from 100 rpm to 380 rpm which leads to change in the convective heat transfer coefficient
from 24.21 W/m2k to 70.55 W/m2k along with the cooling of 3.274 tons to 9.536 tons. It also
requires the mass flow rate to be changed from 0.278 kg/s to 0.8042 kg/s. A separate valve
system can be installed to ensure the flow of water from reservoir to the roof having a back
flow system. A pump of 0.1 hp is also sufficient for our purpose.

In case of summer night calculations as described in the methodology give the heat rejection
by radiation 9.574kW which requires 8 hours cooling of 6596.4 kg of water. Thus for fan
speed more than 100 rpm there is a need of another heat exchanger (external cooling device
like radiator) which can be installed in such a way that a valve can control the flow of water
in that system. That system can take care of the excessive cooling needed.

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3.2.2 Winter case

Fraction of the solar flux available to use is found to be 377.35 W//m2/day thus for our area of
47.471 m2 it becomes 17.91 kW/day

The energy balance for the summer case will be the sum of heat loss to the atmosphere from
the top and heat gained by the room from water .Heat loss to the atmosphere from the top is
given by Ut A(Tw To), To calculate Ut and hi water temperature should be known but it is
unknown currently thus we can assume any water temperature initially and then by energy
balance we can cross check the same and can get a more suitable water temperature, by doing
these again and again we can get the exact water temperature of our system in steady state
condition.
When water temperature is taken 75oC initially we get Ut = 2.79 and hi = 1.6122 W/m2k, The
energy balance in this case gives Tw = 330.06 k = 57.06oC, we again carried out the
calculation on this water temperature (57oC) and found Ut = 2.773 and hi = 1.475 W/m2k
which gives Tw = 330.60 k = 57.6oC, Which is quite close to 57oC thus iteration can be
terminated and we get the water temperature as 57.6oC.
At this temperature the heat provided to the room is 2.25 kW by convection and 8.728 kW by
radiation. Loss to the surrounding is 6.92kW. Thus the total heat available for the room is
10.978 kW. This heat available is much more then the demand, thus the excess hot water can
also be used for domestic purpose and can also be used during night.
Together with the unfolded rolling awning three air chambers are created plus an infrared
radiation barrier, providing good thermal insulation during the night.
3.3 Energy required for cooling and heating purpose in existing system
Hitachi 2 Ton AC power consumption (3 Star) = 2134 Watt for 8 hrs of operation it consume
17.072 kWh similarly 2 units of 1.5 ton ac consumes 26.08 kWh, thus the total energy
consumption is 43.152 kWh (Units)/day or 1294.56 Units /month. This costs 7838.6
Rs/month.
3.4 Energy required for cooling and heating purpose in proposed system.
Bajaj Bahar fan 3 fan of 80 Watt each consumes 240 Watt, in 8 hrs of operation it consumes
1.93 kWh ,Sameer I flow 0.5 hp centrifugal pump power rating = 0.5 Kw maximum 24 hrs of
operation consumes 12 kWh , Thus total power consumption is 13.92 kWh/day or 417.6
Units/month. The cost of electricity can be determined by CSEB unit slab which gives
1865.95 Rs/month.
Thus the Energy saved per month is 876.96 Units and Money saved per month =5972.7 Rs
3.5 Comparison of both the systems

Old system Proposed system

Construction cost (Rs) 53600 32292.5
Equipment cost (Rs) 115770 9350
Total cost (Rs) 169370 41643
Unit energy 1294.56 417.6

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Money per month 7838.6 Rs 1865.9 Rs

180000
160000
140000
120000
100000
Old system
80000
Proposed system
60000
40000
20000
0
ConstrucIon Equipment cost Total cost
cost

Fig 3.1 Comparison of various cost of old system with proposed system

3.6 Coal saved and carbon credit

1 kWh is equal to 1 unit of electricity in India. 1 unit of energy generation requires 0.73 kg of
coal in India, the coal has heat rate of 2350kcal/kWh. And the calorific value of coal used in
India is 3700 kcal/kg. Hence the specific coal consumption is 0.73 kg/kWh. Hence the coal
saved in one year if the proposed system is adopted is 7682.17 kg. Carbon credit is defined as
the amount of Carbon di-oxide which is prevented from escaping into the atmosphere i.e. the reduction
in CO2 emissions. By burning 1 kg of coal 2.86 kg of carbon-dioxide is released into the atmosphere.
Hence the carbon-dioxide saved from escaping into the atmosphere in one year if the proposed system
is adopted is 21971 kg. Therefore the carbon credit is 21971 kg.

4. Conclusion
The conclusions of this paper are:

1. As the system is designed to take care of cooling as well as heating loads, four
different conditions are studied including both day and night with summer and winter.
Water redistribution is used for changing the roof configuration. This design provides
a low-cost system for household heating and cooling that is even cheaper than
conventional roofs with similar thermal qualities.

2. A mathematical model is developed for calculating the fraction of solar flux at

different section of the double glass roof-integrated water solar collector system. This
model helps us to calculate the fraction of incident solar radiation which is lost to the
ambient through water and both glass covers. Thus the actual incident solar radiation
available to use is calculated as 90.58 % of the total direct radiation fall on the roof.

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3. The comparison of cost of both the systems the conventional and the proposed roof
system have been done. Proposed system is 64% cheaper than the conventional
system.

4. The unit of electricity consumption when proposed system is adopted is only 32.25 %
of earlier consumption. Thus gives a monthly saving of 67.74% of electricity.

5. From the reduction in electricity consumption, the money saved in rupees can be
calculated if proposed roof-integrated water solar collector system is installed. The
reduction in the expenses is found to be 76.19% of earlier expenses.

6. The coal saved is 7,682.17 kg in one year and hence the reduction in carbon-dioxide
emissions to the atmosphere i.e. the carbon credit is 21971 kg.

REFERENCE

(A).Hay, H.R., 1977. A passive heating and cooling
system from concept to commercialization. In:
Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American
Society of ISES
(B) Incropera, F., DeWitt, D., 2007. Fundamentals of
Heat and Mass Transfer, sixth ed. John Wiley and Sons
Inc., New York.
(I) Belusko, M., Saman, W., Bruno, F., 2004. Roof
integrated solar heating system with glazed collector.
Solar Energy 76, 6169.
(J) Manz, H., Brunnera, S., Wullschleger, L., 2006.
Triple vacuum glazing: heat transfer and basic
mechanical design constraints. Solar Energy 80 (12),
16321642

(C)Jain, Dilip, 2006. Modeling of solar passive
techniques for roof cooling in arid regions. Building and
Environment 41, 277287
(D) S. Medved, C. Arkar , B.Cern A large-panel unglazed
roof-integrated liquid solar collectorenergy and
economic evaluation
(E) S. Raeissi, M. Taher Skytherm: an approach to year-
round thermal energy sufficient houses
(F) Fernandez Gonzalez, A., 2005. Economic Analysis of
the Cost Effectiveness of Passive Solar Heating
Strategies in the Midwest of the US Proceedings of the
2005 World Solar Congress, August 612, Orlando, FL
(G) Haggard Kenneth et al., 1978. Application of the
Skytherm system to a moderate density office building.
In: Proceedings of the Second Passive Solar Conference,
ASES/ISES, Philadelphia, PA, USA
(H) Maneewan, S., Hirunlabh, J., Khedari, J., Zeghmati,
B., Teekasap, S., 2005. Heat gain reduction by means of
thermoelectric roof solar collector. Solar Energy 78,
495503.
(K) Medved, S., Arkar, C., Cerne, B., 2003. A large-
panel unglazed roof- integrated liquid solar collector-
energy and economic evaluation. Solar Energy 75, 455
467.
(L) Nahar, N.M., Sharma, P., Purohit, M.M., 1999.
Studies on solar passive cooling techniques for arid areas.
Energy Conversion and Management 40, 8995.
(M) Smeds, J., Wall, M., 2007. Enhanced energy
conservation in houses through high performance design.
Energy and Buildings 39 (3), 273 278.
(N) Tsilingiris, P.T., 2003. Comparative evaluation of the
infrared transmission of polymer films.
EnergyConversion and Management 44 (18), 28392856.
(O) Vokas, G., Christandonis, N., Skittides, F., 2003.
Hybrid photovoltaicthermal systems for domestic
heating and cooling. A theoretical approach. Solar
Energy 80, 607615.
(P) Alves, R., Milligan, Ch., 1978. Living with Energy.
Macmillan London Limited, London.
(Q) Baer, S., Mingenbach, W., 2002. Passive heating and
cooling system. US patent No. 6,357,512. See also:
http://www.zomeworks.com/tech/doubleplay/index.ht
ml.

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Ch. ST09

Energy and exergy analyses of double slope solar still incorporated with N identical flat
plate collectors

D B Singh1*, J K Yadav1
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Galgotias College of Engineering and
Technology, Greater Noida, U.P., India
* Corresponding author. Tel: +919999139319, E-mail: dbsiit76@gmail.com

Abstract: This paper deals with energy and exergy analyses of double slope solar still incorporated with N
identical flat plate collectors (FPC). The analysis has been performed for a typical day in the month of June for
the climatic condition of New Delhi. The various cases under consideration are: double slope solar still
integrated with (a) N identical FPC, (b) N identical partially covered (25 %) PVT-FPC, (c) N identical partially
covered (50 %) PVT-FPC, (d) N identical partially covered (75 %) PVT-FPC and (e) fully covered (100 %)
PVT-FPC. Energy and exergy for these five cases have been computed at 0.14 m water depth, optimum number
of collectors and mass flow rate for the same basin area under similar climatic condition. The proposed systems
have been compared on the basis of energy as well as exergy.

Keywords: Energy, exergy, PVT, double slope solar still

Nomenclature
!! area of basin ..........................................m2
Ac area of flat plate collector under
glazing ....................................................m2
!!" area of east glass cover ...........................m2
!!" area of west glass cover ..........................m2
Am area of PVT .............................................m2
!! specific heat of fluid ......................... J/kg-K
!! specific heat of water........................ J/kg-K
!! hourly exergy ........................................ W
!" daily density............................................. W
!!! hourly electrica exergy/energy ................ W
FPC flat plate collector ....................................
F collector efficiency factor ........................
!!" hourly overall exergy .............................. W
!!" daily overall exergy gain ......................... W
heat transfer coefficient for space
hi
between the glazing and absorption
plate .............................................. W/m2-K
!! heat transfer coefficient from bottom of
PVT to ambient W/m2-K
! heat transfer coefficient from top of
PVT to ambient W/m2-K
!" heat transfer coefficient from
blackened plate to fluid W/m2-K
heat transfer coefficient from basin
!"
liner to water.. .W/m2-K
!" heat transfer coefficient from basin
liner to ambient....W/m2-K
!"#$ radiative heat transfer coefficient from
water to inner surface of east glass
2
cover......W/m -K
!"#$ radiative heat transfer coefficient from
water to inner surface of west glass
2
cover......W/m -K
!"#$ convective heat transfer coefficient
from water to inner surface of east glass
2
cover ...W/m -K
!"#$ convective heat transfer coefficient
from water to inner surface of west glass
2
cover ...W/m -K
!"#$ evaporative heat transfer coefficient
from water to inner surface of east glass
2
cover......W/m -K
!"#$ evaporative heat transfer coefficient
from water to inner surface of west glass
2
cover......W/m -K
!!" .. total heat transfer coefficient between
2
water surface and glass cover.. W/m -K
!!" .. total heat transfer coefficient between
2
water surface and glass cover.. W/m -K
I(t) radiation falling on collector.W/m2
IsE(t)solar intensity falling on east glass cover

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of solar stillW/m2 Ta ambient temperature..oC

IsW(t)solar intensity falling on west glass cover o
Tc solar cell temperature.. C
of solar stillW/m2 Tp absorption plate temperature. C
o

Kg thermal conductivity of glass..W/m-K o

Tfi fluid temperature at collector inlet C
Ki thermal conductivity of insulation o
. W/m-K Tf temperature of fluid in collector C
Kp thermal conductivity of absorption TfoN outlet water temperature at the end of
plate ................................................................. W/m-K Nth PVT FPC. oC
o
L latent heat...J/Kg Ts temperature of sun C
o
Li thickness of insulationm Tw temperature of water in basin. C
o
Lg thickness of glass cover.................................. m Tw0 water temperature at t=0. C
o
Lm length of PVT...m TCN average solar cell temperature... C
Lp thickness of absorption plate....m !!"# glass temperature at inner surface of
o
ln natural logarithm east glass cover.. C
!!"# glass temperature at inner surface of
Mw mass of water in basin..kg
west glass cover..oC
!! mass flow rate of fluid...kg/s !!"# glass temperature at outer surface of
!!" hourly production of potable east glass cover..oC
water.kg/h !!"# glass temperature at outer surface of
N number of collectors west glass cover..oC
PVT photovoltaic thermal t timeh
PF1 penalty factor due to the glass covers Utca overall heat transfer coefficient from cell
of module to ambient....W/m2-K
PF2 penalty factor due to plate below the Utpa overall heat transfer coefficient from
module ambient....W/m2-K
ULm overall heat transfer coefficient from
PF3 penalty factor due to the absorption module to ambient. W/m2-K
plate for the glazed portion ULc overall heat transfer coefficient from gazing
PFc penalty factor due to the absorption to ambient .................W/m2-K
plate for the glazed portion Utcp overall heat transfer coefficient from cell
Pu power utilized by pump.kWh to plate .W/m2-K
!!" the rate of useful heat from N identical Ub overall heat transfer coefficient at the
bottom of solar stillW/m2-K
partially (25%) covered PVT-FPC
W width of collector..m
connected in series.kWh

Greek letters
!! absorptivity of the solar cell !! efficiency at standard test condition
! packing factor of the module !! transmittivity of the glass (fraction)
!! temperature coefficient of !" !"" product of effective absorptivity and
efficiency.K-1 transmittivity
!! solar cell efficiency emissivity
!! PV module efficiency ! ! absorptivity
!!" temperature dependent electrical
efficiency of solar cells of a number (N) of
PVT-FPC

Subscript
! glass ! water

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!" incoming ex exergy

!"# outgoing max maximum
!"" effective

1. Introduction
The desalination of water based on the utilization of solar energy with the help of solar
distillation system for providing potable water to the society can be one of the best solutions
to mitigate the contemporary potable water crisis in remote areas where sunlight is in
abundance; however, electrical energy has not reached so far. Other desalination methods
need electrical energy as input for getting potable water. Many solar distillation systems have
been reported by various researchers in the past. They can be broadly classified as passive and
active solar distillation systems. The passive system does not receive thermal energy from
external source; however, it suffers from low production of potable water which can be
overcome by operating solar still in active mode under optimized conditions and it can be
recommended for commercial scale production of potable water. Active solar distillation
system means passive solar distillation system together with collectors which acts as external
source of thermal energy to basin resulting in higher temperature of water in basin and hence
higher yield. Such systems have been summarized as follows.

Rai and Tiwari (1983) investigated active solar still in forced mode theoretically for the first
time and concluded that the daily yield of active solar still was higher by 24 % than
conventional solar still. In unison, Zaki et al. (1983) studied the active solar still under natural
circulation mode for the first time and concluded that the maximum enhancement in distillate
output was 33 % higher in comparison to conventional solar still. Solar still can be integrated
with a number of series connected FPC to form a closed loop so that hot water can be
discharged either directly or indirectly by providing heat exchanger in the basin. Single slope
solar still (SS) included with inverted absorber asymmetric line-axis CPC collector was
investigated by Yadav and Yadav (2004) and they concluded that the production of potable
water was improved as compared to conventional solar still because solar energy was
provided to solar still both from top and bottom concurrently ensuing in enhanced
temperature difference between water surface and glass cover. An experimental investigation
of solar still having mirrors at interior walls and coupled with FPC was done by Badran and
Tahaineh (2004). They observed an enhancement in distillate output by 36 % as compared to
conventional solar still. It happened due to enhanced temperature difference between water
surface and inner surface of glass cover. Abdel Rehim and Lasheen (2007) studied basin type
SS by integrating solar parabolic trough collector and heat exchanger. Serpentine oil was used
as working fluid in collector. The amount of distillate output obtained from such system was
18 % higher as compared to conventional solar still because of the attainment of higher water
temperature in basin as water received solar energy from top and also through heat exchanger
in basin. Tripathi and Tiwari (2005) explored experimentally basin type SS included with two
collectors and operating in forced mode. They concluded that higher production of potable
water was obtained during off-sunshine hours due to heat storage effect at higher depth.
Badran et al. (2005) explored basin type solar still (double slope) which was included with
FPC and operating in forced mode. They concluded that the production of potable water was
higher by 52 % as compared to conventional solar still. Taghvaei et al. (2014) studied
experimentally SS coupled with FPC to assess the long term performance (continuous 10
days) and recommended a higher depth of water for practical application as the amount of
potable water production and efficiency were found to be higher at higher depth due to heat
storage effect.

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El-Sebaii et al. (2009) compared the performance of single basin active solar still theoretically
between with and without a sensible storage material (sand) and reported that daily
productivity of the solar still with storage was 23.8 % higher than that when it was used
without storage. An experimental study regarding the performance of various designs of
active solar still was done by Arslan (2012) under closed cycle mode and he obtained highest
overall daily efficiency for the circular box active solar still design. In a variation, Lilian et al.
(2014) reported a slowly rotating light-weight hollow drum partially submerged in solar still
cavity and an improvement of 20-30 % in the production of potable water was reported as
compared to conventional solar still. However, the production of potable water becomes 60 %
higher than the conventional solar still if the basin of an FPC integrated solar still is
partitioned as reported by Rajaseenivasana et al. (2014). A considerable enhancement in
production of potable water is also obtained if thermal energy is supplied to solar still by
circulating heat transfer fluid at its bottom. It was reported that doubling the heat transfer fluid
rate effected a 9 % enhancement in the production of potable water. The relation between
production of potable water and the heat transfer fluid rate is thus non-linear as reported by
Hamadou and Abdellatif (2014). A novel tri-generation system employing PVT collectors
was designed by Calise et al.(2014) for seawater desalination in European Mediterranean
countries, known to have abundant renewable sources but deprived of fossil fuels and water
resources. Ibrahim et al. (2015) investigated experimentally the performance of modified
solar still consisting of external air cooled condenser and reported an enhancement of 16.2%
and 29.7% in the production of potable water and thermal efficiency respectively for the
proposed system over conventional solar still.

Active solar distillation system can be made self sustainable so that it can operate even in
remote areas having abundant sunlight but electrical power is not available and the system can
generate electrical energy too if need arises. It can be done by including a photovoltaic (PV)
panel with FPC coupled to the basin of solar still. The integration of PV panel to collector was
proposed by Kern and Russell (1978) and it was reported that electrical efficiency was
enhanced if fluid was allowed to pass below the panel. A theoretical study of such system was
done by Hendrie (1979). In continuation of this approach, an experimental study of SS by
incorporating two series connected FPCs (one partially covered with PV) was done by Kumar
and Tiwari Kumar and Tiwari (2008, 2009, 2009a, 2010, 2010a) and an enhancement in
production of potable water by more than 3.5 times over conventional solar distillation system
was reported. They developed empirical relation for heat transfer coefficient and also reported
that the payback period of active solar distillation system lied in the range of 3.9 to 23.9 years.
It was extended for double slope active solar still by Singh et al. (2011). Further, Tiwari et al.
(2015) and Singh et al. (2016) extended their work by partially covering both series connected
identical FPCs with PV panels. They performed experimental investigation and reported that
though the exergy efficiency and overall thermal efficiency values of the system where both
the FPCs are partially covered with PV panels are better, the thermal efficiency is lower than
the system reported by Kumar and Tiwari (2010) and Singh et al. (2016). Also, value of
annual productivity varies from 120.29 % to 883.55 % indicating that the proposed system
was feasible. The optimum number of collectors on the basis of exergy efficiency was found
to be 4 for 50 kg water mass in the basin of active solar still coupled with a number of PVT-
FPCs as reported by Gaur and Tiwari (2010).

Eltawil and Omara (2014) studied a solar distillation system consisting of SS, FPC, spraying
unit, perforated tubes, solar air collector and PV panel to improve the production of potable
water and supply electrical power. They reported an enhancement in the production of potable
water by 51-148 % over conventional solar still depending on the type of modification. Saeedi

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et al. (2015) performed optimization of PVT solar still on the basis of energy efficiency using
simulation technique and reported optimum mass flow rate and number of collectors as 0.044
kg/s and 7 respectively. Singh and Tiwari (2016, 2017, 2017a) performed theoretical study on
basin type solar stills included with N identical PVT-CPC collectors for New Delhi climatic
condition and reported that the performance of double slope was better than the similar single
slope set up at 0.14 m water depth under optimized condition due to higher energy, exergy
and lower embodied energy for double slope set up. They also reported that the performance
of single slope was better than double slope PVT-CPC active solar still on the basis of
average daily productivity, thermal and overall thermal efficiencies if depth of water in the
basin is higher than 0.31 m and vice versa.

The contemporary literature survey represents that N identical PVT-FPC integrated double
slope solar still has not been analyzed for assessing the effect of PV module area on the
performance viz. energy and exergy of the proposed systems. To accomplish this research
gap, the proposed analysis carries out the computation of hourly as well as daily yield, energy
and exergy for cases (a)-(e) at 0.14 m water depth under optimized condition. These systems
have been compared on the basis of daily yield, energy and exergy. The main objective of this
investigation can be stated as follows.
(i) To compute hourly yield, energy and exergy for cases (a)-(e) at 0.14 m water depth,
optimum values of mass flow rate (!! ) and number of collectors (N).

(ii) To compute daily yield, energy and exergy for cases (a)-(e) at 0.14 m water depth,
optimum values of mass flow rate (!! ) and number of collectors (N).

(iii) To compare the proposed systems (cases (a)-(e)) on the basis of daily yield, energy and
exergy.

Fig.1. Double slope solar still integrated with N identical partially covered PVT-FPC

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2. System description
The schematic diagram of the proposed N identical PVT-FPC integrated double slope solar
still has been shown in Fig. 1. Table 1 represents the specification of the proposed system.
The value of average wind velocity has been taken as 4.11 m/s for the month of June. Here,
collectors have been connected in series to fulfill the aim of higher heat gain so that higher
temperature of water in the basin can be achieved which will result in higher yield.

Table 1. Specification of double slope solar still integrated with N identical PVT-FPC

Double slope solar still

Component Specification
Length 2m
Width 1m
Inclination of glass cover 15o
Height of smaller side 0.2 m
Material of body GRP
Material of stand GI
Cover material Glass
Orient ion East-West
Thickness of glass cover 0.004 m
Kg 0.816 W/m-K
Thickness of insulation 0.1 m
Thermal conductivity of insulation 0.166 W/m-K
w 0.82
g 0.92
Partially covered (25%) PVT flat plate collector
Component Specification
Type and no of collectors Tube in plate type ,N
Area of solar collector 1.0 m 1.0 m
Collector plate thickness 0.002 m
Thickness of Copper Tubes 0.00056 m
Length of each Copper Tubes 1.0 m
Thickness of insulation 0.1 m
Angle of FPC with Horizontal 30o
Thickness of toughened glass on FPC 0.004 m
E ective area of collector under glass 0.75 m2
DC motor rating 12 V, 24 W
Area of PV module 0.25 m 1.0 m
F 0.968
g 0.95
c 0.9
c 0.89
p 0.8
Ki 0.166 W/m-K
FF 0.8
Pipe diameter 0.0125 m

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Due to heat gain in series connected collectors, water available at the outlet of Nth collector is
hot which is discharged to basin with an aim to transfer heat to water in basin. The inlet of 1st
collector gets water coming from basin with the help of DC motor pump resulting in the
formation of closed loop. The south oriented collectors are inclined at 30o with the horizontal
with an aim to obtain annual maximum solar flux. A part of DC electrical energy obtained
from PVT is made input to DC motor pump. The pump has been provided to overcome the
loss in head in pipe so that circulation of water continues throughout the day and the system
operates in forced mode in day time; however, the system operates in passive mode during
night as pump is switched off at night.

An opening is provided at the wall of east-west oriented double slope solar still for receiving
brackish water and another opening at the bottom is given for cleaning after some use. The
solar flux falling on the glass is transmitted to water after reflection and absorption. This
transmitted radiation is further transmitted to basin liner after reflection and absorption by
water mass. Basin liner absorbs almost total radiation falling on its surface and its temperature
rises resulting in the transmission of heat to water in basin. The temperature of basin water
increases which promotes the evaporation of water. The evaporated water is collected in jar
after its condensation (film type) at the inner surface of glass.

Advantages of proposed N identical PVT-FPC integrated double slope solar still can be stated
as follows.
(i) The proposed system is self sustainable which make it suitable for remote location and its
glass covers can be used for rain harvesting.
(iii) The production of potable water is comparatively higher which make it suitable for use
on commercial scale.
(iv) The revenue received by selling potable water is adequate to meet the cost of proposed
system and hence electrical power is available at no cost.
(v) One can save expenditure on electricity and also generate revenue in terms of carbon
credit.
(vi) The technology used for its operation is very simple.

However, proposed system has some disadvantages also. They operate on solar energy which
depends on climatic condition. They need large solar collection area for use on commercial
scale. The initial investment is comparatively high; however, cost per kg of potable water is
low. People are not aware of such systems. Technicians are not available on local level. There
is a need of frequent filling and flushing of basin.

3. Methodology
The following methodology has been implemented for the computation of hourly exergy and
distillate output of the proposed systems.

Step I
The required input data for the numerical computation of proposed systems viz. solar flux,
ambient air temperature for New Delhi weather condition have been obtained from Indian
Metrological Department (IMD), Pune, India. The value of solar intensity for inclined surface
at 30o north latitude has been computed using Liu and Jordon formula with the help of
computational program in MATLAB.

Step II

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Following Dubey and Tiwari (2009) and Shyam et al. (2015), the rate of useful heat gain
obtained from a number (N) of identical partially covered PVT-FPC and the temperature at
the outlet of Nth PVT-FPC (!!"# ) can be inscribed as

!!,! = ! !! + !! !" !"",! ! ! !!,! !!" !! (1) and

(! !! !" )! !!!! ! ! !! !! ! !!!! !

!!"# = !(!) + !! + !!! !!" (2)
! ! !! !!!! ! ! !! !!!!

where, the value of !!" is equal to !! as a number (N) of identical PVT-FPC forms closed
loop with basin. The hot water available at the outlet of Nth PVT-FPC is discharged to the
basin of solar distillation system. Hence, the value of !!" is equal to the value of !!"# . The
expression of various terms used in Eqs. (1) and (2) are given in appendix-A.

Following Evans (1981) and Schott (1985), the analytical expression for electrical efficiency
of solar cells (!!" ) of N identical PVT-FPC can be computed as

!!" = !! 1 !! (!!" !! ) (3)

where, !! represents the efficiency at standard test condition, !! represents the temperature
coefficient of efficiency and To = 25oC. !!" represents the average solar cell temperature of
Nth PVT-FPC which can be computed with the help of expression given by Shyam et al.
(2015) in which !!" = !! because a number (N) of PVT-FPC form a closed loop with basin.

Following Dwivedi and Tiwari (2010) and Singh et al. (2015), energy balance equations for
various components of double slope active solar still can be written and they can be solved
using Eq. (1) to get water temperature (!! ) and glass temperature (!!"# , (!!"# , (!!"# and !!"# ) as
follows.

!(!)
!! = !
1 ! !!" + !!! ! !!" (4)

!! !!! !!
!!"# =
!
(5)

!! !!! !!
!!"# =
!
(6)
!!
! !!!!" !!
!! !"#
!!"# = !!
!!!!"
!!

(7)
!!
! !!!!" !!
!! !"#
!!"# = !! (8)
!!!!"
!!

The expression for various terms used in Eqs. (4)-(8) are given in Appendix-A.

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Step III
Exergy balance equation for solar still in steady state condition can be written as

!!!" !!!"# = !!!"# (9)

Following Petela (2003) and Nag (2004), input exergy (!!!" ) can be calculated as
! ! ! !
!!!" = !!" !!" ! + !!" !!" ! [1 ( ! ) + ( ! )! ] + !! !! [ !!"# !!" + (!! +
! !! ! !!
(!!"# !!"#)
273)!" (!!" !!"#)
] (10)

The daily thermal exergy input to the system (!"!" ) can be inscribed as

!!!" ! !! ! !! ! !!!"
!"!" = !!! !!" !!" ! + !!" !!" ! 1 + + !!! !! !! [ !!"#
! !! ! !!
(!!"# !!"#)
!!" + (!! + 273)!" (!!" !!"#)
(11)

The hourly thermal exergy (!!) can be inscribed as

!! (!! !!"#) !!
!! = !"#$ !! !!"# (!! + 273)!" + !"#$ !!
! !!"# !!"# !
(!! !!"#)
!!"# (!! + 273)!" (12)
!!"# !!"#

The daily thermal exergy (!") can be inscribed as

!!!" !! (!! !!"#) !!!"

!" = !!! !"#$ !! !!"# (!! + 273)!" + !!! !"#$
! !!"# !!"#

!! (!! !!"#)
!! !!"# (!! + 273)!" (13)
! !!"# !!"#

The expressions for different terms used in Eq. (13) are given in appendix-A.

Hourly electrical exergy (!!! ) for the proposed system can be computed as
!
!!! = !! !(!) ! (!!! !!" ) (14)

Here, !!" can be computed with the help of Eq. (3). The value of !!" used in Eq. (3) can be
computed for the proposed system with the help of expression given by Shyam et al. (2015).
Exergy analysis has been done on the basis of 1st law (energy) and 2nd law (entropy) of
thermodynamics. The overall daily exergy can be computed as

!!" = !" + (!! !! ) (15)

Where, !", !! and !! represent daily exergy output obtained from double slope solar still,
daily electrical exergy obtained from N identical PVT and daily power required to drive the
pump respectively.

Step IV

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After evaluating glass temperature and water temperature, one can obtain hourly production
of potable water (!!" ) and daily production of potable water (!!" ) for double slope solar
still as
! !
!!"# ! (!! !!!"# )!!!"# ! (!! !!!"# )
!!" = ! !
3600 (16)
!

! !
!!"# ! (!! !!!"# )!!!"# ! (!! !!!"# )
!!!"
!!" = !!!
! !
3600 (17)
!

where L represents the latent heat of evaporation. Its value can be computed with the help of
expression given by Fernandez and Chargoy (1990) and Toyama (1972).

Step V
Energy analysis has been performed on the basis of 1st law of thermodynamics. The hourly
overall thermal energy (!!"# ) and daily thermal energy (!!"# ) for the proposed systems can
be inscribed as

(!!" !) (!! !!! )

!!"# = + (18)
!"## !.!"

!" (!!" !) !" (!! !!! )

!!"# = !!! + !!! (19)
!"## !.!"

Where, m!" , P! , Ex! and L represent hourly production of potable water obtained from
double slope solar still, hourly power generated from photovoltaic module, hourly power
utilized by pump and latent heat respectively. Electrical energy is high grade energy. Hence,
the factor 0.38 has been used for converting electrical energy into equivalent thermal energy.
This factor corresponds to power generation efficiency for a conventional power plant as
reported by Huang et al. (2001).

4. Results and discussion

The relevant equations and climatic data namely hourly solar intensity, ambient air
temperature and average wind velocity have been fed to MATLAB program. The hourly solar
intensity on horizontal surface and atmospheric air temperature for a typical day in the month
of June for New Delhi climatic condition are given in Fig. 2. The average wind velocity for
the month of June is 4.11 m/s. The output of the computational program is shown in Fig. 3 to
Fig. 11.

Figs. 3-7 represent the variation of maximum temperature at the outlet of Nth collector for
cases (a)(e) respectively. From Figs. 3-7, it is seen that the value of !!"#,!"# decreases with
the increase in mass flow rate as per expectation because fluid in the collector gets lesser time
to absorb solar radiation and the heat transfer from absorber plate to fluid increases. At the
same time, the heat transfer from collector fluid to water in basin increases with the increase
in mass flow rate because higher mass flow rate means higher amount of hot water will get
mixed with water in basin during unit time.

From fig. 3, it is observed that the curves are getting closer to each other as the value of mass
flow rate increases, however, they get approximately ovelapped beyond mass flow rate of
0.05 kg/s. Hence, optimum mass flow rate can be taken as 0.05 kg/s. At this value of mass

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flow rate, the value of !!"#,!"# becomes more that 100oC if number of collectors are more
than 8. Hence, optimum number of collectors is 8 because boiling point of collector fluid
(water) is 100oC.

Ambient air temperature (oC)

Jun-global Jun-beam Jun
1200 40
Solar intensity (W/m2)

1000
30
800
600 20
400
10
200
0 0
08:00

09:00

10:00

11:00

12:00

13:00

14:00

15:00

16:00

17:00
Time of the day (h)

Fig. 2: Hourly variation of radiation on horizontal surface and ambient air temperature for a
typical day in the month of June

160
!! = 0.01 kg/s
140
!! = 0.02 kg/s
120
!! = 0.03 kg/s
TfoN,max (oC)

100
!! = 0.04 kg/s
80
!! = 0.05 kg/s
60
40 !! = 0.06 kg/s
20 !! = 0.07 kg/s
0 !! = 0.08 kg/s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
No. of collectors (N)

Fig. 3. Variation of !!"#,!"# with number of collectors (withot PVT) for a typical day in the
month of June

!! = 0.01 kg/s
120
!! = 0.02 kg/s
110
TfoN,max (oC)

!! = 0.03 kg/s
100
!! = 0.04 kg/s
90
!! = 0.05 kg/s
80
!! = 0.06 kg/s
70
60 !! = 0.07 kg/s
50 !! = 0.08 kg/s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
No. of PVT-FPC (N)

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Fig. 4. Variation of !!"#,!"# with number of collectors (25% covered with PVT) for a typical
day in the month of June

100
!! = 0.01 kg/s
TfoN,max (oC)

80
!! = 0.02 kg/s
60 !! = 0.03 kg/s
40 !! = 0.04 kg/s
!! = 0.05 kg/s
20 !! = 0.06 kg/s
0 !! = 0.07 kg/s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 !! = 0.08 kg/s
No. of collectors (N)

Fig. 5. Variation of !!"#,!"# with number of collectors (50% covered with PVT) for a typical
day in the month of June

70
60 !! = 0.01 kg/s
50 !! = 0.02 kg/s
TfoN,max (oC)

40 !! = 0.03 kg/s
30 !! = 0.04 kg/s
20 !! = 0.05 kg/s
10 !! = 0.06 kg/s
0 !! = 0.07 kg/s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 !! = 0.08 kg/s

No. of collectors (N)

Fig. 6. Variation of !!"#,!"# with number of collectors (75% covered with PVT) for a typical
day in the month of June

50
!! = 0.01 kg/s
48 !! = 0.02 kg/s
46 !! = 0.03 kg/s
TfoN,max (oC)

!! = 0.04 kg/s
44 !! = 0.05 kg/s
!! = 0.06 kg/s
42
!! = 0.07 kg/s
40 !! = 0.08 kg/s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
No. of collectors (N)

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Fig. 7. Variation of !!"#,!"# with number of collectors (fully covered with PVT)for a typical
day in the month of June

30
Yield
25
Daily yield (kg)

20
15
10
5
0
Case (a) Case (b) Case (c) Case (d) Case (e)
System

Fig. 8. Variation of production of potable water (yield) for a typical day in the month of June

Energy Thermal exergy Electrical exergy

20 10.00

8.00
Energy (kWh)

Exergy (kWh)
15
6.00
10
4.00
5
2.00

0 0.00
Case (a) Case (b) Case (c) Case (d) Case (e)
System

Fig. 9. Variation of energy and exergy for a typical day in the month of June

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Overall energy Overall exergy

30 12
Overall energy (kWh)

Overall exergy (kWh)

25 10
20 8
15 6
10 4
5 2
0 0
Case (a) Case (b) Case (c) Case (d) Case (e)
System

Fig. 10. Variation of overall energy and exergy for a typical day in the month of June

Similarly, it is observed from Fig. 4 that optimum value of mass flow rate is 0.03 kg/s for case
(b) because curves are getting approximately overlapped beyoud mass flow rate of 0.03 kg/s.
At this value of mass flow rate, temperature of water becomes more than 100oC if number of
collectors is more than 11. Hence optimum number of collectors is 11. The optimum value of
mass floa rate (0.03 kg/s) and optimum number of collectors (11) have been obtained for
cases (c) to (e) with the help of plots shown in Figs. 5-7 in the similar fashion.

Fig. 8 represents the variation of yield for cases (a)-(e) at 0.14 m water depth under optnised
condition for a typical day in the month of June.The basin area is same for all cases. It is
observed that the daily yield is maximum for case (a) because of higher thermal energy added
to the basin as this is the case of collector withot PVT. Further, daily yield is minimum for
case (e) as lowest thermal energy is added to the basin because this is the case of collector
fully covered with PVT.

Fig. 9 represents the variation of energy and exergy at 0.24 m water depth under optimised
condition for a typical day in the month of June. It is observed from Fig. 9 that daily energy is
maximum for case (a) and minimum for case (e) due to similar variation in daily yield. The
similar variation has been observed in daily thermal exergy because the amount of heat added
to the basin decrease as we move from case (a) to case (e). However, opposite variation has
been observed in the value of electrical exergy because the area of PVT incrases as we move
from case (a) to case (e).

Fig. 10 represnts the variation of overall energy and exergy at 0.24 m water depth under
optimised condition considering same basin area for a typical day in the month of June. It is
observed that the both overall energy and exergy are lowest for case (a) and highest for case
(e) because increase in electrical energy overcoem the decrease in energy as we move from
case (a) to case (e).

5 Conclusions

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Double slope solar still included with N identical flat plate collectors has been investigated at
0.14 m water depth under optimized condition for a typical day in the month of June by
incorporating the effect of variation in photovoltaic panel area. On the basis of current
research study, the following conclusions have been drawn.
(i) Daily production of potable water and energy is highest for case (a) and lowest for case (e)
which suggests that case (a) is suitable if potable water is the main product.
(ii) Daily thermal exergy is highest for case (a) and lowest for case (e); however, an opposite
variation has been found in the value of electrical exergy. It suggests that case (a) is suitable
for getting thermal exergy as main product; however, case (e) is suitable for the production of
electrical energy as the main product.
(iii) Daily overall energy and exergy are highest for case (a) and lowest for case (e).

Appendix-A

Expressions for various terms used in Eqs. (1) and (2) are as follows.
!! !!
! !! ! !!
!!"# = + ; !!"# = + ; ! = 5.7 + 3.8!, !!!! ! !! ;
!! !! !! !!

!! !!
! ! ! ! !!
! = 5.7, !!!! ! !! ; !!"# = + + ! + + ; !" = 100 !!!! ! !!
!!"# !!"# !! !!" !!

!!"# !!"# !!" !!!

!! = 2.8 + 3!, !!!! ! !! ; !!! = ; !!! = !!! + !!"# ; !!" = ;
!!"# !!!"# ! ! !!" !!!!
!!" !!"# !!"# !!" !!"
!!" = ; !"! = ; !"! = ; !"! = ;
! ! !!" !!!"# !!"# !!!"# ! ! !!" !!!! ! ! !!" !!!"#

(!")!!"" = (!! !! )!! !! ; (!")!!"" = !! !!! (1 !! ) ;

(!")!"## = (!")!!"" + !"! (!")!!"" ; (!")!"## = !"! . !! !! ;

! ! !! !! ! !!" !!
!! = !!! ; !! = !!! ; !! !!" = 1 exp ( ) ;
!!" ! ! !!

! ! !! !! ! !!" !!
!! !!" = 1 exp ( ) ;
!!" ! ! !!

!! !!" !!"
!!! (!") ! = !! !!" (!")!"## + !"! !" !"## !! !!" (1 ) ;
! ! !!

!! !!" !!"
!!! !! ! = !! !!" !!" + !! !!" !!" (1 ) ;
! ! !!

!!! !! !
!! = 1 ; !!! (!") !! = !"! (!")!"## !! !!" ; !!! !! !! = !! !!" !!" ;
! ! !!

!! !!" !!" !!! (!") ! !!(!! )! !!! !! ! !!(!! )!

!! = 1 ! ! !!
; (!")!"",! = (!! !!! ) !(!!!! )
; !!,! = (!! !!! ) !(!!!! )

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Expressions for ! and ! ! used in Eq. (4) and expressions of different terms used in Eqs. (5)
to (13) are as follows.

! !!!" !!!! !! !!!" !!!! !!

!= !! !! 1 !!! + !! !! + + ;
!! !! !! !!

! ! =
! !
!! !!!! !
+ ! !!! !! !!" (!) + !!" (!) + (! !! !" )! !! (!) +
!! !! ! !!!!
!
!!!! !!!" !! !!!!" !! !!
!!!!
! !! !! ! + !! !! !! + ! !
;

!! !!
!! = !! !! !!" + !! !" !!" ; !! = !!" !! !
+ !" !!" !
;

!
!
!!" !! !!!" ! !!!" !!" !!!,!"# !!"
! = !! !! !!! !!" ; !! = !
;
!!" ! !!"

!
!!!" ! !!!" !!" !!!,!"# !!" (!! !!!! !!" )!!"
!! = !
; !! =
!!" !! !!"

!
!!!!" ! !!!" !!" !!
!! = !
!! !!"
; !! = !!! !!" ! + !!,!"# !! ; !! = !!! !!" (!) + !!,!"# !!

! !
!" = 0.0345.6710!! !!"# + 273 + !!"# + 273 !!"# + !!"# + 546 ;

!! !!
!!!" !!!"
!! !! ! !
!!,!"# = !! ; !!,!"# = !! ; !! = ! !"!!!" ;
!!!!" !!!!" !" !"
!! !!

!! ! !!
!" = 100 !!!! ! !! ; !" = + !!" = 5.7 + 3.8! ;
!! !.!!!.!!
!!" = 5.7 + 3.8! ; !!" = !"#$ + !"#$ + !"#$

!!" = !"#$ + !"!" + !"#$

!! !!!"#
!,!"# = 16.273 10!! !,!"# !! !!!"#
;

!
!! !!!" ! (!! !!"#) !
!,!"# = 0.884 !! !!"# + !"#.!!"! !!!
;
!! !!!"#
!,!"# = 16.273 10!! !,!"# ;
!! !!!"#
!
!! !!!"# (!! !!"#) !
!,!"# = 0.884 !! !!"# + !"#.!!"! !!!
;
!"## !"##
!! = !"# 25.317 ; !!"# = !"# 25.317 ;
!! !!"# !!" !!!"#

!"##
!!"# = !"# 25.317 ! ;
!"# !!"#

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Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

!"#$ = 0.825.6710!! (!! + 273)! + (!!"# + 273)! !! + !!"# + 546 ;

!"#$ = 0.825.6710!! (!! + 273)! + (!!"# + 273)! !! + !!"# + 546 ;

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225
Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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Ch. ST10

Experimental Analysis of Direct Evaporative Cooler with Fin-Structured

Pads

Rahul Dev; Ashutosh Singh

Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Allahabad-211004,Uttar Pradesh.

* Corresponding author. E-mail:me143022@mnnit.ac.in

Abstract: This paper presents a new concept of increasing effectiveness of Direct Evaporative Cooler by
modifying its wetted media system i.e. by attaching fin structured pads along with the existing wood wool pads.
These pads not only increase the efficiency but also do not degrade efficiency of the cooler due to salt
deposition. Comparative study of direct evaporative cooler with and without fin structured pads is carried out
and comparison is based on temperature drop, efficiency and effectiveness. The efficiency of direct evaporative
cooler with the modified pads increased by 11-15% as compared to conventional direct evaporative cooler and
also an increment in temperature drop by 1.5-2 C was also recorded.

