This paper reports the experimental heat transfer results of a novel PCM-based heat sink coupled with a heat pipe under different orientations. The experiments are conducted at a constant fill ratio of 99% on several heat sink configurations, such as a heat sink (i) with the stem at the center, (ii) with four fins, and (iii) with three longitudinal fins coupled with a heat pipe. The aluminium-made heat sink having an outer diameter of 58 mm and a height of 55 mm with a wall thickness of 4 mm, is used for all the heat sink configurations. The heat pipe with an evaporator length of 60 mm and a condenser length of 40 mm is attached at the center of a three-fin heat sink configuration. Experiments are performed on different heat sinks with n-eicosane as PCM at different orientations of 0, 45, 90, 135, and 180 degree; at various power levels. The heat input is varied between 6 and 12 W. The condenser section of the heat pipe is cooled under two different conditions, i.e., (i) natural and (ii) forced convection. The results show that the finned heat sink coupled with a heat pipe (FHSHP) gives the best charging and discharging performance compared to other configurations. Moreover, it is observed that the performance of an FHSHP is orientation-dependent. Further, the overall effectiveness of FHSHP is high when the condenser section of the heat pipe is cooled using forced convection rather than natural convection.
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effect of porous material (clay pots) and it is facing on the productivity performance of a pyramid type solar still. The clay pots are placed in the basin facing up and facing down. The numbers of clay pots considered were 9 and 25, and its performance was compared with normal (0 clay pots) solar still.
Design/methodology/approach
The pyramid solar water distillation system has been designed, fabricated and tested under the actual environmental conditions of Kanchikacherla (16.6834 0N, 80.3904 0E), Andhra Pradesh, India. The solar still is used to produce the fresh water and hot water simultaneously from the brackish (i.e. containing dissolved salts) feed water for domestic applications. From open literature, it was established that the rate of evaporation is higher when the flowing water is held for a longer duration on the black color absorber plate, thereby leading to an increase in productivity of freshwater. Therefore, the pyramid solar still has been tested for smooth absorber plate and the absorber plate with porous heat storage material.
Findings
The porous material increases the production rate of freshwater compared to a base plate. However, the pyramid still with clay pots has higher productivity at a lower temperature because of the porosity effect.
Originality/value
The total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity and pH of the distilled water and the saline water have also been measured and compared.
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