Transient analysis of a stepped solar still for heating and humidifying greenhouses

This paper presents the transient analysis of a stepped solar still for heating and humidifying agriculture greenhouses (GH). The still body consists of five stepped basins insulated from the bottom with an inclined glass cover. Air from the GH enters the still from the bottom and flows between the basins and glass cover where it is heated and humidified, and then re-enters the GH from the still top. The still performance parameters, i.e., still components heat rates, air temperatures and humidity, still yield and efficiency are analyzed and presented. The results show that (1) the still daily average efficiency (η_av) is about 63%; (2) total daily yield is about 4.92 L/m² out of which 0.81 L/m² is condensed on the glass cover and the rest (4.11 L/m²) enters the GH as humidity carried by the circulating air; (3) temperature distribution for still components increases along the still and follows the sinusoidal trends as the solar intensity; (4) circulating air relative humidity increases along the still and always leaves the still at saturation conditions; and (5) decreasing air flow rate has an insignificant influence on the system productivity; however, it does influence the GH heat load.     

Effect of nano-silica on the chemical durability and mechanical performance of fly ash based geopolymer concrete

In this study, the effect of nano silica on the short term severe durability performance of fly ash based geopolymer concrete (GPC) specimens was investigated. Four types of GPC were produced with two types of low calcium fly ashes (FAI and FAII) with and without nano silica, and ordinary Portland cement concrete (OPC) concrete was also cast for reference. For the geopolymerization process, the alkaline activator has selected a mixture of sodium silicate solution (Na₂SiO₃) and sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH) with a ratio (Na₂SiO₃/ NaOH) of 2.5. Main objectives of the study were to investigate the effect of usability or replaceability of nano silica-based low calcium fly ash based geopolymer concretes instead of OPC concrete in structural applications and make a contribution to standardization process of the fly ash based geopolymer concrete. To achieve the goals, four types of geopolymer and OPC concretes were subjected to sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), magnesium sulfate (MgSO₄) and seawater (NaCl) solutions with concentrations of 5%, 5%, and 3.5%, respectively. Visual appearances and weight changes of the concretes under chemical environments were utilized for durability aspects. Compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strength tests were also performed on specimens to evaluate the mechanical performance under chemical environments. Results indicated that FAGPC concretes showed superior performance than OPC concrete under chemical attacks due to low calcium content. Amongst the chemical environments, sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) was found to be the most dangerous environment for all concrete types. In addition, nano silica (NS) addition to FAGPC specimens improved both durability and residual mechanical strength due to the lower porosity and more dense structure. The FAIIGPC specimens including nano silica showed the superior mechanical performance under chemical environment.     

A Network Selection Algorithm Based on Enhanced Access Router Discovery in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

The management process between different wireless technologies for mobile devices is very important to complete the handover operations. The handover operation needs to determine the delay and packet loss in order to be the quality of service within a certain level. Selecting the best available network at the appropriate time is very significant in the direction of realizing ubiquitous networks. In this paper a network selection approach named enhanced access router discovery (EARD) is proposed. The approach is developed to work in a heterogeneous environment including of WiMAX and WLAN networks. The EARD method utilizes the prioritized rating for multiple criteria (PRMC) proposed for selecting the target network. The proposed approach is evaluated with respect to various conditions with different traffic types. The simulation results show that our proposed approach outperform the traditional network selection methods is selecting the most appropriate network.     

Refrigerant-charged integrated solar water heater

The performance of two R-11-charged integrated solar water heater collectors was investigated experimentally for forced and natural circulation water flows. The heat transfer from the refrigerant loop to the hot water storage tank took place through a condenser of novel design integrated within the collector frame. The effect of the condenser inclination on the system efficiency was remarkable for natural circulation water flow but had no significant effect for forced circulation flow. The difference in thermal response between the refrigerant and water loops caused buildup of stored energy in the condenser. This energy affected the buoyancy forces and generated flow pulsation that caused a harmonic-like variation of the system efficiency. This effect vanished with forced water circulation flow. The system efficiency varied between 20 and 50% depending on the solar insolation.     