Keywords: Direct evaporative cooler, Evaporative cooling, Evaporative air cooler, Fin Structured Pads.

1. Introduction
Evaporative air cooler is also known by several names such as swamp cooler, desert cooler and wet air
cooler. Evaporative coolers lower down the temperature of air by using the principle of evaporative
cooling. Evaporative cooling depends on the wet bulb depression which is the difference between dry
bulb temperature and wet bulb temperature. It operates by heat and mass transfer between air and
water which are the two working fluids here. The evaporative cooler makes use of wetted media pads
to increase the surface area of contact of air and water. The air is forced to pass through these wetted
media pads during which the warm air comes in contact with water which is at lower temperature than
air due to which the air loses the sensible heat which lowers its temperature. The water takes up the
sensible heat and gets evaporated, so the sensible heat is converted into latent heat. This conversion
takes at constant enthalpy, hence called adiabatic process. The evaporative cooling systems removes
the room sensible heat therefore, these systems work very well in hot, dry and arid climate where the
maximum evaporative cooling will result, Chung, Liao & Tin [1]. Evaporative cooling is classified
into two major groups: - Direct Evaporative Cooling and Indirect Evaporative Cooling. The main
difference between these two types of cooling is that in direct evaporative cooling the humidity level
increases while in indirect evaporative cooling there is no change in the humidity level.

Evaporative cooling is now-a-days applied in many fields. Several applications include evaporative
coolers and cooling ventilation systems, greenhouse cooling, warehouse cooling and product storage,
nursery cooling , poultry, hog and livestock cooling, wet cooling towers in thermal power plants, and
inlet air cooling of gas turbines. Direct Evaporative Coolers (DEC) are designed for low humidity
areas, and its efficiency is dependent on the wet-bulb temperature of the inlet air [2]. Several analyses
(theoretical and experimental) on DEC have been done. Watt [3] had done the first serious analysis on
direct and indirect evaporative systems. Halasz [4] presented a general dimensionless mathematical
model to describe all evaporative cooling devices. Camargo and Ebinuma [5] have shown the
principles of operation for both direct and indirect evaporative cooling systems. Camargo, Ebinuma &
Silveira [6] also presented the study of direct evaporative cooler operating in Brazilian city. Wu,
Huang & Zhang [7] carried out theoretical analysis on heat and mass transfer in a direct evaporative
cooler.

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The most important part of evaporative cooling is its wetted media pads. The two main functions of
wetted media are: -

1. It provides a large contact surface area for heat and mass transfer between water and air.

2. It also increases the time of fall of water which ensures that the exchange process lasts longer.

The selection criteria of wetted media were stated by many researchers. The media should be porous
enough to allow free air flow and to retain water. It should have large packing factor for providing
more waterair contact surface. It should be easy to clean and replace and offer resistance to microbial
growth. Finally, it should also be cheap. The types of wetted media include local fibers, PVC
(Polyvinyl Chloride) packing, corrugated rigid media etc. Despite the advantages of DEC it also has
several disadvantages such as its efficiency decreases with time due to salt deposition in wetted media
pads. Many researchers have tried several modifications to improve the adiabatic efficiency of DEC.
Liao & Chiu [8] and Liao, Singh & Wang [9] carried out analysis for different wetted media pads.
Sulaiman [10] evaluated the performance of local fibers in evaporative cooling. Koca, Hughes &
Christianson [11] provided the testing procedure for evaporative cooling media. Khedari, Rawangkula,
Chimchavee, Hirunlabh & Watanasungsuit [12] investigated the practical applicability of using dried
agricultural waste as desiccant for an open cycle AC system and also tried natural fibers such as
Coconut coir (Cocosnucifera) and Durian peels (Duriozibethinus) to replace chemical desiccant such
as silica gel etc. Rawangkula, Khedari, Hirunlabha & Zeghmatic [13] reported a performance analysis
by using abundant agricultural waste, coconut coir (Cocosnucifera), in evaporative cooling pads.
Kulkarni and Rajput [14] studied the performance of cooling pads made from jute fiber rope bank. In
addition to this desiccant evaporative cooling systems are also gaining importance as the efficiency of
direct evaporative cooling system decreases with the increase in humidity. Heidarinejad and
Pasdarshahri [15] checked the potential of a
desiccant evaporative cooling system performance in
a multi-climate country. Jain, Dhar & Kaushik [16]
evaluated solid-desiccant-based evaporative
cooling cycles for typical hot and humid climates.

Recent studies show the extensive work that has

Fig 1. Schematic diagram of fin structured pads
been carried out on wetted media pads, the main
cause of decrease in efficiency and cooling capacity
of DEC is the degradation of wetted media pads due
to salt deposition and microbial growth [8-14]. So we
designed fin structured pads (FSP) that is
recommended to be used along with the existing
wetted media pads (especially wood wool pads).The
advantages of using such pads are:-

1. It increases heat exchange by increasing the surface area of contact between water and air.
2. Their efficiency do not decrease with time of operation which generally occurs with wood wool
pads due to salt deposition and microbial growth which also reduces the air flow rate and the
effective surface area of contact of air and water.
The efficiency of FSP is not going to get affected by salt deposition because its surface area is not
reduced due to salt deposition and during experimentation the restriction to air flow due to salt
deposition on these pads was found to be negligible. The mass flow rate through DEC decreased by
only 10% (0.66 kg-s-1to 0.60 kg-s-1) due to these FSP but the cooling capacity (proportional to the

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product of mass flow rate and temperature drop) is not hampered because the temperature drop was
found to be increased by more than 10%.

In the present work, the efficiency and feasibility of attaching FSP along with the existing wood wool
pads in Direct Evaporative Cooler is studied.

2. Experimental Setup
To increase the efficiency of air cooler, modified pads i.e. FSP were attached. This was done
to increase the surface area of contact between air and water so that more heat exchange can
take place and DEC can more effectively cool the air. A CAD model, experimental setup and
its schematic diagram are shown in the Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. These FSP were hanged
inside the DEC in front of wetted media pads(can also be hanged outside but a new
arrangement had to be made to collect and return the drain out water of these pads to water
tank again). The design of the setup was made by keeping in mind that the new pad
arrangement should not pose restriction to air flow otherwise cooling capacity may be
affected adversely as cooling capacity is the product of mass flow rate and the temperature
drop of cooled air. These modified pads were made of strips of cotton cloth because of its
property of capillarity and hence get wet easily. Its width was 120 mm (determined using
mathematical correlation and size of cooler). A parallel pipe arrangement was made to make
these FSP wet. Total 41 fins were attached. Fins were evenly attached at an angle of 8 (refer
Fig. 1) (experimentally determined to minimize the restriction to air flow) and at an interval
of 1 cm (A space of 4 cm was left near the fan as it was not possible to accommodate the fins
near to the blower fan). The interval of 1 cm was chosen because when it was tested with an
interval of 0.5 cm, 0.8 cm, the fins (made of cotton cloth) used to stick to each other. The
dimension of pad used in conventional DEC was 30 cm 50 cm which were present on the
three sides. The fourth side had a 15" diameter circular opening fitted with blower fan (1400
rpm) which was used for blowing the air. A centrifugal pump (11LPM, 8W/1m) was used for

Fig. 2 Schematic Diagram of Experimental Setup

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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Thermocouple

Fan

Fig. 3 Experimental Setup

circulating water to make the pads wet. The DECs outer cover body material is of galvanized
iron. The wetted media pads used in this study were made up of wood wool. In India mostly
all the evaporative air coolers have wood wool pads because they are quite cheap. This
modified DEC was installed in a room of dimension 300300300 cubic centimeter. The
ventilation of this test room was checked by two windows of dimension 90cm120cm. For
experimental observation, a digital thermometer/hygrometer was placed near the window to
record the inlet air temperature and humidity. Besides this a wet bulb thermometer was kept
to record the wet bulb temperature. Four thermocouples were used to measure the outlet air
temperature of DEC which were placed on the circular periphery of the blower fan. A digital
vane anemometer is used to measure the velocity of outlet air in order to calculate the mass
flow rate.

3. Experimental Procedure
Experiment began by activating the pump to make wood wool pads and FSP wet. After the
pads were saturated with water, the blower fan was turned on. For the comparative study,
various parameters such as inlet air dry bulb temperature (t1), inlet air wet bulb temperature
(tw), air flow rate ( m& ), inlet air relative humidity (%RH), and outlet air dry bulb temperature
(t2) without FSP and outlet air dry bulb temperature (t3) with FSP were recorded.

Thermocouples were used to measure the outlet air dry bulb temperature (t2 & t3). Inlet air wet
bulb temperature is measured by wet bulb thermometer. To measure the air flow rate, inlet air
temperature and relative humidity, a digital anemometer/thermometer/vane meter was used.
At a particular instant all the parameters were recorded. Total time for all measurement is 2
mins during which the ambient conditions did not change. The readings were taken at an
interval of 1 hour. The readings were taken with the great care that the inlet air conditions do
not change while recording the parameters of DEC with and without the FSP so that the
results can be compared. To check the performance of DEC with FSP due to increase in
humidity, readings were selected in such a way that t1 do not change substantially but the tw
changes which indicates the change in humidity.

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To quantitatively check the performance of DEC following mathematical relations were

used:-

t t
%efficiency = 1 3 100 (1)
t1 t w

Overall FSP effectiveness = Qwith FSP /Qwithout FSP (2)

Where, Qwith FSP is the amount of heat removed from air by DEC with FSP

Qwithout FSP is the amount of heat removed from air by DEC without FSP

& Cv (t1 t 3 )
Qwith FSP = m (3)

& Cv (t1 t 2 )
Qwith FSP = m (4)

(t1 t 3 )
Hence, Overall FSP effectiveness = (5)
(t1 t 2 )

4. Results and Discussions

For comparative study between DEC with and without FSP with variation of humidity or wet
bulb temperature, outlet air dry bulb temperature was recorded for inlet air dry bulb
temperature as 42 C while relative humidity varies from 23% to 51% and corresponding wet
bulb temperature varies from 24 C to 32 C.
The results obtained from experimental observations are as follows:-
4.1.Increase in temperature drop & efficiency of DEC with FSP
In Fig. 4 wet bulb depression depicts the maximum possible temperature drop that can be
achieved by evaporative cooling. With the increase in humidity, temperature drop in DEC
without FSP was found to decrease from 12.2 C to 5.7 C while that in DEC with FSP was
found to drop from 14.3 C to 7.2 C. The difference in the temperature drop varies from 1.5 C
to 2.1 C which signifies that DEC with FSP gives cooler air than DEC without FSP.
In Fig. 5 as the efficiency of DEC with FSP drops from 78.77% to 73.06% while that of DEC
without FSP was found to drop from 67.03% to 58.16%. This makes it clear that as humidity
increases the amount of decrease in efficiency of DEC with FSP was lower than that of DEC
without FSP.

Fig. 4. Change in temperature drop Fig. 5. Variation of efficiency with wet bulb
temperature

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4.2.Increase in overall effectiveness

By using the mathematical correlation the 1.30

Overall effectiveness
overall effectiveness of DEC with FSP was
1.20
found. Fig.6 shows that overall effectiveness
of FSP was not only found to be greater than 1.10
1 and with increase in humidity effectiveness
also increases. This means that DEC with 1.00
FSP is more effective than DEC without FSP 20 30 40 50 60
in humid conditions also. Relative Humidity (%RH)
5. Conclusion
In the present study designing and Fig. 6. Variation of overall effectiveness with
experimental analysis of FSP is carried out. wet bulb temperature
From the above experimental analysis it can
be seen that:-
The FSP help to increase the temperature drop and hence cooler air.
They also increase the efficiency of DEC.
FSP are found to be more effective during humid condition as depicted in Fig. 6.
By increasing the efficiency it also ensures that it saves our precious energy i.e. the
desired temperature will be achieved in less time as compared to conventional DEC
and hence in this way support sustainable development.
Hence it is recommended to be used along with wood wool pads to increase temperature drop,
efficiency and effectiveness of DEC.

References
[1] Chung M., Liao S., Tin S., 2010. Characterizing the Performance of Alternative
Cooling Pad Media in Thermal Environmental Control Applications, Taiwan 10617,
Republic of China. (2010)
[2] Camargo J.R., An evaporative and desiccant cooling system for air conditioning in
humid climates, J. Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. XXVII, 2005, pp. 243-7.
[3] Watt J.R., Evaporative Air Conditioning Handbook, Chapman & Hall, New York,
1963
[4] Halaz B.A., A general mathematical model of evaporative cooling devices, Rev. Gen.
Therm, Elsevier, Paris, vol.37, 1998, pp.245255.
[5] Camargo J.R., Ebinuma C.D., A mathematical model for direct and indirect evaporative
cooling air conditioning systems, Proceedings of the 9th Brazilian congress of thermal
engineering and sciences, 2002 [ENCIT, UFPB, Joao Pessoa, PB, paper CIT02-0855].
[6] Camargo J.R.,Ebinuma C.D., Silveira J.L., Experimental performance of a direct
evaporative cooler operating during summer in a Brazilian city, International Journal of
Refrigeration, vol.28, 2008, pp.1124-32.
[7] Wu JM., Huang X., Zhang H., Theoretical analysis on heat and mass transfer in a direct
evaporative cooler. ApplThermEng vol.29, 2009, pp.9804.
[8] Liao CM, Chiu KH. Wind tunnel modeling the system performance of alternative
evaporative cooling pads in Taiwan region, Build Environ vol.37, 2002, pp.17787.

231
Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

[9] Liao CM., Singh S., Wang TS., Characterizing the performance of alternative
evaporative cooling pad media in thermal environmental control applications. J
Environ Sci Health, Part A vol.33, 1998, pp.1391417.
[10] Sulaiman FA., Evaluation of the performance of local fibers in evaporative cooling.
Energy Convers Manage, vol. 43, 2002, pp.226773.
[11] Koca RW., Hughes WC., Christianson LL. Evaporative cooling pads: test
procedureand evaluation. ApplEngAgric vol.7, 1991, pp.48590.
[12] Khedari J., Rawangkul R., Chimchavee W., Hirunlabh J., Watanasungsuit A.,
Feasibility study of using agriculture waste as desiccant for air conditioning system,
Renewable Energy vol.28, 2003, pp.16171628.
[13] Rawangkula R., Khedarib J., Hirunlabha J., Zeghmatic B., Performance analysis of a
new sustainable evaporative cooling pad made from coconut coir, International Journal
of Sustainable Engineering, No. 2, vol.1, 2008, pp.117131
[14] Kulkarni R. K., Rajput S. P. S., Theoretical performance analysis of jute fiber rope
bank as media in evaporative coolers, Indian Journal of Science and Technology,
vol.3(10), 2010, ISSN: 0974- 6846.
[15] Heidarinejad G., Pasdarshahri H., Potential of a desiccant-evaporative cooling system
performance in a multi-climate country International Journal of Refrigeration, vol.34,
2011, pp.1251-61
[16] Jain S., Dhar P.L., Kaushik S.C., Evaluation of solid-desiccant-based evaporative
cooling cycles for typical hot and humid climates, International Journal of
Refrigeration,vol.18,1995,pp.287-9.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

Ch. ST11

Experimental Analysis of Direct Evaporative Cooler with Fin-Structured

Pads

Rahul Dev; Ashutosh Singh

Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Allahabad-211004,Uttar Pradesh.

* Corresponding author. E-mail:me143022@mnnit.ac.in

Abstract: This paper presents a new concept of increasing effectiveness of Direct Evaporative Cooler by
modifying its wetted media system i.e. by attaching fin structured pads along with the existing wood wool pads.
These pads not only increase the efficiency but also do not degrade efficiency of the cooler due to salt
deposition. Comparative study of direct evaporative cooler with and without fin structured pads is carried out
and comparison is based on temperature drop, efficiency and effectiveness. The efficiency of direct evaporative
cooler with the modified pads increased by 11-15% as compared to conventional direct evaporative cooler and
also an increment in temperature drop by 1.5-2 C was also recorded.

Keywords: Direct evaporative cooler, Evaporative cooling, Evaporative air cooler, Fin Structured Pads.

1. Introduction
Evaporative air cooler is also known by several names such as swamp cooler, desert cooler and wet air
cooler. Evaporative coolers lower down the temperature of air by using the principle of evaporative
cooling. Evaporative cooling depends on the wet bulb depression which is the difference between dry
bulb temperature and wet bulb temperature. It operates by heat and mass transfer between air and
water which are the two working fluids here. The evaporative cooler makes use of wetted media pads
to increase the surface area of contact of air and water. The air is forced to pass through these wetted
media pads during which the warm air comes in contact with water which is at lower temperature than
air due to which the air loses the sensible heat which lowers its temperature. The water takes up the
sensible heat and gets evaporated, so the sensible heat is converted into latent heat. This conversion
takes at constant enthalpy, hence called adiabatic process. The evaporative cooling systems removes
the room sensible heat therefore, these systems work very well in hot, dry and arid climate where the
maximum evaporative cooling will result, Chung, Liao & Tin [1]. Evaporative cooling is classified
into two major groups: - Direct Evaporative Cooling and Indirect Evaporative Cooling. The main
difference between these two types of cooling is that in direct evaporative cooling the humidity level
increases while in indirect evaporative cooling there is no change in the humidity level.

Evaporative cooling is now-a-days applied in many fields. Several applications include evaporative
coolers and cooling ventilation systems, greenhouse cooling, warehouse cooling and product storage,
nursery cooling , poultry, hog and livestock cooling, wet cooling towers in thermal power plants, and
inlet air cooling of gas turbines. Direct Evaporative Coolers (DEC) are designed for low humidity
areas, and its efficiency is dependent on the wet-bulb temperature of the inlet air [2]. Several analyses
(theoretical and experimental) on DEC have been done. Watt [3] had done the first serious analysis on
direct and indirect evaporative systems. Halasz [4] presented a general dimensionless mathematical
model to describe all evaporative cooling devices. Camargo and Ebinuma [5] have shown the
principles of operation for both direct and indirect evaporative cooling systems. Camargo, Ebinuma &
Silveira [6] also presented the study of direct evaporative cooler operating in Brazilian city. Wu,
Huang & Zhang [7] carried out theoretical analysis on heat and mass transfer in a direct evaporative
cooler.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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The most important part of evaporative cooling is its wetted media pads. The two main functions of
wetted media are: -

1. It provides a large contact surface area for heat and mass transfer between water and air.

2. It also increases the time of fall of water which ensures that the exchange process lasts longer.

The selection criteria of wetted media were stated by many researchers. The media should be porous
enough to allow free air flow and to retain water. It should have large packing factor for providing
more waterair contact surface. It should be easy to clean and replace and offer resistance to microbial
growth. Finally, it should also be cheap. The types of wetted media include local fibers, PVC
(Polyvinyl Chloride) packing, corrugated rigid media etc. Despite the advantages of DEC it also has
several disadvantages such as its efficiency decreases with time due to salt deposition in wetted media
pads. Many researchers have tried several modifications to improve the adiabatic efficiency of DEC.
Liao & Chiu [8] and Liao, Singh & Wang [9] carried out analysis for different wetted media pads.
Sulaiman [10] evaluated the performance of local fibers in evaporative cooling. Koca, Hughes &
Christianson [11] provided the testing procedure for evaporative cooling media. Khedari, Rawangkula,
Chimchavee, Hirunlabh & Watanasungsuit [12] investigated the practical applicability of using dried
agricultural waste as desiccant for an open cycle AC system and also tried natural fibers such as
Coconut coir (Cocosnucifera) and Durian peels (Duriozibethinus) to replace chemical desiccant such
as silica gel etc. Rawangkula, Khedari, Hirunlabha & Zeghmatic [13] reported a performance analysis
by using abundant agricultural waste, coconut coir (Cocosnucifera), in evaporative cooling pads.
Kulkarni and Rajput [14] studied the performance of cooling pads made from jute fiber rope bank. In
addition to this desiccant evaporative cooling systems are also gaining importance as the efficiency of
direct evaporative cooling system decreases with the increase in humidity. Heidarinejad and
Pasdarshahri [15] checked the potential of a
desiccant evaporative cooling system performance in
a multi-climate country. Jain, Dhar & Kaushik [16]
evaluated solid-desiccant-based evaporative
cooling cycles for typical hot and humid climates.

Recent studies show the extensive work that has

Fig 1. Schematic diagram of fin structured pads
been carried out on wetted media pads, the main
cause of decrease in efficiency and cooling capacity
of DEC is the degradation of wetted media pads due
to salt deposition and microbial growth [8-14]. So we
designed fin structured pads (FSP) that is
recommended to be used along with the existing
wetted media pads (especially wood wool pads).The
advantages of using such pads are:-

1. It increases heat exchange by increasing the surface area of contact between water and air.
2. Their efficiency do not decrease with time of operation which generally occurs with wood wool
pads due to salt deposition and microbial growth which also reduces the air flow rate and the
effective surface area of contact of air and water.
The efficiency of FSP is not going to get affected by salt deposition because its surface area is not
reduced due to salt deposition and during experimentation the restriction to air flow due to salt
deposition on these pads was found to be negligible. The mass flow rate through DEC decreased by
only 10% (0.66 kg-s-1to 0.60 kg-s-1) due to these FSP but the cooling capacity (proportional to the

227
Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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product of mass flow rate and temperature drop) is not hampered because the temperature drop was
found to be increased by more than 10%.

In the present work, the efficiency and feasibility of attaching FSP along with the existing wood wool
pads in Direct Evaporative Cooler is studied.

2. Experimental Setup
To increase the efficiency of air cooler, modified pads i.e. FSP were attached. This was done
to increase the surface area of contact between air and water so that more heat exchange can
take place and DEC can more effectively cool the air. A CAD model, experimental setup and
its schematic diagram are shown in the Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. These FSP were hanged
inside the DEC in front of wetted media pads(can also be hanged outside but a new
arrangement had to be made to collect and return the drain out water of these pads to water
tank again). The design of the setup was made by keeping in mind that the new pad
arrangement should not pose restriction to air flow otherwise cooling capacity may be
affected adversely as cooling capacity is the product of mass flow rate and the temperature
drop of cooled air. These modified pads were made of strips of cotton cloth because of its
property of capillarity and hence get wet easily. Its width was 120 mm (determined using
mathematical correlation and size of cooler). A parallel pipe arrangement was made to make
these FSP wet. Total 41 fins were attached. Fins were evenly attached at an angle of 8 (refer
Fig. 1) (experimentally determined to minimize the restriction to air flow) and at an interval
of 1 cm (A space of 4 cm was left near the fan as it was not possible to accommodate the fins
near to the blower fan). The interval of 1 cm was chosen because when it was tested with an
interval of 0.5 cm, 0.8 cm, the fins (made of cotton cloth) used to stick to each other. The
dimension of pad used in conventional DEC was 30 cm 50 cm which were present on the
three sides. The fourth side had a 15" diameter circular opening fitted with blower fan (1400
rpm) which was used for blowing the air. A centrifugal pump (11LPM, 8W/1m) was used for

Fig. 2 Schematic Diagram of Experimental Setup

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

Thermocouple

Fan

Fig. 3 Experimental Setup

circulating water to make the pads wet. The DECs outer cover body material is of galvanized
iron. The wetted media pads used in this study were made up of wood wool. In India mostly
all the evaporative air coolers have wood wool pads because they are quite cheap. This
modified DEC was installed in a room of dimension 300300300 cubic centimeter. The
ventilation of this test room was checked by two windows of dimension 90cm120cm. For
experimental observation, a digital thermometer/hygrometer was placed near the window to
record the inlet air temperature and humidity. Besides this a wet bulb thermometer was kept
to record the wet bulb temperature. Four thermocouples were used to measure the outlet air
temperature of DEC which were placed on the circular periphery of the blower fan. A digital
vane anemometer is used to measure the velocity of outlet air in order to calculate the mass
flow rate.

3. Experimental Procedure
Experiment began by activating the pump to make wood wool pads and FSP wet. After the
pads were saturated with water, the blower fan was turned on. For the comparative study,
various parameters such as inlet air dry bulb temperature (t1), inlet air wet bulb temperature
(tw), air flow rate ( m& ), inlet air relative humidity (%RH), and outlet air dry bulb temperature
(t2) without FSP and outlet air dry bulb temperature (t3) with FSP were recorded.

Thermocouples were used to measure the outlet air dry bulb temperature (t2 & t3). Inlet air wet
bulb temperature is measured by wet bulb thermometer. To measure the air flow rate, inlet air
temperature and relative humidity, a digital anemometer/thermometer/vane meter was used.
At a particular instant all the parameters were recorded. Total time for all measurement is 2
mins during which the ambient conditions did not change. The readings were taken at an
interval of 1 hour. The readings were taken with the great care that the inlet air conditions do
not change while recording the parameters of DEC with and without the FSP so that the
results can be compared. To check the performance of DEC with FSP due to increase in
humidity, readings were selected in such a way that t1 do not change substantially but the tw
changes which indicates the change in humidity.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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To quantitatively check the performance of DEC following mathematical relations were

used:-

t t
%efficiency = 1 3 100 (1)
t1 t w

Overall FSP effectiveness = Qwith FSP /Qwithout FSP (2)

Where, Qwith FSP is the amount of heat removed from air by DEC with FSP

Qwithout FSP is the amount of heat removed from air by DEC without FSP

& Cv (t1 t 3 )
Qwith FSP = m (3)

& Cv (t1 t 2 )
Qwith FSP = m (4)

(t1 t 3 )
Hence, Overall FSP effectiveness = (5)
(t1 t 2 )

4. Results and Discussions

For comparative study between DEC with and without FSP with variation of humidity or wet
bulb temperature, outlet air dry bulb temperature was recorded for inlet air dry bulb
temperature as 42 C while relative humidity varies from 23% to 51% and corresponding wet
bulb temperature varies from 24 C to 32 C.
The results obtained from experimental observations are as follows:-
4.1.Increase in temperature drop & efficiency of DEC with FSP
In Fig. 4 wet bulb depression depicts the maximum possible temperature drop that can be
achieved by evaporative cooling. With the increase in humidity, temperature drop in DEC
without FSP was found to decrease from 12.2 C to 5.7 C while that in DEC with FSP was
found to drop from 14.3 C to 7.2 C. The difference in the temperature drop varies from 1.5 C
to 2.1 C which signifies that DEC with FSP gives cooler air than DEC without FSP.
In Fig. 5 as the efficiency of DEC with FSP drops from 78.77% to 73.06% while that of DEC
without FSP was found to drop from 67.03% to 58.16%. This makes it clear that as humidity
increases the amount of decrease in efficiency of DEC with FSP was lower than that of DEC
without FSP.

Fig. 4. Change in temperature drop Fig. 5. Variation of efficiency with wet bulb
temperature

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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4.2.Increase in overall effectiveness

By using the mathematical correlation the 1.30

Overall effectiveness
overall effectiveness of DEC with FSP was
1.20
found. Fig.6 shows that overall effectiveness
of FSP was not only found to be greater than 1.10
1 and with increase in humidity effectiveness
also increases. This means that DEC with 1.00
FSP is more effective than DEC without FSP 20 30 40 50 60
in humid conditions also. Relative Humidity (%RH)
5. Conclusion
In the present study designing and Fig. 6. Variation of overall effectiveness with
experimental analysis of FSP is carried out. wet bulb temperature
From the above experimental analysis it can
be seen that:-
The FSP help to increase the temperature drop and hence cooler air.
They also increase the efficiency of DEC.
FSP are found to be more effective during humid condition as depicted in Fig. 6.
By increasing the efficiency it also ensures that it saves our precious energy i.e. the
desired temperature will be achieved in less time as compared to conventional DEC
and hence in this way support sustainable development.
Hence it is recommended to be used along with wood wool pads to increase temperature drop,
efficiency and effectiveness of DEC.

References
[1] Chung M., Liao S., Tin S., 2010. Characterizing the Performance of Alternative
Cooling Pad Media in Thermal Environmental Control Applications, Taiwan 10617,
Republic of China. (2010)
[2] Camargo J.R., An evaporative and desiccant cooling system for air conditioning in
humid climates, J. Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. XXVII, 2005, pp. 243-7.
[3] Watt J.R., Evaporative Air Conditioning Handbook, Chapman & Hall, New York,
1963
[4] Halaz B.A., A general mathematical model of evaporative cooling devices, Rev. Gen.
Therm, Elsevier, Paris, vol.37, 1998, pp.245255.
[5] Camargo J.R., Ebinuma C.D., A mathematical model for direct and indirect evaporative
cooling air conditioning systems, Proceedings of the 9th Brazilian congress of thermal
engineering and sciences, 2002 [ENCIT, UFPB, Joao Pessoa, PB, paper CIT02-0855].
[6] Camargo J.R.,Ebinuma C.D., Silveira J.L., Experimental performance of a direct
evaporative cooler operating during summer in a Brazilian city, International Journal of
Refrigeration, vol.28, 2008, pp.1124-32.
[7] Wu JM., Huang X., Zhang H., Theoretical analysis on heat and mass transfer in a direct
evaporative cooler. ApplThermEng vol.29, 2009, pp.9804.
[8] Liao CM, Chiu KH. Wind tunnel modeling the system performance of alternative
evaporative cooling pads in Taiwan region, Build Environ vol.37, 2002, pp.17787.

231
Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

[9] Liao CM., Singh S., Wang TS., Characterizing the performance of alternative
evaporative cooling pad media in thermal environmental control applications. J
Environ Sci Health, Part A vol.33, 1998, pp.1391417.
[10] Sulaiman FA., Evaluation of the performance of local fibers in evaporative cooling.
Energy Convers Manage, vol. 43, 2002, pp.226773.
[11] Koca RW., Hughes WC., Christianson LL. Evaporative cooling pads: test
procedureand evaluation. ApplEngAgric vol.7, 1991, pp.48590.
[12] Khedari J., Rawangkul R., Chimchavee W., Hirunlabh J., Watanasungsuit A.,
Feasibility study of using agriculture waste as desiccant for air conditioning system,
Renewable Energy vol.28, 2003, pp.16171628.
[13] Rawangkula R., Khedarib J., Hirunlabha J., Zeghmatic B., Performance analysis of a
new sustainable evaporative cooling pad made from coconut coir, International Journal
of Sustainable Engineering, No. 2, vol.1, 2008, pp.117131
[14] Kulkarni R. K., Rajput S. P. S., Theoretical performance analysis of jute fiber rope
bank as media in evaporative coolers, Indian Journal of Science and Technology,
vol.3(10), 2010, ISSN: 0974- 6846.
[15] Heidarinejad G., Pasdarshahri H., Potential of a desiccant-evaporative cooling system
performance in a multi-climate country International Journal of Refrigeration, vol.34,
2011, pp.1251-61
[16] Jain S., Dhar P.L., Kaushik S.C., Evaluation of solid-desiccant-based evaporative
cooling cycles for typical hot and humid climates, International Journal of
Refrigeration,vol.18,1995,pp.287-9.

232
Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi, India

Ch. ST12

Techno-Economic Analysis of Solar Desalination System working on

Humidification and Dehumidification Technique for Climatic Condition of
Central India

Taranjeet Sachdev1*, Anil Kr. Tiwari1, Vivek Gaba1

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Raipur, G.E. Road, Raipur-492010,
C.G., India.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +919425514686, E-mail: taranjeet84@gmail.com

Abstract: The proposed desalination System is working on humidification and dehumidification technique
coupled with double pass solar flat plate air heater. A theoretical analysis is performed for technical
investigation, which includes the study of effect of different operating conditions and design parameters on the
productivity of considered desalination system under the weather conditions of Raipur (India) along with
economic analysis. Technical analysis is based on simulation of mathematical model prepared on the basis of
energy and mass balance of major components, using MATLAB. The economic analysis is based on present
value method to find its cost effectiveness.
In proposed desalination system, an open cycle arrangement is selected for air flow after heating through a
double-pass solar air heater and water follows a closed cycle without preheating unlike the conventional solar
HD unit. The simulation reveals a significant improvement (about 10%) in productivity by using double pass
solar air heater compared to single pass air heater and encouraging improvement (about 80 %) compared to
without air preheating. Increase in air mass flow rate entering the humidifier shows significant improvement in
productivity particularly at optimized air mass flow rate of 0.032 kg/hr. The effect of increasing initial water
temperature in storage water tank is also encouraging as it shows an increase of 0.5 kg/hr in productivity with a
temperature rise of 5 OC. As expected, increase in cooling water mass flow rate in dehumidifier also significantly
increases the productivity up to mass flow rate of 0.03 kg/hr with declining trend after this. Strong influence of
collector area is found on the system productivity. At last the effect of Wind speed variation is analyzed ,
however the presence of double glass cover prevents any change in productivity due to wind speed variation. A
Competitive cost of water productivity compared to existing commercial desalination technologies is obtained
by the economical analysis which motivates for commercial application of solar assisted humidification
dehumidification desalination system.

Keywords: Desalination; Humidification; Dehumidification; Air Heater

Nomenclature (Optional)

1. Introduction
Water is a basic human requirement for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes. The
continuous rise in the worlds population and the expansion of industrial facilities around the
globe has resulted in growing demand for fresh water supply from natural resources. These
resources have been steadily declining in quality due to industrial, agricultural and domestic
wastes. Therefore the need for new fresh water resources to balance the growing consumption
rate has been a serious concern facing for the past 50 years. The fact that 97% of the earths

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surface is covered with saline water has been a substantial catalyst for developing water
desalination technologies [1]. Different solar water desalination processes, such as active and
passive basin type solar stills and systems working on humidification-dehumidification
principle, have been used to produce fresh water from saline water. Among these processes,
solar water desalination systems based on humidification-dehumidification technique is one
of the simple and most efficient techniques and performance of these systems have been
studied and improved by several researchers. Hisham Ettouney [1] evaluated the
characteristics of several layouts of humidification dehumidification desalination layouts. The
common feature is humidification tower in air is humidified up to saturation state at desired
temperature. The difference is dehumidification process adopted K. Bourouni, M.T. Chaibi,
L. Tadrist [2] described the importance of the humidificationdehumidification process. The
humidificationdehumidification process (HD) is an interesting technique adapted for water
desalination when the demand is decentralized. This technique presents several advantages
such as flexibility in capacity, moderate installation and operating costs, simplicity, possibility
of using low temperature energy (geothermal, solar, recovered energy or cogeneration), etc.
Although the common methods of desalination such as distillation and reverse osmosis are the
subject of many investigations (archived data and principle of function validated), studies of
the HD process are limited at the laboratory step or patents. The aim of this paper is to present
the principle of functioning and the characteristics of this technique. The state of the art
concerning the HD technique is presented. Several installations functioning worldwide with
the HD technique are presented, analyzed and evaluated. Said Al-Hallaja, Parekha Sandeep,
M.M. Faridb, J.R Selmana [3] this paper dealt with the economics of various desalination
processes. Major desalination processes consume a large amount of energy derived from oil
and natural gas as heat and electricity, while emitting harmful CO2 as by product. Solar
desalination has emerged as a promising renewable energy-powered technology for producing
fresh water. Combining the principle of humidification-dehumidification with solar
desalination results in an increase in the overall efficiency of the desalination plant, and
therefore appears to be the best method of water desalination with solar energy.

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2. Methodology
The proposed solar water desalination system with the humidification-dehumidification
technique consists of a double-pass flat plate solar air heater with two glass covers,
humidifying tower, storage tank and dehumidifying exchanger. The effect of various design
and operating parameters on system productivity can be analyzed by considering
mathematical model based on energy and mass balance of key components.

2.1 Working Principle

A schematic view of the system that is based on the idea of the closed water and open air
cycles is presented in Fig 1.

Humidifier

Air Heater Air In

Dehumidifier
Air Out

Fresh
Water
Cooling Water Cooling Water
Water
Make up Water
in out
Storage
Brine
Tank

Fig.1 Proposed Desalination System

Working principle of the system can be explained by three main steps; firstly, the process air
at the ambient conditions is forced to flow through the upper channel of the double pass flat
plate solar air heater, where it is preheated. The preheated air is further heated by passing it
through the lower channel of the solar air heater. Secondly, the heated air leaving the double-
pass flat plate solar air heater enters the humidifier and is humidified by saline water that is
coming from the water storage tank. Eventually, the air carrying water vapor is passed

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through the dehumidifying coil surface where water vapor condenses and turns into the fresh
water. Also, saline water leaving the humidifier is collected back in the storage tank and re-
circulated to the humidifier.

2.2 Mathematical Modeling for Technical Analysis

The energy balance equations for the air heater are as follows
Second glass cover
mg . Cp_g dTg2/dt = I .g .Ac + qr ;g1_ g2 qc,g2 _amb qr,g2_ sky + qc,g1_g2 (1)
First glass cover
mg . Cp_ g . dTg1/dt = I .g . g . Ac qr,g1_ g2 qc,g1_ a1 + qr,p _g1 qc,g1_ g2 (2)

First air pass

ma . Cp_ a . dTa1/dt = qc,p _a1 + qc,g1 _a1 Ma .Cp_ a (Ta1_ e Ta_ i) (3)
Absorber plate
mp. Cp _p . dTp / dt = I . p . 2 g . A c qc,p _a2 - qc,p _a1 - qr,p_ g1 - qr,p_ b (4)

Second air pass

ma . Cp _a dTa2/ dt = qc,p_ a2 + qc,b_ a2 Ma Cp_ a (Ta2_ e - Ta1_ e) (5)
Base plate
mb . Cp_ b . dTb/dt = qr,p_ b qc,b _a2 ql,b _amb (6)
Water storage tank
mw1. Cp_ w dTw1/dt = Mw2 (t) .Cp_ w .Tw2 (t) + Mmw (t) .Cp_ w . Tmw - Mw1 .Cp _w .Tw1(t)
- q1,w1_ amb (7)
Humidifier
Ma. (ha3(t) - ha2_ e(t)) = Mw1 . Cp _w .Tw1(t) - Mw2(t) .Cp_ w . Tw2(t) (8)
De-humidifier
Ma .(ha3(t) - ha4(t)) = Mw3 .Cp _w . (Tw4(t)- Tw3) + Mc (t) .Cp_ w .Tw5(t) (9)
The heat transfer terms in the equations above are given as below;
Qr,g1_ g2 = Ac . hr,g1 _g2 . (Tg1 _ Tg2) (10)
Where,
Ac = w. L (11)
The radiation heat transfer coefficient between the two glass covers can be found by
(.T 2 g1 +T 2 g 2 ).(Tg1 + Tg 2 )
hr,g1_g2 = (12)
1 1
+ 1
g1 g 2

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qc,g2_ amb = Ac . hc,g2_ amb .(Tg2 _ Tamb) (13)

The convective heat transfer coefficient for the air flowing over the upper glass cover is given
by the following empirical equation;
Hc,g2_ amb = 2:8 + 3 .Vwind (14)
qr,g2 _sky = Ac . hr,g2_ sky . (Tg2 Tsky) (15)
where,
Tsky = Tamb 6 (16)
and the radiation heat transfer coefficient from the second glass cover to sky is;
(
hr,g2_ sky = g 2 . . Tg 2 + Tsky
2 2
) (T
g2 + Tsky ) (17)

qc,g1_ g2 = Ac .hc,g1 _g2 (Tg1 - Tg2) (18)

The natural convection heat transfer coefficient between the first and the second glass covers
is given as follow;
Ka
Hc,g1_g2 = Nug1_ g2 . (19)
x
The following correlation proposed by the Hollands , may be used to calculate the Nusselt
number ;
1
1. 6
Nug1_g2 = 1 + 1.44 x [1-
1708
]+ x [ 1-
(Sin1.8 x B) x 1708 ] + { Ra x CosB 3 1}

Ra x Cos Ra x CosB 5830
(20)
The positive exponent means that the value of this term is equal to zero if the term is negative.
Where
g . . (Tg1 Tg 2 ). x 3
Ra =
.
Thermal properties of the moist air suggested by Tiwari as functions of air temperature are
evaluated by the following equations;
K = 0.0244 + 0.6773 x 10-4 x T (22)
= 7.7255 x 10-10 + T1.83 (23)
-4 -4
v = 0.1284 x 10 + 0.00105 x 10 x T (24)
qc,g1 _a1 = Ac . hc,g1_ a1 . (Tg1 - Ta1) (25)
The forced convective heat transfer coefficient inside the upper channel of the double pass flat
plate solar air heater can be found by;

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Ka
Hc,g1 _a1 = Nug1_a1 . (26)
Dh
Where
4 . A sec
Dh = (27)
2 .w + 2.D
For laminar flow, the Nusselt number may be calculated from the below equation ;
1.2
.0606.(Re a1 . Pr .Dh / L )
Nug1_a1 = 4.9 + 0.7
(28)
1 + 0.0909.(Re a1 . Pr .Dh / L ) . Pr 0.17
For turbulent flow, the following correlation may be used to determine the Nusselt number;

Nug1_a1 =
(fa1/ 8)x (Re a1 1000)x Pr (29)
1 +12.7 x (fa1 / 8) x (Pr 0.67 1)
0.5

Where, Rea1 is the Reynolds number and fa1 is the friction factor, and they are given as
follows;
Va1. D h
Rea1 = (30)
a1
fa1 = (0.79 x ln Rea1 1.64)-2 (31)
qr,p_ g1 = Ac . hr,p_ g1 . (Tp - Tg1) (32)
The radiation heat transfer coefficient between the copper absorber plate and first glass cover
is calculated from Eq. 12 by replacing Tg2 with Tp and g 2 with p .

qc,p _a1 = Ac . hc,p _a1. (Tp - Ta1) (33)

hc,p _a1 = hc,g1_ a1 (34)
Applying the assumption (4), Ta1_e is defined as follows;
Ta1_ e = 2 .Ta1 _ Ta_ i (35)
qc,p_ a2 = Ac . hc,p_ a2 .(Tp - Ta2) (36)
The convection heat transfer coefficients (hc,p_a2 = hc,b_a2) inside the lower channel of the
double-pass flat plate solar air heater are evaluated from the above equations which are used
to calculate the convective heat transfer coefficients for the upper channel. Thermal properties
of the air flowing inside the lower channel of that should be taken at the mean temperature of
the second air pass.
qr,p_ b = Ac . hr,p _b .(Tp - Tb) (37)
By replacing Tg1 with Tp, Tg2 with Tb, g1 with p and g 2 with b , the radiation heat transfer

coefficient between the copper absorber plate and the copper basin plate can be determined
from Eq. 12.

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qc,b _a2 = Ac . hc,b_ a2 .(Tb - Ta2) (38)

Applying the assumption (4), Ta2_e is defined as below;
Ta2_ e = 2 .Ta2 - Ta1_ e (39)
ql,b _amb = Ac . Uloss (Tb - Tamb) (40)
Mw2(t) = Mw1 - Ma [W3(t) -W1(t)] (41)
Applying the assumptions (6,7), the following equality can be written as;
Tw2(t) = Ta3(t) (42)
Mc(t) = Ma .[ W3(t) - W4(t)] (43)
Applying the assumptions (8,9), the following equalities can be obtained;
Tq4(t) = Tw4(t) = Tw5(t) (44)
Mmw(t) = Ma . [W3(t) - W1(t)] (45)
ql,wl _amb = As . Uloss (Tw1 _ Tamb)

2.3 Solving the energy and mass balance equations

A program based on the energy balance equations above has been developed using
MATLAB software to investigate the effect of design and operating parameters that affect the
productivity of proposed desalination system. In this program, energy balance equations are
solved simultaneously by using the fourth order Runge-Kutta method. The time interval is
chosen to be one second and the initial values of Tg2, Tg1, Ta1, Ta2, Tw1 have been assumed to
be nearly equal to the ambient temperature and Tb, Tp are assumed to be 5 and 10 OC above
the ambient temperature, respectively.

