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International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET), ISSN 0976 6340(Print),
ISSN 0976 6359(Online), Volume 5, Issue 6, June (2014), pp. 90-100 IAEME
90

EFFECT OF WATER DEPTH AT 30 INCLINED CONDENSING COVER IN
THE PERFORMANCE OF A WATER DISTILLATION SYSTEM IN AN
INDOOR SIMULATION

Abhishek Gaikwad
1
, Dhananjay Kumar Singh
2
, Abhay Singh
3

Assistant Professor
1
, Scholars
2, 3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, SSET, SHIATS, Naini, Allahabad

ABSTRACT

The objective of the study is to find a relation for the predicting convective and evaporative
heat transfer coefficient and distillate output for 200 mm and 160 mm water depth. In this present
work an attempt is to be made to use inner glass cover temperature instead of outer glass temperature
as done by other researchers. The sides of the wall of the condensing cover are made up of FRP sheet
to avoid heat losses from sides and to provide the desired inclination to the cover to the bath. It is
exposed to room condition to increase the difference between water temperature and the condensing
cover temperature to increase the heat transfer rate and thus the condensate output.
The operating temperature range for the experiment is to be maintained at steady state from
50
o
C to 90
o
C by using a constant temperature bath. The yield obtained for a 1/2 hour intervals were
used to determine the values of constant C and n and consequently convective and evaporative heat
transfer coefficient. It is therefore expected that higher yield is to be obtained at higher temperature
and at minimum depth of water.

Keywords: Distillate Output, Constant Bath Temperature, Dunkle, Convective Heat Transfer
Coefficient and Evaporative Heat Transfer Coefficient.

1. INTRODUCTION

There is an important need for clean, pure drinking water in many developing countries.
Often water sources are brackish (i.e. contain dissolved salts) and contain harmful bacteria and
therefore cannot be used for drinking. In addition, there are many coastal locations where sea water
is abundant but potable water is not available. Pure water is also useful for batteries and in hospitals
or schools. Distillation is one of many processes that can be used for water purification. This requires
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ISSN 0976 6340 (Print)
ISSN 0976 6359 (Online)
Volume 5, Issue 6, June (2014), pp. 90-100
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an energy input, as heat, solar radiation can be the source of energy. In this process, water is
evaporated, thus separating water vapor from dissolved matter, which is condensed as pure water.
Requirement of distilled water for human beings is approx. 5 liters per person per day.
Therefore 2m
2
of still are needed for each person served.
A simple solar still consisting of a water basin and a single glass cover is the first proposed
design of solar still that is easy to construct and it has virtually no operating cost. It is generally
classified as a passive and active distillation system
Solar stills should normally only be considered for removal of dissolved salts from water. If
there is a choice between brackish ground water and polluted surface water, it will usually be
cheaper to use a slow sand filter or other treatment device. If there is no fresh water then the main
alternatives are desalination, transportation and rainwater collection.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The experimental set-up includes a constant temperature bath; the condensing covers at
inclination of 30, digital temperature indicators, well calibrated thermocouples (by Zeal
Thermometer), two transparent pipes of small diameter and measuring jars. The output from the still
is collected through a channel. Two plastic pipes are connected to this channel to drain the distillated
water to an external measuring jar. The total capacity of the constant temperature bath is 40 L, and its
effective evaporative surface area is 300 mm 400 mm. The water is heated by bath heating coils. It
is conducted from 50C to 90C (temperature range) for 200 mm and 160 mm water depth at
intervals of 5C. Constant temperature bath was started at 8:30 am 1 hour before to take the readings
and to make sure that steady state has been reached after 1 hour at 9:30 am. After steady state
continuous readings for every 1/2 hour has been taken i.e., 10:00,10:30,11:00,11:30,12:00,12:30,1:00
under no fan conditions..i.e., natural mode. Same process has been applied for temperature range
50C, 55C, 60C, 65C, 70C, 75C, 80C, 85C, 90C. Same method is applied for both water
depths at 30 inclinations of condensing cover.
Condensing cover is made of glass reinforced plastic (GRP) of 3 mm thickness. This glass
reinforced plastic is manufactured by sticking many layers of corrugated sheets with special
chemicals in such a manner that air is entrapped between its corrugated cavities, which provide a
high degree of insulation for heat flow, which is a highly desired quality for the solar still material.
Condensing cover made of plane glass of 4 mm thickness is fixed to the top of the vertical walls of
the stills using a rubber gasket on both side of glass and clamp fixed iron frames made of angles. To
avoid the spilling of basin water into the distillate channel and to prevent the contact of distillate
channel with the glass cover as well as with the water level.

