Long Term Stability of an Experimental Insulated-Model Salinity-Gradient Solar Pond
Authors: N. W. K. Jayatissa, R. Attalage, Prabath Hewageegana, P. A. A. Perera, M. A. Punyasena
Abstract:
Per capita energy usage in any country is exponentially increasing with their development. As a result, the country’s dependence on the fossil fuels for energy generation is also increasing tremendously creating economic and environmental concerns. Tropical countries receive considerable amount of solar radiation throughout the year, use of solar energy with different energy storage and conversion methodologies is a viable solution to minimize the ever increasing demand for the depleting fossil fuels. Salinity gradient solar pond is one such solar energy application. This paper reports the characteristics and performance of a thermally insulated, experimental salinity-gradient solar pond, built at the premises of the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Particular stress is given to the behavior of the evolution of the three layer structure exist at the stable state of a salinity gradient solar pond over a long period of time, under different environmental conditions. The operational procedures required to maintain the long term thermal stability are also reported in this article.
Keywords: Salt-gradient, solar pond, solar radiation, renewable energy.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1123953
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1610References:
[1] P. S. Hewageeganage, C. D. Amarasekara, J. R. P. Jayakody, M. A. Punyasena, Investigation of Temperature and Density Profiles of Brines in Evaporating Salt Pans at Palaviya in the North-Western Region of Sri Lanka. Proceedings of the 16th Technical Session of the Institute of Physics - Sri Lanka. 2001.
[2] P. A. A. Perera, C. D. Amarasekara, J. R. P. Jayakody, M. A. Punyasena., Daytime Variation of Temperature and Salinity Profiles in Large-Area Saltpan Solar Ponds at Palavi, Sri Lanka. Proceedings of the 18th Technical Session of the Institute of Physics - Sri Lanka, March 2002.
[3] J. R. P. Jayakody, M. A. Punyasena, P. A. A. Perera, C. D. Amarasekara, M. A. S. Kumarasinghe: Construction and Filling of a Large-area Deep-tank Solar Pond for Harnessing Solar Energy. Annual Research Symposium, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2002.
[4] P. A. A. Perera, C. D. Amarasekara, J. R. P. Jayakody, M. A. Punyasena, A Study of Daytime Variation of Convective and Non-Convective Zones in Salt Pan Solar Ponds. Annual Research Symposium, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2002.
[5] M. A. Punyasena, C. D. Amarasekara, J. R. P. Jayakody, P. A. A. Perera, Construction and Commissioning of a Large-area Salt-gradient Solar Pond at Palatupana Salterns in Southern Sri Lanka. Proceedings of the 19th Technical Session of the Institute of Physics - Sri Lanka, March 2003.
[6] M. A. Punyasena, C. D. Amarasekara, J. R. P. Jayakody, P. A. A. Perera, An Investigation of Rain and Wind Effects on Thermal Stability of Large-area Saltpan Solar Ponds. Solar Energy, 74 (2003) 447.
[7] N. W. K. Jayatissa, R. Attalage, P. S. Hewageegan, P. A. A. Perera, M. A. Punyasena, Optimization of Thermal Insulation of a Small-scale Experimental Solar Pond. Sri Lankan Journal of Physics 13(1) (2012) 49-57.
[8] H. Tabor, Solar Ponds. Science Journal, (1966).
[9] H. Tabor and R. Matz, Solar Pond Project. Solar Energy 9, (1965).
[10] J. Andres and A. Akbarzadeh, Enhancing the thermal efficiency of solar ponds by extracting heat from the gradient layer. Solar Energy, 2005, Vol. 78.
[11] K. R. Agha, S. M. Abughres, A. M. Ramadan, Design Methodology for Salt Gradient Solar Pond Coupled with an Evaporation Pond. Solar Energy, 2002, Vol. 72.
[12] F. Zangrando and H. C. Bryant, Heat Extraction from a Salt Gradient Solar Pond, Paper presented at the International Conference on Alternative Energy Sources. Miami Beach Florida, (1977).
[13] K. S. Rao, Solar Pond Applications. Proceedings of the Round Table Meeting on Solar Ponds: Scope and Utilization, (1989).
[14] H. Tabor, Review Article. Solar Energy Vol. 27, No. 3, (1981).
[15] H. Weinberger, The Physics of the Solar Pond. Solar Energy 8, (1963).
[16] A. Rabl and C. E. Nielsen, Solar Ponds for Space Heating. Solar Energy 17, (1975).
[17] D. G. Daniels, and M. F. Merriam, Paper at 1975 ISES Congress. Los Angeles, (1975).
[18] G. Assaf, The Dead Sea: A Scheme for Solar Lake. Solar Energy 18, (1976).
[19] S. Winsberg, Solar and Power. The Esrael California Connection, Sunworld 4, (1980).