3. Economic Analysis of proposed solar HD System

For economic evaluation of the proposed Solar HD desalination system the present value
method [3] is employed to determine the cost effectiveness of the desalination plant The
present value cost (PVK) can be determined by the following equations:

PVK = 1 + P + OM
PVF

Where, PVF (Present Value Factor) can be calculated by relation

PVF = (1 + i )n 1
i (i + 1)n

The product ion cost (P) of the unit is given by:

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P = PVK

Where E - production of the fresh water (m3y-1), I - investment cost of the plant, OM-
maintenance cost of the system, P - personnel cost; i - rate of interest (%), n life of the
system (years).
4. Results and Discussion
The productivity of proposed desalination system depends upon the Humidifier and
dehumidifier outlet temperatures. The effects of various operating and design variables on
productivity been have discussed below.
Effect of Double pass and single pass solar air heater on productivity - The effect of solar
air heater configuration system productivity can be observed in Fig 2. It reveals that the
productivity of the system is strongly affected by the solar air heater configuration.

5
Productivity (kg/hr)

0
Double pass Single Pass Without air heater

Fig: 2 Effect of solar air heater configuration on its productivity.

Effect of Mass flow rate of air on productivity - It can be seen from Fig 3 that the
productivity of the system increases by increasing the air mass flow rate to an optimum value
and decreases after that value. This mass flow rate of air (0.032 kg/hr) is optimum value after
this any increase in it does not contribute to productivity.

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6
Productivity (kg/hr)

0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06
Mass flow rate of air (kg/sec)
Fig: 3 Effect of Mass flow rate of air on productivity

It is clear that up to optimum mass flow rate of 0.032 kg/hr system gives a 400 % increase in
productivity with 200 % increase in air mass flow rate. After that even with 70% increase in
mass flow rate over the optimized value 40% decrease productivity can be observed in Fig 3.
The reasons behind that the wet-bulb temperature of the air at the outlet of the solar air heater
decreases when the air mass flow rate is increased. Because of this the rate of vaporization in
the humidifier decreases, means, moisture content of the air leaving the humidifier is reduced.
In addition, at a constant mass flow rate and temperature of cooling water, this increase in air
mass flow rate, increases the absolute humidity of the air that is leaving the dehumidifier.
Consequently, there is drop in yield. However, the productivity of the system increases till the
value of air mass flow rate reaches to optimum.

Effect of temperature of water in storage tank on productivity - It is very clear from the
Fig 4 the yield increases with the increase in initial temperature of water in storage tank. It is
due to fact that an increase of the initial water temperature in the storage tank increases the
inlet water temperature to the humidifier which causes an increase in the moisture content of
the air leaving the humidifier and hence, increased quantity of the fresh water can be obtained
from the system. With an increase of 5 OC in temperature productivity of system rises about
0.5 kg/hr. Every 33% rise in storage tank water increases the productivity by 18%. Thus it
will be a better option to use some solar assisted heating arrangement to preheat the water in
storage tank in order to enhance the system productivity.

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8
7
Productivity (kg/hr)

6
5
4
3
2
1
0
25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Temprature ('C)

Fig 4: Effect of temperature of water in storage tank on productivity

Effect of cooling water mass flow rate through dehumidifier on system productivity- The
effect of the cooling water mass flow rate through dehumidifier on the system productivity is
shown in Fig. 5.

8
7
6
Productivity (kg/hr)

5
4
3
2
1
0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06

Cooling water mass flow rate (kg/sec)

Fig5: Effect of cooling water mass flow rate through dehumidifier on system productivity
It can be observed that the rise in cooling water mass flow rate ultimately drops down the
temperature of cooling coil of dehumidifier and hence more condensation of water and hence
more productivity. It can be seen that by 200 % rise in cooling water mass flow rate from 0.01
kg/s to 0.03 kg/s, the productivity increases by 175 %, whereas in later stage if cooling water
mass flow rate is increased about 200 % from 0.03 kg/s to 0.05 kg/s the rise in productivity is
about 36 % only. Thus up to a certain level increasing the mass flow rate of cooling water is
beneficial otherwise at higher mass flow rate it does not contribute much in terms of yield.
Effect of Wind speed on system productivity - The effect of wind speed on system

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productivity can be observed in Fig 6.

5
Productivity (kg/hr)

1
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Wind speed (m/s)

.
Fig 6 : Effect of Wind speed on system productivity
It can be seen that the productivity of the system that consists of a double-pass solar air heater
with two glass covers is not influenced by the wind speed variations.
However productivity of system configured with double-pass solar air heater with one glass
cover will affect more. This result can be explained as by using the second glass cover, heat
losses from the upper glass cover to the ambient by convection that increases with the
increasing value of the wind speed is reduced. Hence, the air leaving the double-pass solar air
heater with two glass covers has higher temperature than the double-pass solar air heater with
one glass cover.
Effect of Air heater area on system productivity The effect of solar air heater area on
system productivity is shown in Fig. 7. It reveals that the productivity of the system is
strongly affected by increasing the area of solar air heater. Principally by increasing the solar
air heater area, temperature of the air leaving the solar air heater is increased significantly and
ultimately higher yield in dehumidifier is found. It is clear from the graph that there is a
continuous rise in productivity with increasing air heater area. About 70-80 % increase in
productivity is observed with increasing air heater area about 50 % only.

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Productivity (kg/hr)
4

0
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

Air Heater area (m2)

Fig 7: Effect of air heater area on system productivity

5. Conclusions
A mathematical study has been performed for Techno-economical analysis of the solar water
desalination system using humidification- dehumidification technique under the climatic conditions of
Raipur, India and following are the conclusions drawn:
(1) The results indicate that that the productivity of the proposed system increases up to 10% by using
a double-pass flat plate solar air heater as compared to single-pass flat plate solar air heater. In absence
of any air heater the productivity, decreases by 80% and 70 % if compared to double pass air heater
and single pass air heater respectively under the same operating conditions. The above result shows
the superiority of double pass solar air heater over single pass solar air heater particularly for proposed
desalination system.
(2) The results indicate that the air mass flow rate has a significant influence on the system
productivity. The Productivity of proposed system increases with increasing air mass flow rate up to
an optimum value and then decreases. Up to optimum mass flow rate of 0.03 kg/hr system gives a 400
% increase in productivity with 200 % increase in air mass flow rate. After that with 70% increase in
mass flow rate over the optimized value 40% decrease productivity can be observed in Fig 3.
(3) The results indicate that the performance of the unit was strongly affected by the values of water
temperature of storage tank. With an increase of 5 OC in temperature productivity of system rises
about 0.5 kg/hr. Every 33% rise in storage tank water increases the productivity by 18%. Thus it will
be a better option to use some solar assisted heating arrangement to preheat the water in storage tank
in order to enhance the system productivity.
(4) The results indicate that increasing the cooling water mass flow rate in dehumidifier leads to
appreciable improvement in the yield of proposed system. It is cleared that by 200 % rise in cooling
water mass flow rate, the productivity increases by 175 % (up to 0.03 kg/hr), whereas in later stage if

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cooling water mass flow rate is increased about 200 % once more the rise in productivity is limited to
36 % only.
(5) The results indicate that the system productivity is strongly affected positively by the area of solar
air heater that is responsible for heating the air. About 70-80 % increase in productivity is observed
with 50 % increase in air heater area.
(6) The results indicate that the system productivity is slightly influenced by the wind speed variations.
(7) A Competitive cost of water productivity compared to existing commercial desalination
technologies is obtained by the economical analysis which motivates for commercial
application of solar assisted humidification dehumidification desalination system.

References

[1] Hisham Ettouney, Design and Analysis of Humidification Dehumidification, Desalination

183 (2005) 341352
[2] Bourouni K., Chaibi M.T., Tadrist L.,Water desalination by humidification and
dehumidification of air: state of the art, Desalination, 137 (2001) 167176
[3] Al-Hallaja Said, Parekha Sandeep, Faridb M.M., Selmana J.R, Solar desalination with
humidificationdehumidification cycle: Review of economics, Desalination 195 (2006)
169186
[4] Yousef B. A. A. and Adam N. M., Thermal Performance and Economic Effectiveness for
Solar Air Heaters: Analysis and Expert System Development, Journal of Energy &
Environment, Vol. 5, May 2006
[5] Ghazi Al-Enezi, Ettouney Hisham, Fawzy Nagla, Low temperature humidification
dehumidification desalination process Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006)
470484
[6] Lixi Zhang, Guangping Cheng A New Process of Solar Desalination Based on
Humidification-Dehumidification Cycle Proceedings Proceedings of the International
MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists 2009 Vol II IMECS 2009, March
18 - 20, 2009, Hong Kong.
[7] Hisham T. El-Dessouky Hisham M. Ettouney Fundamentals of salt water Desalination
ELSEVIER 2002

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[8] Duffie A. John, Beckman A. William, Solar Engineering of Thermal Process, Third, John
wiley and sons Inc.
[9] Arora C.P., Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, second edition Tata McGraw-hill
Publishing Company Limited
[10] Tiwari G.N. , Tiwari A.K. ,Solar Distillation Practice for Water Desalintion Systems
[11] Qiblawey Hazim Mohameed, Banat Fawzi Solar thermal desalination technologies
Desalination 220 (2008) 633644
[12] Climatetemp.info.com
[13] Rana Sabouni, Afra Al-Tayyarri, Huda Obaid, Lila Murad, Shymaa Al-Molla, Muftah H.
El-Naas, and Abdulkarim Mohamed, Design and Simulation of a Humidification-
Dehumidification process for Seawater Desalination, The Seventh Annual U.A.E. University
Research Conference.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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Comparative study of Spiral tube flat plate collector for industrial effluent
evaporation Unglazed conditions

Deepak C. Sonawane1,* Ramdas Patthe1 Vinod Tungikar2 G. N. Tiwari3

1, 2
Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Institute of Engineering & Technology, Nanded, India
3
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India
* Corresponding author - Deepak Sonawane. Tel: +91 9422973276, E-mail: sonawanedeepak@sggs.ac.in

Abstract
The minimization of waste water is an objective of an industrial waste water treatment. And
evaporation is an essential operation in the treatment. Various evaporating methods are employed but these
methods are based on the conventional electrical energy and needs many electrical appliances like Pumps,
Agitators and Heaters. But Spiral tube flat plate collector utilizes solar energy to evaporate the waste water. An
experimental study was performed to determine the evaporation characteristics of waste water using unglazed
spiral tube flat plate collector. Results indicated that the effects of mass flow rate, solar insolation, Concentration
of effluent, Wind speed and relative humidity on evaporation rate.

Keywords: Solar Energy, Spiral tube flat plate collector, Effluent, Evaporation.

Nomenclature
ET1 Constant head perforated effluent tank L Latitude
ET2 Calibrated effluent storage tank Psave Partial pressure of the solution
SH Concentrated solar heater Ts Temperature rise of the solution
Ts Solution temperature X Thickness of the plate
TEST Thermal energy storage tank Stefan- Boltzmann constant
P1 Pump for effluent flow s Emissivity of the solution
P2 Pump for Thermic fluid flow Declination
A Area of collector Collector surface inclination
Cp Specific heat of the solution c 1/Tf = expansion coefficient
Ecov Convective heat transfer from solution k Mass transfer coefficient with humidity ratio
Eevap Heat transfer due to evaporation as the driving force
m Mass transfer coefficient with vapour
Econd Heat conducted through the base pressure as the driving force
Erad Radiative heat transfer hc Convective heat transfer coefficient between
Esol Heat transfer to solution the solution and atmospheric air
Gr Grashof number Hd Intensity of diffuse radiation on a horizontal
K Thermal conductivity of air plane
L Characteristic length Hg Intensity of global radiation on a horizontal
P Atmospheric pressure plane
Pr Prandtl number hfg Latent heat of vaporization from the solution
Re Reynold number dm Mass of water evaporated from the solution
RH Relative humidity PA Partial pressure of water vapour in the
S Salinity atmospheric air
Ta Ambient temperature PW Saturation pressure of water vapour in the
W Wind speed Effluent Ts
dt Time interval
g Acceleration due to gravity

Introduction
Industries during the manufacturing process generate huge quantity of high toxic effluents. The
main objective of effluent treatment plants is to process the effluent discharge and bring it below pollution
control norms. There are many types of effluent treatments done in the industry. Evaporative treatment process is
one of major type that is used worldwide. It mainly includes evaporation in multiple effect evaporator, drying of
concentrate, separation of solids by centrifuging / decanting, drying of wet solids to convert into powder. Process

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separates entire effluent into water and dry solids. Water can be recycled in the plant and solids are either reused
as a product or incinerated for generation of heat or disposed as solid effluent depending upon its properties. The
evaporation process is driven by heat transferred from hot steam to a solution at a lower temperature across a
metallic heat transfer surface. The absorbed heat causes vaporization of the solvent, usually water, and an
increase in the solute concentration. The resulting vapour may be vented to the atmosphere, or condensed for
reuse. As the main energy requirement is in the form of heat, typically in the temperature range of 60 80C.
The spiral tube flat plate collector can easily supply heat in this temperature range. Schematic of the typical solar
assisted effluent evaporation system is shown in figure 1.

Theoretical Analysis
The equations governing the energy balance for the solution and the absorber plate of spiral tube
flat plate collector are given below as per fig.1 Energy absorbed by the spiral tube flat plate collector is equal to
the summation of energy lost by conduction (E con), Convection (Econv), radiation (Erad) and energy utilized for
evaporation (Eevp) and energy gained by solution (Esol)
(1)
The intensity of radiation on an inclined surface is obtained [5] by using
2)
Where, is incidence angle on an inclined surface.
is incidence angle on a horizontal surface.
Incidence angles are given by,
(3)
(4)
The Absorptivity ( ) of the collector is taken as 0.9
The energy lost due to radiation is calculated by
(5)
The effective sky temperature
The energy lost due to convection from effluent to atmosphere is calculated by
(6)
The heat transfer coefficient between the effluent and air by considering the buoyancy
effects is evaluated by using the equation given in [5 & 8]
(7)
Here L is taken as the characteristic length of the collector plate
The heat conduction through the base of the collector is evaluated by
(8)
Consider side losses are negligible
The mass of water evaporated from the effluent is calculated from
(9)
The psychrometric ratio as per Dropkins measurement is given by [5]
(10)
The relationship between mass transfer coefficient with humidity ratio and vapour pressure as the driving forces
is [5].
(11)
Average vapour pressure of water in the solution is calculated from [6]
(12)
Energy gained by the solution is evaluated from
(13)
The specific heat of the effluent, is calculated from [6]
(14)
The constants are calculated from [6]
5. (15a)

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(15b)
(15c)
(15d)
The mass of water evaporation with time interval is calculated by
(16)
The calculations are carried out by using an initial value of solution temperature. Consider an
initial solution temperature is equal to atmospheric temperature and the time interval, dt is as 5 seconds.
Equation 1 is used to calculate the increase in solution temperature during the time interval. For calculating
theoretically, the experimentally measured values of atmospheric temperature, wind speed, relative humidity,
and solar insolation of the corresponding day and hour were used. For next time interval, the parameters are
calculated from
(17a)
(17b)

Fig.1. Schematic diagram of spiral tube flat plate collector

Construction
Figure 2 shows the experimental test set up black paint coated copper thin sheet of 2 *1 m is
used as absorber of spiral tube flat plate collector. There are two tanks over head tank and effluent storage tank.
Over head tank is a perforated for constant flow of effluent over flat plate collector. Effluent is pumped from
effluent tank to over head tank and distributes the effluent on the absorber plate. The rotameter at the header pipe
is used to control the flow rate of effluent. The latitude of Nanded, Maharashtra is 19 0 06' 41. The effluent is
collected at the lower side of the flat plate collector which is rest on the effluent storage tank. The effluent is
recalculated from storage tank to over head tank and cycle is repeated.

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Fig.2. Experimental test set up of spiral tube flat plate collector

Experimentation procedure
The mass flow rate of effluent flowing over the spiral tube flat plate collector is controlled by
adjusting the rotameter. The amount of water in the effluent evaporated during one hour is measured by using
calibrated scale on the effluent tank. The amount of water which is evaporated from effluent is added by fresh
water for maintaining the concentration of the effluent. The effluent temperature at the entry and exit are
measured by using RTD and recorded in the data logger. Dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures are measured by
using mercury thermometers for relative humidity calculation. The solar radiation is measured by using
SEAWARD irradiance meter. Concentration of the effluent is measured by using specific gravity meter. The
experimentation was carried out from 9 am. to 17 pm. Daily. The measurement of parameters such as, effluent
temperature, mass flow rate of effluent, wet bulb temperature, dry bulb temperature, atmospheric temperature,
wind speed on every five minutes basis.

Results
There are five major factors affecting the rate of evaporation. These factors are usually
contributing each other to control the overall rate of evaporation and event of vaporization. Relative Humidity is
the amount of water vapor in the air as a percentage of the maximum quantity that the air is capable of holding at
a specific temperature. When the relative humidity is low, only a small portion of the total possible quantity of
water vapor that the air is capable of holding is being held. Under this condition, the air is capable of taking on
additional moisture, and if other conditions are also met, the rate of evaporation will be higher. On the other
hand, when the relative humidity is high, the rate at which water evaporates will be low. The evaporation rate of
effluent is also depends on the concentration of the effluent, as the concentration of effluent increases the

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evaporation rate of effluent decreases. When radiation falls on the surface of effluent the air near the surface of
effluent becomes moist air. And that moist and heavy air retards the evaporation rate. For accelerating the
evaporation rate wind velocity plays an important role. The intensity of the radiation decides rate of evaporation
in spiral tube flat plate collector. More radiation improves the heat transfer to fluid and increase the evaporation

Theoretical Ig = 850 w/m2 Theoretical Ig = 1050 w/m2

1.40 Experimental Ig = 850 w/m2 Experimental Ig = 1050 w/m2

1.20
Evaporation rate lh-1 m-2

1.00

0.80

0.60

0.40

0.20

0.00
9:00 AM 10:00 11:00 12:00 13.00 14.00 15.00 16.00 17.00
AM AM AM PM PM PM PM PM
Time, h

Fig.3. Effect of solar insolation on evaporation rate

Theoretical m = 200 l/hr. Theoretical m = 500 l/hr.

1.20 Experimental m = 200 l/hr. Experimental m = 500 l/hr.

1.00
Evaporation rate lh-1 m-2

0.80

0.60

0.40

0.20

0.00
9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13.00 14.00 15.00 16.00 17.00
AM AM AM AM PM PM PM PM PM
Time, h

Fig.4. Effect of mass flow rate on evaporation rate

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Theoretical RH = 45.6 % Theoretical RH = 36.5 %

1.40 Experimental RH = 45.6 % Experimental RH = 36.5 %

1.20
Evaporation rate lh-1 m-2

1.00

0.80

0.60

0.40

0.20

0.00
9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13.00 14.00 15.00 16.00 17.00
AM AM AM AM PM PM PM PM PM
Time, h

Fig.5. Effect of relative humidity on evaporation rate

Theoretical w = 1.04 m/s Theoretical w = 0.531 m/s

1.40
Experimental w = 1.04 m/s Experimental w = 0.531 m/s

1.20
Evaporation rate lh-1 m-2

1.00

0.80

0.60

0.40

0.20

0.00
9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13.00 14.00 15.00 16.00 17.00
AM AM AM AM PM PM PM PM PM
Time, h

Fig.6. Effect of wind speed on evaporation rate

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Theoretical C = 5% Theoretical C = 20%

Experimental C = 5% Experimental C = 20%
1.20

1.00
Evaporation rate l h-1 m-2

0.80

0.60

0.40

0.20

0.00
9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13.00 14.00 15.00 16.00 17.00
AM AM AM AM PM PM PM PM PM
Time, h

Fig.7. Effect of concentration on evaporation rate

Conclusion
From this experimentation, it can be concluded that the evaporation rate of water in the effluent
increases, due to increasing the solar radiation, wind velocity. The evaporation rate of water in the effluent
increases due to decrease in relative humidity, mass flow rate of effluent and concentration of effluent.

References
1. Mani. A and Srinivasa Murty. S, Energy convers. Management,35, 1061-1071 (1994).
2. Mani. A, Venkatesh. A, and Ramanujan. T. K, Design, development and evaluation of solar augmented
evaporation ponds for treatment of segregated tannery effluents, Final report, United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO), Vienna, Austria (1999).
3. Jacov Bulijan, Sahaaranaman. A, Solomon Sampatkumar, Mani. A and Venkatesh A., Accelerated
evaporation of saline streams in solar pans, XXVI IULTCS, Cape Town, South Africa (2001).
4. Mani. A and Sritar K, Experimental studies on an open flat plate collector for treating tannery effluent,
ISES Solar word congress (2001), Adelaide, south Australia (2001).
5. K. Sritar and A. Mani, Comparison between simulated and experimental performance of an open solar
flat plate collector for treating tannery effluent, Pergamon, Int. Comm. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 30,
505-514, 2003.
6. Mani A and Srinivasa Murthy. S, Solar evaporation ponds for tannery effluent treatment, A technical
report to TALCO Ltd., Chennai, India (1993).
7. Gandhidasan. P, Investigations of heat and mass transfer processes in a solar regenerator, Ph.D. thesis,
IIT-Madras, Chennai (1978).
8. Mikheyev. M, Fundamentals of Heat transfer, Peace publishers, Moscow.
9. Kakabadev. A and Khandurdyev. A, Geliotekhnika, 5, 28-32 (1969)
10. Suhas P. Sukhatme, J.K. Nayak Solar Energy: Principles of thermal collection and storage

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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Ch. ST14
Design and Optimization of Autonomous Solar Photovoltaic (PV)-Biomass
Integrated Renewable Energy System

K. S. Reddy1,*, Aravindhan.S1, Tapas K. Mallick2

1
Heat Transfer and Thermal Power Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India
2
Environment and Sustainability Institute; University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10
9FE, UK
*K.S. Reddy. Tel: 91- 44 - 22574702, Fax: 91- 44 22574652, E-mail: ksreddy@iitm.ac.in

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to design and optimize an off-grid Integrated Renewable Energy System
(IRES) using solar PV and biomass run generator to meet the domestic electrical load. A parallel-type IRES
model is designed to make use of PV/Battery as the primary energy source and biomass system as the secondary
energy source for the given load conditions. In this work, the design and operation of hybrid system have been
optimized by varying the size of the individual components as well as the power dispatch strategy. The sizing of
PV system was done based on the available hourly irradiation around a year along with the average load profile.
Simulations were carried out using MATLAB Simulink to determine the optimal contribution of combined PV-
biomass system and HOMER tool to optimize the performance of overall system. The results obtained from
these simulations suggest a combination of 3.5 kW solar PV and 5.5 kW biomass system with a battery storage
of 3.5 hours of autonomy. It was also found that the system operates efficiently when the modified biomass run
generator automatically starts at 30% of battery rated capacity.
Keywords: Hybrid energy systems, Photovoltaic, Electric generator, Biomass, Optimization, Performance
analysis.

Nomenclature
D Depth of discharge................................... %
d the day of the year ................................. NA
n Days of autonomy .................................. NA
Sinc Solar radiation perpendicular to the sun
............................................................ W/m2
Smod Solar radiation incident on the module
............................................................ W/m2
t Duration of operationhours
CVB Biomass calorific value ....................MJ/kg
Pb Battery bank capacity .......................... kWh
Pr Power required ........................................ W
Vb Battery Voltage ......................................... V
b Battery bank efficiency ........................... %
B Conversion efficiency of biomass ............ %
Latitude .......................................... degrees

1. Introduction
Integrated Renewable Energy Systems (IRES) focuses on incorporating various renewable
energy technologies according to the electric load demand. The research on effective
integration of energy systems has been a hot topic among the scientific community for the
past decade. Various approaches has been investigated to solve the technical, economic and
institutional barriers for using renewable and distributed systems.
The detailed study by Taele et al. [1] indicated that there is an increased interest in installing
small scale renewable generation systems to electrify the communities in order to drive out
frequent breakdowns, unsafe electrical and fuel storage conditions and high power losses. A
detailed research by J.G. Castellanos et al [2] considered various combination of PV,
anaerobic digester (AD) and combined heat and power unit using micro-grid modelling
simulations to power a small village in West Bengal, India and found out that IRES
containing PV, AD and a micro turbine had a lower capital and electricity cost over the life of
the project. The design and evaluation of PV-hybrid systems by M. Muselli et al. [3] and
M.R. Borges Neto et al. [4] helps to analyse the optimal contribution of PV and electric
generator to serve the demand and the complete system configuration.

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In this study, a parallel-type IRES system comprising of solar PV and biogas run electric
generator is designed to meet the domestic electric demand of a research laboratory in IIT
Madras. This paper is further organized as follows. Section 2 deals with the design of
important components of this integrated system. Section 3 explains the electric load profile,
solar resource, methodology and the control strategy implemented in this system whereas
section 4 discusses the performance of system with respect to the load and individual system
contributions for load management.

2. Design of stand-alone renewable energy system

The research laboratory considered for this study is located in Indian Institute of Technology-
Madras, India (12.9908 N, 80.2357 E). The system is designed and tested to power a
research laboratory in IIT Madras, India with an overall electrical requirement of 9.56
MWh/year. As discussed, the IRES system consists of a PV array, a battery bank, a biomass-
generator, a DC/AC converter and a control panel. Design of an energy system depends upon
three major factors, namely: capital cost (total investment), electricity cost (cost per kWh) and
payback duration. The parameters related to this research have been derived from various
studies and discussed in detail below.

2.1. System configuration

The system must be self-sufficient, i.e. the load must be totally met by the system at all times.
Thus there are infinite number of possible system configurations. Out of which, an IRES
model is designed with lower capital cost, operating cost and cost of electricity produced is
selected for the study. The Probabilistic approach of simulations of system characteristics are
carried out for its sizing based on the solar radiation data and assumed daily load profiles.
Firstly, for a realistic modelling of IRES, certain physical and technical constraints has been
used. Then the total energy cost is minimized to find out the optimal solution. The complete
schematics of designed IRES is depicted in fig. 1.

Fig.1 Schematics of integrating biomass- PV hybrid renewable energy system

2.2. Maximum solar radiation available on the panel surface

The maximum incident radiation on the solar panel for the given location is found out using
the following expression [5]

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Smodule = Sincident sin([90 + ] + ) (1)

Where declination angle is given by,
= 23.45 * sin [360 / 365 * (284 + d)] (2)
The yearly solar resource for this particular location is calculated and compared with the
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) solar radiation database [6]. The month wise solar
radiation profile on the tilted panel surface is calculated and presented in Fig. 2.

Fig.2 Incident radiation profile for location considered (IIT Madras)

2.3. Requirement and Selection of PV panels

The load profile observed in the laboratory is shown in Fig. 3. The electric loads considered
for this study are computers, fans, lights and other small wattage electronic devices whose
overall electrical load is equivalent to 9.56 MWh/year. The error bars in the profile denote a
20% possible variation which is the expected maximum daily variation during each hourly
period. For simulation point of view, 3.5 kW (250W PV panel of 14 no.s) is used. The
complete specification of PV panel is discussed in table 1.

Fig.3 Load profile of the location

Table 1. Specification of PV module (From [7])

Parameters Spec Parameters Spec
Cell Configurations (Nos.) 60 Maximum System Voltage (DC) 1000
Pmax (W) (Tolerance: +3%) 250 Series Fuse Rating (A) 15
Voc (V) (Tolerance 3%) 37.00 Nominal Operating Cell Temp. (C) 44.6

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Isc (A) (Tolerance 3%) 8.55 Temp. Coefficient of Pmax (%/C) -0.45
Vmax (V) (Tolerance 3%) 30.95 Temp. Coefficient of Voc (%/C) -0.36
Imax (A) (Tolerance 3%) 8.08 Temp. Coefficient of Isc (%/C) 0.043
Module Efficiency (%) 15.4

2.4. Battery Bank Capacity

Battery bank capacity is selected based on the total power needed for the required duration in
a day and the battery efficiency. Battery bank will act as a secondary or backup power source
for the lab during cloudy or rainy days. The cost of battery has two components: capital cost
and replacement cost. The capital cost depends on the battery size, while the replacement cost
depends on the system dispatch strategy. Thus choosing the capacity of battery bank is a
critical part in designing a solar powered system.
Battery bank capacity is selected using the following relation
power required x operating duration P t
Pb = = r V Dn (3)
battery efficiency x battery voltage x maximum DOD x days of autonomy b
The capacity of battery is found out to be 425 Ah considering Pr as 3 kW, t as 8 hours per
day. The parameters associated with battery such as battery efficiency, DOD are considered as
per available battery specification. The lead acid batteries are largely used for solar
application in India because of their low cost and robust usage. Thus for economic point of
view, the authors wish to consider lead acid batteries for this analysis.

2.5. Generator
The biomass run generator is used as a secondary power source in this IRES system. The
generator is selected to cover the load peaks and its size varies with respect to size of PV and
battery systems. The mathematical model for biogas based power generation system is
represented as follows [8]
Total biogas genererated X CVBG X BG
PBG = n
(4)
As per the calculations, the generator of specification represented in table 2 is considered for
the study. 5 kW LPG run generator is selected as it would match the power requirement when
operated with biomass. The power requirement is analyzed as per the experiments conducted
by Reddy et al. [9] where the power deterioration of 32% on raw biogas is observed in
comparison to LPG as fuel in an electric generator.

Table 2. Test generator specification (from [10])

Parameter Specification
Model ELEMAX SH5300EX Generator
Engine Type 4 stroke, side valve, single cylinder
Spark Ignition LPG engine
Rated Power 6.3 kW @ 3600 rpm
Cooling system Forced Air Cooling
Ignition system Transistorized Coil Ignition (TCI)
Generator AC output 5.3 kVA @ 220V, 60Hz

3. Methodology
3.1. Control strategy
The dispatch strategy for an IRES is a control algorithm for the interaction among various
system components. The system dispatch controller present in control panel used to determine
the starting or stopping the bio-gen, battery charging operation, and cutting-in or cutting-out
the renewable energy sources. These operations are usually done on the bases of certain

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percentage of the system load or the battery state of charge (SOC). Determining the best value
of these set points is the key to achieve an optimum operation. The dispatch strategy set
points for a parallel type IRES are summarized in Table 3.

Table 3. Dispatch strategy of designed IRES

Controlled components Dispatch parameters of individual component
Starting/stopping of (1) At specific battery level that is determined by the state
bio-gen of charge (SOC) or battery terminal voltage.
(2) At specific renewable output power as a percentage of
the peak power of the PV system.
(3) At specific power transferred to battery. (for stopping)
Full load operation of (1) Bio-gen meeting the entire load and charging the
bio-gen battery (if required) for supplying the transient load
Operation of Inverter (1) To meet the transient load.
(2) To meet all or part of the load.
Starting/Stopping of (1) At specific battery level during the running of the bio-
Battery charger gen.
(2) At specific bio-gen operating power level.
(3) At specific PV output power.

3.2. Modes of Operation

Based on a typical load profile, IRES systems involved in this study work in three modes i.e.
PV, battery, bio-gen. Summary of different modes of energy storage systems is given in Table
4.

Table 4. Modes of operation of designed IRES

Modes of
Block diagram and summary of operation
Operation

I-PV Solar Inverter Control unit LOAD

PV

Battery Bio-Gen
In this mode, the PV system powers the demand and if the power
generation is 40% more than the demand, the battery also charged

II-Battery Solar Inverter Control unit LOAD

PV

Battery Bio-Gen

This is an intermediate mode, where the battery power satisfies the

demand when power from PV is not available.

III-Bio-Gen Solar Inverter Control unit LOAD

PV

Battery Bio-Gen

In this mode, the Bio-gen system powers the demand, if the power

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generation is 40% more than demand, then battery gets charged

4. Results and discussions

The effectiveness of optimization strategy in this system is demonstrated by finding the
contribution of individual systems involved in this study, namely PV, battery and biomass
system. The maximum battery usage pattern is adopted in this algorithm so as to meet the
electric load demand. Simulations are carried out using MATLAB Simulink to determine the
optimal contribution of combined PV-biomass system and HOMER tool to optimize the
performance of overall system. The results obtained from these simulations suggest a
combination of 3.5 kW solar PV and 5.5 kW biomass system with a battery storage of 3.5
hours of autonomy. A sensitivity analysis has been performed for the effectiveness of the
optimization under load demand. The cost of electricity through this simulation is found out
to be INR 16.56 per kWh. The month wise contribution of individual systems involved in the
study is depicted in fig.4. Thus through the simulations, it is found out that renewable part
(PV & battery together) contributes about 60% of power generated in this system in which the
direct PV contribution is about 21%.

Fig. 4 Percentage contribution of individual systems in designed IRES

In a real time scenario, the impact of monsoon and winds during November-December can
deviate the results by involving generator more into use. The month wise usage pattern of
individual systems is also important to analyze so as to find out its potential to satisfy peak
loads when required. Fig. 5 describes the month wise usage pattern of PV system where as
Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 represents the month wise usage pattern of battery and biomass generator
system respectively. From these illustrations, it can be clearly seen that the proposed system
can satisfy the electric load.

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Fig. 5 PV output generation pattern

Fig. 6 Usage pattern of batteries with respect to its SOC

Fig. 7 Usage pattern of biomass run generator

5. Conclusions
Thus the feasibility of an Integrated Renewable Energy System (IRES) has been analyzed to
power a research laboratory. The realistic model has been created using MATLAB and results
are reviewed using HOMER tool. The solar irradiance and the electric load profile for this
location has been considered as the input for this analysis and the results in form of individual
contribution of the systems involved are discussed in order to provide the peak loads. The
results shows that the designed IRES yields an electricity cost of INR 16.56 per kWh with a
capital cost of INR 1,81,990/-. The renewable energy contribution (PV and battery together)
is found out to be 60% in which PV directly contributes about 21%. Thus the proposed
system is found out to be cost efficient and environment friendly technique to tackle the
power crisis. It also motivates the scientific community to improve the efficacy of these
systems.

Acknowledgement
The financial support provided by the Department of Science and Technology (DST),
Government of India through the research project No. DST/SEED/INDO-UK/002/2011 is
duly acknowledged.

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References

[1] Taele, B. M., Mokhutoane, L., Hapazari, I., Tlali, S. B., & Senatla, M. (2012). Grid
electrification challenges, photovoltaic electrification progress and energy sustainability
in Lesotho. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(1), 973980.
[2] Castellanos, J. G., Walker, M., Poggio, D., Pourkashanian, M., & Nimmo, W. (2015).
Modelling an off-grid integrated renewable energy system for rural electri fi cation in
India using photovoltaics and anaerobic digestion Cost of Electricity Loss of Load
Probability. Renewable Energy, 74, 390398.
[3] Muselli, M., Notton, G., & Louche, A. (1999). Design of hybrid-photovoltaic power
generator, with optimization of energy management. Solar Energy, 65(3), 143157.
[4] Neto, M. R. B. (2010). Biogas / photovoltaic hybrid power system for decentralized
energy supply of rural areas. Energy Policy, 38, 44974506.
[5] Sukhatme, S. P, Solar energy: principles of thermal collection and storage, Tata McGraw-
Hill, 2nd Edition, 1996, pp. 307 314.
[6] IMD Weather Panel-Radiation Data, Indian Meteorological Department, Pune.
<http://www.imdaws.com/viewradiationdata.aspx>
[7] Properties of Bosch Solar Module c-Si M 60, Bosch Solar Energy Corporation,
<http://de.krannichsolar.com/fileadmin/content/data_sheets/solar_modules/Bosch_c_Si_
M60_255-270_EU44117-EU44123_EN.pdf>
[8] Chauhan, A., & Saini, R. P. (2014). A review on Integrated Renewable Energy System
based power generation for stand-alone applications: Configurations, storage options,
sizing methodologies and control. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 38, 99
120.
[9] Reddy, K. S., Aravindhan, S., & Mallick, T. K. (2016). Investigation of performance and
emission characteristics of a biogas fuelled electric generator integrated with solar
concentrated photovoltaic system. Renewable Energy, 92, 233243.
[10] Test generator specification: Sawafuji Electric Co., Ltd, ELEMAX Generator
SH5300EX: Owners Manual

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Ch. ST15
Optical performance of Linear Fresnel Reflector with second-stage
Compound Parabolic Concentrator

K. S. Reddy1,*, G. S. Chaitanya Prasad1, T. Sundararajan1

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
* Corresponding author. Tel: +91 44 2257 4702, E-mail: ksreddy@iitm.ac.in

Abstract: Optical analysis plays a major role in evaluating the performance of solar concentrating collectors. A
solar Linear Fresnel Reflector (LFR) that employs an evacuated receiver tube with a mirror field area of 154 m 2,
installed in Vallipuram, India, has been considered for the present analysis. In this paper, the optical behavior of
LFR system in conjunction with a compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) was investigated to optimize the system
performance. The ray tracing technique has been employed to predict the circumferential flux variation over the
absorber. The flux distribution was evaluated as a function of the width of secondary concentrator and the position
of aim line of the primary mirrors. The optimal configurations of LFR derived in this work exhibits an optical
efficiency over 75% with CPC-type secondary concentrator at normal incidence. A significant improvement in the
energy intercepted by the lower and upper halves of absorber tube viz. a more uniform flux distribution was
observed with slight deviation of the aim line of each primary mirror from the axial line of receiver tube. Moreover,
the effect of change in the angle of incidence and tracking error on the flux distribution has been studied.

Keywords: Linear Fresnel Reflector, Compound Parabolic Concentrator, Ray Tracing, Flux Distribution

Nomenclature
Apm total area of primary mirrors ................ m2
dm,i distance of rotational axis of ith mirror
from the center plane of mirror field ...... m
Ea absorbed power ...................................... W
fm,i focal length of ith mirror ......................... m
haim height of aim line of primary mirrors ..... m
Rm,i radius of curvature of ith mirror .............. m
a solar altitude angle .............................. deg
opt optical efficiency .................................... %
i angle of incidence ................................ deg
e tracking error ....................................... deg
m,i tilt angle of ith mirror ........................... deg

1. Introduction
Solar linear Fresnel concentrating systems have recently seen substantial improvement among
the most promising CSP technologies due to their low cost and constructive simplicity.
Parabolic trough collector may be considered as a well proven technology compared to Linear
Fresnel Reflector but LFR seems to have significant potential in reducing the levelized cost of
energy [1] along with numerous degrees of freedom in designing the system. The linear Fresnel
collector field primarily consists of slightly curved mirror strips and a stationary receiver
covered with a secondary concentrator mounted on a support structure. LFR utilize a single axis
tracking system to concentrate the incident solar radiation onto a small aperture receiver.
Though LFR has low efficiency compared to other concentrating collectors, the use of a
stationary receiver makes it a cost-effective solution for power generation. The performance of
a Fresnel reflector is largely dependent on (a) the geometrical and optical properties of primary
mirrors (b) the shape of absorber (c) the profile of secondary concentrator and (d) the working
fluid.

Many research organizations have installed solar collector fields using LFR technology across
the globe [25]. The receiver cavities mounted in the focal zone of these mirror fields comprise
a secondary concentrator and an absorber tube covered with evacuated glass envelope. On the
other hand, a few researchers have also preferred trapezoidal cavity with multiple number of
small diameter tubes [6,7]. The second-stage concentrator helps in enlarging the target for the

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primary mirrors as well as act as an insulating cover for the absorber, thereby reducing the heat
loss.

Primary mirrors are tilted about their axial plane to direct the incident solar radiation towards
the aperture of secondary concentrator. Most of this concentrated radiation is re-reflected by
the secondary concentrator and a high fraction of this radiation is intercepted by the absorber.
The radiation concentrated on the absorber surface from each primary mirror overlaps, resulting
in high concentration at different locations on the circumference. The amount of energy
concentrated on the upper half of absorber tube is lower than that concentrated on the lower
half in Fresnel collectors due to non-uniform circumferential solar flux distribution. This non-
uniform flux distribution leads to a large circumferential temperature difference, and thence
significant deflection of the tube structure. The resulting deviation in absorber tube axis also
leads to a lower system efficiency. In extreme circumstances, the outer evacuated glass
envelope can break when the deformed tube touches it, resulting in total loss of vacuum.

The distribution of incoming radiation at the receiver aperture can be optimized by varying the
curvature of primary mirrors as well as the secondary concentrator profile. At this point, optical
modelling plays a vital role in computing the solar flux distribution over the absorber and also
the efficiency of LFR system. Over the past few decades, a few researchers have developed ray
tracing codes to calculate the circumferential flux distribution while others have utilized
commercial optical tools like SolTrace, OptiCAD, Tonatiuh etc., to understand the optical
behavior of the system [8]. Different shapes of secondary concentrators such as trapezoidal, V
shaped, triangular, arc shaped, parabolic, compound parabolic etc., have been investigated in
the past.

Feuermann and Gordon [9] have investigated three designs of CPC-type concentrator and
concluded from their study that the gap between the reflector involute and the glass tube would
incur additional optical losses of about 10%. They have also estimated an overall receiver
optical efficiency of 67% while the second-stage CPC optical efficiency as 83%. Grena and
Tarquini [10] succeeded in increasing the solar flux on the upper half to a value of about 37%
by replacing the traditional secondary concentrator with an open parabolic wing-like structure.
Wang et al. introduced a homogenizing reflector in the focal region of trough collector and
varied its shape and position to achieve more uniform flux distribution. Qiu et al. [11]
investigated the optical performance of LFR that employs a CPC and concluded that uniformity
of flux distribution over the absorber can be bettered by selecting a proper slope error, but with
a little sacrifice in the optical efficiency.

In this work, the energy intercepted by the absorber has been investigated for different aperture
widths of the second-stage compound parabolic concentrator and position of the aim line of
primary mirrors. Different collector configurations have been studied to realize the uniform
distribution of heat flux between the upper and lower halves of the absorber tube. Also, the
effect of optical errors in primary mirrors as well as the change in angle of incidence on the
efficiency of LFR system has been presented. The ray tracing technique utilized by many
authors in the past has been used in this work for the above studies.

2. LFR system configuration

The pictorial view of 50 kWth DSG plant installed by our group using linear Fresnel technology
at Vallipuram, India (1234'19.0"N, 7959'23.4"E) is shown in Fig. 1. The solar collector field
comprises 12 rows of nearly flat primary mirrors with a receiver fixed at 7.9 m above the axial
plane of mirror arrays. The width of all mirror elements is 1.07 m and their axes are separated

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by 1.5 m. The parabolic secondary concentrator along with a standard evacuated receiver tube
is placed in the focal zone of Fresnel collector at 7.8 m above the axial plane of primary mirrors.
The existing secondary concentrator in the Vallipuram solar collector field is a dual-parabolic
type concentrator, which was a result of rotating two parabolas of specific focal length towards
their center plane to arrive at 430 mm aperture width. The lower half of absorber tube receives
direct radiation from primary mirrors while the upper half receives the radiation intercepted and
reflected by secondary concentrator.

Fig. 1. LFR based DSG plant installed in Vallipuram, India (1234'19.0"N, 7959'23.4"E)

The collector field experienced large deflection in the absorber tube resulting in the failure of
evacuated glass tube. An analysis of this failure indicated the primary problem to be a highly
non-uniform flux distribution over the circumference of the absorber tube. The presence of
steam, being a relatively poor conductor of heat, had also led to a significant increase in the
circumferential temperature gradient. A small diameter tube with helical copper coil fin was
fitted into the absorber tube to eliminate this problem. Although this procedure reduced the
failure rate of the evacuated tube, the cost involved with it is quite high. So, this prompted us
to optimize the primary and secondary mirror configurations for reducing these failures.