Fig 1: Condensing cover of the solar distillation system
92

3. INDENTATIONS AND EQUATIONS

In this experiment characteristic length is calculate by using half of the vertical height at
central axis of condensing cover, this is 89 mm for 200 mm water depth, 129 mm for 160 mm water
depth.

Difference = Height of bath Height of water
= 230 160 = 70 mm (for 160 mm water depth)
= 230 200 = 30 mm (for 200 mm water depth)
Vertical height of smaller end of solar still (d
f
) = 59 mm (for all cases of water depth)
Characteristic Length (L
v
) = Difference + d
f

1. For 200 mm water depth = 59 mm + 30 mm = 89 mm = 0.089 m.
2. For 160 mm water depth = 59 mm + 70 mm = 129 mm = 0.129 m.

In general for heat transfer the following equations may be applied the rate of convective heat
transfer is described by the general equation.

(1)

Where:-
h
cw
= Convective heat transfer Coefficient
A = Evaporative surface area, m
2

T
w
= Evaporative surface temperature, C
T
g
= Temperature of boundary from evaporation surface, C
Q = Rate of heat transfer by convection.

Convective heat transfer coefficient is not a property of material, it is dependent on the
following factors:-

1. Operating range of temperature and temperature difference.
2. Geometry of condensing cover.
3. Flow characteristics of the fluid.
4. Physical properties of the fluid within the operating temperature.

The relation of the non dimensional Nusselt number carries the convective heat transfer
coefficient as

(2)

(3)

Where:-
Nu = Nusselt Number
Gr = Grashof Number
Pr = Prandtl Number
K
v
= Thermal conductivity
93

L
v
= Characteristics length of condensing cover, m
C & n = Constant

The distillate output in kg from the unit can be obtained by the relation:

(4)

L = Latent heat of vaporization of water, J/kg
A
w
= Surface area, m
2

t = time interval in seconds

Rate of evaporative heat transfer

(5)

Evaporative heat transfer coefficient, W/m C

(6)

Pw = Partial saturated vapor pressure at water temperature, N/m
Pg = Partial saturated vapor pressure at condensing cover temperature, N/m
By substituting the expression for h
cw
from equation (3) into equation (6), we get

(7)
Substituting h
ew

(8)
Substituting q
ew

(9)

(10)

Where,

(11)

Taking the logarithm to both side of equation (10) & comparing it with the straight line
equation.

y = mx + C (12)

94

We get
(13)

(14)

By using linear regression analysis the coefficient in equation (12),

(15)

(16)

Where:-
N = number of experiment observations

Co = ln C; C = Exp (Co) (17)

n = m (18)

3.1 Temperature dependent physical properties of vapor

1. Specificheat(C
p
)

2. Density()

3. Thermal Conductivity(K
v
)

4. Viscosity()

5. Latent heat of vaporization of water (L)

6. Partial saturated vapor pressure at condensing cover temperature (P
g
)

7. Partial saturated vapor pressure at water temperature (P
w
)

8. Expansion factor ()
95

4. FIGURES AND TABLES

Table 1: Average values calculated for 200 mm water depth
S.NO BATH TEMP
(C)
WATER TEMP
(C)
VAPOR TEMP
(C)
INNER GLASS
TEMP (C)
1 50 40.9 38.3 37.0
2 55 45.1 41.0 37.3
3 60 49.3 43.4 40.7
4 65 54.1 47.3 43.3
5 70 59.0 52.0 48.6
6 75 65.0 56.0 51.6
7 80 68.4 60.9 55.3
8 85 71.9 65.9 61.1
9 90 79.1 72.1 70.9

Table 2: Average values calculated for 160 mm water depth
S.NO BATH TEMP
(C)
WATER TEMP
(C)
VAPOR TEMP
(C)
INNER GLASS
TEMP (C)
1 50 38.9 36.0 34.4
2 55 45.0 40.9 37.3
3 60 49.0 43.0 40.0
4 65 53.6 47.3 43.0
5 70 58.9 51.7 48.6
6 75 63.0 55.3 51.3
7 80 69.0 60.0 55.3
8 85 74.0 65.1 61.1
9 90 78.7 69.9 65.7

