Solar ponds are a low-cost technology options for harnessing solar energy. An experimental model for a solar pond was designed for Kerbala, Iraq, with the aim of heating water. The surface area of the pond was 7.29 m2, at a depth of 1 m, and with walls tilted at an angle of 45°. The experiment was conducted in February, March, and April, in the winter and spring seasons of 2020. Two types of salt were used in this work: sodium chloride and potassium chloride. Solar radiation was recorded daily, and the measured solar irradiance ranged between 360 W/m2 and 1384W/m2. Solar radiation was focused on the surface of the pond using two reflecting mirrors, the first being a flat surface and the second a concave shape, with a concavity depth of 0.1 m. Both mirrors were 1 m long by 0.8 m wide. The experimental results showed that the highest temperature of water in the pond was 44 °C, achieved using sodium chloride, while using potassium chloride produced a maximum temperature of 40 °C. The useful energy and the experimental thermal efficiencies were found to be 28.2 MJ per hour and 11.6%, respectively.
For photovoltaic panels, high temperature has a major effect, reducing electrical efficiency and decreasing the panel’s life span. In this work, an aluminum pocket collector was manufactured and fixed to the rear side of a photovoltaic panel to form a photovoltaic/thermal system (PV/T). A SiC/water nanofluid was used as coolant fluid with two volumetric concentrations (0.1 and 0.5%). The experiments were conducted outdoors at Babylon University (32.46 °N,44.42°E) in March. Different flow rates of SiC/Water nanofluid were tested (0.5,1,1.5 & 2 LPM). A comparison was made with another, identical, PV panel under the same conditions. SiC/water nanofluid had a noticeable effect on output power and results showed that the maximum enhancement in electrical efficiency was 33.27% with 0.5 % SiC/Water nanofluid and flow rate of 2 LPM,. and the maximum overall efficiency was 92.43 %.
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