3. Optical modeling of LFR system

A 3-D geometrical model of the mirror field is developed based on the collector parameters
such as width and curvature of each primary mirror, size and position of absorber, profile of
secondary concentrator and its orientation. A ray tracing tool, ASAP [12], has been used to
compute the circumferential flux distribution over absorber surface as well as to find out the
effect of tracking error and change in angle of incidence. The radius of curvature (Rm,i) and the
tilt angle (m,i) of each primary mirror are calculated w.r.t the chosen aim line of primary
mirrors using basic trigonometry as shown below:

,
, = 2
= 2
+ , (1)
2

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, (2)
, =
2

where fm,i is the focal length of ith mirror, a is solar altitude angle, haim is the height of aim line
of primary mirrors and dm,i is the distance of rotational axis of ith mirror from the center plane
of the collector.

The paths of about four million rays have been traced on the geometrical model of the collector.
The angular distribution of solar radiation, due to the Sun shape, was also considered while
conducting ray trace simulations. Optical properties such as the mirror reflectivity, the glass
transmissivity and the receiver surface absorbance considered for the current system are 0.94,
0.96 and 0.94 respectively. The assumptions made for this optical study are as follows:
a) Gaps between primary mirror strips have been neglected
b) An average DNI of 600 W/m2 has been assumed for this study
c) The absorber is exactly placed in the north-south direction
d) All mirror arrays are mechanically coupled to rotate them with single motor

A high concentration of radiation on the absorber occurs at different circumferential locations

due to an overlapping of the concentrated radiation from the individual primary mirrors. In
order to minimize this circumferential variation of flux, a simple iterative procedure is repeated
by varying the height of aim line of primary mirrors with different aperture widths of compound
parabolic concentrator. CPC considered in this analysis was first proposed and formulated by
Winston and Hinterberger [13] as shown in Fig. 2.

(a) (b)
Fig. 2. Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC)

The optical efficiency (opt) of LFR system is defined as the ratio of the energy intercepted by
absorber (Ea) to that of the maximum possible amount of energy that can be intercepted by all
the primary mirrors.

(%) = . 100 (3)
.

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4. Results and Discussion

The ray tracing simulations help in predicting the distribution of concentrated radiation on the
absorber surface. Among the input collector parameters, the size of secondary concentrator and
the height of aim line of primary mirrors can be iteratively varied to find an optimal
configuration. Table 1 shows the variation in performance parameters for two different aperture
widths of CPC at normal incidence. The optical efficiency of system has been calculated as
76.1% with 400 mm wide CPC, while it is 75% with that of 350 mm wide concentrator. It was
observed that the Coefficient of Variation1 (CVfd) of flux distribution is slightly lower with 400
mm CPC compared to the other. Though the simulations were conducted with other aperture
widths, the same hasnt been discussed here as they exhibited a very low performance. Since
the CPC with 400 mm aperture width has relatively shown a better performance, it has been
considered for further analysis.

Table 1. Performance parameters for different aperture widths of CPC.

Aperture Width (mm) Optical Efficiency (%) Mean (kW/m2) Coef. Of Variation
350 75.02 28.0 0.74
400 76.15 28.6 0.65

Fig. 3. Local solar flux (LSF) over the absorber with different aim lines of primary mirrors

Figure 3 shows the variation in local solar flux (LSF) over the absorber tube with a change in
the height of aim line of all primary mirrors at normal incidence. Here, 0 represents the lower
most position on the absorber tube while 180 represents the upper most position. It can be seen
that most of the intercepted radiation is absorbed on the lower half of the tube in the case of
primary mirrors aiming at the axis of absorber i.e. when haim is equal to 7.9 m. But, this kind of
concentrated flux distribution will probably lead to a deflection in the absorber tube. It was also
observed from Fig. 3 that the system exhibited a relatively better flux distribution when the
primary mirrors are targeted to aim at the center line of aperture of CPC i.e. haim is equal to 7.8
m. Due to the escape of large fraction of incoming radiation, a lower performance was noted
with the other cases as shown in Fig. 3.

1
Coefficient of Variation is the ratio of standard deviation to that of the mean value of concentrated flux
distribution over the absorber surface. Lower value of coefficient of variation denotes a more uniform flux
distribution.

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4.1. Effect of angle of incidence and tracking error

The aperture area of primary mirrors exposed to incoming radiation is similar on both the halves
of the mirror field at solar noon, but it differs with a change in angle of incidence due to the
shading and blocking phenomenon. Therefore, it is necessary to study the flux variation for
different angles of incidence (i). The variation of circumferential flux distribution with angle
of incidence is shown in Fig. 4. As a result of increase in angle of incidence, the highly-
concentrated radiation was seen shifting towards one side of the absorber. A gradual decrease
in optical efficiency was observed with i > 45 as shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 4. Local solar flux with different angles of incidence

At normal incidence, the effect of tracking error (e) on the optical efficiency of the collector
has been investigated. In this study, coherent type of error, which mean that all mirrors have a
same tracking error, has been considered and simulated. Fig. 6 shows the effect of tracking error
on optical efficiency. Initially, a small rise in opt was observed by introducing the tracking
error, while a rapid decrease in the efficiency was seen after a certain limit of e. This trend is
due to the change in distribution of flux at the aperture of secondary concentrator.

Fig. 5. Effect of angle of incidence on optical Fig. 6. Effect of tracking error on optical
efficiency efficiency

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Fig. 7. Local concentration ratio over the absorber after modifying the tilt angles

As we know from the above discussion that a slight deviation in the tilt angles of primary mirror
rows results in different flux distribution, an attempt has been made to improve the flux
uniformity by rearranging the tilt angles. After locating the local peaks of flux at different
circumferential locations on the absorber, a simple iterative procedure was followed to realize
a better uniformity by increasing or decreasing the tilt of individual primary mirrors. This mean
that each individual primary mirror may have a different aim line. The Local concentration ratio
(LCR), defined as the ratio of concentrated flux at a local position on absorber surface to that
of DNI, has been computed as shown in Fig. 7 with an optical efficiency of 74.9%. An average
concentration ratio of 46 has been noted with the present flux distribution. Also, the fraction of
total energy intercepted by the upper half of absorber was improved to 44.7% while the
remaining 55.3% was absorbed by the lower half.

5. Conclusions
The optical behavior of linear Fresnel reflector with variation in different collector
parameters was studied in this work. The circumferential flux distribution over the absorber
with the primary mirrors having different aim lines was compared to understand the benefits
over the primary mirrors configured to target a single aim line. The numerical results shown
that the circumferential variation of flux distribution was quite less after introducing some
deviation in tilt angles of primary mirrors. It can be concluded that the optical model presented
in this work has a significant potential to improve the uniformity of flux distribution over the
absorber. When a CPC is used, the coefficient of variation is reduced from 0.65 to 0.17 using
the present approach with an expense of slight decrease in the optical efficiency of the collector.
Optimizing the flux distribution for normal incidence or one particular time does not necessarily
lead to optimal operating conditions throughout the day. These improvements are expected to
render linear Fresnel based collector as an attractive choice for direct steam generation solar
thermal plants.
Acknowledgments
The financial support of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India
is gratefully acknowledged.

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References
[1] A. Hberle, C. Zahler, H. Lerchenmueller, M. Mertins, C. Wittwer, F. Trieb, J. Dersch,
The Solarmundo line focussing Fresnel collector. Optical and thermal performance and
cost calculations, Proc. SolarPACES, 2002, pp. 111.
[2] G. Barale, A. Heimsath, P. Nitz, A. Toro, Optical design of a linear Fresnel collector for
Sicily, SolarPaces Conf., 2010, pp. 17.
[3] A Hberle, C. Zahler, J. De Lalaing, J. Ven, M. Sureda, W. Graf, H. Lerchenmller, V.
Wittwer, The Solarmundo Project - Advanced Technology for Solar Thermal Power
Generation, ISES Solar World Congress, 2001, pp. 961970.
[4] H. Beltagy, D. Semmar, C. Lehaut, N. Said, Theoretical and experimental performance
analysis of a Fresnel type solar concentrator, Renewable Energy. 101, 2017, pp. 782793.
[5] G. Zhu, T. Wendelin, M.J. Wagner, C. Kutscher, History, current state, and future of linear
Fresnel concentrating solar collectors, Solar Energy, 103, 2014, pp. 639652.
[6] M.A. Moghimi, K.J. Craig, J.P. Meyer, Optimization of a trapezoidal cavity absorber for
the Linear Fresnel Reflector, Solar Energy, 119, 2015, pp. 343361.
[7] Y. Qiu, Y.-L. He, M. Wu, Z.-J. Zheng, A comprehensive model for optical and thermal
characterization of a linear Fresnel solar reflector with a trapezoidal cavity receiver,
Renewable Energy, 97, 2016, pp. 129144.
[8] C.K. Ho, Software and Codes for Analysis of Concentrating Solar Power Technologies,
Sandia Natl. Lab. Report, SAND2008-8053, 2008, pp. 135.
[9] D. Feuermann, J.M. Gordon, Analysis of a Two-Stage Linear Fresnel Reflector Solar
Concentrator, J. Solar Energy Eng., 113, 1991, pp. 272279.
[10] R. Grena, P. Tarquini, Solar linear Fresnel collector using molten nitrates as heat transfer
fluid, Energy, 36, 2011, pp. 10481056.
[11] Y. Qiu, Y.-L. He, Z.-D. Cheng, K. Wang, Study on optical and thermal performance of a
linear Fresnel solar reflector using molten salt as HTF with MCRT and FVM methods,
Applied Energy, 146, 2015, pp. 162173.
[12] Breault Research Organization, <http://www.breault.com/software/asap-features>
[13] R. Winston, H. Hinterberger, Principles of cylindrical concentrators for solar energy, Solar
Energy, 17, 1975, pp. 255258.

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Ch. ST16

Effect of PV area on energy and exergy of single slope solar still

incorporated with N identical flat plate collectors
V K Dwivedi*
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Galgotias College of Engineering and
Technology, Greater Noida, U.P., India
* Corresponding author. Tel: +91, Fax: +91, E-mail: vkdwivedi94@gmail.com

Abstract: This paper deals with the effect of area of photovoltaic module on single slope solar still incorporated
with N identical flat plate collectors (FPC). The analysis has been done for a typical day in the month of June for
the climatic condition of New Delhi. Five cases namely (a) single slope solar still integrated with N identical
FPC, (b) single slope solar still integrated with N identical partially covered (25 %) PVT-FPC, (c) single slope
solar still integrated with N identical partially covered (50%) PVT-FPC, (d) single slope solar still integrated
with N identical partially covered (75%) PVT-FPC and (e) single slope solar still integrated with N identical
fully covered (100%) PVT-FPC have been considered. Energy and exergy for these five cases have been
computed at 0.14 m water depth, optimum number of collectors and mass flow rate for the same basin area under
similar climatic condition. The proposed systems have been compared on the basis of energy and exergy.

Keywords: Energy, exergy, PVT, solar still

Nomenclature
!! area of basin ..........................................m2
Ac area of flat plate collector under
glazing ....................................................m2
!! area of glass cover ..................................m2
Am area of PVT .............................................m2
!! specific heat of fluid ......................... J/kg-K
!! specific heat of water........................ J/kg-K
!! hourly exergy ........................................ W
!" daily density............................................. W
!!! hourly electrica exergy/energy ................ W
FPC flat plate collector ....................................
F collector efficiency factor ........................
!!" hourly overall exergy .............................. W
!!" daily overall exergy gain ......................... W
heat transfer coefficient for space
hi
between the glazing and absorption
plate .............................................. W/m2-K
!! heat transfer coefficient from bottom of
PVT to ambient W/m2-K
! heat transfer coefficient from top of
PVT to ambient W/m2-K
!" heat transfer coefficient from
blackened plate to fluid W/m2-K
!" heat transfer coefficient from basin
liner to water.. .W/m2-K
!" heat transfer coefficient from basin
liner to ambient....W/m2-K
!"# radiative heat transfer coefficient from
water to inner surface of glass cover
....W/m2-K
!"# convective heat transfer coefficient
from ...... water to inner surface of glass
2
cover ...W/m -K
!"# evaporative heat transfer coefficient
from ...... water to inner surface of glass
2
cover......W/m -K
!! total heat transfer coefficient between
2
water surface and glass cover.. W/m -K
I(t) radiation falling on collector.W/m2
Is(t) solar intensity falling glass cover of
solar stillW/m2
Kg thermal conductivity of glass..W/m-K
Ki thermal conductivity of insulation
. W/m-K
Kp thermal conductivity of absorption
plate .................................................................. W/m-K
L latent heat...J/Kg
Li thickness of insulationm
Lg thickness of glass cover ................................. m
Lm length of PVT...m

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Lp thickness of absorption plate....m Tfi fluid temperature at collector inlet oC

ln natural logarithm Tf temperature of fluid in collector C
o

Mw mass of water in basin..kg T

!! mass flow rate of fluid...kg/s
!!" hourly production of potable
water.kg/h
N number of collectors
PVT photovoltaic thermal
foN outlet water temperature at the end of
Nth PVT FPC. oC
o
Ts temperature of sun C
o
Tw temperature of water in basin. C
o
Tw0 water temperature at t=0. C
T o
CN average solar cell temperature... C

PF1 penalty factor due to the glass covers

of module
PF2 penalty factor due to plate below the
module
PF3 penalty factor due to the absorption
plate for the glazed portion
PFc penalty factor due to the absorption
plate for the glazed portion
Pu power utilized by pump.kWh
!!" the rate of useful heat from N identical
partially (25%) covered PVT-FPC
connected in series.kWh
o
Ta ambient temperature.. C
o
Tc solar cell temperature.. C
o
Tp absorption plate temperature. C
T
gi glass temperature at inner surface of
glass cover..oC
t timeh
Utca overall heat transfer coefficient from cell
to ambient....W/m2-K
Utpa overall heat transfer coefficient from
ambient....W/m2-K
ULm overall heat transfer coefficient from
module to ambient. W/m2-K
ULc overall heat transfer coefficient from gazing
to ambient .................W/m2-K
Utcp overall heat transfer coefficient from cell
to plate .W/m2-K
Ub overall heat transfer coefficient at the
bottom of solar stillW/m2-K
W width of collector..m

Greek letters
!! absorptivity of the solar cell !! efficiency at standard test condition
! packing factor of the module !! transmittivity of the glass (fraction)
!! temperature coefficient of !" !"" product of effective absorptivity and
efficiency.K-1 transmittivity
!! solar cell efficiency emissivity
!! PV module efficiency ! ! absorptivity
!!" temperature dependent electrical
efficiency of solar cells of a number (N) of
PVT-FPC

Subscript
! glass !"" effective
! water ex exergy
!" incoming max maximum
!"# outgoing

1. Introduction
The provision of making potable water available to the society based on the utilization of
solar energy with the help of solar distillation system can be one of the best alternatives of
mitigating the contemporary potable water crisis in remote areas where sunlight is in
abundance; however, electrical energy has not reached so far. Other desalination methods

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require electrical power for its working. Many solar distillation systems have been reported by
various researchers in the past. They can be broadly classified as passive and active solar
distillation systems. The passive system suffers with low production of potable water which
can be overcome by operating solar still in active mode under optimized conditions which can
be recommended for commercial scale production. Active solar distillation system means
passive solar distillation system together with collectors which acts as external source of
thermal energy to basin resulting in higher temperature of water in basin and hence higher
yield. Such systems have been summarized as follows.

Rai and Tiwari (1983) investigated active solar still in forced mode theoretically for the first
time and concluded that the daily yield of active solar still was higher by 24 % than
conventional solar still. In unison, Zaki et al. (1983) studied the active solar still under natural
circulation mode for the first time and concluded that the maximum enhancement in distillate
output was 33 % higher in comparison to conventional solar still. Solar still can be integrated
with a number of series connected FPC to form a closed loop so that hot water can be
discharged either directly or indirectly by providing heat exchanger in the basin. Single slope
solar still (SS) included with inverted absorber asymmetric line-axis CPC collector was
investigated by Yadav and Yadav (2004) and they concluded that the production of potable
water was improved as compared to conventional solar still because solar energy was
provided to solar still both from top and bottom concurrently ensuing in enhanced
temperature difference between water surface and glass cover. An experimental investigation
of solar still having mirrors at interior walls and coupled with FPC was done by Badran and
Tahaineh (2004). They observed an enhancement in distillate output by 36 % as compared to
conventional solar still. It happened due to enhanced temperature difference between water
surface and inner surface of glass cover. Abdel Rehim and Lasheen (2007) studied basin type
SS by integrating solar parabolic trough collector and heat exchanger. Serpentine oil was used
as working fluid in collector. The amount of distillate output obtained from such system was
18 % higher as compared to conventional solar still because of the attainment of higher water
temperature in basin as water received solar energy from top and also through heat exchanger
in basin. Tripathi and Tiwari (2005) explored experimentally basin type SS included with two
collectors and operating in forced mode. They concluded that higher production of potable
water was obtained during off-sunshine hours due to heat storage effect at higher depth.
Badran et al. (2005) explored basin type solar still (double slope) which was included with
FPC and operating in forced mode. They concluded that the production of potable water was
higher by 52 % as compared to conventional solar still. Taghvaei et al. (2014) studied
experimentally SS coupled with FPC to assess the long term performance (continuous 10
days) and recommended a higher depth of water for practical application as the amount of
potable water production and efficiency were found to be higher at higher depth due to heat
storage effect.

El-Sebaii et al. (2009) compared the performance of single basin active solar still theoretically
between with and without a sensible storage material (sand) and reported that daily
productivity of the solar still with storage was 23.8 % higher than that when it was used
without storage. An experimental study regarding the performance of various designs of
active solar still was done by Arslan (2012) under closed cycle mode and he obtained highest
overall daily efficiency for the circular box active solar still design. In a variation, Lilian et al.
(2014) reported a slowly rotating light-weight hollow drum partially submerged in solar still
cavity and an improvement of 20-30 % in the production of potable water was reported as
compared to conventional solar still. However, the production of potable water becomes 60 %
higher than the conventional solar still if the basin of an FPC integrated solar still is

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partitioned as reported by Rajaseenivasana et al. (2014). A considerable enhancement in

production of potable water is also obtained if thermal energy is supplied to solar still by
circulating heat transfer fluid at its bottom. It was reported that doubling the heat transfer fluid
rate effected a 9 % enhancement in the production of potable water. The relation between
production of potable water and the heat transfer fluid rate is thus non-linear as reported by
Hamadou and Abdellatif (2014). A novel tri-generation system employing PVT collectors
was designed by Calise et al.(2014) for seawater desalination in European Mediterranean
countries, known to have abundant renewable sources but deprived of fossil fuels and water
resources. Ibrahim et al. (2015) investigated experimentally the performance of modified
solar still consisting of external air cooled condenser and reported an enhancement of 16.2%
and 29.7% in the production of potable water and thermal efficiency respectively for the
proposed system over conventional solar still.

Active solar distillation system can be made self sustainable so that it can operate even in
remote areas having abundant sunlight but electrical power is not available and the system can
generate electrical energy too if need arises. It can be done by including a photovoltaic (PV)
panel with FPC coupled to the basin of solar still. The integration of PV panel to collector was
proposed by Kern and Russell (1978) and it was reported that electrical efficiency was
enhanced if fluid was allowed to pass below the panel. A theoretical study of such system was
done by Hendrie (1979). In continuation of this approach, an experimental study of SS by
incorporating two series connected FPCs (one partially covered with PV) was done by Kumar
and Tiwari Kumar and Tiwari (2008, 2009, 2009a, 2010, 2010a) and an enhancement in
production of potable water by more than 3.5 times over conventional solar distillation system
was reported. They developed empirical relation for heat transfer coefficient and also reported
that the payback period of active solar distillation system lied in the range of 3.9 to 23.9 years.
It was extended for double slope active solar still by Singh et al. (2011). Further, Tiwari et al.
(2015) and Singh et al. (2016) extended their work by partially covering both series connected
identical FPCs with PV panels. They performed experimental investigation and reported that
though the exergy efficiency and overall thermal efficiency values of the system where both
the FPCs are partially covered with PV panels are better, the thermal efficiency is lower than
the system reported by Kumar and Tiwari (2010) and Singh et al. (2016). Also, value of
annual productivity varies from 120.29 % to 883.55 % indicating that the proposed system
was feasible. The optimum number of collectors on the basis of exergy efficiency was found
to be 4 for 50 kg water mass in the basin of active solar still coupled with a number of PVT-
FPCs as reported by Gaur and Tiwari (2010).

Eltawil and Omara (2014) studied a solar distillation system consisting of SS, FPC, spraying
unit, perforated tubes, solar air collector and PV panel to improve the production of potable
water and supply electrical power. They reported an enhancement in the production of potable
water by 51-148 % over conventional solar still depending on the type of modification. Saeedi
et al. (2015) performed optimization of PVT solar still on the basis of energy efficiency using
simulation technique and reported optimum mass flow rate and number of collectors as 0.044
kg/s and 7 respectively. Singh and Tiwari (2016, 2017, 2017a) performed theoretical study on
basin type solar stills included with N identical PVT-CPC collectors for New Delhi climatic
condition and reported that the performance of double slope was better than the similar single
slope set up at 0.14 m water depth under optimized condition due to higher energy, exergy
and lower embodied energy for double slope set up. They also reported that the performance
of single slope was better than double slope PVT-CPC active solar still on the basis of
average daily productivity, thermal and overall thermal efficiencies if depth of water in the
basin is higher than 0.31 m and vice versa.

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The contemporary literature survey represents that N identical PVT-FPC integrated single
slope solar still has not been analyzed for assessing the effect of area of PV module on the
performance viz. energy and exergy of the proposed systems. To accomplish this research
gap, the proposed analysis carries out the computation of hourly as well as daily yield, energy
and exergy for cases (a)-(e) at 0.14 m water depth under optimized condition. These systems
have been compared on the basis of daily yield energy and exergy. The main objective of this
investigation can be stated as follows.
(i) To compute hourly yield, energy and exergy for cases (a)-(e) at 0.14 m water depth,
optimum values of mass flow rate (!! ) and number of collectors (N).

(ii) To compute daily yield, energy and exergy for cases (a)-(e) at 0.14 m water depth,
optimum values of mass flow rate (!! ) and number of collectors (N).

(iii) To compare the proposed systems (cases (a)-(e)) on the basis of daily yield, energy and
exergy.

2. System description
Fig. 1 represents the schematic diagram of the proposed N identical PVT-FPC integrated
single slope solar still. The specification of the proposed system has been presented in Table
1. The value of average wind velocity has been taken as 4.11 m/s and 2.77 m/s for June and
January respectively. Here, collectors have been connected in series to fulfill the aim of
higher heat gain so that higher temperature of water in the basin can be achieved which will
result in higher yield.

Fig.1. Single slope solar still integrated with N identical partially covered PVT-FPC

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Due to heat gain in series connected collectors, water available at the outlet of Nth collector is
hot which is discharged to basin with an aim to transfer heat to water in basin. The inlet of 1st
collector gets water coming from basin with the help of DC motor pump resulting in the
formation of closed loop. The south oriented collectors are inclined at 30o with the horizontal
with an aim to obtain annual maximum solar flux. A part of DC electrical energy obtained
from PVT is made input to DC motor pump.

Table 1. Specification of single slope solar still integrated with N identical partially covered PVT-FPC

Single slope solar still

Component Specification
Length 2m
Width 1m
Inclination of glass cover 15o
Height of smaller side 0.2m
Material of body GRP
Material of stand GI
Cover material Glass
Orient ion South
Thickness of glass cover 0.004 m
Kg 0.816 W/m-K
Thickness of insulation 0.1m
Thermal conductivity of insulation 0.166 W/m-K
w 0.82
g 0.92
Partially covered (25%) PVT flat plate collector
Component Specification
Type and no of collectors Tube in plate type ,N
Area of solar collector 1.0 m 1.0 m
Collector plate thickness 0.002 m
Thickness of Copper Tubes 0.00056 m
Length of each Copper Tubes 1.0 m
Thickness of insulation 0.1 m
Angle of FPC with Horizontal 30o
Thickness of toughened glass on FPC 0.004 m
E ective area of collector under glass 0.75 m2
DC motor rating 12 V, 24 W
Area of PV module 0.25 m 1.0 m
F 0.968
g 0.95
c 0.9
c 0.89
p 0.8
Ki 0.166 W/m-K
FF 0.8
Pipe diameter 0.0125 m

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An opening is provided at the wall of south oriented single slope solar still for receiving
brackish water and another opening at the bottom is given for cleaning after some use. The
solar flux falling on the glass is transmitted to water after reflection and absorption. This
transmitted radiation is further transmitted to basin liner after reflection and absorption by
water mass. Basin liner absorbs almost total radiation falling on its surface and its temperature
rises resulting in the transmission of heat to water in basin. The temperature of basin water
increases which promotes the evaporation of water. The evaporated water is collected in jar
after its condensation (film type) at the inner surface of glass.

Advantages of proposed N identical PVT-FPC integrated double slope solar still can be stated
as follows.
(i) Glass covers can be used for rain harvesting.
(ii) It is self sustainable to operate in remote areas.
(iii) Higher distillate is obtained and hence it can be used on commercial scale.
(iv) The electricity is obtained at no cost as revenue obtained from selling potable water is
adequate to meet the cost of proposed system.
(v) One can save expenditure on electricity and also generate revenue in terms of carbon
credit.
(vi) It operates on very simple technology.

However, proposed system has some disadvantages also. They operate on solar energy which
depends on climatic condition. They need large solar collection area for use on commercial
scale. The initial investment is comparatively high; however, cost per kg of potable water is
low. People are not aware of such systems. Technicians are not available on local level. There
is a need of frequent filling and flushing of basin.

3. Methodology
The following methodology has been implemented for the computation of hourly exergy and
distillate output of N-PVT-FPC-DS, N-PVT-CPC-DS and CDSSS.

Step I
The required input data for the numerical computation of proposed systems viz. solar flux,
ambient air temperature for New Delhi weather condition have been obtained from Indian
Metrological Department (IMD), Pune, India. The value of solar intensity for inclined surface
at 30o north latitude has been computed using Liu and Jordon formula with the help of
computational program in MATLAB.

Step II
Following Dubey and Tiwari (2009) and Shyam et al. (2015), the rate of useful heat gain
obtained from a number (N) of identical partially covered PVT-FPC and the temperature at
the outlet of Nth PVT-FPC (!!"# ) can be inscribed as

!!,! = ! !! + !! !" !"",! ! ! !!,! !!" !! (1) and

(! !! !" )! !!!! ! ! !! !! ! !!!! !

!!"# = ! ! !! !!!!
!(!) + ! ! !! !!!!
!! + !!! !!" (2)

where, the value of !!" is equal to !! as a number (N) of identical PVT-FPC forms closed
loop with basin. The hot water available at the outlet of Nth PVT-FPC is discharged to the

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basin of solar distillation system. Hence, the value of !!" is equal to the value of !!"# . The
expression of various terms used in Eqs. (1) and (2) are given in appendix-A.

Following Evans (1981) and Schott (1985), the analytical expression for electrical efficiency
of solar cells (!!" ) of N identical PVT-FPC can be computed as

!!" = !! 1 !! (!!" !! ) (3)

where, !! represents the efficiency at standard test condition, !! represents the temperature
coefficient of efficiency and To = 25oC. !!" represents the average solar cell temperature of
Nth PVT-FPC which can be computed with the help of expression given by Shyam et al.
(2015) in which !!" = !! because a number (N) of PVT-FPC form a closed loop with basin.

Following Singh et al. (2015), energy balance equations for various components of single
slope active solar still can be written and they can be solved using Eq. (1) to get water
temperature (!! ) and glass temperature (!!" and !!" ) as follows.
!! (!)
!! = !!
1 ! !!! ! + !!! ! !!! ! (4)
! ! ! !!
!! ! ! !! !! !! !!!,!" !! !!
!!" = !!,!" !! !!!! !!
(5)

!!
! !!!! !!
!! !"
!!" = !! (6)
!!!!
!!

The expression for various terms used in Eqs. (4)-(6) are given in Appendix-A.

Step III
Exergy balance equation for solar still in steady state condition can be written as

!!!" !!!"# = !!!"# (7)

Following Petela (2003) and Nag (2004), input exergy (!!!" ) can be calculated as

! !! ! !! ! (!!"# !!"#)
!!!" = !! !! ! 1! !!
+! !!
+ !! !! [ !!"# !!" + (!! + 273)!" (!!" !!"#)
]
(8)

The daily thermal exergy input to the system (!"!" ) can be inscribed as

!!!" ! !! ! !! ! !!!"
!"!" = !! !!! !! ! 1 + + !!! !! !! [ !!"# !!" + (!! +
! !! ! !!
(!!"# !!"#)
273)!" (!!" !!"#)
(9)

The hourly thermal exergy (!!) can be inscribed as

(!! !!"#)
!! = !"# A! !! !!" (!! + 273)!" (10)
!!" !!"#

The daily thermal exergy (!") can be inscribed as

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!!!" (!! !!"#)

!" = !!! !"# A! !! !!" (!! + 273)!" (11)
!!" !!"#

The expressions for different terms used in Eq. (11) are given in appendix-A.
Hourly electrical exergy (!!! ) for the proposed system can be computed as
!
!!! = !! !(!) ! (!!! !!" ) (12)

Here, !!" can be computed with the help of Eq. (3). The value of !!" used in Eq. (3) can be
computed for the proposed system with the help of expression given by Shyam et al. (2015).
Exergy analysis has been done on the basis of 1st law (energy) and 2nd law (entropy) of
thermodynamics. The overall yearly exergy can be computed as

!!",!""#!$ = !"!"# + (!! !! ) (13)

Where, !"!"# , !! and !! represent yearly thermal exergy output obtained from double slope
solar still, yearly electrical exergy obtained from N identical PVT and yearly power required
to drive the pump respectively.

Step IV
After evaluating glass temperature and water temperature, one can obtain hourly production
of potable water (!!" ) and daily production of potable water (!!" ) for single slope solar still
as
!!" !! (!! !!!" )
!!" = !
3600 (14)

!!!" !!" !! (!! !!!" )

!!" = !!! 3600 (15)
!

where L represents the latent heat of evaporation. Its value can be computed with the help of
expression given by Fernandez and Chargoy (1990) and Toyama (1972).

Step V
Energy analysis has been performed on the basis of 1st law of thermodynamics. The hourly
overall thermal energy (!!"# ) and daily thermal energy (!!"# ) for the proposed systems can
be inscribed as

(!!" !) (!! !!! )

!!"# = + (16)
!"## !.!"

!" (!!" !) !" (!! !!! )

!!"# = !!! + !!! (17)
!"## !.!"

Where, m!" , P! , Ex! and L represent hourly production of potable water obtained from solar
still, hourly power generated from photovoltaic module, hourly power utilized by pump and
latent heat respectively. Electrical energy is high grade energy. Hence, the factor 0.38 has
been used for converting electrical energy into equivalent thermal energy. This factor
corresponds to power generation efficiency for a conventional power plant as reported by
Huang et al. (2001).

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4. Results and discussion

The relevant equations and climatic data namely hourly solar intensity, ambient air
temperature and average wind velocity have been fed to MATLAB program. The hourly solar
intensity on horizontal surface and atmospheric air temperature for a typical day in the month
of June for New Delhi climatic condition are given in Fig. 2. The average wind velocity for
the month of June is 4.11 m/s. The output of the computational program is shown in Fig. 3 to
Fig. 11.

Figs. 3-7 represent the variation of maximum temperature at the outlet of Nth collector for
cases (a)(e) respectively. From Figs. 3-7, it is seen that the value of !!"#,!"# decreases with
the increase in mass flow rate as per expectation because fluid in the collector gets lesser time
to absorb solar radiation and the heat transfer from absorber plate to fluid increases. At the
same time, the heat transfer from collector fluid to water in basin increases with the increase
in mass flow rate because higher mass flow rate means higher amount of hot water will get
mixed with water in basin during unit time.

Ambient air temperature (oC)

Jun-global Jun-beam Jun
1200 40
Solar intensity (W/m2)

1000
30
800
600 20
400
10
200
0 0
08:00

09:00

10:00

11:00

12:00

13:00

14:00

15:00

16:00

17:00

Time of the day (h)

Fig. 2: Hourly variation of radiation on horizontal surface and ambient air temperature for a
typical day in the month of June

160
!! = 0.01 kg/s
140
!! = 0.02 kg/s
120
!! = 0.03 kg/s
TfoN,max (oC)

100
!! = 0.04 kg/s
80
!! = 0.05 kg/s
60
!! = 0.06 kg/s
40
!! = 0.07 kg/s
20 !! = 0.08 kg/s
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

No. of collectors (N)

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Fig. 3. Variation of !!"#,!"# with number of collectors (withot PVT) for a typical day in the
month of June

120 !! = 0.01 kg/s

100 !! = 0.02 kg/s
!! = 0.03 kg/s
80
!! = 0.04 kg/s
TfoN,max (oC)

60 !! = 0.05 kg/s
40 !! = 0.06 kg/s
!! = 0.07 kg/s
20
!! = 0.08 kg/s
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
No. of collectors (N)

Fig. 4. Variation of !!"#,!"# with number of collectors (25% covered with PVT) for a typical
day in the month of June

100
!! = 0.01 kg/s
TfoN,max (oC)

80 !! = 0.02 kg/s
60 !! = 0.03 kg/s
!! = 0.04 kg/s
40
!! = 0.05 kg/s
20 !! = 0.06 kg/s
0
!! = 0.07 kg/s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 !! = 0.08 kg/s

No. of collectors (N)

Fig. 5. Variation of !!"#,!"# with number of collectors (50% covered with PVT) for a typical
day in the month of June

80 !! = 0.01 kg/s
!! = 0.02 kg/s
60 !! = 0.03 kg/s
TfoN,max (oC)

!! = 0.04 kg/s
40
!! = 0.05 kg/s
20 !! = 0.06 kg/s
!! = 0.07 kg/s
0 !! = 0.08 kg/s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
No. of collectors (N)
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Fig. 6. Variation of !!"#,!"# with number of collectors (75% covered with PVT) for a typical
day in the month of June

55
50
!! = 0.01 kg/s
45 !! = 0.02 kg/s
TfoN,max

!! = 0.03 kg/s
(oC)

40
!! = 0.04 kg/s
35 !! = 0.05 kg/s
30 !! = 0.06 kg/s
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
No. of collectors (N)

Fig. 7. Variation of !!"#,!"# with number of collectors (fully covered with PVT)for a typical
day in the month of June

30
Yield
25
20
Daily yield

15
(kg)

10
5
0
Case (a) Case (b) Case (c) Case (d) Case (e)
System

Fig. 8. Variation of production of potable water (yield) for a typical day in the month of June

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Energy Thermal exergy Electrical exergy

20 10.00
Energy (kWh)
8.00

Exergy (kWh)
15
6.00
10
4.00
5 2.00
0 0.00
Case (a) Case (b) Case (c) Case (d) Case (e)
System

Fig. 9. Variation of energy and exergy for a typical day in the month of June

Overall energy Overall exergy

Overall energy (kWh)

30 12

Overall exergy (kWh)

25 10
20 8
15 6
10 4
5 2
0 0
Case (a) Case (b) Case (c) Case (d) Case (e)
System

Fig. 10. Variation of overall energy and exergy for a typical day in the month of June

From fig. 3, it is observed that the curves are getting closer to each other as the value of mass
flow rate increases, however, they get approximately ovelapped beyond mass flow rate of
0.05 kg/s. Hence, optimum mass flow rate can be taken as 0.05 kg/s. At this value of mass
flow rate, the value of !!"#,!"# becomes more that 100oC if number of collectors are more
than 9. Hence, optimum number of collectors is 9 because boiling point of collector fluid
(water) is 100oC.

Similarly, it is observed from Fig. 4 that optimum value of mass flow rate is 0.03 kg/s for case
(b) because curves are getting approximately overlapped beyoud mass flow rate of 0.03 kg/s.
At this value of mass flow rate, temperature of water becomes more than 100oC if number of
collectors is more than 11. Hence optimum number of collectors is 11. The optimum value of
mass floa rate (0.03 kg/s) and optimum number of collectors (11) have been obtained for
cases (c) to (e) with the help of plots shown in Figs. 5-7 in the similar fashion.

Fig. 8 represents the variation of yield for cases (a)-(e) at 0.14 m water depth under optnised
condition for a typical day in the month of June.The basin area is same for all cases. It is
observed that the daily yield is maximum for case (a) because of higher thermal energy added
to the basin as this is the case of collector withot PVT. Further, daily yield is minimum for

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case (e) as lowest thermal energy is added to the basin because this is the case of collector
fully covered with PVT.

Fig. 9 represents the variation of energy and exergy at 0.24 m water depth under optimised
condition for a typical day in the month of June. It is observed from Fig. 9 that daily energy is
maximum for case (a) and minimum for case (e) due to similar variation in daily yield. The
similar variation has been observed in daily thermal exergy because the amount of heat added
to the basin decrease as we move from case (a) to case (e). However, opposite variation has
been observed in the value of electrical exergy because the area of PVT incrases as we move
from case (a) to case (e).

Fig. 10 represnts the variation of overall energy and exergy at 0.24 m water depth under
optimised condition considering same basin area for a typical day in the month of June. It is
observed that the both overall energy and exergy are lowest for case (a) and highest for case
(e) because increase in electrical energy overcoem the decrease in energy as we move from
case (a) to case (e).

5 Conclusions
Single slope solar still included with N identical flat plate collectors has been investigated at
0.14 m water depth under optimized condition for a typical day in the month of June by
incorporating the effect of variation in photovoltaic panel area. On the basis of current
research study, the following conclusions have been drawn.
(i) Daily yield and energy is highest for case (a) and lowest for case (e) which suggests that
case is suitable for getting potable water as the main product.
(ii) Daily thermal exergy is highest for case (a) and lowest for case (e); however, an opposite
variation has been found in the value of electrical exergy suggesting that case (a) is suitable
for getting thermal exergy as main product; however, case (e) is suitable for the production of
electrical energy as the main product.
(iii) Daily overall energy and exergy are highest for case (a) and lowest for case (e).

Appendix-A

Expressions for various terms used in Eqs. (1) and (2) are as follows.
!! !!
! !! ! !!
!!"# = !!
+! ; !!"# = !!
+! ; ! = 5.7 + 3.8!, !!!! ! !! ;
! !

!! !!
! ! ! ! !!
! = 5.7, !!!! ! !! ; !!"# = + + ! + + ; !" = 100 !!!! ! !!
!!"# !!"# !! !!" !!

!!"# !!"# !!" !!!

!! = 2.8 + 3!, !!!! ! !! ; !!! = ; !!! = !!! + !!"# ; !!" = ;
!!"# !!!"# ! ! !!" !!!!
!!" !!"# !!"# !!" !!"
!!" = ; !"! = ; !"! = ; !"! = ;
! ! !!" !!!"# !!"# !!!"# ! ! !!" !!!! ! ! !!" !!!"#

(!")!!"" = (!! !! )!! !! ; (!")!!"" = !! !!! (1 !! ) ;

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(!")!"## = (!")!!"" + !"! (!")!!"" ; (!")!"## = !"! . !! !! ;

! ! !! !! ! !!" !!
!! = !!! ; !! = !!! ; !! !!" = !!"
1 exp ( ! ! !!
) ;

! ! !! !! ! !!" !!
!! !!" = 1 exp ( ) ;
!!" ! ! !!

!! !!" !!"
!!! (!") ! = !! !!" (!")!"## + !"! !" !"## !! !!" (1 ! ! !!
) ;

!! !!" !!"
!!! !! ! = !! !!" !!" + !! !!" !!" (1 ) ;
! ! !!

!!! !! !
!! = 1 ; !!! (!") !! = !"! (!")!"## !! !!" ; !!! !! !! = !! !!" !!" ;
! ! !!

!! !!" !!" !!! (!") ! !!(!! )! !!! !! ! !!(!! )!

!! = 1 ; (!")!"",! = ; !!,! =
! ! !! (!! !!! ) !(!!!! ) (!! !!! ) !(!!!! )

Expressions for ! and ! ! used in Eq. (4) and expressions of different terms used in Eqs. (5)
to (10) are as follows.
!
!! = !! !! (1 !!! ) + !! !! ;
!! !!

!! ! =

! !!!! ! !!!! !
!!"" !! !! ! + (! !! !" )! !! (!) + ! !! !! ! + !! !! !! ;
!! !! !!!! !!!!

! !!" !!! !!
!!"" !
= !! + ! !!! + !! !!! ; ! = ! ; !! = ! ;
!" !!!" !,!" !! !!!! !!

!! = !"# + !"# + !"# ;

!! !!!"
!,!" = 16.273 10!! !,!" !! !!!"
; Cooper (1973)

!
!! !!!" (!! !!"#) !
!,!" = 0.884 !! !!" + ; Dunkle (1971)
!"#.!!"! !!!

!"## !"##
!! = !"# 25.317 ! ; !!" = !"# 25.317 ! ;
! !!"# !" !!"#

!"# = 0.825.6710!! (!! + 273)! + (!!" + 273)! !! + !!" + 546 ;

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Solaris 2017India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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!!
!!! !!,!" !! !!!
!!" !!" !
!! = !! + !! ; !! = ; !! = ; !!,!" = !!! ;
!!" !!!" !!,!" !! !!!! !! !!!!
!!

!! ! !!
1
!" =
!!
+
!!" !!!"
; !" + !" = 5.7 !!2 ! , !" = 100 !!!! ! !! ;

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V.K. Dwivedi, and G.N. Tiwari, Experimental validation of thermal model of a double slope
active solar still under natural circulation mode, Desalination, 250 , 2010, pp. 4955.
R. Petela, Exergy of undiluted thermal radiation, Solar Energy, 86, 2003, pp. 241247.
P.K Nag, Basic and applied thermodynamics, Tata McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07- 047338-2,
Edition, 2004.
J. Fernandez and N.Chargoy, (1990), Multistage indirectly heated solar still. Solar Energy 44
(4), 1990, p.p. 215.
S. Toyama, K. Kagakuv, 1972, Gijitsu, 24, 159, Maruzen, Tokyo.
B.J. Huang, T.H. Lin, W.C. Hung and F.S. Sun, Performance evaluation of solar
photovoltaic/thermal systems, Solar Energy, 70(5), 2001, pp. 443448.
P. I. Cooper, Digital simulation of experimental solar still data, Solar Energy, 14, 1973, pp.
451.
R.V. Dunkle, Solar water distillation, the roof type solar still and multi effect diffusion still,
International developments in heat transfer, A.S.M.E., Proceedings of International Heat
transfer, Part V, 1961, pp. 895, University of Colorado.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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Ch. ST17
Effect of Al2O3-water based nanofluid on the thermo-physical
characteristics of active double slope solar still coupled with helically coiled
heat exchanger
Lovedeep Sahota1*, G. N. Tiwari1, 2
1
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India 110016
2
Bag Energy Research Society (BERS), SODHA BERS COMPLEX, Plot No. 51, Mahamana Nagar,
Karaudi Varanasi (UP), India 221005

*
Corresponding Authors E-mail address: love.sahota11@gmail.com

Abstract: Nanofluids are the ultrafast heat transfer fluid which efficiently improves the system performance.
Nanofluids are promising thermal energy carrier in solar thermal applications. In present paper, an analytical
expression of the basin fluid (BF/NF) temperature has been obtained for two different systems viz. (A) active
double slope solar still coupled with photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors and operating without helical heat
exchanger; and (B) active double slope solar still coupled with PVT collectors and operating with helical heat
exchanger. Analysis has been performed for concentration of Al2O3 nanoparticles. Thermo-physical
characteristics/heat transfer coefficients have been analyzed. Productivity of system (A) and system (B) are
found to be and respectively, higher in comparison to the case using basefluid (water).