Comparison of total energy systems using gas turbines and diesel engines for combined cooling

A gas turbine engine was used to drive the compressor of a vapour compression cycle so that the usually wasted energy in the exhaust gases was partially recovered and used in the generator of an absorption cycle. The cooling effect was therefore boosted. The degree of energy utilization was further enhanced when the energy released from the absorber and condenser of both cycles was recovered in the form of hot water, which could be used for different applications. The performance parameters for this combined system, such as the cooling effect, total heat recovered and performance effectiveness ratio, were calculated for various evaporator and condenser temperatures. It was found that a system driven by a gas turbine gives a better performance than a diesel engine system under similar operating conditions.     

Design and simulation of a solar-powered/fuel-assisted rankine engine for power generation

A solar-powered/fuel-assisted steam Rankine engine (SPFASRE) that generates a 36 kW steady electrical power is designed. Steam is generated at 230°C using an unfired boiler. The boiler is connected to oil loops that utilize 400 m² of single axis tracking concentrating parabolic-trough collectors and an auxiliary gas-fired heater. The steam leaving the boiler is superheated to 400°C in an LPG-fired superheater. The Rankine engine features a two-stage turbine. The calculated steam Rankine cycle's efficiency at design condition is 23·2%.

A computer program was developed to simulate the system's performance under design and off-design conditions. The results of the simulation indicate that the size of the solar collector chosen provides from 80% to 85% of the total energy required for the Rankine cycle during the summer, fall and spring seasons. In the winter season, however, about 70% of the total energy is supplied by solar energy.

This paper describes the design of SPFASRE and its seasonally projected performance for Jeddah's climate in Saudi Arabia.     

Transient performance of a stepped solar still withbuilt-in latent heat thermal energy storage

The transient performance of a stepped solar still with built-in latent heat thermal energy storage was studied. Thestill was designed for heating and humidification of agriculture greenhouses (GH) in remote areas. The solar still consists of five stepped basins with an inclined glass cover and is insulated on the bottom. The basin was placed on a slab filled with a layer of paraffin wax (phase change material, PCM) that acts as a latent heat thermal energy storage system (LHTESS). Air from GH enters the still from the bottom, flows between the basins and glass cover where it is heated and humidified, and then flows back into the GH. The still performance parameters investigated were analyzed, and the results compared with the case of a still without the LHTESS. The results showed that the still with LHTESS has an efficiency of 57%, and the total daily yield is about 4.6 L/m². The still temperature as well as outlet air temperature and GH heat load are more uniform compared to the sinusoidal trends for the still without LHTESS. It was found that the relative humidity of circulating air increased along the still and always leaves at saturation conditions. The results indicated that decreasing the air flow rate has an insignificant influence on the still yield, while the GH heat load experiences a decrease. For a selected design and operational parameters, the still was able to provide heat for the GH for 24 h/d. This finding is important since heat could be provided to the GH at night and when it is most needed.     

Effectiveness of heat and mass transfer in packed beds of liquid desiccant system

A liquid desiccant system (using CaCl₂) is presented for air dehumidification using solar energy or any other low grade energy to power the system. The system utilizes two packed beds of counterflow between an air stream and a solution of liquid desiccant for the processes of air dehumidification and solution regeneration. To simplify the prediction of the performance of the system an effectiveness of heat transfer and an effectiveness of mass transfer in the packed beds are defined. A finite difference model is developed to model the heat and mass transfer in packed beds during the air dehumidification mode and the solution regeneration mode. This finite difference model is used to calculate the effectiveness of heat and mass transfer in the packed beds at various bed heights, various air and solution flow rates, various inlet temperatures of air and solution to the bed, and various concentrations of CaCl₂ solution at the bed entrance. Charts of the effectiveness of heat and mass transfer are presented in a convenient form. A designer of a liquid desiccant system may use the charts in predicting the performance of these systems without having to use the finite difference model for this purpose.