Keywords: Active solar still, nanofluid, heat exchanger

Nomenclature

Fraction of solar energy absorbed by X Characteristic length of solar still,

condensing cover ( )

Fraction of solar energy absorbed by Fluid temperature, ( )

basin surface

Fraction of solar energy absorbed by Vapor temperature, ( )

fluid

Fraction of solar energy absorbed by Ambient temperature, ( )

solar cell

Fraction of solar energy transmitted Basefluid temperature, ( )

by top glass cover of the PVT-FPC

Emissivity of condensing cover Nanofluid temperature, ( )

Emissivity of the fluid Inner condensing cover temperature

of east side of solar still, ( )

Effective emissivity of fluid Inner condensing cover temperature

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of west side solar still, ( )

Stefen- Boltzmans constant, Outer condensing cover temperature

( ) of east side solar still, ( )

Volume fraction of nanoparticles Outer condensing cover temperature

(%) of west side solar still, ( )

Mass flow rate of the fluid ( ) Thermal conductivity of the

absorption plate ( - )

Yield obtained from the system Thermal expansion coefficient of

( ) nanoparticle, ( )

Diameter of the FPC tube (mm) Thermal expansion coefficient of

nanofluid , ( )

Outer diameter of the heat Thermal expansion coefficient of

exchanger tube (mm) basefluid, , ( )

Inner diameter of the heat exchanger Dynamic viscosity of basefluid,

tube (mm) ( )

Diameter of nanoparticle (nm) Dynamic viscosity of nanofluid,

( )

Efficiency of the PVT- FPC Density of nanoparticle, ( )

collector ( )

Packing factor Density of nanofluid, ( )

Length of the helical heat exchanger Density of basefluid, ( )

( )

Thickness of the absorption plate Thermal conductivity of nanofluid,

( ) ( - )

Solar intensity on east side of the Thermal conductivity of basefluid,

glass cover, ( ) ( - )

Solar intensity on west side of the Specific heat of nanoparticle,

glass cover, ( ) ( - )

Solar intensity on FPC, ( ) Specific heat of nanofluid, ( - )

Area of the PV module, ( ) Specific heat of basefluid, ( - )

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Area of the glazing, ( ) Specific heat of fluid, ( - )

Surface area of condensing cover of Mass of fluid in the basin of solar

east side of solar still, ( ) still

Surface area of condensing cover of Total external heat transfer

west side of solar still, ( ) coefficient on east side, ( )

Basin area of solar still, ( ) Total external heat transfer

coefficient on west side, ( )

Time interval (second) Total internal heat transfer

coefficient on east side, ( )

Thermal conductivity of condensing Total internal heat transfer

cover, ( ) coefficient on west side, ( )

Thickness of condensing cover, ( ) Internal radiative heat transfer

coefficient between east and west
condensing cover, ( )

Thickness of basin, ( ) Evaporative heat transfer coefficient

on east side, ( )

Heat transfer coefficient from Evaporative heat transfer coefficient

blackened plate to ambient, on west side, ( )
( )

Heat transfer coefficient for space heat transfer coefficient between

between absorption plate and basin liner and ambient air,
glazing, ( ) ( )

Convective heat transfer in the flat Convective heat transfer form basin
plate collector, ( ) liner to nanofluid, ( )

Convective heat transfer in the heat Heat transfer coefficient between

exchanger, ( ) basin liner and fluid, ( )

Convective heat transfer form basin

liner to basefluid, ( )

1. Introduction
Today, with advancement in technology, researchers and engineers developed various
high and medium techniques (RO, MSF, MED, vacuum distillation, and vapor compression
etc.) for water purification at the cost of conventional source of energy (electricity). Solar
distillation is one of the simpler, eco-friendly, economical, easy maintainable technique for
getting potable water on utilizing the renewable source of energy (solar energy). Solar stills or
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solar distillers can purify the underground brackish water of salinity up to ppm. These are
categorized into passive and active solar stills. No external source of energy is coupled to
raise the basin water temperature such that evaporation takes place in natural mode in case of
passive solar stills. In case of active solar stills, external source of thermal energy (via forced
mode) is coupled to the passive still to raise the basin water temperature which intern
improves the evaporative heat transfer rates. Basically, the fed thermal energy into the still
basin increases the temperature difference among the evaporative surface and the inner
surface of the top glass cover which ultimately enhances the solar still productivity (yield).
Different force modes can be used to feed the external thermal energy but the coupling of flat
pate collector is the best technique among others. Force mode of operation is achieved by
using pump which can further run either by conventional source of energy (electricity) or non-
conventional source of energy (Photovoltaic, PV). Either heat exchanger or direct thermal
energy carrier fluid can be used for the transfer of heat.
In 1976, Soliman [1] suggested the concept of feeding hot water from the solar collector panel
(high temperature solar distillation) to the basin of solar still. Worldwide, many researchers
have studied theoretically [2-6] and experimentally different active solar stills [7-12]. Gaur
and Tiwari [13] optimized the -collectors of PVT coupled hybrid active solar still. On the
exergy efficiency basis, They found that the maximum productivity occurs for and
basin water mass.
The ultrafast heat transfer ability of nanofluids ( nanoparticles) motivated the
researchers and engineers to study them in solar water heating systems. The fact of better heat
transfer capability of nanofluids is credited to their superior thermo-physical and optical
properties. Most of the available literatures investigate the effect of nanofluids on flat plate
collectors and heat exchangers. Some studies investigate the effect of nanoparticle on the
performance of passive solar stills [14-17] but no such literatures are available on active solar
stills. In present communication, the performance of following active solar stills has been
studied analytically by using basefluid (water) and Al2O3- water based nanofluid for a typical
day of the month March (2015):
System (A): Active double slope solar still without heat exchanger
System (B): Active double slope solar still with helically coiled heat exchanger

2. System Description
Systematic view of active double slope solar still operating with helically coiled heat
exchanger is shown in Fig. 1. The active system consists of double slope, eastwest oriented
solar still fabricated with fibre reinforced plastic ( ), partially covered
photovoltaic thermal (PVT) flat plate collector, mechanical pump functioned by DC motor,
and helically coiled heat exchanger made of copper. Inner surface of the double slope solar
still (DSSS) is painted mat black to absorb the maximum solar radiation. The still is covered
with transparent toughen glass cover inclined at angle of o . The still is placed in east-west
orientation (latitude 28 5 N-northern hemisphere) to retrieve the maximum solar irradiation.
o
The flat plat collector is faced towards south at an inclination of [18]. The detailed
specifications of each component of both systems are given by [19].
The basin fluid (BF/NF) mass directly absorbs the penetrated solar radiation which originates
an attenuation of the solar flux via the basin fluid (BF/NF) mass. Blackened surface of the
still acts as a thermal energy storage system which absorbs the rest of the solar radiation. It
plays a significant role to raise the fluid (BF/NF) temperature by transferring the stored
thermal energy to the fluid (BF/NF) mass.

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Fig. 1 Schematic view of active double slope solar still with heat exchanger

The oscillatory motion of nanoparticle electrons is responsible for the light scattering from
nanoparticle surface. Moreover, the energy of incident light is converted to heat after
absorption by the nanoparticles. Eventually, the plasmon resonance of nanoparticles has high
absorption modes in the ultraviolet and infrared spectral region. Consequently, nanofluids
openly absorb the penetrated solar irradiation because of toning between the spectrum of
optical absorption (nanofluids) and solar irradiation. At high concentration, the assisting
metallic nanoparticles spread more (higher surface area) in the given basin nanofluid/heat
exchanger volume raises the nanofluid temperature. Therefore, the mutual effect of basin
liner, natural circulation mode (pre-heating of the fluid (BF/NF)), and assisting metallic
nanoparticles elevates the temperature of the basin fluid (BF/NF) mass which ultimately
enhances the internal heat transfer rates. Evaporated water vapor reaches at the inner surface
of the top glass cover and releases their latent heat. Eventually, the condensed water dribbles
into the measuring jars at lower ends of the east-west side glass covers.

2. Thermal Model (System (B))

Following the assumptions of Sahota and Tiwari [16] the energy balances of the proposed
systems are expressed below:
(a) East side glass cover
( )( ) ( ) ( )( ) (1)

( )( ) ( ) (2)
(b) West side glass cover
( )( ) ( ) ( )( )
(3)
( )( ) ( ) (4)
On solving Eqs. (1-4), one can get
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[ ]
(5)
[ ]
Similarly, (6)
(c) Basin liner
( ) ( ) ( ) (7)
(d) Water mass
( )( ) ( )( ) ( )( )
( )( ) (8)
(e) Hear exchanger
( )( ) (9)
Boundary conditions: ( ) and ( )
Solving Eq. (9) using above boundary conditions, one can get
[ (
)] (
) (10)

where, [ ( ) ( ) ( )( )]
The rate of useful thermal energy gain from series connected N- identical PVT water
collectors has been evaluated using following relation;
( ) (11)
Following Shyam et al. [20] the outlet water temperature at the end of the Nth PVT water
collector is given by
( ( )) ( )

( ) ( )
( ) (12)
Substituting from Eq. (12) in Eq. (10), one can get
( ) ( ( )) ( )
[
( ) ( )
( ) ] (13)
where,
( ( )) ( )
( )( ) [ ]( ) ( )

( ) ( )

[ ]( )
Therefore, from Eq. (11), the rate of useful thermal energy gain can be expressed as
( )
[( )( )] ( ( )) [ ]( ) ( )
( )
( ) [ ]( ) (14)
( ) (15)
where,
( )
[( )( )] ( ( )) [ ]( ) and
( )
( ) [ ]( )
The term ( ( )) is a function of efficiency of the collector ( ) Shyam et al. [20].
On substituting , , ( ), and from Eq. (5), (6), (7) and (15) respectively
in the water mass equation (Eq.(8)), one can obtain

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* ( )( ) ( )( ) ( ) +( )

*( )( )( ) ( )( ) ( )( ) ( )
( ( ) ) +( )

( ) (16)
where, * ( )( ) ( )( ) ( ) +( )

( ) *( )( )( ) ( )( ) ( )( ) ( )
( ( ) ) +( )
The solution of Eq. (16) can be expressed as

( )
[ ] (17)
The hourly yield of the active system can be calculated from the equation given below
( )
(18)
3. Results and Discussion
Hourly variation of fluid (BF/NF) temperature in different components (DSSS, HE, PVT-
FPC) of both systems is shown in Fig. 2. The fluid (BF/NF) flowing through FPC-PVT
receives thermal energy from blackened plate in sunshine hours and gets heated; when it
passes through the HE, it transfers thermal energy to fluid (NF/BF). Hence, the fluid (NF/BF)
temperature is higher at the outlet of the PVT-FPC (Fig. 2) compared to temperature of fluid
in HE and basin fluid (BF/NF) of DSSS. Compared to basefuid, significant enhancement in
the nanofluid temperature is observed by incorporating Al2O3 nanoparticles. The higher
temperature of Al2O3- water based nanofluid is due to better thermo-physical and optical
properties. In system (A) the nanofluid is exposed to the solar radiation, therefore in this case,
metallic nanoparticles, in shunshine hours, directly absorbs more solar radiation resulting
higher fluid (BF/NF) temperatute compared to systen (B). Also, the suspended nanoparticles
in the working/basefluid increases the surface area which intern enhances the thermal
conductivity and evantually improves the heat transfer efficiency.

(a) (b)

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Fig. 2 Hourly variation of the fluid (BF/NF) temperature in different portions of (a) system
(A) and (b) system (B).
The hourly variation of convective HTC for nanofluid is presented in Fig. 3. It is observed
that the convective HTC for both systems [( ( ) )
( ( ) )] are higher in comparison to
basefluid due to improved thermo-physical and optical properties as explained earlier.

(a) (b)

Fig. 3 Hourly variation of convective heat transfer coefficient within flat plate
collector ( ), solar still (natural convective, ) and heat exchanger ( ) in (a)
system (A) and (b) system (B) using Al2O3- water based nanofluid.
In addition to this, the dispersed metallic nanoparticles also change the flow and thermal
fields that improves the HTC. However, viscous forces limit the maximum value of HTCs
which increases continuously on increasing the volume fraction due to thermal conductance
forces. Therefore, the balance between these forces determines the optimal point. In helical
heat exchanger, the thermal boundary layer formation on the tube surface is disturbed by the
chaotic motion of the metallic Al2O3 nanoparticles which intern enhances the HTCs.
Moreover, the swirl flow in helical heat exchanger induces the centrifugal forces which
initiate the secondary flow pattern. It originates the two different vertices perpendicular to the
axial flow direction; consequently, the heat transfer mechanism occurs via diffusion and
convection. It clarifies that the heat transfer rate per unit length of the tube is strongly
influenced or improved due to contribution of such secondary convective transport.

(a) (b)

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Fig. 4 Hourly variation of internal evaporative heat transfer coefficient (east and west side)
of (a) system (A) and (b) system (B) using basefluid and Al2O3- water based nanofluid.

Hourly variation of internal evaporative HTC (east and west side) of both systems is depicted
in Fig. 4. It is observed that the evaporative HTC is higher in system (A) for both fluids
(BF/NF). For both systems the evaporative HTC for west side are marginally higher in
comparison to east sides evaporative HTC.

(a) (b)
Fig. 5 Daily yield obtained from the (a) east side and (b) west side of system (A) and system
(B) using basefluid and Al2O3- water based nanofluid

Daily productivity obtained from the east and west side of the proposed active systems using
basefuid and nanolfuid is presented in Fig. 5. It has been perceived that the productivity of
the system (A) is higher than the system (B). The productivity obtained from the west side of
the proposed systems is found to be marginally higher in comparison to the east side. For
nanofluid, the total daily productivity obtained from the system (A) and system (B) is found
to be and respectively; for basefluid it is and
respectively for system (A) and system (B).
5. Conclusions

Following conclusions have been withdrawn from the present study:

(i) The fluid temperature in different portions (outlet of the Nth PVT-collector, helical
heat exchanger, and DSSS) of (System B) follows the order of increment as
. The same order has been observed for the system (A) ( ).
(ii) Significance enhancement in the fluid temperature has been found for nanofluid.
Moreover, the fluid (BF/NF) temperature for system (A) is higher in comparison to the
system (B).
(iii) The convective HTC is found to be higher within PVT- flat plate collector in both
systems. It follows the order of, in system (B) and
in system (A). Also, system (A) gives higher values of the internal evaporative
HTC in comparison to system (B).
(iv) Daily productivity of the system (A) is found to be higher than system (B) for both the
basefluid and nanofluid.

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References

1. Soliman, H.S., 1976. Solar still coupled with a solar water heater. Mosul University,
Iraq.
2. Sebaii, A.A., Ramadan, M.R.I., Enein, S., Naggar, M., 2015. Effect of fin
configuration parameters on single basin solar still performance. Desalination 365,
1524
3. Rahbar, N., Esfahani, J.A., Bafghi, E., 2015. Estimation of convective heat transfer
coefficient and water-productivity in a tubular solar still CFD simulation and
theoretical analysis. Solar Energy 113, 313323
4. Nimr, M.A. Dahdolan, M.E., 2015. Modeling of a novel concentrated solar still
enhanced with a porous evaporator and an internal condenser. Solar Energy 114, 816
5. Dehghan, A.A., Afshari, A., Rahbar, N., 2015. Thermal modeling and exergetic
analysis of a thermoelectric assisted solar still. Solar Energy 115, 277288
6. Ziabari, F.B., Sharak, A.Z., Moghadam, H., Tabrizi, F.F., 2013. Theoretical and
experimental study of cascade solar stills. Solar Energy 90, 205211
7. Ling, H., Chen, C., Guan, Y., Wei, S., Chen, Z., Li, N., 2014. Active heat storage
characteristics of active-passive triple wall with phase change material. Solar Energy
110, 276285
8. Feilizadeh, M., Estahbanati, M.R.K., Ardekani, A.S., Zakeri, S.M.E., Jafarpur, K.,
2015. Effects of amount and mode of input energy on the performance of a multi-stage
solar still: An experimental study. Desalination 375, 108115
9. Morad, M.M., Maghawry, A.M., Wasfy, K.I.,2015. Improving the double slope solar
still performance by using flat-plate solar collector and cooling glass cover.
Desalination 373, 19
10. Tiwari, G.N., Yadav, J.K., Singh, D.B., Al-Helal, I.M., Abdel-Ghany, A. M., 2015.
Exergoeconomic and enviroeconomic analyses of partially covered photovoltaic flat
plate collector active solar distillation system. Desalination 367, 186196.
11. Dwivedi, V.K., Tiwari, G.N., 2010. Experimental validation of thermal model of a
double slope active solar still under natural circulation mode. Desalination 250, 49-55
12. Eltawil, M.A., Omara, Z.M., 2014. Enhancing the solar still performance using solar
photovoltaic, flat plate collector and hot air. Desalination 349, 1-9.
13. Gaur, M.K., Tiwari, G.N., 2010. Optimization of number of collectors for integrated
PV/T hybrid active solar still. Applied Energy 87, 1763-1772
14. Kabeel, A.E., Omara, Z.M., Essa, F.A., 2014. Enhancement of modified solar still
integrated with external condenser using nanofluids: An experimental approach.
Energy Conversion Management 78, 493- 498.
15. Elango, T., Kannan, A., Murugavel, K.K., 2015. Performance study on single basin
single slope solar still with different water nanofluids. Desalination 360, 45-51.
16. Sahota, L., Tiwari, G.N., 2016a. Effect of Al2O3 nanoparticles on the performance of
passive double slope solar still. Solar Energy 130, 260-272.
17. Sahota, L., Tiwari, G.N., 2016b. Effect of nanofluids on the performance of passive
double slope solar still: A comparative study using characteristic curve. Desalination
388, 9-21.
18. Tiwari, G.N., Tiwari, A., 2007. Solar distillation practice for water desalination
systems, Anamaya publications. New Delhi.

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19. Sahota, L., Shyam, Tiwari, G.N., 2015. Analytical characteristic equation of nanofluid
loaded active double slope solar still coupled with helically coiled heat exchanger,
Energy Conversion and Management 135, 308326.
20. Shyam, Tiwari, G.N., Al-Helal, I.M., 2015. Analytical expression of temperature
dependent electrical efficiency of N-PVT water collectors connected in series, Solar
Energy 114, 61-76

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Ch. ST18

Exergy analysis of a reverse absorber flat plate collector with partially covered
photovoltaic thermal (PVT) air collector

Rashmi*, G.N.Tiwari

Centre for Energy Studies Indian Institute of Technology Delhi,

Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India

Abstract:

In this present communication, the performance of partially covered reverse absorber air
collector system has been evaluated. The analysis has been done on the basis of developed
energy balance equation for reverse absorber partially covered PVT air collector system in
term of designed and climate parameters.
The expressions for the outlet temperature, cell temperature, electrical efficiency and rate of
thermal efficiency have also been derived. Also the thermal energy and electrical energy with
overall exergy efficiency of the present system were computed by developing an analytical
model in Matlab. The thermal and electrical energy of the system for a typical day has been
observed 4.35 kWh and 0.63kWh respectively for the month of June however it is found 3.5
kWh and 0.56 kWh respectively for the month of January. The overall exergy efficiency was
found to be higher in the month of January than that of month of June since minimum heat
loss occurs in winter.
.Keyword: Exergy; Reverse absorber PVT air collector; solar Energy

Nomenclature:

A Area (m2) A Total area (m2) ( A = Am + Ac )

Am Area cover PV module (m2) Ac Area cover glazed portion (m2)

b Breadth of receiver (m) cf Specific heat of fluid (J/kgK)

dx Elemental length (m) o Temperature coefficient of efficiency (K-1)

U b ,ca Overall heat transfer coefficients from solar cell to ambient through glass cover
(W/m2K)

U T ,cf
Overall heat transfer coefficient from solar cell to fluid (W/m2K)

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U t , pa
Total (top and bottom) overall heat transfer coefficient from plate to ambient (W/m2K)

(0 ) Efficiency at standard test condition (It =1000 W/m2, To =25o C)

(m ) Electrical efficiency of PV module

Introduction:
In this era, use of the renewable energy plays an important role to fulfill the requirement of
energy demand and conserve fossil fuel to save environment. Due to global warming and
climate change, it is really important to the use of renewable energy sources such as solar
energy at large scale. For sustainable forced mode of operation of flat plate collector,
photovoltaic thermal (PVT) flat plate collectors have been developed [1]. Theoretical model
on conventional thermal collector PVT system presented heat loss optimization for normal
and reverse flat plate collector, the PV array output also predicted. Performance was
compared between conventional and modified reverse flat plate collector [2]. Computer
simulation to optimize the performance of hybrid PVT air collector system was done. The
research has been carried out for normal and reverse flat plate collector [3]. Performance for
curve absorber compound parabolic concentrator [4]. There are lots of works carried out by
many researchers in the area of photovoltaic thermal (PVT) flat plate collectors. Designed
and studied the performance of different configuration of hybrid PVT flat plate collector the
heat transfer through the flowing fluid below the PV module and increase the electrical
efficiency of PVT system [5,6,7] .The performance evaluation in terms of energy efficiency
and exergy efficiency with a variable parameter as a constant collection temperature and
mass flow rate [8,9] has been done. In this present communication the reverse absorber PVT
air collector have been analyzed on overall thermal energy and overall exergy basis for the
month of January and June at the clear sky day condition.

3. Thermal modeling:

The side view, front view and flow pattern of air in the reverse absorber partially covered
PVT air collector system have been shown by the figure. The energy balance equation for the
different segment is given by the equation:

Width
Solar cell Absorber plate(p) Direction of air is
Glass Cover (g )
1
11
perpendicular to the
Insulation plane
sun Langth
n
tio
ia

Solar cell Absorber1 plate(p)

d

Glass Cover (g )
rra

1
la
So

Insulation

Air in Air out

Glass Cover

Reflecting mirror
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Energy balance equation for solar cell of glass to glass PV module:

!! !! !!! ! ! !! !"# = !!.!" !! !! !"# + !!,!" !! !! !"# +

!! !! !!! !! !! ! ! !"#(1)

Energy balance equation for blackened plate:

!! (! !! )!! (!!! )! ! !"# = h!" !! !! !"# + !!,!" !! !! !"# (2)

Rate of energy gain by the air in the duct is given by:

!!!
!! !! !" = !!,! !! !! !!,!" !! !! !"# (3)
!"

The solar cell efficiency ( c ) of photovoltaic module is given by Evans (1981) and Schott
(1985) which is mentioned below

c = o [1 o (Tc To )] (4)
One can find expression for !!"#

!" ! = !, !! = !!" and !" ! = !! , !! = !!"#

!" !,!"" ! ! !!!.! !! !!!.! !!
T!"# = !!.!
+ T! 1 exp
! ! !!
+ T!" exp
! ! !! (5)

Energy balance for the conventional collector:

For the flowing fluid

!!
!! !! ! !" = !!,! !! !! !!,!" !! !! !"# (6)
!"

Energy balance for absorber:

!!! (!!! )! ! !"# = !!"# !! !! + !!,! (!! !! ) !"#

On applying boundary conditions, at x = 0, T! = T!"# and At x = L! , T! = T!"# expression

for T!"# can be obtained and given as following,

!" !,!"" !(!) !!!,! !! !!!,! !!

!!"# = !!,!
+ !! ! !"# ! ! !!
+ !!"# !"# ! ! !!
(7)

On putting the value of T!"# we have T!"# = T!"

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!" !,!"" !(!) !!!,! !! (!")!,!"" ! ! !!!.! !!

!!" = + !! ! !"# + + !! ! !"# +
!!,! ! ! !! !!.! ! ! !!

!!!.! !! !!!,! !!
!!" !"# ! ! !!
!"# ! ! !!

(8)

The electrical efficiency m of photovoltaic module system by Tiwari et al. (2011) is given
as follows:

m = g c c
(9)

Overall Energy and Exergy Analysis:

Energy Analysis:
The rate of thermal energy for the reverse absorber partially covered PVT air collector system
is obtained by:
. .
Qth = m f c f (T fo T fi )
(10)
Useful daily electrical energy available (kWh) from the system is given as
t =n
Eel = m I t Am
t =1 (11)
Where n is the number of hours the working fluid ie air is used from the system.

The electrical efficiency m of system

The daily thermal energy available (kWh) of the system is given:

. t =n .
Q th = m f c f (T fo T fi )
t =1 (12)
Where n is the number of hours the working fluid is used from the system.
Overall Exergy Analysis

The thermal exergy of the system (T fo1 = Too ) can be written as

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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. . . (T fo + 273)
E xc = m f c f (T fo T fi ) m f c f (Ta + 273) ln (W ) (13)
(T fi + 273)

Solar radiation exergy can be expressed as

4
4T Ta
E xsun = I b 1 a +
3 Ts Ts
(14)

Where Ta is the surrounding temperature in Kelvin and Ts = Tsun = 6000 K

The ratio of thermal exergy output to the thermal exergy input is called thermal exergy
efficiency.
.
E xc
Overall thermal exergy efficiency = .
(15)
Aa E xsun

Electrical exergy efficiency is given by m

.
E el = m It Am (16)

The overall exergy efficiency of the systems can be determined by adding both the thermal
exergy efficiency and electrical exergy efficiency.
.
E xc
So overall exergy efficiency = ( m ) + .
(17)
Aa E xsun

Result:

The hourly variation of total radiation on inclined surface at the angle 30o on reverse absorber
photovoltaic thermal air collector has been computed by Matlab 7 of for a typical day in the
month of January for New Delhi condition by using the climate data of solar radiation I (t) on
a horizontal surface obtained by IMD Pune India for design and climatic parameters of the
system.

1100 50
S ola r ra dia tion(J a n)
S ola r ra dia tion(J une)
1000 A mbient a ir tempera ture(J a n) 45
A mbient a ir tempera ture(J une)

900 40

800 35

700 30
2
S ola r R a dia tion, W /m

A m bie nt a ir te m pe ra ture , C
0

600 25

500 20

400 15

300 10

200 5

100 0
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

T im e ,hours

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110
a m bie nt te m pe ra ture
s ole r c e ll te m pe ra ture
100

90
O utle t te m pe ra ture
Fig. 2. Hourly variation of Total solar
80
radiation (It) at an angle 300 and
Ambient air temperature (Ta)
T e m pe ra ture , ( c )
0

70

Fig. 3. Hourly variation of ( T c ), (Ta),

60

50
m& f = 0 .0 1 k g /s and (Tfo) of reverse absorber partially
40
covered PVT air collector system for
30
the month of june
20
8 10 12 14 16

T im e , (hours )

The solar cell temperature is significantly higher than the outlet air temperature. The outlet
air temperature can be increased by reducing the mass flow rate of flowing fluid in the duct.

100
a m bie nt te m pe ra ture C a s e A C a s e B
100 s ole r c e ll te m pe ra ture 90
O utle t te m pe ra ture
80
80
O utle t te m pe ra ture , T fo ( c )
0

70
te m pe ra ture , T ( c )
0

60 60

50
40
40

20 m& f = 0 .0 1 k g /s 30

m& f = 0.01k g /s
20
0
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 8 10 12 14 16

T im e ,(hours ) T im e ,(hours )

Fig. 4. Hourly variation of ( T c ), (Ta), and Fig. 5. Hourly variation of (Tfo) of reverse
(Tfo) of reverse absorber partially covered absorber partially covered PVT air
PVT air collector system for the month of collector system for the month of June and
june January

Fig.5. Shows the hourly variation of electrical efficiency ( m ) of PV module has decreased
with increasing the solar cell temperature in the month of January and similarly in June solar
cell temperature has reached higher than electrical efficiency goes down respectively Hear
electrical efficiency ( m ) of PV module is decreases with increases the solar cell temperature
due to the thermal agitation in the depletion region by the charge carriers.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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5
110 A vera ge s oler c ell tempera ture(ja n)
0.15 T he rm a l e ne rg y
A vera ge s oler c ell tempera ture(june)
E lec tric a l effic ienc y(ja n)
E le c tric a l e ne rg y
E lec tric a l effic ienc y(june)
100 0.14
4
S ola r c e ll te m pe ra ture , T c ( c )
0

90 0.13

E le c tric a l e ffic ie nc y m

D a ily E ne rg y,K W h
3
80 0.12

70 0.11
2

60 0.10

1
50 0.09

m& f = 0.01k g /s
40 0.08 0
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 C a s e A C a s e B

T im e ,(hours )

Fig.6 Hourly variation of ( T c ) and ( m ) for Fig. 7 Daily energy (thermal and Electrical) in kWh
of reverse absorber partially covered
reverse absorber PVT air collector. PVT air collector system.

Fig.6 and Fig.7 represents the hourly variation of overall thermal energy, electrical energy
and overall thermal energy. We find that there is variation of total overall exrgy efficiency
13.7% to12.5% for the month of January in fig.6 and the variation from12.7% to 12.1% for
the month of June

0.150
C a s e A C a s e B
0.145
m& f = 0 .0 1 k g /s
O ve ra ll E x e rg y E ffic ie nc y, in fra c tion

0.140

0.135

0.130

0.125

0.120

0.115

0.110
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

T im e , (hours )

Fig. 8. Hourly variation of Overall exergy efficiency (in fraction) of reverse absorber partially
covered PVT air collector system for January and June

Conclusion: On the basis of present study some conclusion has been drawn:

Electrical efficiency of PV module has decreased with increasing the solar cell
temperature in the month of January and similarly in June solar cell temperature has
reached higher than electrical efficiency goes down respectively.

The thermal and electrical energy of the system has been found 4.35 kWh per day,
0.63kWh per day in the month of June and 3.5 kWh per day, 0.56 kWh per day in
January

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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Overall thermal energy for a day 6.01kWh per day in the month of June and 4.98 kWh
per day in January

It observed that overall exergy efficiency is higher in the month of January due to
minimum heat loss comparatively in the month of June.

References:

[1] DL. Evans, Simplified method for predicting PV array output. sol energy 1981;27:555-
60
[2] V.K. Goel, Ram. Chandra, B.C. Raychaudhuri, performance comparison of two pass
modified reverse flat plate collector with conventional flat plate collectors. . Energy
Convers Manage 1983; 23:177-84.
[3] Simple transient analysis of a normal and reverse flat plate collector. Energy Convers
Manage 1986; 26:145-6.
[4] B. Norton, DE. Prapas, PC. Eames, SD. Probert, measured performances of curved
inverted vee absorber compound parabolic concentrator. sol energy 1989;43:267-79
[5] T.T. Chow, A review on photovoltaic/ thermal hybrid solar technology. Applied Energy
(2010) 87: 365-369.
[6] S.Dubey, G.S. Sandhu, G.N. Tiwari, Analytical expression for electrical efficiency of
PV/T hybrid air collecter. Applied Energy (2009) 86: 697-705.
[7] Dubey, S., Solanki, S.C., Tiwari, A., (2009) Energy and exergy Analysis of PV/T hybrid
air collectors connected in series. Energy Building, 41: 863-870.
[8] V.K. Goel, Ram. Chandra, B.C. Raychaudhuri, (1987) A study on the two absorber
reverse flat plate collector. Energy convers, 27: 335-341.
[9] R.K. Mishra, G.N. Tiwari, Energy and exergy analysis of hybrid photovoltaic thermal
water collector for constant collection temperature mode. Solar Energy (2013) 90, 58-67.
[10] G.N. Tiwari, Solar energy: fundamentals, design, modeing and applications. New
Delhi: Narosa publication house; 2002.

Appendix:
.

m f cf U A
V0 = 0.5m / s Fm = 1 exp . l ,c c
U l ,c Ac
m f c f

ho = 5.7 + 3.8V
hi = 2.8 + 3V
( )c ,eff = ( g' ) p g ( ) m,eff = hp2 ( ) 2,eff + hp1 ( )1,eff
'
( ) 2,eff = ( ) p g (1 C )
g

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

U t ,ca U t ,cp ()!,!"" = h! ! and U!,! = (U!,!" +

U L1 = U!,!" )
(U t ,ca + U t ,cp )

hpf U t , pa
U l ,c =
hpf + U t , pa

U!.! = U!.!" + U!,!"

h!,! U!,!
U!,!" =
U!,! + h!,!
h!"
h! =
U!,! + h!"
()!,!"" = h!" ! ! (!! )! (1 ! ) + h!" ! (!! ) 1 ! !
! = ! ! (!! )! !
U!,!" U!,!" U!.!"
h!" = and U!.!" =
U!.!" + U!,!" U!.!" + U!,!"
h!" h!" U!,!"
h!" = and U!,!" =
h!" + U!,!" h!" + U!,!"

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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CHAPTER 4
SOLAR BASED FOOD PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY
________________________________________________________________________

Ch. FPT01

Effect of photovoltaic area on the performance of flat plate air collector

integrated greenhouse solar dryer
Sumit Tiwari1,*, V.K. Dwivedi2
1
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauzkhas, New Delhi 110016, India
2
ME Dept. Galgotias College of Engg. & Tech., Gr. Noida, UP, India
* Corresponding author. Tel: +918586985510, E-mail: engg.sumit85@gmail.com

Abstract: In this communication, an effort has been made to observe the effect of photovoltaic area on the
performance of flat plate air collector integrated with greenhouse solar dryer. For the theoretical analysis,
ambient air temperature and solar radiation have been considered from IMD (Indian Meteorological
Department), Pune, India. Further, thermal modelling has been done for the flat plate air collector integrated with
greenhouse solar dryer and different parameter like outlet air temperature, greenhouse room temperature, crop
temperature, and cell temperature have been calculated with the help of MATLAB program. Further, effect of
photovoltaic area on thermal energy, electrical energy, overall thermal energy, thermal efficiency, electrical
efficiency and overall efficiency have been evaluated. Variation in thermal energy, electrical energy and overall
thermal energy with respect to variation of photovoltaic area (0 to 100 percent) found to be 2.08-1.47, 0-0.42 and
2.08-2.88 kWh respectively for a typical day of May.

Keywords: flat plate air collector, greenhouse solar dryer, photovoltaic, thermal efficiency

Nomenclature
Ac Area of the crop surface (m2) hcrr Total heat transfer coefficient from crop
surface to drying chamber (W/m2K)
2
Acf Opening area of fan (m )
hcrc Convective heat transfer coefficient from
Ac1 Cross-sectional area of duct of air crop surface to drying chamber (W/m2K)
collector (m2)
hcrew or Evaporative heat transfer coefficient from
Am Area of the PV module (m2) hew crop surface to drying chamber (W/m2K)

Aw Area of side walls of dryer (m2) ho Heat transfer coefficient from top of
2
module to ambient air (W/m2K)
At Area of the tray (m )
hpf Heat transfer coefficient from absorbing
Cf Specific heat of air (J/kg K) plate to working fluid (W/m2K)
Ccr Specific heat of crop (J/kg K) It Solar intensity (W/m2)
d Diameter of DC fan (m) Iw Total solar intensity on the walls of
drying chamber (W/m2)
Eel Electrical energy (kWh)
Kg Thermal conductivity of glazing (W/mK)
hi Heat transfer coefficient inside PVT air
collector and solar drying system Lg Thickness of the glass (m)
(W/m2K)

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M&f Mass flow rate of working fluid (air) Qth,ex Thermal exergy (kWh)
(kg/s)
c Absorptivity of solar cell
Mcr Mass of crop (kg)
cr Absorptivity of crop
PTr Partial pressure at green house chamber
temperature (N/m2) 0 Temperature dependent efficiency factor

PTcr Partial pressure at crop temperature c Packing factor of module

(N/m2)
Relative humidity
Ta Ambient temperature (0C)
0 Standard efficiency at standard condition
To Cell temperature for optimum cell
efficiency c Solar cell efficiency

Tc Cell temperature (0C) m Module efficiency

Tcr Crop temperature (0C) th Thermal efficiency

Tcro Initial crop temperature (0C) el Electrical efficiency

Tr Drying chamber temperature (0C) eq,th Equivalent thermal efficiency

TfoN Air temperature at outlet of Nth PVT air ex Exergy efficiency

collector (0C)
eq,ex Equivalent exergy efficiency
Ubcf Heat transfer coefficient from bottom of
module to working fluid (W/m2K) v Wind velocity in ambient (m/s)

Utca Heat transfer coefficient from top of v1 Air velocity in duct of air collector (m/s)
module to ambient air (W/m2K)
v2 Air velocity from fan (m/s)
Ubpa Heat transfer coefficient from bottom of
v3 Air velocity in drying chamber (m/s)
absorbing plate to ambient air (W/m2K)
g Transmittivity of glass
Qth Thermal energy (kWh)

Qeq,th Equivalent thermal energy (kWh)

1. Introduction
Drying is a one of the oldest food preservation techniques which is done by the heating effect
of natural environmental conditions, specially the sun. The method of solar drying is
indisputably most economical method among various existing drying method because it
doesnt need any costly setup and energy source. For preservation of plants, meat, fish, wood,
seeds, fruits, and other agricultural products, open air solar drying has been used since olden
days. Yaldiz et al. [1] determined that solar drying systems can decrease crop losses and
enhanced product quality when compared to the traditional methods of drying such as
sun/shade drying. Reasons behind crop losses in developing countries are inadequate farming
and fertilization, shortage of appropriate technology, unsuitable transportation, shortage of
marketing strategies, high post-harvest losses etc. The food loss occurs upto 40% of total
production due to above said reasons. The food preservation is the only technique to decrease
the post-harvest food losses. The main benefit of drying is the decrease in moisture content to
a safe level which extend the life of dried products. The elimination of water content from
crop delivers microbiological stability and decreases deteriorative chemical reactions.
Drying involves both heat and mass transfer. There are four drying techniques, namely:
electrical drying, firewood/fuel drying, open air sun drying, and solar drying [2-4]. A portable
solar dryer (direct type) working under natural convection has been designed by Othieno [5]

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which have rectangular shape with blackened interior surfaces and polyethylene plastic top. It
was found through experimentation that for optimum performance of dryer, flow of air can be
enhance by well-designed chimney. Arata et al. [6] studied different types of solar dryers used
to dry various crops. Arinze et al. [7] reported a new mobile solar grain dryer suitable for
commercial use. It was concluded that present grain dryer has capability to dry about 60 and
80 tonnes of canola and wheat in 3 and 6 days respectively, in a deep-bed of about 6 m.
Further, the energy collection efficiency found upto 75% for the solar collector. Mumba [8]
reported a solar drying system integrated with photovoltaic (PV) under forced mode
operation. It was found that the grain drying with a PV operated DC fan, decreases the drying
time above 70% in comparison to sun drying. Leon et al. [9] were done detailed review of
parameters used in testing and assessing different types of solar dryers.

2. Experimental setup

Sun

Hot air out Hot air out

Solar
Radiation Dryer body (glass)

Crop

Glass Crop tray

Hot air in

PV module

Ambient air

Flat plate collector

Fig. 1 Partially covered flat plate air collector integrated with greenhouse drying system

Figure 1 shows partially covered flat plate air collector integrated with greenhouse drying
system. The experimental setup consist of flat plate air collector and drying system. Flat plate
collector divided into two section namely, photovoltaic thermal (PVT) air collector and
conventional air collector.

3. Thermal Modelling
The following assumptions has made to develop the mathematical model of thermal
modelling,
i. Heat capacities of different materials are neglected
ii. thin layer drying
iii. Single crop tray
iv. Area of crop and tray are same
Energy balance equation for partial part of PVT air collector

Energy balance equation for PV,

c g c I t Am = U tca (Tc Ta ) Am + U bcf (Tc T f ) Am + g cc I t Am (1)

Temperature dependent solar cell efficiency can be written as [27]

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c = o (1 o (Tc To )) (3)

Energy balance equation for absorbing plate,

p (1 c ) g 2 It bdx = hpf (Tp Tf )bdx + Ubpa (Tp Ta )bdx (3)

Energy balance equation for working fluid (air),

dT f
M&f C f dx = [U bcf (Tc T f ) + hpf (Tp T f )]bdx (4)
dx
Energy balance equation for conventional (glazed part) air collector
Energy balance equation for blackened surface

g I t bdx = [U bpa (Tp Ta ) + hpf (Tp T f )]bdx (5)

Energy balance equation for flowing fluid,

dT f
M&f C f dx + U tfa (T f Ta )bdx = [hpf (Tp T f )]bdx (6)
dx
Energy balance equation for drying chamber
Energy balance equation for crop
dTcr
cr g I w Aw + M&f C f (T foN T fi ) = M cr Ccr + hcrr (Tcr Tr ) At (7)
dt
Energy balance equation for drying chamber

hcrr (Tcr Tr ) At = [M&f C f + (UA)](Tr Ta ) (8)

From equations (5), (7), (8)

dT f bU Lm b
+( )T f = ( )[( ) meff I t + TaU Lm ]
dx &
M f Cf &
M f Cf
(9)
Where,

U bcf hpf
U Lm = U tfa + U bfa , hp1 = , hp 2 =
U tca + U bcf hpf + U bpa

U tca U bpa
U tfa = , U bfa = , ( ) meff = hp1 ( c g c m ) + hp 2 p (1 c ) g 2
U tca + U bcf hpf + U bpa

For solution of equation (9), it can be compared with equations (10), (11)
dT
+ aT = f (t ) (10)
dt

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f (t )
T= (1 e at ) + Tcro e at (11)
a

Solution of the equation (9) is,

( ) meff I t bU Lm Lm bU L
T fom1 = [ + Ta ][1 exp( )] + T fi exp( Lm m ) (12)
U Lm &
M f Cf M&f C f

(at initial condition x=0, Tf=Tfi and x=Lm, Tf=Tfom1)

From equations (5) and (6)

dT f bU Lc bU Lc ( )ceff I t
+( )T f = ( )[ + Ta ] (13)
dx M&f C f M&f C f U Lc

Where,

hpf U bpa hpf

hp 2 = , U pfa = , U Lc = U pfa + U tfa
U bpa + hpf U bpa + hpf

( )c ,eff = hp 2 ( p g )

Solution of equation (13) can be written by comparing equations (10), (11)

( )ceff I t U Lc Ac U A
T fo1 = [ + Ta ][1 exp( )] + T foi exp( Lc c ) (14)
U Lc M&f C f M&f C f

And,

( ) meff I t bU Lm Lm bU L
T foi = T fom1 = [ + Ta ][1 exp( )] + T fi exp( Lm m ) (15)
U Lm &
M f Cf M&f C f

From equations (14) and (15)

It T [ AFRU L ]1
Tfo1 = [ AFR ( )]1 + a [ AFRU L ]1 + T fi [1 ] (16)
&
M f Cf &
M f Cf M&f C f

The efficiency of PV module can be describe as

m = g cc (17)

Electrical energy available through PV module can be describe as

E&= m Am I (t ) (18)

Thermal energy gain from N PVT air collector can be written as

Q&th = M&f C f (Tf 01 Ta ) (19)

Overall (equivalent) thermal energy gain can be calculated as

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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Q&eq ,th = Q&th + ( E&/ 0.38) (20)

Thermal efficiency of the PVT air collector,

th = (M&f C f (Tr Ta )) / ( Am It + Ac It ) (21)

Overall (equivalent) thermal efficiency

c (22)
eq ,th = th +
o.38

4. Result and discussion

Figure 2 shows the hourly variation of solar intensity and ambient temperature. Figure 3
indicates the hourly variation of solar cell temperature and solar cell efficiency. It is clear
from the graph that with increment of solar cell temperature corresponding efficiency
decreases.

It Ta

1000 45

Ambient Temperature, 0C
Solar radia>on, W/m2

800
40
600
400
35
200
0 30
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
>me, h

Fig. 2 Hourly variation of solar intensity and ambient temperature

Tc c
Ambient temperature, 0C

80 0.135
Solar cell eciency, c

0.13
60
0.125
40 0.12
0.115
20
0.11
0 0.105
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time, h

Fig. 3 hourly variation of solar cell temperature and solar cell efficiency

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El c

Solar cell eciency, c

Electrical energy, kWh
0.1 0.135
0.08 0.13
0.125
0.06
0.12
0.04
0.115
0.02 0.11
0 0.105
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time, h

Fig. 4 Hourly variation of electrical energy and solar cell efficiency

Figure 4 shows hourly variation of electrical energy and solar cell efficiency which has same
nature like Fig. 3. Figure 5 shows hourly variation of outlet air temperature coming from
partially covered PVT flat plate air collector. Figure shows the effect of photovoltaic area on
outlet temperature if area of PV increases, outlet air temperature coming from flat plate
collector decreases. Figure 6 shows variation of thermal energy (Qth), electrical energy (El)
and equivalent (overall) thermal energy (Qeq,th) with respect to photovoltaic area covered on
flat plate air collector for a typical day. It is clear from the graph that as the percentage of PV
area increases, the overall thermal energy increases although thermal energy decreases. Figure
7 shows the variation of thermal efficiency (th), electrical efficiency (el) and equivalent
(overall) efficiency (eq,th) with respect to photovoltaic area covered on flat plate air collector
for a typical day. Through calculation daily average of thermal efficiency (th), electrical
efficiency (el) and equivalent (overall) efficiency (eq,th) found to be 27.85%, 12.165% and
59.88% respectively.

100% G,0% PV 75% G, 25% PV, 50% G, 50% PV 0% G, 100% PV

55
Outlet air temperature,0C

50
45
40
35
30
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time, h

Fig. 5 Hourly variation of outlet air temperature coming from partially covered PVT flat plate air
collector

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
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Qth El Qeq,th

3.5
3
Energy, kWh
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
100% G,0% PV 75% G, 25% PV, 50% G, 50% PV 0% G, 100% PV
Collector specica>on

Fig. 6 Variation of thermal energy (Qth), electrical energy (El) and equivalent (overall) thermal energy
(Qeq,th) with respect to photovoltaic area covered on flat plate air collector for a typical day

eq,th el th

0.8
Eciency, c

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time, h

Fig. 7 Variation of thermal efficiency (th), electrical efficiency (el) and equivalent (overall) efficiency
(eq,th) with respect to photovoltaic area covered on flat plate air collector for a typical day

5. Conclusions
The following conclusions made on the basis of present study
With increment of solar cell temperature corresponding solar cell efficiency decreases
and electrical energy increases.
If area of PV increases, outlet air temperature coming from flat plate collector
decreases.
As the percentage of PV area increases, the overall thermal energy increases although
thermal energy decreases.
Through calculation daily average of thermal efficiency (th), electrical efficiency (el)
and equivalent (overall) efficiency (eq,th) found to be 27.85%, 12.165% and 59.88%
respectively.

References
[1] Yaldiz O, Ertekin C, Uzun HI. Mathematical modelling of thin layer solar drying of sultana grapes. Energy
2001; 26:457465.

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Solaris 2017 India Renewable Energy Sources for Sustainable Climate
7-9 Feb 2017, Vanarasi,India

[2] Anyanwu CN, Okonkwo WI. Experimental determination of the drying rate constant of chilly yellow
pepper. In Proc. National Solar Energy Forum, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, 2006.
[3] Scanlin D, Renner M, Domermuth D and Moody H. The design, construction and use of an indirect,
through pass solar food dryer. Home Power 1997; 57:62 72.
[4] Whitefield D. Solar Dryer Systems and the Internet: Important Resources to Improve Food Preparation;
Conf. Paper: Int. Conf. on Solar Cooking, Kimberly, South Africa, 2000.
[5] Othieno H. Circulation of air in natural-convection solar dryers: research and development solar drying in
Africa. In: Proceedings of a Workshop held in Dakar, 1986; 4759.
[6] Arata A, Sharma VK, Spagna G. Performance evaluation of solar assisted dryers for low temperature
drying applications-II: experimental results. Energy Conversion & Management 1993; 34 (5):417426.
[7] Arinze AE, Sokhansanj S, Schonau GJ, Ellis V. Design and experimental evaluation of a new commercial-
type mobile solar grain dryer provided with high efficiency finned-plate collector. Renewable Energy 1996;
9 (14): 670675.
[8] Mumba J. Development of a photovoltaic powered forced circulation grain dryer for use in the tropics.
Renewable Energy 1995; 6(7): 855862.
[9] Leon MA, Kumar S, Bhattachaya SC. A comprehensive procedure for performance evaluation of solar
dryers. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews 2002; 6:367393.

329
Ch. FPT02

STUDIES ON PREPARATION AND HEATING VALUE OF BIO-COAL FROM WASTE

GREEN COCONUT SHELL FOR DOMESTIC COOKING FUEL

M.K.Ghosal1, N. Mahapatra2, N.Sahoo3 and P.K.Rout4

Department of Farm Machinery and Power, College of Agricultural Engineering and

Technology, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar-751003, Odisha,
India Corresponding E Mail: mkghosal1@rediffmail.com

Abstract

In the present situation when the prices of commercial fuels are showing a steep increase, the
production of charcoal from locally available waste biomass is one of the most feasible
alternative fuels. It also offers promising scope as an income-generating activity in the rural
sector. Green coconut shells are one such abundantly available agro-residue in coastal regions of
the state of Odisha. After consumption of water, the shells are simply dumped here and there, for
which their efficient utilization is crucial for providing bio-energy, releasing risk of
environmental pollution, and enhancing rural incomes. Carbonization and then densification may
be one of the important utilization routes for them. The objective of this paper is therefore to
explore the feasibility of preparing bio-coal (briquetted charcoal) from waste green coconut
shells as a substitute for cooking fuel. An attempt was therefore made in conducting experiments
in the Dept. of Farm Machinery and Power, OUAT, Bhubaneswar during 2014-15. In this
investigation, green coconut shells were first charred in a charring drum and the char was used to
prepare briquettes with and without binding material both by hand and a motorized extrusion
machine. The char was studied for its heating value. The average heating value of the briquettes
was determined by using them in a local chullah for heating water in a steel container. It was
found that the average heating value of machine made briquettes was almost double than that of
raw green coconut shell. Similarly, the test data revealed that the average heating value of
machine made briquettes was about 13 per cent higher than the handmade briquettes. The
research findings from the present study provide useful information on feasibility of green
coconut shell to be used as a suitable raw material for briquetting after carbonization and can be
used as a good cooking fuel.
Key words: Bio-coal, carbonization, biomass briquetting, heating value, green coconut shell

Introduction

Increasing demand of green coconut (tender coconut) among the consumers for its medicinal
properties and health benefits necessitates the effective utilization of discarded waste green
coconut shell after its consumption, mainly in coconut growing areas for deriving useful biofuel

1
2
Professor, Deptt. of Farm Machinery and Power,
3
Associate Professor, Deptt. of Farm Machinery and Power
Associate Professor, Deptt. of Soil and water Conservation Engineering,
Corresponding E-mail: mkghosal1@rediffmail.com
4
Ex-M.Tech. student, Dept. of Farm Machinery and Power, CAET, OUAT, Bhubaneswar

330
from it. Disposing off green coconut shell to the road sides immediately after the use of water by
the consumers is a usual practice followed with the vendors. Coconut is one of the important
plantation crops of Odisha, particularly in coastal districts. It has been reported that about 40 per
cent of the total coconut production of over 0.4 billion nuts per annum in the state are consumed
as tender nuts and 5 per cent are retained by the farmers for household and seed nut purpose.
About 32 per cent of the coconut production is consumed in the state itself and 23 per cent are
exported out of the state to Bihar and Madhya Pradesh (Coconut Development Board, Govt. of
India, 2012). Since tender nuts are available throughout the year and are sold all over the state,
the waste nuts are found abundantly and are dumped along the high ways, bus stands, railway
stations, hospital complex, road side shops, super malls, rural market places etc. After use of
water, the nuts are not even collected by the local residents as dehusking the same is very
difficult due to high moisture content of the husk and delicate nature of immature shell.
Accumulation and degradation of thrown away shell favor the landfill gas i.e. methane which is
nearly 30 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere
(Somayaji, 2005). Similarly the accumulation of shells in the water logged areas along the high
ways favour the breeding place of so many harmful micro-organisms and mosquitoes leading to
the adverse effects on the local environment. It has been reported that nearly 60 % of the total
coconut production in the coastal districts of Odisha are consumed as tender nuts (Economic
Survey, 2013, Govt. of Odisha). The husks of the coconut shell have the potential of converting
into energy-rich bio fuel because of their low ash content (Purohit et al., 2006), but people are
not aware of the fact and simply throw them as waste material causing subsequently the negative
impact on the local environment. Densification and carbonization of waste tender nuts through a
simple and low cost technology is therefore one of the effective utilization routes for deriving
high density and energy concentrated briquetted charcoal (bio-coal) in situ because of the
bulkiness of the husk and difficulty in transporting to a longer distance. Carbonization of
biomass residues almost doubles the energy value per unit weight compared to unprocessed
biomass (Dasappa, 2011).
In recent years, the so-called bio-coal (or green coal) has received at lot of attention in the
energy sector. To be clear, bio-coal, as the name implies, is a fossil coal substitute which is
produced from renewable biomass resources. It is considered a coal substitute because it can be
handled and combusted in the same way as fossil coal and possessing coal-like physical

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properties (Agar and Wihersaari, 2012). Carbonization entails conversion of the biomass into
carbon through pyrolysis i.e., subjecting the biomass to high temperature, low oxygen
conditions. The carbon-rich product thus produced is briquetted showing a charcoal-like
appearance; hence the end product is named as charcoal briquettes or biocoal (Mwampamba
et al. 2013). No studies have so far been conducted for preparation of bio-coal from green
coconut shell and assessing its heating value for using it as an effective substitute for the cooking
fuel. Looking into the necessity of creating awareness among the people in the coastal regions of
Odisha regarding the utilization of most neglected and abundantly available source of
agricultural waste i.e. green coconut shell to a clean and energy-rich biofuel, an attempt has
therefore been made in this paper to study the feasibility of preparing bio-coal from waste green
coconut shell with the following objectives;
(i) To fabricate a portable and affordable charring drum for preparation of char from green
coconut shell
(ii) To study the suitable burning and charring time for effective char recovery from green
coconut shell
(iii)To prepare the briquettes from the char
(iv) To make a comparative study of the heating value of briquettes and unprocessed green
coconut shell
Materials and Methods
The present study was carried out on briquetting of char derived from waste green coconut shell.
The moisture contents of biomass in the range of 10-14 percent were preferred for better
carbonization process to occur. The ash content of biomass affects its slagging behaviour. The
biomass feedstock having ash content up to 4 % is preferred for briquetting. (Grover and Mishra,
1996). The raw green coconut shells were collected from different places of the city
Bhubaneswar where these were dumped as waste materials. The experiment was conducted in
the College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
during the year 2012-13. The collected shells were made into small pieces and sun dried for
about 4-5 days in order to reduce its moisture content in the range of 10-14 percent. Before using
the dried shells in the charring drum, their moisture contents were measured by oven drying
method. A charring drum for this purpose was fabricated from MS sheet with reinforcement with
the help of rings made up of MS flat. Gas welding was done to make the joint of MS sheet along

332
the wall of the drum perfectly air tight. The detailed dimensions and photograph of charring
drum is shown in the Fig. 1. A top feeding opening with a lid was provided on the drum. At the
bottom, an opening with cover was provided in order to remove the char and ash from the drum
when the carbonization process was over. The required amount of dry shells were put inside the
drum and then ignited. After they caught fire, they were left to burn for few minutes resulting
into the removal of volatile matter and moisture in the form of smoke from the drum. The air
supply into drum was then shut off by putting top cover on it. After that, the green coconut shells
were allowed to burn inside the drum in the restricted supply of air for carbonization process to
complete. The photograph for the carbonization of green coconut shells has been shown in the
Fig. 2. The carbon-rich end product of carbonization process i.e. charcoal was finally collected
from the drum by opening the bottom hinged door and then dried for making biomass briquettes.
The effective char recovery from the green coconut shell from the same drum has also been
studied by taking different burning and charring times keeping the amount of input material
constant. During the experiment, the drum was filled with 2/3rd of its capacity. The collected char
(fig. 3) was then crushed and to it a little amount of binder (cow dung or clay-silt soil) was
mixed. The amount of binders used was very less that may not affect the heating value of the
briquettes. The char and the binder were mixed thoroughly in to a paste by adding the reasonable
amount of water. Briquettes were made from the paste both by hand pressing and by feeding the
paste in to the motorized extrusion machine to obtain small briquettes of about 15gms weight.
These briquettes were further dried under sun for removal of moisture which would otherwise
create smoke during burning. The briquetting machine used for the study is shown in Fig. 4.
The heating values of the materials including the briquettes were determined by heating
water on a chullah (Fig. 5). For this purpose, a fixed amount (2000 ml) of water was heated on a
chullah in a stainless steel container and the temperature rise in the water was recorded with the
help of a digital thermometer. The heating value of the fuels was calculated on the basis of
temperature rise of water and container using the following formula;
H = mw Sw tw + mc Sc tc
Where, mw = mass of water,
Sw = specific heat of water,
tw = temperature rise in water,
mc = mass of container

333
 Sc = specific heat of container (stain less steel)
tc = temperature rise of container
Assuming tw = tc = t
H = (mw Sw + mc Sc) t
For the study the container used was stainless steel pot with mass 480 g. Water taken in the
container for study was 2000ml. These values were used to calculate the heating value of fuels
with specific heat of water as 4.18 kJ/Kg 0C and that of steel as 0.47 kJ/Kg 0C. The initial
temperature of the water was recorded before the experiment. The heating of the water was
continued for a fixed time and during the period, the temperature rise was noted for all the cases
i.e. briquettes with clay binder, briquettes with cow dung binder, hand made briquettes and the
raw biomass.

All dimensions in cm
Fig. 1: Photograph of charring drum used for study

334
Fig. 2: Photograph of carbonization of sun dried shell in the charring drum

Fig. 3: Photograph of samples of char collected after carbonization

335
Fig. 4: Photograph of briquetting machine used for study

Fig. 5: Photograph showing study of heating value of briquettes

Results and Discussion
The results of the study discussed in this section are under the following heads;

336
 (i) Percentage of char recovery at different burning and charring time
(ii) Preparation of briquettes
(iii)Heating value of briquettes
Percentage of char recovery at different burning and charring time
The charring of green coconut shells were done in the fabricated charring drum in which the
percentages of char recovery were studied at the various combinations of burning and charring
times keeping the amount of input material same for all observations and have been mentioned in
the Table-1.
Table-1. Percentages char recovery at various burning and charring time for green coconut shell

No. of Amount Burning Time of Char recovery, Unburnt unburnt

observations of raw time, charring, recovery, % coconut coconut
material, minute hour kg shell, kg shell, %
kg
1 18 5 2 4.3 23.88 4.7 26.52
2 18 5 2.5 5.2 28.98 4.1 23.07
3 18 5 3 5.6 31.00 3.7 20.57
4 18 10 2 5.4 29.88 3.3 18.42
5 18 10 2.5 6.0 33.00 2.7 15.34
6 18 10 3 6.3 35.00 2.4 13.48
7 18 13 2 6.1 34.22 2.3 13.04
8 18 13 2.5 6.8 38.08 1.9 10.56
9 18 13 3 7.2 40.00 1.4 8.06
10 18 16 2 7.6 42.35 1.5 8.00
11 18 16 2.5 8.4 46.51 0.8 4.61
12 18 16 3 8.8 49.23 0.5 2.76
13 18 20 2 8.2 45.68 0.4 2.22
14 18 20 2.5 6.9 38.34 0.4 2.22
From the above the experiments, it was found that the percentages of char recovery increased
with the increase of burning as well as charring time. Char recovery percentage increased with
the increase of charring time from 2 to 3 hours, keeping burning times 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 13
minutes, and 16 minutes successively. Char recovery percentage started decreasing at 20 minutes
burning time due to more burning of biomass and resulted into more ash formation.

The highest char recovery (49.23 %) was found when the burning time was kept for 16 minutes
and charring time was kept for 3 hours in the same charring drum.

337
Preparation of briquettes.
The briquettes were prepared during the study in accordance with the procedure mentioned in the
previous section. The briquettes prepared were used to study their moisture content and heating
values. The moisture content of the materials was determined by oven drying method by using
the standard procedure. The moisture contents (wet basis) of raw biomass and the briquettes are
presented in the Table-2.
Table-2. Moisture content of raw material and briquettes
Materials Initial mass (gm) Final mass (gm) Moisture content (%)
Green coconut shell (sun dried) 12.134 10.726 11.6
Handmade briquettes 14.426 13.384 7.22
Machine made briquettes 12.857 12,212 5.01
It was observed that the moisture content of the briquettes was less the moisture content of the
raw material causing less smoke when burnt as cooking fuel.
Heating value of briquettes
The heating value of the raw material and the briquettes were determined by following the
procedure mentioned in the previous section. However, the heat loss due to radiation and flame
going out of the container area was not considered during the study. The calculations of average
heating value of each material were done and are summarized in Table 3.
Heating value of briquettes
Mass of container (mc) = 0.48 kg
Water taken in the container (mw) = 2000 ml 2.0 kg
Machine made briquettes with clay binder
Mass of the material = 250 gm
Initial water temperature (T1) = 33.4 0C
Final water temperature (T2) = 92.7 0C
Rise in temperature ( t) = 59.3 0C
H= (2 x 4.18 + 0.48 x 0.47) x 59.3 = 508.79 kJ
Hence heating value of machine made briquettes with clay binder = 2035 kJ/kg
Machine made briquettes with cow dung binder
Mass of the material = 250 gm
Initial water temperature (T1) = 33.8 0C

338
Final water temperature (T2) = 93.6 0C
Rise in temperature ( t) = 59.8 0C
H= (2 x 4.18 + 0.48 x 0.47) x 59.8 = 513.08 kJ
Hence heating value of machine made briquettes with clay binder = 2052 kJ/kg
Handmade briquettes with clay binder
Mass of the material = 250 gm
Initial water temperature (T1) = 34.2 0C
Final water temperature (T2) = 86.6 0C
Rise in temperature ( t) = 52.4 0C
H= (2 x 4.18 + 0.48 x 0.47) x 52.4 = 449.59 kJ
Hence heating value of machine made briquettes with clay binder = 1798 kJ/kg
Handmade briquettes with cow dung binder
Mass of the material = 250 gm
Initial water temperature (T1) = 33.9 0C
Final water temperature (T2) = 86.9 0C
Rise in temperature ( t) = 53 0C
H= (2 x 4.18 + 0.48 x 0.47) x 53 = 454.74 kJ
Hence heating value of machine made briquettes with clay binder = 1818 kJ/kg
Raw coconut shell
Mass of the material = 250 gm
Initial water temperature (T1) = 34.2 0C
Final water temperature (T2) = 74.9 0C
Rise in temperature ( t) = 40.7 0C
H= (2 x 4.18 + 0.48 x 0.47) x 40.7 = 349.2 kJ
Hence heating value of machine made briquettes with clay binder = 1397 kJ/kg.

Table-3. Heating value of materials

Materials Heating value (kJ/Kg)
Raw green coconut shell 1397
Machine made green coconut shell briquette with clay binder 2035
Machine made green coconut shell briquette with cow dung binder 2052
Hand made green coconut shell briquette with clay binder 1798
Hand made green coconut shell briquette with cow dung binder 1818

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The test data showed that the heating value in case of machine made briquettes from green
coconut shell with clay binder was 45.6 per cent and with cow dung binder 46.8 per cent higher
than raw coconut shells. Heating value of handmade briquettes from green coconut shell with
clay binder was 28.7 per cent and with cow dung binder 30.1 per cent higher than raw coconut
shell. It was also found that the average heating value of machine made briquettes was 13 per
cent higher than the handmade briquettes. Thus machine made briquettes were found to be better
than handmade briquettes for fuel purpose.
Conclusions
Waste green coconut shells are abundantly found in the coastal areas of the state of odisha.
Although a large amount of the above agricultural residues are produced throughout the year,
their contribution to sustainable energy supply has remained low due to inefficient and
unplanned use. These are normally being used as fuel after drying and direct burning causing a
very less heating value. These residues have low heating value per unit volume and high
transportation as well as storage costs when used in as received condition. These difficulties can
be largely overcome through carbonized briquetting process. Hence the present investigation has
been undertaken to study the feasibility of preparation of fuel briquettes for waste green coconut
shell and the following conclusions have been obtained from the above study.
(i) The charring drum fabricated was found suitable for charring of the green coconut shell
(ii) Char recovery percentage was found to be around 50% with 16 minutes burning time and
3 hours charring time at 2/3rd filled condition of inputs in the charring drum.
(iii)Moisture content of briquettes was found to be about 130 percent less than the raw green
coconut shell (sun dried) causing less smoke when used as cooking fuel
(iv) The average heating value of machine made briquettes was almost double than that of
raw green coconut shell
(v) The findings provide useful information on feasibility of green coconut shell to be used
as a suitable material for briquetting and used as a good user friendly cooking fuel.
References
1. Agar, D. and Wihersaari, M. 2012. Bio-coal, torrefied lignocellulosic resources-key
properties for its use in co-firing with fossil coal- Their status. Biomass and Bioenergy
44(2012), 107-111.

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 2. Anonymous. 2012. Coconut Development Board. Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India.
2012.
3. Anonymous. 2013. Economic Survey, 2012-13. Directorate of Economics and statistics.
Govt. of Odisha.
4. Dasappa, S. 2011. Potential of biomass energy for electricity generation in Sub-Saharan
Africa. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2011, 15: 203-233.
5. Grover, P. D. and Mishra, S.K. 1996. Biomass briquetting: Technology and practices.
Bangkok: FAO: 1996.
6. Mwampamba, Tuyeni H., Owen Matthew. and Pigaht Maurice. 2013. Opportunities,
Challenges and way forward for charcoal briquette industry in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Energy for Sustainable Development, 2013, 17: 158-170.
7. Purohit, Pallav, Tripathy, Arun Kumar and Kandpal, Tara Chandra. 2006. Energetics of
coal substitution by briquettes of agricultural residues. Energy 31 (2006) 1321-1331.
8. Somayaji, D. 2005. Methanogenesis from agro-industrial residues: Potential and
Prospects in wealth from waste, New Delhi: TERI, 2005.

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Ch. FPT03

Development and Performance Evaluation of Solar Refrigerator for Short-Term Storage of

Vegetables

D.K.Das1 and M.K.Ghosal2

1
Ex-Professor & Head, 2 Professor

Department of Farm Machinery and Power, College of Agricultural Engineering and

Technology, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar-751003,
Odisha, India

Corresponding E mail: mkghosal1@rediffmail.com

ABSTRACT
Vegetables are highly perishable and need immediate attention after harvest to prolong their
shelf life. It has been estimated that about 2530% of vegetables are lost annually at various
levels after harvesting in India. A wide gap still prevails between the production and storage
capacity available in our country. The combination of higher humidity and lower temperature
facilitates extended shelf life. Higher humidity and lower temperature inside the storage chamber
can be maintained by using both active evaporative cooler and mechanical refrigeration system.
The power requirement to operate such type of system is now-a-days a major constraint looking
into the reliability, availability, environmental impact and cost of the conventional source of
power. Hence, an attempt has been made in this study to develop a solar powered cool chamber
incorporating both vapour compression refrigeration system and active evaporative cooler as
solar electricity appears to be an attractive and viable proposition because of the abundant and
free availability of sun shine in tropical areas. A solar refrigerator of 100 kg capacity (0.56 m3)
has been fabricated in the College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, OUAT,
Bhubaneswar, Odisha and its performance has been studied for the storage of tomato both in
winter and summer period during the year 2014-15. The performance of the solar refrigerator
developed has been compared with the domestic refrigerator (70 litres capacity), modified IARI
design zero energy cool chamber (100 kg capacity) and in a naturally ventilated room condition.
The shelf-lives of freshly harvested tomatoes were found to be 12, 8, 6 and 4 days respectively in
the developed solar refrigerator, domestic refrigerator, zero energy cool chamber and in room
condition during peak summer period towards the end of the month of May, 2015, by keeping
them inside an perforated polythene packet and storing in each cooling device under the present
study. The unit cost of solar photovoltaic electricity from the experimental set up was estimated
to be Rs. 14/kWh compared to Rs. 5/kWh for the present tariff of grid electricity. The economics
of using the various cooling devices in this study for the storage of tomato is calculated to be
respectively Rs. 5.87, Rs. 8.56 and Rs. 1.96 per kg in developed solar refrigerator, domestic
refrigerator and zero energy cool chamber. The pay-back period of the developed solar
refrigerator is calculated to be about 2.5 years. This type set up can be easily constructed at the
farmers level and distress sale of vegetables can be avoided.
Key Words: Solar Energy, Solar Refrigeration, Solar Photovoltaic System, Storage of
vegetables,

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INTRODUCTION

Providing cooling by utilizing renewable energy such as solar energy is a key solution to the
energy and environmental issues. In recent years, scientists have increasingly paid more attention
to solar energy. One of the important applications of solar energy is the refrigeration system for
the preservation of fruits and vegetables due to the major concern of about 30-35 % of their
annual post harvest losses in the leading vegetable growing country like India (Economic Survey
of India, 2013). India is the second largest producer of vegetables having 9.20 million ha under
vegetable crops, with a production of 162 million tones (Jain 2007). Vegetables are required to
be stored at lower temperature because they are highly perishable in nature. Preserving them in
their fresh form demands the minimum possible chemical, bio-chemical and physiological
changes by close control of space temperature and humidity. The high cost involved in
developing cold storage or controlled atmosphere storage is a pressing problem in several
developing countries. Several simple practices are useful for cooling and enhancing storage
system efficiency wherever they are used, and especially in developing countries, where energy
availability may be critical. The refrigeration and other commercial cold storage systems are the
solution of the problem, but could not be fully exploited due to heavy initial cost and demand
high input of energy. Mechanical refrigeration is also energy intensive and expensive, involves
considerable initial capital investment, and requires uninterrupted supplies of electricity which
are not always readily available, and cannot be quickly and easily installed. Available cold
storage in India is used primarily for the storage of potatoes (Sharma and Samuel 2014).
Appropriate cool storage technologies are therefore required in India for on farm storage of fresh
horticultural produce in remote and inaccessible areas, to reduce losses. The favorable
environment for storage of fruits and vegetables is low temperature and high humidity due to
their high moisture contents (Singh and Satapathy 2006). Combination of both temperature and
relative humidity to the recommended storage condition is very important to enhance the shelf
life of vegetables. Recommended temperature may be achieved due to mechanical refrigeration
but desired humidity cannot be maintained. Hence to maintain both the parameters, mechanical
refrigeration as well as evaporative method of cooling are required. But reliable source of power
to operate such a system comprising mechanical refrigeration system and active evaporative
cooler is a major constraint in rural and off-grid areas. To make the system sustainable with

343
respect to energy independence and reliability in grid-isolated remote areas for short-term on-
farm storage of vegetables, there is the necessity of a device integrating both mechanical
compressor and passive or active evaporative cooling system which can be powered by an
environment-friendly and renewable source of energy. Among the various renewable energy
sources, application of solar energy may be a viable option because of its adequate availability in
a tropical country like India (Anish et al 2009). Hence, an attempt has been made in this study to
develop a small capacity solar photo voltaic powered cool chamber at the farmers level with the
objectives of fabricating an experimental cool chamber of 100 kg capacity and to evaluate the
performance of a stand-alone solar photovoltaic powered cool chamber for short-term storage of
freshly harvested vegetables in warm and humid climatic condition.
Development and performance studies of an environment-friendly and affordable solar powered
refrigeration system integrated with a tri-cycle mounted mobile vending unit for short term
storage of vegetables considering the necessities of growers, vendors and consumers together.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The experiments were carried out in the premises of College of Agricultural Engineering and
0
Technology, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha during 2014-2015, which lies at the latitude of 20
15 N and longitude of 85 0 52 E and coming under warm and humid climatic condition. Studies
on SPV powered cooling system for storage of vegetables are based on the sizing and installation
of solar photovoltaic modules, power conversion (power conditioning) unit, battery, cooling
system, storage structure and storability of tomato. The cool chamber was fabricated in the
Workshop of College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, OUAT, Bhubaneswar and
placed in the experimental site. The dimensions of the cool chamber are as follows (Fig. 1).

Outside dimension of about 0.9 m length X 0.9 width X 1.05 m height.

Inside dimensions of about 0.78 m length X 0.78 m width X 0.93 m height.
Square shape and white surface walls.
Insulation: Polyurethane foam (PUF) of 60 mm thickness was attached to all the walls, ceiling
(roof) and base, because it is light in weight, low thermal conductivity, non-hygroscopic, high
strength and high resistance to fire. Dark condition was maintained in the cool chamber (without
diffused light) to avoid additional thermal energy gain.

344
The complete set-up of the present study has been shown in the fig. 2 below.

Quality Parameters Study of Stored Vegetable

The following physical parameters were tested during the experiment.

Firmness Test
Ripening of fruits and vegetables has a direct relationship with their firmness and since
respiration continues even after harvest, the fruits have the tendency of becoming over-ripen. As
a result of continued chemical activity within the fruits tissues even after harvest, it becomes
over-ripen and soft. It is therefore required to slow down the rate of respiration and will

345
ultimately reduce the fruit firmness change. This may be possible by storing the harvested
vegetables at low temperature.
The freshly harvested vegetables generally go from slightly softened to moderately softened,
advanced softened and fully softened stages during storage. The firmness of the stored
vegetables is determined by a vegetable firmness tester in the unit of kg/cm2. The firmness index
of vegetables is determined by the extent of their softening stages on the basis of visual
observation and is scored as follows;
Slightly softened = 1, Moderately softened = 2, Advanced softened = 3 and Fully softened = 4
where slightly softened indicates just ripen, not edible and good condition, moderately softened
indicates ripen, edible and good condition, advanced softened indicates edible and over ripening
starts and fully softened indicates not edible and rotten.
Physiological Loss in Weight (PLW)
Physiological loss in weight is expressed in percent with the following formula by weighing the
stored vegetables before and after storage.
Percent PLW = (w1-w2) / (w1) x 100
where w1 = weight of vegetable before storage; w2 = weight after storage in certain days interval
of storage. For good and edible condition, physiological loss in weight is up to 10 percent. For
the present study, the observations were recorded at two days interval for each treatment of
physiological loss in weight.
Moisture Content (MC)
The moisture content of a product is the amount of moisture present in it on weight basis and is
usually expressed in percent. It is represented by two methods, wet basis and dry basis.
Wet Basis: (Weight of water in product / Weight of product sample) 100
Dry Basis: (Weight of water in product / weight of dry matter of product sample) 100
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
The variety Utkal Kumari (BT-10) which is at present the most prevailing variety of tomato in
Odisha was taken for the study. To start with the work, a small capacity (100 kg) cool chamber
was fabricated and fitted with solar powered vapour compression refrigeration system and an
active evaporative cooler. The performance of the developed solar powered cool chamber was
evaluated with respect to physiological weight loss, rotten percentage, colour change and
firmness condition during the storage of tomato both in winter and summer period. The freshly

346
harvested tomato was stored in the cool chamber by keeping them in the perforated polythene
packet. The physiological weight loss in the range of 10-15 percent and rotten percentage to be
in the range of 20-30 are allowable for maintaining the freshness and marketability of vegetables
(Olosunde 2006). The data regarding percentage physiological loss in weight, rotten percentage,
prevailing temperatures, relative humidity in the cool chamber and in the ambient condition
along with the shelf-life of tomato under the present investigation were recorded both during
peak winter and summer period and are presented in the tables 1-4.
Table 1 Experimental observations of temperature and relative humidity in
ambient condition and inside developed cool chamber with stored
tomato during a winter day

Date:11-1-15 Developed cool

Ambient Solar Radiation
Time chamber
0
Temp ( C) Rh (%) Temp (0C) Rh (%) (w/m2)

6 am 16.3 82 12.2 93 0
8 am 19.7 80 12.2 91 181
10 am 23.7 78 12.6 91 630
12 noon 25.6 75 13.9 89 731
2 pm 26.5 73 14.7 86 590
4 pm 20.4 77 14.7 87 184
6 pm 18.4 80 14.6 88 0
8 pm 17.9 81 14.5 89 0
10 pm 15.6 85 14.5 90 0
12 mid night 15.4 86 13.3 92 0
Table 2 Experimental observations of temperature and relative humidity in
ambient condition and inside developed cool chamber with stored tomato
during a summer day.

Date:6-5-15 Developed cool

Ambient Solar Radiation
Time chamber
Temp (0C) Rh (%) Temp (0C) Rh (%) (W/m2)

6 am 28.3 75 14.3 91 28
8 am 29.1 71 14.5 88 408
10 am 33.8 41 14.5 85 871
12 noon 35.5 36 14.7 85 922
2 pm 39.6 32 15.9 83 882
4 pm 36.8 40 15.5 86 414
6 pm 31.8 48 15.0 86 0
8 pm 31.4 59 14.8 87 0

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10 pm 30.0 67 14.6 90 0
12 mid night 26.6 73 14.5 94 0

From Table-1, it was observed that the temperature and relative humidity variations in the solar cool
chamber were in the range of 12.2-14.7 0C and 86-93 % respectively in a winter day. The decrease of
temperature and increase of relative humidity were found to be in the range of about 4-12 0C and 5-12
% respectively compared to the ambient conditions. This may be due to the lower rate of evaporation of
the ambient air with more relative humidity in winter days. Similarly, from Table-2, it was found that in
a summer day, the temperatures and relative humidity variations in the solar cool chamber were in the
range of 14.3-15.9 0C and 83-94 % respectively. The decrease of temperature and increase of relative
humidity were found to be in the range of about 12-16 0C and 16-49 % respectively compared to the
ambient conditions. This may be due to the higher rate of evaporation of the prevailing dry ambient air
in summer days.
Table 3 Quality analysis of storage of tomato in developed cool chamber during winter
period (initial moisture content 88 %)

% Physiological Rotten/Unmarketable Colour Firmness

Storage
Date Weight Loss (%) Change Condition
(days)
(kg/cm2)
3-1-15 Initial (0) -- -- 1 4.3
5-1-15 2 --- --- 1 4.0
7-1-15 4 2.6 --- 1 3.8
9-1-15 6 4.8 --- 2 3.4
11-1-15 8 6.2 3.8 2 3.2
13-1-15 10 8.8 7.5 3 3.0
15-1-15 12 10.2 9.5 3 2.8
17-1-15 14 13.5 15.8 3 2.5
19-1-15 16 15.8 19.8 3 2.3
20-1-15 17 17.4 20.8 3 2.0
21-1-15 18 Spoiled 30.8 4 1.4

Table 4 Quality analysis of storage of tomato in developed cool chamber during summer
period (initial mc 92 %)

Date Storage % Physiological Rotten/Unmarketable Colour Firmness

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 (days) Weight Loss (%) Change Condition
(kg/cm2)
4-5-15 Initial (0) -- -- 1 3.9
6-5-15 2 2.4 --- 1 3.7
8-5-15 4 3.6 --- 2 3.4
10-5-15 6 5.8 4.5 2 3.1
12-5-15 8 7.2 6.8 3 2.7
14-5-15 10 10.8 9.5 3 2.4
16-5-15 12 17.3 10.5 3 2.1
18-5-15 14 Spoiled 30.8 4 1.3

Considering the allowable physiological weight loss in the range of 10-15 percent and rotten
percentage to be in the range of 20-30 for the vegetables (Olosunde 2006), it was found from
Tables-3 and 4 that the tomato was safely stored up to 17 days and 12 days respectively in winter
and summer period. The score for colour index is given on the basis of visual observations. The
rating of colour index is defined as, Yellow = 1, Yellowish red = 2, Red = 3 and Dark red = 4.
Where yellow indicates just harvested, not edible and good condition. Yellowish red indicates
just ripen, not edible and good in condition. Red indicates ripen, edible and good condition. Dark
red indicates not edible, over ripen and rotten. The score of colour index for 17 and 12 days of
storage in winter and summer days was given 3 for tomato from visual observations which was
in the ripen, edible and in good conditions. Hence, from the data collected in the storability of
tomatoes in the solar cool chamber under study during the course of the research work, the following
conclusions have been drawn.

1. The shelf life of tomato in the developed cool chamber was found to be 12 and 17 days
respectively during summer and winter period when it was covered with the perforated
polythene packet and then stored inside the cool chamber.

2. The shelf life of tomato in the developed cool chamber was found to be 11 and 14 days
respectively during summer and winter period when it was not covered with the perorated
polythene packet and kept in exposed condition in the crates during storage inside the cool
chamber.

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 3. The shelf life of tomato when covered with perforated polythene packet during storage
inside the various cooling devices under study was observed to be 2-4 days more than
without polythene cover both during summer and winter period..

4. The average efficiency of module for the experimental solar PV system was found to be 12
% as against 15.7 % under standard condition, mentioned by the manufacturer.

5. The temperatures and relative humidity were maintained in the range of 14-16 0C and 83-94
% respectively during summer period inside the developed cool chamber as against the
recommended values for storage of tomato to be 10-15 0C and 85-95 %.

REFERENCES

Anonymous. 2013. Economic Survey of India, Govt. of India.

Jain D. 2007. Development and testing of two-stage evaporative cooler. Building and
Environment, 25492554.
Modi Anish; Anirban Chaudhuri; Bhavesh Vijay; Jyotirmay Mathur. 2009. Performance analysis
of a solar photovoltaic operated domestic refrigerator. Applied Energy 86 (2009) 25832591

Singh R K P; Satpathy K K. 2006. Performance evaluation of zero energy cool chamber in hilly
region. Agricultural Engineering Today. 30(5 &6): 47-56.
Sharma P K; Samuel D V K. 2014. Solar Photovoltaic (PV) powered system for lighting and
refrigeration for use in rural areas. Agricultural Engineering Today, vol. 38(2), 2014: 18-21.

Olosunde W A. 2006. Performance Evaluation of Absorbent Materials in the Evaporative

Cooling System for the Storage of Fruits and Vegetable M. Sc thesis, Department Of
Agricultural Engineering, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
.

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Ch. FPT04

Semitransparent Photovoltaic Thermal (S-PVT) Greenhouse: A Review

V. S. Gupta1, R. K. Mishra*2 and G. N. Tiwari3

1,2
SRM University, Delhi-NCR campus, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.
3
Bag Energy Research Society (BERS), Varanasi, India.

* Corresponding author. Tel: +91-9717720464, E-mail: bhu.rajeev@gmail.com

Abstract: During the past quarter century, a significant effort has gone into the development,
trial and induction of a variety of renewable energy technologies for use different sector of
economy and section of society. Drying is probably one of the oldest methods for the food
conservation process for numerous agricultural products. Drying procedures require a
significant amount of energy in different phases of the operations of producing different
output. 60% of aggregate energy is consumed to generate dry grain in mid-state of the USA.
The energy required for space heating in buildings has the highest share of about 40% of the
total energy consumed in the residential sector. The production capacity has grown at an
average of 48% each year and the cumulative global production is now at 12.5103 MW. The
predicted and measured values of solar cell, tedlar back surface and greenhouse air
temperatures exhibit fair agreement with root mean square of percent deviation (7.05
17.58%) and correlation coefficient (0.950.97). Exergy analysis calculations of the PV/T
integrated greenhouse system show an exergy efficiency level of approximately 4%. The
energy and exergy efficiencies are found to be 33.54% and 7.13% respectively under the
composite climatic conditions prevailing at New Delhi and the cost of power generation is
found to be US $ 0.1009 per kWh. For sandwich Greenhouse, as the temperature of the rubber
sheet is 15 C and 5 C higher than the ambient temperature during the daytime and night
time, respectively the moisture content of the rubber sheets can decrease from 36.4% to 2.8%
in 2 days.

Keywords: Solar Photovoltaic, Solar dryer, Green house.

1. Introduction:
The In early 1970s, the importance of increasing use of renewable energy sources in the
transition to a suitable energy base was recognized in India. During the past quarter century,
a significant effort has gone into the development, trial and induction of a variety of
renewable energy technologies for use different sector of economy and section of society.
India has among the worlds largest programs for renewable energy covering all major
renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy, small hydro and the other
emerging technologies.
Solar Thermal Technology is employed for collecting and converting the sun energy to heat
energy for application such as water and air heating, cooking and drying, steam generation,
distillation, etc. Basically a solar thermal device consists of a solar energy collector - the

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absorber, a heating or heat transferring medium and a heat storage or heat tank. Solar
thermal technology employs an elaborate use of a black body, good heat conducting
materials, insulation and reflectors. Solar geyser, solar concentrators, solar cookers, solar still
are some example of devices based on solar thermal technology. A Solar Water Heater
(SWH) is a device that uses solar energy to heat the water. Solar water heating system
consists of a collector, an insulated storage tank and connecting pipelines. The solar panel of
the solar water heater collects the sun's energy with a black absorber, facing the sun to catch
as much solar radiation as possible. The heat collected by the absorber is transferred to the
water flowing through the absorber and is stored in the storage tank. The storage tank is
insulated so the water stays hot and can be used later in the day or even the following day.
Solar water heaters are available in various sizes. Wide spread utilization of solar water
heaters can reduce a significant portion of the conventional energy. Solar water heaters
being used for heating water in homes, factories and other commercial and institutional
establishments. Internationally the market for solar water heaters has expanded significantly
during the last decade. Though the initial investment for a solar water heater is high
compared to available conventional alternatives, the return on investment has
become increasingly attractive with the increase in prices of conventional energy. The
payback period depends on the site of installation, utilization pattern and fuel replaced. Now
a day, government and NGOs also taking initiatives and come forward to promote the solar
thermal technologies by providing subsidies, low interest rates, etc. A solar cell or
photovoltaic (PV) cell is a device that converts solar energy into electricity by the
photovoltaic effect. A solar or PV cell consists of semiconducting material that absorbs the
sunlight. The solar energy knocks electrons loose from their atoms, allowing the electrons to
flow through the material to produce electricity. PV cells are combined into modules.
Generally PV modules hold about 36 cells. The electricity generated can be utilized for
different applications directly or through battery storage system with charge controller. Solar
PV has found wide application in rural areas for various important activities like pumping of
water through pump, home lighting, milk preservation etc. From ancient time food
conservation played an important role in human history. Drying is probably one of the oldest
methods for the food conservation process for numerous agricultural products [1]. It is also
one of the most essential operation in many food processing plants which if not done
properly will introduce some critical imperfections on the quantity of the final products and
the quality as well. Drying procedures require a significant amount of energy in different
phases of the operations of producing different output. 60% of aggregate energy is consumed

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to generate dry grain in mid-state of the USA [2]. Solar dryers are also classified on the basis
of their working mode [3,4,5] Passive & Active Solar Dryers.
Passive dryer is constituted of a chamber of which the roof and the wall sides are made with
transparent materials such as glass or plastic (canopy). These walls allow penetration of the
sunlight and the product absorbs directly the solar radiations, describing direct type as well
known by integral type. Sometimes, and in order to avoid the deterioration of the product,
other surface is added between the wall and the roof of the dryer and the product. The added
surface is playing the role of an absorber; an indirect type is obtained, also called distributed
type. Active or semi-artificial solar dryer uses solar collector to heat the ambient air before
sending it to the drying chamber with the help of a fan driven by an electrical motor for
keeping a continuous flow of the air through the drying chamber. The properly designed
forced-convection (active) solar dryers are more effective and more controllable than the
natural-circulation (passive) solar dryers [6, 7, 8]. The fan or blower, used for forced
circulation of heated air from the collector area to the drying beds, can be operated either by
grid electricity or DC electricity produced by photovoltaic (PV) module.
2. Literature survey:
The energy consumption can be examined under four main sectors namely; industrial,
residential, transportation and agriculture. The energy required for space heating in buildings
has the highest share of about 40% of the total energy consumed in the residential sector. The
electricity production based on fossil or nuclear fuels induces substantial social and
environmental costs, whereas in case of renewable energy sources these are lower [9]. The
renewable global status report (2007) indicates that the power production by way of solar
photovoltaic (PV) has grown more than any other renewable energy source. It has a great
prospect of cost break-even, with respect to the conventional grid power for residential
consumers. The production capacity has grown at an average of 48% each year and the
cumulative global production is now at 12.5103 MW. The performance of a PV can be
described in terms of its energy conversion efficiency, the percentage of incident solar
energy (input) that the cell converts into electricity under standard rating conditions. The
overall electrical efficiency of the PV module can be increased by increasing the packing
factor (PF) and decreasing the temperature of the PV module [10, 11]. The installation of
BIPV system at Aachen, Germany where the PV arrays were integrated into a curtain wall
facade with isolating glass. Yet the purchase, design, installation and maintenance of the
BIPV systems cost more than those in the standard contemporary building skins [12]. The
temperature of the PV module can be reduced by flowing air between PV module and double

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glass wall, the same energy can be used for space heating [13, 14]. The effect of flowing air
and water below the PV module. By decrement in temperature, electrical efficiency of the
PV module has been increased [15]. Agrawal and Tiwari [16] have carried out the energy
and exergy analysis for prediction of performance of a photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collector
integrated with a greenhouse. The predicted and measured values of solar cell, tedlar back
surface and greenhouse air temperatures exhibit fair agreement with root mean square of
percent deviation (7.0517.58%) and correlation coefficient (0.950.97). Exergy analysis
calculations of the PV/T integrated greenhouse system show an exergy efficiency level of
approximately 4%. Nayak and Tiwari [17] have developed the thermodynamic model to
determine energy, exergy and life cycle cost of the amorphous silicon building integrated
photovoltaic thermal (BIPVT) system fitted as rooftop of a building. The energy and exergy
efficiencies are found to be 33.54% and 7.13% respectively under the composite climatic
conditions prevailing at New Delhi and the cost of power generation is found to be US $
0.1009 per kWh.

3. Conclusion:
On the basis of the present literature review following conclusions have been made:
1. The energy required for space heating in buildings has the highest share of about 40% of
the total energy consumed in the residential sector.
2. The production capacity has grown at an average of 48% each year and the cumulative
global production is now at 12.5103 MW. The predicted and measured values of solar cell,
tedlar back surface and greenhouse air temperatures exhibit fair agreement with root mean
square of percent deviation (7.0517.58%) and correlation coefficient (0.950.97).
3. Exergy analysis calculations of the PV/T integrated greenhouse system show an exergy
efficiency level of approximately 4%. The energy and exergy efficiencies are found to be
33.54% and 7.13% respectively under the composite climatic conditions prevailing at New
Delhi and the cost of power generation is found to be US $ 0.1009 per kWh.
4. For sandwich Greenhouse, as the temperature of the rubber sheet is 15 C and 5 C higher
than the ambient temperature during the daytime and night time, respectively the moisture
content of the rubber sheets can decrease from 36.4% to 2.8% in 2 days.

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References

[1] Sangamithra, A., Gabriela John Swamy, R. Sorna Prema, R. Priyavarshini, V. Chandrasekar,
Scanlin, D., Renner, M., Domermuth, D. and Moody, H.. The design, construction and use of an
indirect, through pass solar food dryer. Home Power 57 (1997) 62 72.

[2] Renewable global status report, Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, 2007,
http://www.ren21.net.

[3]H.A. Zondag, D.W. de Vries, W.G.J. van Helden, R.J.C. van Zolingen, A.A. van Steenhoven,

The yield of different combined PV-thermal collector designs, Solar Energy 74 (2003) 253269.

[4]T.T. Chow, Performance analysis of photovoltaicthermal collector by explicit dynamic model,

Solar Energy 75 (2003) 143152.

[5] J. Prakash, Transient analysis of a photovoltaicthermal solar collector for co-generation of

electricity and hot air/water, Energy Conversion and Management 35 (1994) 967972.

[6] Vivek Raman, G.N. Tiwari, A comparison of energy and exergy performance of a hybrid
photovoltaic double pass and single pass air collector, International Journal of Agriculture Research 33
(2009) 605617.

[7]Y. Tripanagnostopoulos, T.H. Nousia, M. Souliotis, P. Yianoulis, Hybrid photovoltaic/ thermal

solar system, Solar Energy 72 (2004) 217234.

[8] Jain, D., Tiwari, G.N. Thermal aspects of open sun drying of various crops. Energy 28 (2003) 37
54.

[9]Y.A. Cengel, Heat Transfer: A Practical Approach, McGraw Hill (1998) p. 766.

[10] Tanwanichkul B., Thepa S., Rordprapat W..Thermal modeling of the forced convection Sandwich
Greenhouse drying system for rubber sheets. Energy Conversion and Management, October 74 (2013)
511-523.

[11] J. Benemann, O. Chehab, E.S. Gabriel, Building-integrated PV modules, Solar Energy Materials
& Solar Cells 67 (2001) 345354.

[12] D. Infield, L. Mei, U. Eicker, Thermal performance estimation of ventilated PV facades, Solar
Energy 76 (2004) 9398.

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[13] Banout, J., Ehl, P., Havlik, J., Lojka, B., Polesny, Z., Verner, V. Design and performance
evaluation of a Double-pass solar drier for drying of red chilli (Capsicum annum L.). Solar Energy,
March 2011, 85(3), 506-515.

[14] H.A. Zondag, D.W. De Vries, W.G.J. Van Helden, R.J.C. Van Zolengen, A.A. Van Steenhoven,
The thermal and electrical yield of a PVthermal collector, Solar Energy 72 (2) (2002) 113128.

[15] T.T. Chow, G. Pei, K.F. Fong, Z. Lin, A.L.S. Chan, J. Ji, Energy and exergy analysis of
photovoltaic-thermal collector with and without glass cover, Applied Energy 86 (3) (2009) 310316.
[16] B. Agrawal, G.N. Tiwari, Life cycle cost assessment of building integrated photovoltaic thermal
(BIPVT) systems, Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 14721481.

[17] S. Nayak, G.N. Tiwari, Energy and exergy analysis of photovoltaic/thermal integrated with a
solar greenhouse, Energy and Buildings 40 (2008) 20152021.

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Ch. FPT05
THERMAL MODELLING OF SOLAR GREEN HOUSE DRYERS: A REVIEW
Gaurav Saxena1,*, M.K. Gaur1 ,Ankur Gupta2, 3Shiv Kumar Dubey and 2Anand Kushwah
1
Deapartment of Mechanical Engineering, Madhav Institute of Technology & Science, Gwalior, Madhya
Pradesh, 474005, India
2
Department of Automobile Engineering, Rustamji Institute of Technology, B.S.F. Academy Tekanpur, Gwalior,
M.P. ,475005, India
3
Department of Technical Education, New Delhi
* Corresponding author. Tel: +9194250203188, , E-mail: gmanojkumar@rediffmail.com

Abstract: Solar radiation use for drying is one of the oldest applications of solar energy. In recent years,
increasing importance is being given for using green house dryers to process agricultural products due to higher
product quality and production rate as compared to open sun drying. It is used for controlled temperature drying
of agricultural products. This review is focused on application of thermal and mathematical models by recent
researchers for thermal analysis of various designs of green house solar dryers. Recent research on drying
reveals the shortcoming of the open sun drying and reasons for popularity of green house dryers. The
greenhouse dryer are operated in two different modes of drying- natural convection and forced convection.
Recent green house dryers viz. solar tunnel dryer, solar tent dryer, improved solar tunnel dryer, roof type even
span solar greenhouse dryer are studied. An organized approach for the categorization of greenhouse dryers is
done and a comprehensive review of thermal model to evaluate heat and mass transfer for the various systems is
presented. Drying rate can be enhanced by photovoltaic integrated greenhouse dryer. This comprehensive
review of the various thermal modelling in different solar drying systems would be useful for academicians and
researchers.
Keywords: Solar greenhouse dryers, convective heat transfer coefficient, thermal modelling, forced and free
convection drying.

NOMENCLATURE -
! Absorptivity of the absorber plate !! Ground area
!! Ambient temperature !! Area of vent
! Overall heat loss coefficient ! Gravity
!! Mass flow rate of air ! Difference in pressure
!! Specific heat !! Characteristic length
!!!,!"" Effective total radiation !! Tray area
!! Surface area of collector !! Relative humidity of moist air
!! Fraction of solar radiation on north wall !" Moisture ratio
!! Absorptivity of crop ,x is crop !, !, ! Constant
!! Area of greenhouse wall !! Dynamic viscosity
!! Mass of crop ,x is crop !! Wind velocity
!! Temperature of crop ,x is crop ! Solar energy falling on the collector
!! Room temperature ! Transitivity of glazing
! !! Vapour pressure at crop temperature ,x is !! Average fluid temperature
crop Efficiency
!! Relative humidity !! Connective heat transfer coefficient
!! Ground absorptivity !! Initial temperature
!! Ground temperature ! Outer convective heat transfer coefficient

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!! Intensity of greenhouse wall !! Overall heat loss from greenhouse wall

!! Transitivity !! Thermal conductivity of moist air
!!!! Temperature of surface of floor of green Latent heat of vaporization
house ! Time interval
!! Coefficient of discharge !, ! Drying coefficient and empirical
! Pressure heat difference coefficient
! Coefficient of thermal expansion !!" Initial fluid temperature
!! Density
I. INTRODUCTION
Drying is the process of reducing the moisture from the products up to the required value
with the application of heat energy. In other words drying is a technology to control the
quantity of vapourisation due to combination of heat and mass transfer [1]. Many drying
methods are available for drying of agricultural harvest. Sun drying is the traditional method
of drying various products and having many disadvantages like low quality of product
produce due to wind, dust, rain, insects, birds, storms etc. and open sun drying requires large
area and drying time [5].
The main objective of green house drying is to use the minimum amount of
energy for maximum moisture removal of the desired products [2]. Heating of a greenhouse
is one of the vast energy consuming processes during the winter periods [3]. India comprises
six climatic zones, namely, hot and dry, warm and humid, moderate, cold and cloudy and
cold and sunny and composite. Each zone requires different types of greenhouse solar dryers.
This is necessary for providing the most favourable climatic conditions for plant growth.To
provide heat in greenhouse is necessary need for drying, proper growth and development of
crops. We can give heat by passive and active modes and classified into direct, indirect,
mixed and hybrid mode. [4].
The solar rays enter the cabinet through the cover material. After reaching the
solar collector or the tray surface, they are converted into heat energy, raising the inside
temperature. The solar radiation intensity on the materials varies with seasons, time of the
day, and length of exposure, ambient air temperature, and wind speed, which are important
factors.The heat increases the vapor pressure of the moisture in the product above that of the
surrounding air. Pressure and thermal gradient cause the moisture, both liquid and vapor, to
move to the surface of the product. Evaporation takes place and water vapor is transferred to
the surrounding air. This air may become saturated, but the process of drying continues if this
surrounding moist air is replaced by less-saturated air [6].

II. PREVIOUS STUDIES ON THERMAL MODELING

Thermal modelling is a methodology for calculating theoretical parameters necessary for
drying such as product temperature, greenhouse temperature, moisture evaporated, relative
humidity, drying rate, convective heat transfer coefficient etc. based on the principle of heat
and mass transfer at the product [15].

2.1 APLLICATION OF THERMAL MODELLING ON VARIOUS DESIGNS OF GRREN

HOUSE DRYERS
Ahmad Fudholi et al. [2] designed, constructed and tested solar dryer for drying of seaweed.
The collector width and length were 1.2 m and 4.8 m, respectively. Through experiments, the
variations of the solar radiation, collector inlet air temperature, collector outlet air

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temperature, drying chamber air temperature and average relative humidity of drying
chamber were obtained. The drying of seaweed is shown in fig.1.

Fig.1 Photograph of seaweed in drying chamber [2].

B. Tanwanichkul et al. [7] constructed a novel Sandwich Greenhouse for rubber sheet
drying. The mathematical models was developed to predict the convection mass transfer
coefficient and to study the thermal behavior during the drying of rubber sheets under
greenhouse design. The sandwich greenhouse used in experiment is shown in fig.2.

Fig.2. Sandwich greenhouse used in experiment as reported by Ref. [7].

Serm Janjai et al. [8] carried our experimental analysis on dryer of parabolic shape, covered
with polycarbonate sheets. The base area of the dryer was 7.5 20.0 m2. Analysis and
evaluation of experimental performances of the dryer, air temperature, air relative humidity
and product moisture contents were done.
Mahesh Kumar et al. [9] determined the convective heat transfer coefficients of papad
under open sun drying and indoor forced convection drying modes. Through analysis average
papad surface temperature, exit air temperature and exit air relative humidity were used to
calculate the values of Grashof number, Reynolds number and Prandtl number.
S. Janjai et al. [10] carried out experimental analysis to evaluate simulated performance of a
PV-ventilated solar greenhouse dryer for drying of peeled longan and banana as shown in

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fig.3. Comparision of air temperatures at three different locations inside the dryer, front,
middle and back was done. Through mathematical model relative humidity at two different
locations inside the dryer during solar drying of peeled longan was obtained.

Fig.3 Pictorial view of the greenhouse solar dryer [10].

G.N. Tiwari et al. [11] carried out energy analysis for predicting fish surface temperature,
greenhouse room air temperature and moisture evaporated during greenhouse drying of
prawn under natural and forced convection modes. The setup is shown in fig.4.
Experimentation work result in determining the optimum as well as maximum fish surface
temperature attained.

Fig.4 Experimental set-up for prawn drying inside greenhouse under forced convection mode [11].

G.N. Tiwari et al. [12] designed and constructed a hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T)
greenhouse dryer of 100 kg capacity at Solar Energy Park, Indian Institute of Technology,
New Delhi (28 35N, 77 12E, 216 m above MSL), India as shown in fig.5. following two
experimentation work were carried out, (a) (GR-I), the trays of size 0.49 0.25 m2 and 0.49
0.18 m2 were considered for computation of greenhouse and open conditions, respectively.
(b) (GR-II), the trays of size 0.3350.20 m2 for greenhouse condition and 0.3350.20 m2 for
open condition were considered for computation.

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Fig.5 Hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) integrated greenhouse dryer [12].

G.N. Tiwari et al. [13] developed a thermal model to predict the jaggery temperature, the
greenhouse air temperature and the moisture evaporated, during the drying of jaggery under
natural convection conditions. The experiment was conducted separately for 0.75 kg and 2.0
kg of jaggery pieces having dimensions of 0.03 0.030.01 m3 for complete drying is shown
in fig.6. The jaggery was dried in a roof-type even span greenhouse with floor area of
1.200.78 m2. Development of a computer program in MATLAB software was also done.

Fig.6 Working principle of greenhouse jaggery drying under natural convection mode [13].

G.N. Tiwari et al. [14] presented mathematical model to study the thermal behavior of crops
(cabbage and peas) for (OSD) and inside the greenhouse under both natural and forced
convection. Prediction of crop temperature, greenhouse room air temperature and rate of
moisture evaporation in Matlab software on the basis of solar intensity and ambient
temperature was done.

Table-1 Summary of findings through mathematical modelling of greenhouse dryers.

S. no. Researchers Year Food Findings

1 Ahmad Fudholiet 2014 Seaweed Obtained the daily mean of the drying chamber air
al.[2] temperature, relative humidity of drying chamber and solar
radiation range .

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2 B. Tanwanichkul 2013 Rubber Developed mathematical models to predict the convection

et al.[7] sheets mass transfer coefficient and evaluation of thermal behavior
during drying of rubber sheets under greenhouse design.
3 Serm Janjai et 2011 Chilli, Compared the time of the products with the initial moisture
al.[8] coffee and content of 68% (wb), 75% (wb), and 52% (wb) in banana,
banana chilli, and coffee respectively. Banana was dried within 5
days, compared to 7 days required for (OSD). Also chilli was
dried within 3 days while the (OSD) needed 5 days and coffee
was dried within 2 days as compared to 4 days required for
(OSD).

4 Mahesh Kumar et 2011 Papad Determined the values of convective heat transfer coefficients
al.[9] under open sun drying and forced convection modes were
found to be 3.54W/m2 C and 1.56 W/m2C respectively. The
experimental errors for open sun drying and forced convection
were found to be 23.92% and 35.23% respectively.

5 S. Janjai et al.[10] 2009 Peeled Evaluated the drying air temperature varied from 31 C to 58 C
longan during drying of peeled longan while it varied from 30 C to
and 60 C during drying of banana. The drying time of peeled
banana
longan in the solar greenhouse dryer was 3 days, whereas 56
days are required for (OSD). The drying time of banana in the
solar greenhouse dryer was 4 days, while it took 56 days for
(OSD).

6 G.N. Tiwari et 2009 Fish Evaluated the fish surface temperature, greenhouse air
al.[11] temperature and moisture evaporated during greenhouse fish
drying for both natural and forced convection modes.

7 G.N. Tiwari et 2008 Grapes Calculated the value of the convective heat transfer
al.[12] coefficient for grapes (GR-I) lies between 0.26 and 0.31 W/m2
K for greenhouse and 0.34 and 0.40 W/m2 K for open
conditions, respectively and that for grapes (GR-II) lies
between 0.45 and 1.21 W/m2 K for greenhouse and 0.46 and
0.97 W/m2 K for open conditions, respectively.

8 G.N. Tiwari et 2006 Jaggery Developed a thermal model to calculate jaggery and ambient
al.[13] air temperature, greenhouse air temperature, and hourly
moisture evaporation.

9 G.N. Tiwari et 2004 Cabbage Developed three mathematical models to predict the crop
al.[14] and peas temperature, greenhouse room temperature and moisture
evaporation for (OSD) and greenhouse drying under natural
and forced convection.

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2.2 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION BY THERMAL MODELING

Different mathematical models evaluated by authors are listed in Table 2 for calculation of
moisture ratio (MR) under thin layer drying. The different experimental relations of (MR) are
applicable to the specific conditions of the models as per references [16-24].

Table-2 Summary of mathematical models for thin layer drying.

MODEL EQUATION REFERENCE

Lewis MR = exp(-kt) [16]

Henderson and pabis MR = a exp(-kt) [17]

Page MR = exp(-k! ! ) [18]

Modified page MR = a exp(-k! ! ) [19]

Logarithmic MR = exp(-kt) +C [20]

Wang and Singh MR = 1+at + b! ! [21]

Two term MR =a exp(-!! t)+c exp(-!! t) [22]

Approach of diffusion MR = a exp(-kt)+(1-a)exp(-kbt) [23]

Madilliet al. MR = exp(-k! ! )+bt [24]

Modelling technique is helpful for description of system developed for experimentation. An

experiment may be unsafe or experimentation cost can become high so mathematical
modelling is important for the designing of dryer and easy to apply as well as increases the
quality of the product and save energy [25].
The solar energy is distorted into thermal heat in the plastic covered greenhouse inside the
cover and reduces convective heat waste. The little amount of energy will be collected partly
by the crop and partly through the surface. The temperature is maintained between the air of
greenhouse solar drying systems and ambient air. The vapour pressure is controlled among
the crops and the greenhouse solar drying air [26].Different types of thermal model are
discussed in Table 3.

Table-3 Summary of various types of thermal models developed for green house dryers.
S. no. Thermal model Reference

1 !! Ezeike. [27]
!! = !! !! !! !! , ! =
!
1
M! C! T! T! = IA !,!"" ! !
A ! T!" T!
+
!! !!

1 1
Q !"## = A ! T!" T! +
! !

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2 Modified active solar greenhouse dryer under no load condition. Kumar and
prakash [28]
! = (!!")/!

!"# = (0.33!!! (!! !! )/! ! !)

3 Energy balance equation for Jaggery surface- Kumar and

Tiwari [13]
!"
1 !! !! !! !! !! !! = !! !! +! !! !! !! + 0.016! ! !! ]-!! ! !! ]!!
!"

Energy balance for ground surface-

1 !! 1 !! !! !! !! !!
= ! !!!! ! !! + !! !!!! !! !! !!

Energy balance equation for green house chamber-

1 !! 1 !! 1 !! !! !! !! + ! !! !! !! + 0.016! ! !! ]-
!! ! !! ]!! +!! !!!! !! !! !! =!! !! 2!!! + (!! !! )(!!
!! )

4 Energy balance equation for north wall of greenhouse- Ghosal and

tiwari [29]
! 1 r! F ! 1 r !! !! !! = !" !!!! !! !! + !" !!!! !! !!

Energy balance equation for ground of the greenhouse-

! 1 r! (1 F! ) 1 r !! !! !!
= !" !!!! !! !! + ! !!!! ! !!

Energy balance equation for green house air-

!" !!!! !! !! + !" !!!! !! !! + !!

!"#
= !! !! !! !! + 0.33!" !! !! + !! !!
!"

5 Energy balance equation on crop surface for moisture evaporation- Jain and
tiwari [14]
! ! ! !! !! !! !! 0.016! ! !! !! ! !! !! ! !! !! !!
!"#
= !! !!
!"

Energy balance equation of moist air above the crop-

!! !! !! + 0.016! ! !! !! ! !! !! = ! !! !! !!

Moisture evaporated can be evaluated-

!!
!!" = 0.016 ! !! !! ! !! !!

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6 Energy balance in green house fish pond- Sarkar and

tiwari [30]
!"#
! !! !! !! = !! !! + !! !! !! + !! !! ! !!
!"
+ !! !! ! !!

Energy balance equation for green house air-

!! !! !! = (!")!"" !! !!

7 The convection heat transfer coefficient can be expressed in term of Nusselt Tiwari et al.
number (!") as [31]

!!
!" = !" (1)
!!
! !
Where, !! =
!

Rate of heat utilized

!!" = 0.016!" ! !! !! ! !! (2)

Where !" is also referred as convection heat transfer coefficient (Barnwal and
Tiwari 2016)

From equation (1) and (2)

!!
!!" = 0.016 !" ! !! !! ! !! 3
!!

(!!" ) moisture evaporated

!!"
!!" = !! !

0.016!! ! !! !" !! !!!

!!" = !"
!! !

!!"
= !" (4)
!
!.!"#!! ! !! !!" !! !!!
Where Z =
!! !

Forced convection-

Nusselt number (Nu) is a function of Reynolds number (Re) and Prandtl

number (Pr) can be expressed in the following ways (Tiwari et al.2016)

(a) Nu = C(Re Pr)!

(b) Nu = C R! ! P! !
!"!! !!!
Where Re = , Pr =
! !

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Case-1 When Nu = C(Re Pr)!

!!"
Nu = = C(Re Pr)!
!

Taking log on both side

!!"
ln = ln c + n ln (Re Pr)
!

Y = !! + !! !

!!"
Where Y = ln , X= ln(Re Pr),
!

n = !! , !! = ! or c =! !

Case-2 When Nu = C R! ! P! !
!!"
Nu = = C(R! ! Pr)!
!

After taking log on both side

!!"
ln = log c + m ln(Re) +n ln(Pr)
!

Y = !! + !! !! + !! !!
!!"
Y = ln ,!! = ln(Re), !! = ln(Pr),
!

!! = !, !! = !, !! = ! !" ! = ! !

Natural convection-

Nusselt number is the function of Grashof number (Gr) and Prandtal number
(Pr) (Tiwari 2002)

Where, Rayleigh number-

Ra = Pr. Gr

(a) Nu = ! ` (!" !")!` = ! ` (!")!

(b) Nu = ! ` !! ! !! !
!!.!" ! !
Where Gr =
(!/!)!
!!!
Pr =
!
Ra = Gr !"

!!"
Case- 3 When Nu = ! ` (!" !")!` =
!

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After taking log on both side we get

!!"
= ln = ln ! ` + !` ln(!"!")
!

! ` = !!` + !!` ! `

!!"
Where, ! ` = ln ! ` = ln !" P ! !` = !!
!

`
!!` = !"! ` !" ! ` = ! !!

Case-4
` `
When Nu=! ` !! ! !! !

Taking log on both side

!!" ` `
Nu = = ! ` (R! ! Pr)!
!

!!"
ln = !"! ` + ! ` !" !" + !` !" !"
!

! ` = !!` + !!` ! ` + !!` !!`

Where-
!!"
! ` =ln , !!` = !" !" , !!` = !" !"
!

`
m =!!` , n =!!` ,!!` = !"! ` !!! ` = ! !!

To compare the theoretical results with experimental results, the co-relation coefficient(r) and
root mean square percentage deviation (e) are evaluated using following expressions. Chapra
and Canale [32]
! !! !! ! !! ( !! )
r=
! !!! !( !! )! ! !!! !( !! )!

r> 0 = , positive linear relationship

r< 0 = , negative linear relationship

r=0, implies no linear relationship

root mean square of per cent deviation (e)

(!! )!
e=
!

!! !!!
where, !! = 100
!!

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this implies the per cent deviation of !! from

where, !! = experimental value

!! = theoretical value

Obtained from thermal model

III. CONCLUSION
This present article shows the considerable applications of mathematical modeling for
analysis of thermal parameters as well as exergy analysis of green house dryers. The
following conclusions are drawn on the basis of present review:-
Thermal modeling has become a convenient tool for analysis of solar dryer
performance.
Determination of heat transfer coefficient and other thermal parameters is done by
thermal modelling.
Numerical approach such as regression and correlation are used for mathematical
analysis.
Mathematical modeling through software packages is also preferred for ease of
calculations.
Thermal modeling on various application of greenhouse such as fish pond dryer [30],
triple pass solar collector dryer [27] etc are done.
Thermal modeling on all variety of crop is done by researchers.
Better results through green house dryers can be obtained by optimizing the design
parameters by thermal modeling.

References
1. El-Sebaii A, Shalaby S M. Solar drying of agricultural products: a review. Renew Sustain
Energy Rev 2012; 16, pp. 3743.
2. Ahmad Fudholi, Kamaruzzaman Sopian, Mohd Yusof Othman, Mohd Hafidz Ruslan.
Energy and exergy analyses of solar drying system of red seaweed. Energy and Buildings
68 (2014), pp. 121129.
3. Santamouris M, Balaras CA, Dascalaki E, Vallindras M. Passive solar agricultural
greenhouse: a worldwide classification evaluation of technologies and systems used for
heating purposes. Sol Energy 1994; 53(5), pp. 411-426.
4. R.D. Singh, G.N. Tiwari. Energy conservation in the greenhouse system: A steady state
analysis. Energy 35 (2010), pp. 2367-2373.
5. Ayensu A. Dehydration of food crops using a solar dryer with convective heat flow. Sol
Energy 1997; 59, pp.121126.
6. Chandrakumar B Pardhi and Jiwanlal L Bhagoria. Development and performance
evaluation of mixed-mode solar dryer with forced convection. International Journal of
Energy and Environmental Engineering 2013, 4:23.
7. B. Tanwanichkul, S. Thepa, W. Rordprapat. Thermal modeling of the forced convection
Sandwich Greenhouse drying system for rubber sheets Energy Conversion and
Management 74 (2013), pp. 511523.
8. Serm Janjai, Poolsak Intawee, Jinda Kaewkiewa, Chanoke Sritus, Vathsana Khamvongsa.
A large-scale solar greenhouse dryer using polycarbonate cover: Modeling and testing in a

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tropical environment of Lao Peoples Democratic Republic Renewable Energy 36 (2011),

pp. 1053-1062.
9. Mahesh Kumar, Pankaj Khatak, Ravinder Kumar Sahdev, Om Prakash. The effect of open
sun and indoor forced convection on heat transfer coefficients for the drying of papad.
Journal of Energy in Southern Africa Vol 22 No 2 May 2011, pp.40-46.
10. S. Janjai, N. Lamlert, P. Intawee, B. Mahayothee, B.K. Bala, M. Nagle, J. Muller.
Experimental and simulated performance of a PV-ventilated solar greenhouse dryer for
drying of peeled longan and banana Solar Energy 83 (2009), pp. 15501565.
11. G.N. Tiwari, Tribeni Das, C.R. Chen, P. Barnwal. Energy and exergy analyses of
greenhouse fish drying Int. J. Exergy, Vol. 6, No. 5, 2009, pp. 620-636.
12. P. Barnwal and G.N. Tiwari. Grape drying by using hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T)
greenhouse dryer: An experimental study Solar Energy 82 (2008), pp. 11311144.
13. Anil Kumar, G.N. Tiwari. Thermal modeling of a natural convection greenhouse drying
system for jaggery: An experimental validation Solar Energy 80 (2006), pp. 11351144.
14. Dilip Jain, G.N. Tiwari. Effect of greenhouse on crop drying under natural and forced
convection II. Thermal modeling and experimental validation. Energy Conversion and
Management 45 (2004), pp. 27772793.
15. Sumit Tiwari, G.N. Tiwari, I.M. Al-Helal. Development and recent trends in greenhouse
dryer: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 65 (2016), pp. 10481064.
16. Lewis WK. The rate of drying of solid materials. J Ind Eng Chem 1921; 13:427 32.
17. Overhults D, White G, Hamilton H, Ross I. Drying soya beans with heated air. Am Soc
Agric Eng Trans ASAE 1973.
18. Page GE. (M.S.thesis). Factors influencing the maximum rates of air drying shelled corn
in thin layers. USA: Purdue University; 1949.
19. zdemir M, Onur Devres Y. The thin layer drying characteristics of hazel nuts during
roasting. J Food Eng 1999; 42, pp. 22533.
20. Zhu A, Shen X. The model and mass transfer characteristics of convection drying of
peach slices. Int J Heat Mass Transf 2014; 72 pp. 345351.
21. Wang Z, Sun J, Chen F, Liao X, Hu X. Mathematical modelling on thin layer microwave
drying of apple pomace with and without hot air pre-drying. J. Food Eng2007; 80:53644.
22. Togrul IT, Pehlivan D. Mathematical modelling of solar drying of apricots in thin layers.
J Food Eng 2002; 55, pp. 209216.
23. Yaldiz O, Ertekin C, Uzun H I. Mathematical modelling of thin layer solar drying of
sultana grapes. Energy 2001; 26, pp. 457465.
24. Midilli A, Kucuk H, Yapar Z. A new model for single-layer drying. Dry Technol 2002;
20 pp. 15031513.
25. Agatonovic-Kustrin S, Beresford R. Basic concepts of artificial neural network (ANN)
modeling and its application in pharmaceutical research. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2000; 22,
pp. 711727.
26. Om Prakash, Vinod Laguri, Anukul Pandey, Anil Kumar, Arbind Kumar. Review on
various modelling techniques for the solar dryers. Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Reviews 62 (2016), pp. 396417.
27. Ezeike GOI. Development and performance of a triple-pass solar collector and
dryersystem.EnergyAgric1986, pp. 120.
28. Prakash O, Kumar A. Thermal performance evaluation of modified active
greenhousedryer. J Build Phys 2014;37:395402
29. M.K. Ghosal, G.N. Tiwari, Modeling and parametric studies for thermal performance of
an earth to air heat exchanger integrated with a greenhouse Energy Conversion and
Management 47 (2006), pp. 17791798.

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30. Bikash Sarkar, G.N. Tiwari. Thermal modeling and parametric studies of a greenhouse
fish pond in the Central Himalayan Region. Energy Conversion and Management 47
(2006), PP. 31743184.
31. Tiwari GN, Kumar S, Prakash O. Evaluation of convective mass transfer coefficient
duringdryingofjaggery.JFoodEng2004;63:21927.
32. Chapra SC, Canale RP. Numerical Methods for Engineers. New Delhi: McGraw-Hill
Book Company; 1989.

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Ch. FPT06
Experimental identification of best fin configuration for pans of jaggery
making furnace

S.I. Anwar*

ICAR- Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, India

*Corresponding author. Tel: 09450396065, E-mail: sianwar@yahoo.co.in

Abstract: In India, sugarcane is normally grown for making three sweeteners viz. sugar, jaggery and khandsari.
Sugarcane juice concentration is one of the important unit operations for these products. In sugar mills, vacuum
pans or multi-effect evaporators are used. Due to decentralized nature of jaggery industry, normally open hemi-
spherical or flat-bottom juice boiling/concentrating pans are used in jaggery making furnaces. Towards
improvement in thermal/heat utilization efficiency of these furnaces, finned pans have been developed and
installed in IISR 2-pan furnace at ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow. Incorporation of fins
increased area of heat receiving surface. For identification of best fin configuration, three fins configurations;
viz. (i) radial (ii) parallel and (iii) flame spreader fins were provided to the pan bottom of smaller pans. Unfinned
pan was used as control and all these pans were evaluated experimentally. Data showed that all the finned pans
gave better performance as compared to the unfinned pan. Out of three fin configurations, parallel fin
configuration gave best results followed by flame spreader and radial fin configuration. Based on these findings,
parallel finned pans have been developed and incorporated in the design of IISR 2-pan furnace. This resulted in
improvement in furnace performance.

Keywords: Jaggery, Fins, Pan, Sugarcane Juice Concentration

1. Introduction
Sugarcane juice concentration, while processing sugarcane for sugar, jaggery or khandsari, is
one of the important major unit operations. Sugar mills employ efficient multi-effect
evaporators in the form of vacuum pans where evaporation of water takes place under
vacuum at lower temperature. This helps in reduction of undesirable colour development and
sugar loss due to burning. Jaggery and khandsari units on the other hand, use open pan
furnaces. Sugarcane bagasse, obtained in the process of juice extraction, is the primary fuel
used in these furnaces. Very little or no saving of bagasse is experienced due to low thermal
efficiency of these furnaces. The fibres of sugarcane rind are excellent source of raw material
for paper and pulp industries and the pith portion may effectively be converted and utilized as
animal feed. So saving of bagasse may lead to the way for extra revenue generation option
for jaggery/khandsari manufacturer.

Different types of jaggery making furnaces have been developed in India (Roy, 1951).
Variation in design include number and size of pans, size of combustion chamber, size and
geometry of flue gas channel, height of chimney, provision for air supply etc. Lack of
scientific awareness and know-how is the root cause leading to poor design and performance.
Lower efficiency of these furnaces results in excessive bagasse consumption and increased
processing time of sugarcane juice and consequently product quality and productivity are
affected.

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There have been limited efforts made to improve the energy receiving component of the
system, especially to improve the heat transfer from the flame/flue gases to the pan. It has
been observed that flames and hot flue gases drift towards exit and therefore get a longer path
and duration. Seeing this pattern, an attempt has been made to increase the quantum of input
heat to the pan by attaching fins to pan bottom. Fins provided additional metallic area for
effective heat transfer. Preliminary trials with finned pan showed improvement in heat
utilization efficiency with saving of time and fuel (Anon, 2004). Selection of best fin
configuration thus becomes important to harvest maximum benefits of fins for a particular
increase in area of heat receiving surface.

2. Methodology
To carry out the work, three fin configurations were conceptualized viz. (i) parallel fins (PF),
(ii) flame spreader fins (FSF) and radial fins (RF). These configurations have been shown in
Fig. 1. The position and angle of fins in FSF type were set in such a fashion that this
configuration can spread flames all over the pan bottom. Mild steel flats (25 x 3 mm) were
welded to each of the three finned pans. The total length of flats in all the cases was kept
equal. Therefore, per cent increase in area was same in all the cases. Conventional pan (Plain)
was taken as control.

Four wood stoves (chulhas) were made using bricks. Measured quantity of bagasse was taken
for fuelling. Two persons were deputed for fuelling 2 stoves each at a time. After every 15
minutes, position of persons was altered to avoid human error. Measured quantity of water
was taken in each case and all the four stoves were lit at a time. Temperature of water was
noted down after every minute till the water started boiling. While recording the temperature,
the water was stirred with the help of a stirrer. After boiling started, the fuelling was
continued till consumption of all bagasse. The pans were covered with lid and the left water
was measured after cooling. Experimental set up is shown in Fig. 2.

a b

c d

Fig.1. Fin configurations Fig.2. Experimental set up for evaluation of

(a) PF (b) FSF (c) Plain pan (d) different fin configurations
RF

Thermal (th) and heat utilization efficiency (HU) were calculated using following
equations:
th = (mw x Cw x T + mp x Cp x T) + (mwe x L)/mb .CVb (1)
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HU = (mwe x L)/ mb .CVb (2)

Where, mw, mp, mwe, mb are the mass (kg) of water taken, pan, water evaporated and bagasse
used respectively; Cw, Cp are the specific heat (kJ/kgoC) of water and mild steel pans
respectively; T is the rise in temperature (oC) and L and CVb are the latent heat of
evaporation (kJ/kg) and calorific value (kJ/kg) of bagasse respectively.
Values of working parameters used for calculations are given in Table 1.

Table 1. Working parameters and values used for calculation

Sl No. Parameter Value
1 Quantity of water taken for each case (kg) 3.50
2 Weight of bagasse taken for each case (kg) 4.00
3 Time of fuelling (min.) 75
4 Fuel feeding rate (g/min.) 53.33
5 Weight of unfinned pan (kg) 1.8
6 Weight of finned pan (kg) 2.6
7 Moisture content of bagasse (% w.b.) 23.96
8 Calorific value of bagasse (kJ/kg) 12935
o
9 Specific heat of mild steel (kJ/kg C) 0.84

3. Results and Discussion

Results of experiments with all kind of configuration/geometry tested have been summarized
in Table 2.

Table-2. Performance of finned pans with different configuration/geometry (average of three values)
Sl Parameters Fin configuration/geometry
No.
Plain PF FSF RF Avg. (fins)
1 Water evaporated (kg) 1.720 2.273 2.180 2.143 2.199
2 Thermal efficiency (%) 9.93 12.47 12.06 11.90 12.14
3 Heat utilization efficiency (%) 7.52 9.94 9.53 9.37 9.62
4 % increase in thermal efficiency as --- 25.58 21.45 19.84 22.29
compared to plain pan
5 % increase in heat utilization --- 32.18 26.73 24.60 27.93
efficiency as compared to plain pan

It can be seen that finned pans were able to evaporate more water than plain pan. The
quantity of water evaporated was maximum with PF followed by FSF and RF. Reason behind
better performance of PF may be due to ease in movement of flames and better brushing
action on fins whereas, in case of FSF and RF, hindrance in flame movement was observed.

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Due to more water evaporation, thermal as well as heat utilization efficiency of finned pans in
general and PF in particular was found to be more. Percent increase in thermal and heat
utilization efficiency was also maximum with PF (25.58% and 32.18% respectively). Other
performance parameters have been summarized in Table 3.
Table 3 Other performance parameters
Sl Parameters Fin configuration/geometry
No.
Plain PF FSF RF Avg.
(fins)
1 Water evaporated/kg of bagasse, kg 0.43 0.57 0.55 0.54 0.55
2 Bagasse used /kg of water evaporated, kg 2.33 1.75 1.82 1.85 1.81
3 Time required/kg of water evaporated, min. 43.60 33.00 34.40 35.00 34.12
4 Bagasse saving with finned pans, % --- 24.89 21.88 20.60 21.74
5 Time saving with finned pans, % --- 24.31 21.10 19.72 21.74

It can be seen from the table that more water was evaporated per unit weight of bagasse with
finned pans and the values were highest with PF followed by FSF and RF. In other way, less
fuel was required per kilogram of water evaporation with finned pans. Maximum saving was
observed with PF (24.89%). If these pans are used in jaggery/khandsari making, the saving of
fuel would help in making the system self-sufficient alleviating the need for additional fuel
requirement. If bagasse is saved, that may be diverted to paper/pulp or particleboard industry,
opening doors of extra revenue generation.

Similarly, time saving was also achieved by using finned pans. Again about 20% time saving
was observed with finned pans and the maximum saving with PF (24.31%). Therefore, we
may expect improvement in productivity, which may increase 1.25 times by using finned
pans, and the economics of the system is likely to improve. Juice processing in comparatively
lesser time will improve the jaggery quality as well by checking inversion of sucrose.
Statistical analysis of all the results was done and is summarized in Table 4.

Table 4. ANOVA table

Treatment Characters & means
Water Thermal Heat Bagasse used/kg Time required/kg
evaporated efficiency utilization of water of water evaporated
efficiency evaporated
Control 1.720 9.93 7.52 2.35 44.21
T1 2.273 12.47 9.94 1.74 33.14
T2 2.180 12.06 9.53 1.83 34.43
T3 2.143 11.90 9.37 1.87 35.05
SE (Mean) 0.103 0.45 0.45 0.14 2.53
CD 0.251 1.10 1.09 0.33 6.19
Control- Plain pan, T1 - Parallel fins (PF), T2- Flame spreader fins (FSF), T3- Radial fins (RF)
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It may be seen from table 4 that there is significant difference in all the performance
parameters of finned pans as compared to control. Therefore, finned pans are better in all
respect. There was difference in performance amongst finned pans and the performance of PF
was best in all respect followed by FSF and RF.

Based on above results parallel fins were provided to the circular main pan and rectangular
gutter pan of IISR 2-pan furnace. The furnace performed better over the previous one.
4. Conclusions
Pans having fins performed better as compared to unfinned pans in terms of thermal/heat
utilization efficiency, saving of fuel and time. Amongst three fins configurations tested,
parallel fins gave best results followed by plain spreader and radial fins.
References
1. Roy SC. Monograph on the gur industry of India. New Delhi: ICSC, 1951.
2. Anonymous, 2004. Annual Report (2003-04) of Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research,
Lucknow.

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CHAPTER 5
MISCELLANEOUS
___________________________________________________________________________
Ch. OTH01

A Comparative Analysis of Different MPPT Techniques for Optimized

Performance of Solar Photovoltaic Energy-Conversion System
G.S.Chaurasia1, Sanjay Agrawal2, N.K.Sharma3
1
SRM University, NCR Campus, Modi Nagar Ghaziabad, India
2
School of Engineering And Technology, IGNOU New Delhi, India
3
Director, BIT, Meerut, India
Corresponding Author Tel +91-7955195468, E-mail: gschaurasia@gmail.com

Abstract: The paper aims to conclude comparison of various MPPT Technique under various environmental
condition. The photovoltaic array having non-linear power voltage characteristic and under non-uniform
irradiances. It shows a many peaks which have many local peaks and one global peak. For getting a global peak
among all local peak, MPPT play an important role in PV system. Therefore a maximum power point tracking
(MPPT) techniques are needed to maximize the produced energy. Here the comparison of hill climbing perturb
and observe (P&O) algorithm technique, incremental and conductance (I&C) control algorithm, the drift free
P&O algorithm technique are discussed in detail with simulation and simultaneously some other techniques
comparison are given briefly which help the researcher to help in selecting the specific algorithm for specific
situation.
Keywords MPPT Technique, traditional and intelligence based controller

1. Introduction
Solar energy is one of the most important renewable energy sources as opposed to the
conventional not renewable sources such as coal, gasoline. Solar energy is clean,
inexhaustible and free. Any variation in atmospheric condition change reliability and quality
of power and create a challenge in integration of renewable energy and become a most
promising challenge in most of the developed and developing country like India. Historic
commitment of COP 21 commits the world to holding the rise of global temperature to well
below 20 C above pre-industrial levels, and pursuing efforts to limit this increase to 1.50 C, is
a much more ambitious goal. India submitted a stronger commitments through Intended
Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the UNFCCC to increase the contribution of
non-fossil fuel to 40% in the total installed capacity by 2030. Increase contribution of PV
generation through Indias Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission is one of the instrument to fulfill
this ambitious commitment.
In a solar PV system generally the tracing of maximum power and corresponding point is a
biggest challenge and one of the very important parts of photovoltaic energy conversion
system. For getting this many of the researchers and research community developed a lot of
algorithm. Out of all, each technique have some merits and demerits [1] and some variation in
terms of implementation complexity, required sensors which are used in parameter sensing,
convergence speed, cost, and range of effectiveness which are addressed in various research

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articles. In photovoltaic solar energy conversion system tracing of maximum power point and
corresponding operating point is important other for any change in isolation system goes in
unstable region [2-3]. For any given set of conditions to efficiency increase of a photovoltaic
conversion array, the photovoltaic modules are operated at maximum power point [4-5].
From the nonlinear characteristics of PV module, tracing of maximum power play a vital role
for any photovoltaic system. In literature review, different maximum power point tracing
technique have been reported [5].

2. MPPT Algorithm and Techniques

In this term paper most of the MPPT schemes are considered and try to describe briefly with
the help of flowchart and comparison table. These are the following MPPT Technique.
(a) Constant Voltage Method.
(b) Short Current Pulse Method.
(c) Open Voltage Method.
(d) Perturb and observe Method.
(e) Incremental Conductance Method.
(f) The artificial Neural Network.
(g) The Fuzzy Logic Method.

2.1. Constant voltage method

We use to take number of step (nth), and the operating points of the PV array. Keep near the
MPP by regulating the array voltage and matching it to a fixed reference voltage Vref equal to
the Vmpp of the characteristic. The CV method assumes that insulation and temperature
variations on the PV array are insignificant on the VMPP, and that constant reference voltage
VREF is an adequate approximation of the real MPP and different data have to be adapted for
different geographical regions.
The flow chart of the CV method is given fig.1. It is important to observe that when the PV
panel is in low insulation conditions.

2.2. Short current pulse method

In this method we achieves the MPP by giving the reference current IREF to the controller of
power converter. It is true that the operating current for maximum output power is
proportional to the short circuit current ISC under various conditions of the irradiance level S
as
IREF (s) = KI. ISC (S) (1)
Where KI is a proportional constant.
This control algorithm requires the measurement of the current Isc. To obtain this
measurement, it is necessary to introduce a static switch in parallel with the PV array, in order
to create the short- circuit condition. The SC method needs the measurement of the PV array
current IPV in order to setup the duty cycle of the DC/DC boost converter. When the voltage
VPV = 0 i.e no power is supplied by the PV system and consequently no energy is generated.

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Measuremnet of
VPV

YES
VPV=Vref

NO

NO YES
VPV > Vref

(n+1)=(n)-
(n+1)=(n)+

Fig.1 Flow chart of the CV method

Refresh NO
Reference?
YES

PV short-circuit Measuremnet of
condition IPV

YES
Measurement of IPV=Iref
ISC
NO

NO IPV < Iref

YES
PV work condition

(n+1)=(n)-
(n+1)=(n)+

Iref=k1.ISC

Fig.2 Short current Pulse Method

2.3. Open Voltage Method
The Open Voltage (OV) method is based on the Observation that the voltage VMPP is always
close to a fixed percentage of the open circuit voltage VOC.

YES Refresh NO
Reference?

PV short-circuit Measuremnet of
condition VPV

YES
Measurement of VPV=Vref
VOV
NO

NO IPV < Iref

YES
PV work condition

(n+1)=(n)-
(n+1)=(n)+

Vref=k2.VOV

Fig.3 Open voltage method

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2.4. Perturb and observe (P&O) algorithm technique

Start P&O
Algorithm
Update values

Track Ipv(k) and Vpv(k)

Compute Ppv(k)= Ipv(k)*Vpv(k)
Compute Ppv(k-1)= Ipv(k-1)*Vpv(k-1)

Yes Ppv(k)-Ppv(k-1)=0

Ppv(k)-Ppv(k-1)>0
No Yes

Vpv(k)-Vpv(k-1)<0 Vpv(k)-Vpv(k-1)>0
No Yes No
Yes
Decrease Increase Increase Decrease
Vpv(k) or increase Vpv(k) or decrease Vpv(k) or decrease Vpv(k) or increase
duty ratio (D) duty ratio (D) duty ratio (D) duty ratio (D)

Fig 4.Perturb and Observe algorithm

The flow chart for controlling the solar Photo Voltaic energy conversion array voltage is
given in Fig.1. The duty cycle is generated by comparing it with the saw-tooth waveform and
it is adjusted in such a way so as to trace the maximum power point of the solar Photo Voltaic
energy conversion array power Vs voltage curve. In this MPPT scheme, the Photo Voltaic
energy conversion voltage and Photo Voltaic energy conversion current are obtained at each
iteration and the corresponding power is calculated. If product of solar PV power and voltage
is more than the last iteration product then the value of solar PV voltage is increased and new
value is given.
Measuremnet of VPV(n),
IPV(n)

PPV=VPV(n).IPV(n)

NO YES
PPV(n) - P

K = -1 K=1

(n+1)=(n)+k

Fig.4. (a) Optimized P&O,a

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Measuremnet of
VPV(n), IPV(n)

PPV=VPV(n).IPV(n)

dP=PPV(n)-PPV(n-1)
dV=VPV(n)-VPV(n-1)

YES NO
(n)=(n-1) dV=0 (n)=MdP/dV

YES NO
dP=0

NO YES YES NO
dP>0 dP/dV0

K=-1 K=1 K=-1

(n+1)=(n)+k(n)

Fig.4 (b) Optimized P&O, b

Refresh
M=0
Reference?

(n)a=(n) YES NO
Vb(n)>Va(n)

Measurement of
Va(n), Ia(n) M=M-1 M=M-1
Pa(n)=Va(n)Ia(n)

(n)b=(n)a+ YES NO
Va(n)>Vc(n)

Measurement of M=M-1 M=M-1

Vb(n), Ib(n)
Pb(n)=Vb(n)Ib(n)

YES
(n)c=(n)b-2 Vb(n)>Va(n)

YES NO
Is M= -2 ?
Measurement of NO
Vc(n), Ic(n)
Pc(n)=Vc(n)Ic(n)
V(n+1)=Vb(n) V(n+1)=Vb(n) V(n+1)=Vb(n)

Fig.4.(c) Optimized P&O,c

Updated otherwise PV voltage value is decreased and new value of voltage is updated.

Fig.5Power vs Voltage and Current vs Voltage curve for one module

4500 W solar PV array is designed. For this purpose a solar module consisting of 36 cells of
open circuit voltage (Voc) of 21.6Vand 0.64A short circuit current (Isc) is designed to give
above rating by connecting Nser series connected module number and Npar is the parallel
connected module numbers.
Pmpp = ( N ser Vmpp ) ( N par I mpp ) = 4.5 kW
(2)

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Where Vmpp=solar PV voltage at maximum power and Impp=solar PV current at maximum

power. Here 10W, 17.6V (Vmpp), 0.58A (Impp) module is selected for this purpose as shown in
Fig.2. It has been examined that Vmpp=0.85*Voc and Impp=0.90*Isc. Hence Pmpp for one module
is given by Pmpp=Vmpp*Impp. Now Voca=600V. Hence number of series connected module
(Nser)=600/21.629 and number of parallel connected modules are (Npar) = 4500/
[(0.85*600)*0.58]=15.2515.
By this way connecting 29 modules in series and 15 modules in parallel one can achieve
4500W solar PV array.
2.5. ) Incremental and conductance (I&C) control algorithm
Start P&O
Algorithm
Update values

Track Ipv(k) and Vpv(k)

Compute V= Vpv(k)-Vpv(k-1)
And I=Ipv(k)-Ipv(k-1)

V=0 I=0
Yes Yes
No No
I/V=-(I/V)
I>0
No
No Yes
I/V>-(I/V)
Yes Yes No
Decrease Increase Increase Decrease
duty ratio duty ratio duty ratio duty ratio
(D) (D) (D) (D)

Vpv(k-1)=Vpv(k)
Ipv(k-1)=Ipv(k)

Fig.6 Incremental and Conductance algorithm

Fig.7 Incremental conductance approach

The technique for controlling the SPV array voltage is given in Fig.2. There is a nonlinear
relationship between power and voltage in solar PV array characteristic and various MPPT
techniques have been used to trace maximum power operating point, simplest of which is
(P&O) algorithm technique. But because of its inherent demerit of oscillation at MPP and loss
associated with it as discussed in previous section, incremental and conductance (I&C)
control algorithm has been used [6].
PPV (k ) = VPV (k )* I PV (k ) (3)
dPPV (k ) dI PV (k )
= I PV (k ) + VPV (k ) * =0 (4)
dVPV (k ) dVPV (k )
dI PV (k ) I PV (k )
= (5)
dVPV (k ) VPV (k )

Where V(k) and I(k) are the instantaneous voltage and current values.
From the above equation it is clear that the slope at MPP should be zero. On the right of the
MPP the slope is negative and on the left of MPP it is positive as shown in Fig.4.

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2.6. The artificial Neural Network

A computing system made up of a number of simple, highly interconnected processing
elements, which process information by their dynamic state response to external inputs.
An artificial neural network (ANN) is a flexible mathematical structure which is capable of
identifying complex nonlinear relationships between input and output data sets
2.7. The Fuzzy Logic Method
A fuzzy logic controller is basically a nonlinear and an adaptive controller which gives robust
performance for a linear or non linear plant with parameter variation. Fuzzy logic is a
mathematical hypothesis combining multi valued probable logic and artificial intelligence to
imitate the human approach to solve diverse problems by using an approximate interpretation
to relate different data sets and judgment. The FLC used here is with input and output scaling
factors. The values of these scaling factors are different for speed and current controllers
based on their input range, required output range, and interval of membership function
defined for that particular controller. Scaling factors are used to tune the controller with
system parameter to achieve high performance. As for as the controller parameters are
concerned, these are the range of membership functions, type of membership function,
implication methods, rules and number of rules. Initially, the scaling factors are selected
based upon the approximate estimate of the input and output range for individual controller,
as PI controllers, and are tuned individually to achieve the desired performance.
2.7.1. Design Steps
The design steps for fuzzy logic controller for speed and current control of PMSM are as
follows -
1. Identify input and output variables.
2. Select membership functions (MFs) and define control rules.
3. Choose probable implication method.
4. Translate fuzzy set into crisp set.
5. Tune the scaling factors for desired performance.
2.7.2. Selection of MFs
We have selected five variables 1) negative medium (NM), 2) negative small (NS) , 3) zero
(Z) ,4) positive small (PS) , 5) positive medium (PM) and are shown in fig.8. In case of FSC
seven linguistic variables are chosen for input and output variables: 1) negative large (NL), 2)
negative medium (NM), 3) negative small (NS), 4) zero (Z), 5) positive small (PS), 6)
positive medium (PM), 7) positive large (PL), as shown in fig. 11. In case of speed controller
more variables chosen because the variation and range of speed error is more as compared to
current error.
Table I.
Type of MFs Nos. Interval

FSC Triangular 7 [-15 15]

FCC Triangular 5 [-2 2]

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Fig.8 Membership functions for current controllers

Fig.9 Membership functions for speed controller

2.7.3. Constraints and Rules
Based on the experience and expertise of the system, membership functions are specified and
fuzzy control rules are defined. These membership functions and control rules may require
tuning to achieve high performance of drive under variable operating conditions. To obtain
normalized inputs and output for FLC, gain blocks are used as scaling factors Ge, Gce and Gu
as shown in fig. 9.
In the second stage of FLC, fuzzy variables E and CE are processed by an inference engine
that executes a set of control rules contained in (7 7) rule base for speed controller and
(55) rule base for current controller. The control rules are derived from experience or
knowledge of experts.
The control rules are also formulated using behavior of solar PC system. Derivation of control
rules are based on following criteria for solar PV system.

1. When current error is more positive then to catch up the reference current, current
reference has to be more.
2. When current error is small positive and change in current error is large then current
reference has to be kept constant to avoid overshoot.
3. At zero current error current reference has to be unchanged.
4. At negative current error current reference has to be negative.

2.7.4. Performance optimization by tuning

Design of a robust controller needs tuning of FLC parameter. One method is to tune the rule
base of FLC; other method is to tune scaling factors. there are three (two input and one
output) scaling factors Ge, Gce and Gu used. The scaling factors are tuned depending upon the
parameter of solar PV System, inverter, load, and reference current. The type, number and
interval for each type of membership function is given in table II.
The structure of current controllers is similar to current controller but the scaling factors are
different, because input and output requirements of each controller are different.
Thus scaling factors are also different to bring them into same range specified by their
corresponding membership functions. In this paper for the linguistic variable of current

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controller triangular membership functions are used between the interval, for current
controller the interval is as given in table II. To get the actual error and change in error in the
range specified for corresponding controller, gains blocks are used. The control rules will be
executed only when the inputs E and CE are normalized using gain blocks, in the range
specified for the corresponding controller. In this paper max-min algorithm is used to produce
output fuzzy variable from inputs processed by control rules.
Table II.Comparison of Various MPPT Techniques
S.No characteristic MPPT Technique

Fractional Voc, Fractional Isc, Fuzzy logic Control ,Neural Network,

PV Array Dependent
Current Sweep, OCC MPPT

1.
Hill Climbing or Perturb &Obseve, INC Conductance, RCC, DC
PV array not Dependent LINK Capacitor based droop control, Load I & V or Maximization,
dP/dV & dP/dI based feedback Control, Slide Control

Hill Climbing or Perturb &Obseve, Incremental Conductance, RCC,

MPPT True Fuzzy logic based Control ,Neural based Network, , RCC, Current
Sweep, dP/dV & dP/dI feedback based Control, Slide Control
2

Fractional Voc, Fractional Isc, DC LINK Capacitor based droop

Not
control, OCC

Fractional Voc, Fractional Isc, Fuzzy logic based Control ,Neural based
Periodic tuning Require
Network, Current Sweep, OCC MPPT
3.
Hill Climbing/P&O, INC, RCC, DC LINK Capacitor based droop
Not Require
control, dP/dV & dP/dI feedback Control, Slide Control

Fuzzy logic based MPPT Control ,Neural based Network, , Inc

Digital Conductance, dP/dV & dP/dI feedback Control, Slide Control,
Current Sweep
4
Analog RCC MPPT

Hill Climbing/P&O, Fractional Voc, Fractional Isc, DC LINK

Both
Capacitor based droop control, OCC MPP tracing

Fuzzy logic based Control ,Neural based Network, , RCC, Slide

Fast
Control, OCC MPPT

Medium Fractional Voc, Fractional Isc,

5 Convergence speed
Slow Current Sweep

Varies Hill Climbing/P&O, Incremental Conductance

Hill Climbing/P&O, Fractional Voc, RCC, DC LINK Capacitor droop

LOW
control

Implementation
6 Incremental Conductance, Fractional Isc, dP/dV & dP/dI feedback
Complexity MIDIUM
Control, Slide Control, OCC MPPT

HIGH Fuzzy logic Control ,Neural Network, Current Sweep

Voltage, Current Hill Climbing/P&O, Incremental Conductance (INC), Slide Control

Voltage Fractional Voc, DC LINK Capacitor based droop control

7 Sensed Parameter
Current Fractional Isc, OCC MPP tracing

Fuzzy logic based Control ,Neural based Network, RCC, Current

Varies
Sweep

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3. Conclusion
The detail of the various algorithms used to trace maximum power point and its overall view
is given in this paper. Advantage and disadvantage along with popularity, implementation
complexity is also given here briefly. To mitigate the environmental challenge the tracing of
maximum power from the photovoltaic energy conversion system is very significant. As per
scenario, geographical condition and local situation the evaluation of MPP tracing algorithm
cannot be done because these MPPT are slightly differ from each other in terms of
performance. In the implementation of PV system, the most important and significant work is
selection of particular MPP for specific task and this research article is tried to cover these all
the issue. A comparative analysis is presented with characteristics of different MPPT
algorithm, along with performance criteria is given in TABLE-II. A variety of MPP tracing
algorithm is tried to discussed and explained here and corresponding flow chart also. In
selecting the correct MPP tracing algorithm, for specific solar system, the comparison table is
very fruitful.

REFERENCES
Zhang Songbai, Zheng Xu, Youchun Li and Yixin Ni, Optimization of MPPT step size in
stand-alone solar pumping systems, IEEE Power Eng. Society Gen. Meeting, June 2006.
N. Kasa, et al., "Fly-back Inverter Controlled by Sensorless Current MPPT for Photovoltaic
Power System," Ind. Electron., IEEE Trans., vol. 52, pp. 1145-1152, 2005.
V. F. Pires and J. F. Silva, Teaching nonlinear modeling, simulation and control of electronic
power converters using MATLAB/SIMULINK, IEEE Trans. Educ., vol. 45, pp. 253
261, Aug. 2002.
M. Calais and H. Hinz, A ripple based maximum power tracking algorithm for single phase
grid connected system, Sol. Energy, vol. 63, no. 55, pp. 277282, 1998.
K. Hussein, I. Muta, T. Hoshino, and M. Osakada, Maximum photovoltaic power tracking:
An algorithm for rapidly changing atmosphere conditions, Proc. Inst. Elect. Eng., vol.
142, Jan. 1995, pp. 5964.
J. A. Gow and C. D. Manning, Controller arrangement for boost converter systems sourced
from solar photovoltaic arrays or other maximum power sources, in Proc. Inst. Elect.
Eng., Electric Power Appl., vol. 147, Jan. 2000, pp. 1520.
M. Killi, S. Samanta, Modified Perturb and Observe MPPT Algorithm for Drift Avoidance
in Photovoltaic Systems, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 62, no. 9, Sep. 2015.
K. Ishaque, Z. Salam, and H. Taheri, Simple, fast and accurate two diode model for
photovoltaic modules, Solar Energy Mater. Solar Cells, 2011, Vol. 95, pp. 586594.

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Ch. OTH02

Filtration efficiency of mechanical filtration unit for sugarcane juice

R.D. Singh1,*, Dilip Kumar2

1,2
ICAR- Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, India
*Corresponding author.Tel:+915222480735, E-mail:ramdhiraj@rediffmail.com

Abstract: Jaggery is a product of a agro based cottage industry. The unit operations involved in the jaggery
production are; crushing of cane, filtration of raw juice, boiling and concentration of filtered juice, molding of
concentrated mass, drying of moulded jaggery and then packaging. Filtration is an important component because
raw juice contains impurities like mud, bagasse, fiber, wax, gum, silica, chlorophyll etc. which affects the quality of
jaggery. Keeping the above in view, a mechanical filtration unit has been developed for filtration of juice during the
jaggery production process. The developed filtration unit has one pre-filter and four main filters. The pre filter
consists of a slotted plastic cylinder body of diameter 150mm and length 608 mm, end cap, plastic flange,
submersible motor and plastic cloth of 1 mm mesh size. The first filter consists of woven plastic cloth of 0.5mm
mesh size to separate fine particles of bagassilo. The second filter consists of a woven synthetic candle able to
remove impurities of size 0.5-0.1mm. The third filter consists of another synthetic candle for removing impurities
of size 0.1- 0.08mm. The fourth filter was a active charcoal filter. A submersible pump of capacity 800l/h and power
12 watt was provided at the base plate inside the casing for pumping of filtered juice during filtration. The filtration
efficiency and capacity were found as 80% and 300 l/h respectively.

Key words: Jaggery, Sugarcane Juice , Mechanical Filtration

1.1 Introduction

Jaggery is an important sweetener. It is produced in cottage industries. The unit operations

involved in jaggery production are: extraction of juice, filtration , boiling and concentration
moulding of concentrated juice in different shape and packaging. Filtration is an important
component because raw juice containing impurities likes mud bagasse , fibre , wax, gum, silica,
chlorophyll etc. requires to be filtered as it affect the quality of jaggery directly. At present,
juice is filtered with nylon filter which are unable to make the juice clean. It is, therefore,
necessary to develop a mechanical filtration unit capable of filtering impurities for jaggery plant
to get quality product.

1.2 Methodology

Development of the filtration unit

A mechanical filtration unit (Fig. 1) consisting of one pre-filter, four filters in series and a pump
of 800 l/h was assembled. The pre filter consists of a slotted plastic cylinder body of diameter
150mm and length 608 mm, end cap, plastic flange, submersible motor and plastic cloth of 1 mm
mesh size. This filter was used to separate coarse impurities like trash, bagasse particles, and
fibre, sand other large insoluble impurities, present in the juice. The first filter consists of woven

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plastic cloth of 0.5mm mesh size to separate fine particles of bagassilo. The second filter consists
of a woven synthetic candle able to remove impurities of size 0.5-0.1mm. The third filter consists
of another synthetic candle able to remove impurities of size 0.1- 0.08mm. The fourth filter was
active charcoal filter. It consisted of aluminium casing, inlet-outlet valve, active charcoal
granules and a small plastic mesh filter. A submersible pump of capacity 800l/h and power 12
watt was provided at the base plate inside the casing for pumping of filtered juice during
filtration.

Fig. 1 (A) view of developed Fig. 1(B) Filtration unit attached

filtration unit with jaggery making furnace
Performance evaluation of filtration unit
For the measurement of the performance, juice was obtained with the help of a vertical cane
crusher. The juice analysis was done. The details of test set up and juice parameters are given in
below:

A. Filter medium parameter of test set up

1. Dia of the cartridge: 80 mm
2. Length of the cartridge: 260 mm
3. Candle diameter: 70 mm
4. Candle length: 260 mm
5. Pump out put: 800lit/h
6. Power: 12 W
7. H max : 1.3 m

B. Crop and Juice Parameter

a. Variety: CoS92423
b. Juice filtered : 250 litre
c Juice analysed: 5 0 ml
d. Juice POL: 72.3
e. Juice brix (uncorrected): 20

The filtration unit was evaluated by filtering 250 kg of sugarcane juice. The extracted juice from
the crushed cane was transferred to the settling tank containing the pre-filter. A submersible
pump fitted inside the pre-filter was used to pump the juice to filtration unit. Samples of 20g of
the filtered juice from each filter was taken for measuring absorbance, transmittance and

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insoluble impurities. The optical properties were measured at 540nm. The observed values are
given in following Table-1. Filtration efficiency was used using following relationship:

Efficiency = (impurities filtered/total impurities in raw juice ) x100 ---------- (1)

Modification and performance evaluation of modified unit

It was modified for designed higher capacity (300l/h) by increasing the opening area of the pre
filter. Modified pre filter has 600 mm length, 150 mm diameter, 120 No. of holes having 15mm
diameter each. Effective increase in opening area was found as 10600 mm2 . The capacity of the
selected pump was 800l/h. It was further tested.The unit was evaluated by filtering 100 kg of
sugarcane juice. Sample of 20 g juice was used for measuring impurities. The observations were
repeated thrice and average values are given in Table-2.

1.3 Results and Discussion

Absorbance, transmittance, impurities and efficiency of different filters of the filtration unit is
given in Table-1:

Table 1. Absorbance, Transmittance, Impurities and efficiency of different filters

of the filtration unit
Filter No. Absorbance Transmittance Impurities(g) Efficiency (%)
Raw juice 2.448 0.4 1.47
Pre-filter 2.448 0.4 0.76
Filter-I 2.448 0.4 0.18 (1.13/1.47)x100=76.86
Filter-II 2.448 0.4 0.15
Filter-III 2.448 0.4 0.04
Filter- IV 2.448 0.4 --

From the above table it is evident that the filtration unit efficiency is 76.86. No appreciable
colour change was observed as indicated by the absorbance and transmittance readings. The
filter capacity was 200l/h. It was observed that as the height of juice in the tank reduces,
discharge reduces. The openings get choked and efficiency decreases.

The results of modified unit are given in Table-2. The filtration efficiency was found as 80%
with capacity 300 l/h.

Table 2. Observation of modified filtration unit

Filter No. Impurities(g) Efficiency (%)
Raw juice 1.48
Pre-filter 0.81
Filter-I 0.19 (1.19/1.48)x100= 80.30
Filter-II 0.15
Filter-III 0.04

Conclusions

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The mechanical filtration unit for sugarcane juice has been developed with filtration efficiency of
80% and capacity 300 l/h.

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A Progress Report Jul-Dec 16 Ch. OTH03

Artificial Neural Network Analysis of Building Integrated Photo-voltaic

Thermal And Swimming Pool Integrated Photo-voltaic Thermal Systems
Sugandha Singh (2014ESZ8430)
Supervisor: Prof. T. S. Bhatti & Prof. G. N.Tiwari
Centre for Energy Studies, IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas, India 110016

Pre-PhD courses System Description Fourier Coefficients

ESL-768: Wind and Small Hydro Energy Systems The fig.1 shows the schematic diagram of SPiPVT. This is the proposed to
n 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
be installed at project site Balia, Varanasi. The proposed system consists of
pool for aquaculture and its side walls are enclosed with glass. 6.8805
Semitransparent PV module will be integrated at the roof of the system with 31.8 0.7581 9.6289 9.1967 8.5768 7.7944
ESL-770: Solar Energy Utilization An
inclination of latitude of Ballia.
The thermal energy of SPiPVT system will be utilized to heat the water of
CGPA pond and an optimum temperature will be maintained for maximum Bn, _ 0.2615 -2.6949 -3.2748 -3.9714 -4.6339 -5.1986
9.5
obtained aquaculture productivity.
The electricity produced by PV will be utilized to operate the exhaust fan
Abstract which is important part of proposed system to maintain the required fn _ 0.8019 9.9989 9.7623 9.4516 9.0678 8.6236
temperature and humidity level inside the SPiPVT system. Here an attempt
Ancient architecture, all over the world, had many characteristics, has been made to develop a self-sustainable SPIPVT system.
which led to the thermal comfort in buildings. Like, the importance
of south aspect of houses from Greeks, Iranian architecture used the S-PV module
clustering concept for thick walls, wind towers, etc Indian
architecture had forts & domes. All these are good examples of I(t) n _ 0.33 2.8 2.79 2.70 2.605 2.49
Ta
buildings responsive to the demands of sun and climate. These (in rad)
proven concepts are ignored in the design of modern buildings Glass
which majorly relies on conventional fuels for providing the desired
It can be shown that theoretical values and values calculated using
heating and cooling.
Fourier coefficients of periodic functions are in fair agreement.

The objective is to maximize the utilization of solar energy to Water
achieve desired heating and cooling. The concept of Photo Voltaic
Tr
Thermal (PVT) can be applied to buildings. A photovoltaic/thermal
hybrid solar system is a combination of photovoltaic (PV) and solar Blackened
thermal components/systems, which produce both electricity and Surface
heat from one integrated component or system [1]. When hybrid Concrete
PVT is integrated on a faade, window and roof of a building, it is
termed as building integrated photovoltaic thermal (BiPVT) system.
Tw
Therefore, PV modules integrated to the faade or roof of a building
enhance its effectiveness in many ways like efficiency, cost, etc
Similarly, Swimming Pool integrated Photo Voltaic systems
(SPiPVT) can be used for urban aquaculture. Fig. 1. Schematic of SPiPVT Fig. 2. Hourly variation of f (t) [Tsa]

Introduction Mathematical Modeling Periodic Analysis of SPiPVT

The climate transformation and speedy exhaustion of non-renewable assets The mathematical model of SPiPVT has been developed with the help of Applying Fourier transform for periodic analysis of the system
are the two challenges that has gained prime importance in the recent energy balance equation at different point and Fourier series.
bygone. The answer to these and many other related problems lies in
e in t
i n
fostering renewable resources like sun, wind, tidal and hydro etc... I (t ) = I o + real I n e
The energy balance equations are as follows: n=1
(8)
Among all the renewable resources, Sun is the direct ultimate source of
PV Module
energy and also the creation of fossil fuels indirectly (non -renewable i n in t
energy). Each and every form of energy, primarily or secondarily relies on
Ta = Tao + real Tao e e
c g m Am I(t) = NU tc,a (Tc Ta )Am + NU bc,r (Tc Tr )Am + Nc g m Am I(t) n=1 (9)
Suns power called as Solar Energy.

Solar energy can be used (1)

n x n x (10)
Bottom SPiPVT T = Ax + B + real (Cn e + Dn e )
directly as electrical energy (high grade energy) by means of photons
n=1
as thermal energy (low grade energy) by means of electromagnetic (e/m) 2
[ b g Ai I i + N (1 m )Am I (t)](1 j exp( j dw)) =
waves. b g
Time independent matrix
Globally, the heating and cooling of buildings is responsible for the maximum dT
hbw (T x=0 Tw )Ab + (k ) 0 0 N (U L + O O m I o ) NU bc,r 0 A
usage of total energy consumption. dx x=0
In developed nations like USA, 87% of total energy is used for air (2) k hbw Ab 0 0 hbw Ab B
Tco
conditioning, while in Room 0 hbw Ab 0 h1 Ab Ab (hbw + h1 )
0 0 NU bc,r m Am (U L )eff h1 Ab Tro
developing economy like China it amounts to 70%. NU bc,r (Tc Tr ) m Am + h1 (Tw Tr ) Ab = k Ub 0 0 0 Two
In India, there is around 59% of energy consumption for heating and
dTr
cooling (thermal energy) in a residential building, while for lighting M aC a + AiU i (Tr Ta ) + 0.33Nv(Tr Ta ) N[( )eff I o U tc,aTao ]
(electrical energy), it is 12%. dt X
(3) = [ b g (Ai I i )eff ] u j exp(n j dw)

As stated, both the energy requirements can be met through Solar Energy. Water (AiU i 0.33Nv)Tao
U bTo
hbw (T x=0 Tw )Ab +[ b g2 Ai I i + N b g2 (1 m )Am I (t)] j exp( j dw) = Time dependent matrix
A common PV module converts 417% of the incoming solar radiation into
electricity, depending on the type of solar cells in use and the working dTw 0 0 N[U L + ( )eff I o + ( )eff e
in
)] NU bc,r 0
conditions. M wCw + h1 (Tw Tr )Ab
dt (k n + hbw Ab ) k n hbw Ab 0 0 hbw Ab
(4) [hbw Ab M wCwinwe
n x
] hbw Ab M wCwinwe
n x
0 h1 Ab h1 Ab
In other words, more than 50% of the incident solar energy is converted as At x=L M aCainwe
n x
M aCainwe
n x
NU bc,r m Am (U L )eff h1 Ab
heat (after deducting the reflected portion). This may lead to extreme cell
k n U b (k n +U b ) 0 0 0
working temperature as much as 500 C above the ambient environment [1].
Numerous correlations expressing cell temperature and efficiency as functions dT
(k ) Ab = U b Ab (T x=0 To ) (5) Cn N o m g e
i n
[( )1,eff I n ] c g m e
i n
I n NU tc,a e
i n
Tan
of the pertinent weather variables and cell working conditions are summarized dx x=0
Dn
by Skoplaki and Palyvos [2,3] = Y
Tcn [ b g ( Ai I i ) eff ] u j exp(n j dw)
Trn
There can be two undesirable consequences: Ones the mathematical modeling is developed, then simulation can be ( AiU i 0.33Nv)Tan e
i n

Twn
(i) a drop in cell efficiency (typically 0.4% per 0C rise for c-Si cells) and done with the help of MATLAB software to observe the air temperature at 0

(ii) a permanent structural damage of the module if the thermal stress different location like temperature at Tx=L and room air temperature at Tr.
remains for prolonged period.
Approach for lowering cell temperature Fourier transform of periodic functions Future Work
By cooling the solar cells with a uid stream like air or water, the If f (t) is a time dependent periodic function, then the fourier Developing ANN Model & comparing with periodic analysis
electricity yield can be improved. transform of f (t) can be expressed as follows: Exergy & Energy Analysis.
Comparative study between Periodic and ANN analysis

But conceptually the be6er design is to re-use the heat energy. f (t ) = f o + [ An cos(n t ) + Bn sin(n t )]
n=1 References
Then the energy yield per unit area of panel (or facade in the (6) [1] PVT Roadmap a European guide for the development and market
case of building-integrated installa;on) can be improved. introduction of PV thermal technology; 2006, PVT forum: <http://
Above equation can be rewritten as www.pvtforum.org/index.html>.

These are the incen;ves leading to the evolvement of PVT f (t) = f o + [An cos(n t) + Bn sin(n t)] [2] Skoplaki E, Palyvos JA. Operating temperature of photovoltaic modules: a
technology survey of pertinent correlations. Renew Energy 2009;34:239.
n=1 (7)
[3] Skoplaki E, Palyvos JA. On the temperature dependence of photovoltaic
module electrical performance. A review of efficiency/power correlations. Sol
Energy 2009; 83:61424
Poster template by ResearchPosters.co.za 390
 Ch. OTH04

Light trapping in silicon wafer using silver nanoparticles

stabilized with polymer
S. Mudgal, V. K. Komarala*
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India
* E-mail: vamsi@ces.iitd.ac.in
IIT DELHI
Abstract Experimental Results

Plasmonic light trapping is one of the approaches that can be done using only few nanometre
size metal nanoparticles. Synthesized Ag-PVP NPs Deposition of colloidal Ag-PVP
NPs using spray

Adverse effects of surfactants or stabilizing agent of nanoparticles is one of the major

challenges in chemical route.

In order to have the better understanding of light trapping in crystalline silicon wafer, without
and with washing of colloidal silver nanoparticles deposition have been studied.
Fig. 2 TEM images of the as synthesized
Ag-PVP NPs (~ 80 nm) at; (a) 200 nm and, (b) 20
Average reflectance is reduced from 13.4% to 9.0% and 13.5% to 8.7% for 10 ml deposition on nm scale bars with visible capping layer of PVP.
p-type crystalline silicon wafer for without and with washing nanoparticles (NPs), respectively,
Samples preparation for the Fig. 3 Schematic of working
in the wavelength range from 350 to 1100 nm. light trapping studies approach with chemically synthesized
nanostructures.

Introduction Different losses for solar cells

Photo: University of Cambridge Molecular Fig. 4 Optical images of reflected and transmitted
and Nanoscale Photophysics. light, respectively of without (1) and with (2) Fig. 5 Absorbance spectra of without
washing Ag-PVP NPs. TEM images are also (~ 454 nm) and with washed (~ 464 nm)
o Light trapping is one of the key challenges due to back reflection from front surface, and shown here with 50 nm scale bar. Ag-PVP.
thickness of silicon solar cell once it reduced from 300 to <100 m.

36 36 Bare T-Si Wafer

Bare T-Si wafer
o Plasmonic light trapping is one of the approaches that can be done using only few nanometer size 32 2 ml 32 2 ml
6 ml
metal nanoparticles. 28 6 ml 28 10 ml
Reflectance (%)

10 ml
Reflectance (%)

24 14 ml
24
Plasmonics: A nanoscale approach of light trapping 20
14 ml
20

16 16
12 12
8 8
4 4
0 0
300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100
Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm)

Fig. 6 Reflectance spectra of different volumes deposited on silicon wafer: (a) without and
(b) with washing Ag-PVP NPs.

Table 1: Average reflectance of different volumes deposited on silicon wafers.

Average %R Reference 2 ml 6 ml 10 ml 14 ml
(350-1100 nm) (%)
Centre for Energy Studies, IITD

Ag-PVP NPs 13.4 9.2 8.9 9.0 9.8

Washed Ag-PVP NPs 13.5 11.1 9.6 8.7 9.0

Fig. 1 Schematic illustration of preparative methods and light interaction of metal NPs
References
[1] H A Atwater and A Polman , Nature Mater. 9, 20513 (2010).
[2] D. Steiningeweg and S. Schluecker, Chem. Commun. 48, 8682 (2012).
[3] E.Thouti, N. Chander, V. Dutta and V.K. Komarala, J. Opt. 15, 035005 (2013).
Conclusions
In absorbance spectra, peak reduction and broadening are observed after washing of
Ag-PVP NPs due to relative reduction in concentration and increment in size of NPs
which is confirmed by TEM images also.
Back reflection is further reduced using Ag-PVP NPs on textured silicon surface and
showing average reflectance reduction of 32.8% (13.4% to 9.0%) and 35.6% (13.5% to

Acknowledgements 8.7%), for without and with washing NPs, respectively, in the wavelength range from
We would like to thank University Grant Commission (UGC) for financial support and 350 to 1100 nm.
Central Research Facility (CRF) and Nanoscale Research Facility (NRF) IIT Delhi for
characterization. Washing not only remove excess polymer but also reduce the concentration of particles

391 with relatively large size and help to reduce reflectance better than without washed case.
Ch. OTH05
Performance enhancement of plasmonic
silicon solar cells comprised of silver,
aluminum and their alloy nanoparticles

P. K. Parashar1 *, R. P. Sharma1, and V. K. Komarala1

1Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi,
New Delhi-110016, India.
* Corresponding author e-mail: piyushiitd11@gmail.com

Abstract Results and Discussion

This work investigates the inuence of silver (Ag), aluminum Surface Morphology & Parasitic Absorption
(Al), and Ag-Al alloy nanoparticle arrays in the forward
scattering conguration for maximum light absorption into the
Si.

Ag NPs exhibit better forward scattering performance, however,

the light trapping reduces in plasmon resonance region due to
parasitic absorption/ or Fano resonance.

Al NPs shows broad light trapping of polychromatic spectrum

along with no occurrence of Fano losses but the low surface
coverage is again an issue.

Ag-Al alloy nanoparticles exhibit minimum reflectance, and self-

absorption of light leads to the improved photocurrent than the Reflectance Spectra Spatial Field
bare device as well as Ag and Al integrated NPs devices.

Introduction
Incident light interaction with metal
nanostructures induces the coherent
oscillations of conduction electrons named
as surface plasmon resonance (SPR).

Current Density - Voltage and Quantum

The metal, size, shape of NPs and the physical environment around
Efficiency Measurements
the NPs influenced the SPR and the field associated with it modifies
the light trapping in Si wafer.

Our interest is to explore the silver (Ag), aluminium (Al) and their
alloy nanoparticles (Ag-Al NPs) of size 130-150 nm induced light
forward scattering to enhance the absorption within the Si wafer for
the measured polychromatic spectrum .

Conclusions
Ag-Al alloy NPs exhibit minimum parasitic absorption (~5%) than the
pure Ag, and Al NPs due to the shift in interband transition that
modifies the dielectric constant of alloy NPs.

R e d u c e d r e f l e c t a n c e p r o v i d e s m o r e p h o t o n s t o g e n e r a t e c h a rg e c a r r i e r s
that contribute into the improved Jsc and (from 10.82 to 12.04%) of
P S S C c o m p r i s e d o f S p a c e r l a y e r / A g 2A l N P s t h a n t h e b a r e c e l l .

E n h a n c e d p h o t o n - t o - e l e c t r o n c o n v e r s i o n e ff i c i e n c y i n E Q E i s d u e t o
p l a s m o n i c l i g h t t r a p p i n g e ff e c t s i n b r o a d p o l y c h r o m a t i c s p e c t r u m . .

References
1. H . A . A t w a t e r, A . P o l m a n , N a t . M a t e r. 2 0 1 0 , 9 , 2 0 5 .
2. E . T h o u t i , A . K . S h a r m a , S . K . S a r d a n a a n d V. K . K o m a r a l a , J . P h y s . D :

3.
Appl. Phys. 2014, 47, 425101.
P. K . P a r a s h a r, R . P. S h a r m a , a n d V. K . K o m a r a l a , J . A p p l . P h y s . 2 0 1 6 ,
Acknowledgements - One of the authors (P. K.

120, 143104. Parashar) would like to thanks the Ministry of New and Renewable
4. G . Ya n g , X . J . F u , J . B . S u n , J . Z h o u , J . A l l o y. C o m p d . 2 0 1 3 , 5 4 7 , 2 3 . Energy (MNRE) for providing the fellowship and NRF, IIT Delhi for
optical and KPFM measurements.
392
 Ch. OTH06

Silicon Surface Preparation for Device Fabrication

Krishna Singh*, Sapna Mudgal, Vamsi K Komarala
Center for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India.
Email: esz158390@ces.iitd.ac.in

Abstract
v The texturing for better light trapping is optimized with different concentrations of alkaline (both KOH and NaOH) solutions.
v The minimum reflectance in the wavelength range 300 to 1100 nm is 12.18% with 2wt % NaOH in 6wt % IPA for 20 minutes of etching time.
v The minority carrier lifetime decreases with an increase in etch time and alkaline concentration. The chemical polishing for 5 sec, improves the
lifetime about 20%.
v Considering the optical and electrical properties of silicon wafer, the optimum concentration of NaOH is 1wt % with optimum etching time of
20min.
Experimental Details & Results
Morphological study of textured silicon wafer and integrated with Ag NPs

Figure 1. Schematic of textured silicon surface with light

interaction.

The standard RCA cleaning is done to wash out the

organic and inorganic contaminations.

Silicon wafer <100> is anisotropically etched with

different concentrations of KOH and NaOH for different
timings.

The minimum reflectance we observed in the case of

NaOH and KOH based etching is average 12.18% and
9.72% in the wavelength ranging from 300nm to
1100nm.

Chemical polishing and silver nanoparticles integrated on

textured silicon surface improves the lifetime.

From the electron microscopy analysis, we inferred that

the size increases with the etching time, whereas the
coverage is better at the lesser etching time.

Total reflectance spectra of textured Si wafers with different conc. of NaOH and timings Average reflectance in wavelength region
300-1100 nm
Sample 10min 20min 30min P-Si
1 wt% 14.65% 13.56% 14.23% 32.55%
NaOH
2 wt% 13.89% 12.18% 12.26% 32.55%
NaOH
3 wt% 18.23% 17.75% 16.95% 32.55%
NaOH

Conclusions
Average reflectance reduction of 20% (32.55 to 12.18%) and 29% (39.85 to 10.10%) with NaOH and KOH texturing are observed in the
wavelength range of 300nm to 1100nm.
The coverage of pyramids can be controlled by varying the concentration of NaOH and KOH during texturization.
The lifetime can be improved significantly with 5 sec of chemical polishing.
Silver nanoparticles integrated on CP etched surface improves the lifetime.
Acknowledgement: Dept. of Science & Technology, Govt. of India for Research Grant under Solar Energy Enabling Research
References
1. L. Fesquet, S. Olibet, J. Damon-Lacoste, S. De Wolf, A. Hessler-wyser, C. Monachorr, C. Ballif; Modification of textured silicon wafer surface morphology for fabrication of heterojunction
solar cell with open circuit voltage over 700 mV, IEEE, 978 (1) 4244-2950 (2009).
2. Matthew Edwards, Stuart Bowden, Ujjwal Das, Michael Burrows; Effect of texturing and surface preparation on lifetime and cell performance in heterojunction silicon solar cells, Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells, 92
1373 1377 (2008).
3. Eshwar Thouti, Nikhil Chander, Viresh Dutta and Vamsi K Komarala, Optical properties of Ag nanoparticle layers deposited on silicon substrates, Journal of Optics, 15 035005 (7pp) (2013)
4. Eshwar Thouti, Ashok K. Sharma, and Vamsi K. Komarala, Role of Textured Silicon Surface in Plasmonic Light Trapping for Solar Cells: The Effect of Pyramids Width and Height, IEEE Journal of
Photovoltaic, VOL. 6, NO. 6, NOVEMBER 2016
393