Table 3: Comparison of Tw, Tv and Tg at different water depths.
S.NO Bath
Temp
Water Temp(C) Vapor Temp(C) Inner Glass Temp(C)
At 200 mm At 160 mm At 200 mm At 160 mm At 200 mm At 160 mm
1 50 40.9 38.9 38.3 36.0 37.0 34.4
2 55 45.1 45.0 41.0 40.9 37.3 37.3
3 60 49.3 49.0 43.4 43.0 40.7 40.0
4 65 54.1 53.6 47.3 47.3 43.3 43.0
5 70 59.0 58.9 52.0 51.7 48.6 48.6
6 75 65.0 63.0 56.0 55.3 51.6 51.3
7 80 68.4 69.0 60.9 60.0 55.3 55.3
8 85 71.9 74.0 65.9 65.1 61.1 61.1
9 90 79.1 78.7 72.1 69.9 70.9 65.7

96

Table 4: Comparison of distillate output (M
ew
Practical) of present model
S.NO BATH TEMP (C) M
ew
at 200 mm M
ew
at 160 mm
1 50 3.0 1.1
2 55 5.4 3.4
3 60 9.1 6.8
4 65 11.8 8.1
5 70 16.2 12.2
6 75 22.3 17.0
7 80 29.0 27.5
8 85 35.3 33.0
9 90 46.0 41.5

Table 5: Comparison of distillate output between Dunkle, present model & theoretical value for 200
mm water depth
ew
T(ml)

M
ew
P (ml) M
ew
D (ml)
1 50 2.6 3.0 3.2
2 55 6.3 5.4 9.3
3 60 8.3 9.1 12.7
4 65 12.8 11.8 21.1
5 70 17.5 16.2 30.5
6 75 25.0 22.3 45.9
7 80 29.1 29.0 54.5
8 85 33.5 35.3 64.0
9 90 36.8 46.0 72.4

Table 6: Comparison of distillate output between Dunkle, present model & theoretical value for
160 mm water depth
ew
T(ml)

M
ew
P (ml) M
ew
D (ml)
1 50 2.0 1.1 3.4
2 55 3.8 3.4 12.8
3 60 6.5 6.8 13.2
4 65 8.6 8.1 17.9
5 70 11.8 12.2 25.3
6 75 16.0 17.0 36.0
7 80 24.1 27.5 57.3
8 85 28.5 33.0 68.7
9 90 35.4 41.5 77.9

97

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Fig.2: Comparison of water temperature for 200 mm & 160 mm water depth

Fig.3: Comparison of vapor temperature for 200 mm & 160 mm water depth

Fig.4: Comparison of inner glass temperature for 200 mm & 160 mm water depth
98

1
9
17
25
33
41
49
50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90
M
e
w
P
(
m
l
)
Bath temperature
Comparison of M
ewP
Mewp
at 200
mm
Mewp
at 160
mm

Fig.5: Comparison of average values of practical distillate output recorded for different water depths

Fig.6: Comparison of distillate output between Dunkle, present model & theoretical value for 200
mm water depth
1
12
23
34
45
56
67
78
50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90
M
e
w
(
m
l
)
Bath Temperature
Comparison of dunkle, theoretical & practical distillate
output for 160 mm water depth
Mew T(ml)
Mew P (ml)
Mew D (ml )

Fig.7: Comparison of distillate output between Dunkle, present model & theoretical value for 160
mm water depth
99

6. CONCLUSIONS

The values obtained at higher operating temperatures for the convective and evaporative heat
transfer coefficients and values of unknown constant C and n obtained by the present experiment.
The present model gives more accurate and realistic values of distillate output as compared with the
theoretical values of distillate output. It obtains high distillate output at higher operating temperatures
and at higher water depth at 30 inclination of the condensing cover.
It is clearly seen (Fig.2,3 & 4) that at 30 inclination angle condensing cover the water
temperature for 200 mm water depth is higher than 160 mm up to 75C bath temperature. Vapor
temperature and inner glass temperature for 200 mm water depth is higher than 160 mm water depth
at all stages of bath temperature. So here we are observing that the water temperature, vapor
temperature and inner glass temperature of the condensing cover for 200 mm water depth at
30inclination angle of the condensing cover is maximum than the 160 mm water depth at
30inclination angle of the condensing cover.
The distillate output obtained from present model at 200 mm water depth is much higher than
the values recorded for 160 mm water depth. It shows that at 30 inclination angle condensing cover
minimum the water depth maximum the distillate. (See fig. 5)
The values of Dunkle distillate output are higher in both the cases as our research is in indoor
simulation. The environment change and some losses of distillate output as well as not using stirrer is
also the drawbacks of this research which does not compete with the Dunkle.
Fig 6 & 7 shows that the theoretical and practical values are very close to each other in both
the cases. Practical values of distillate output are always greater than the theoretical values for both
the water depths. Its shows our results are genuine and satisfactory.

REFRENCES

1. Rheinlander J., (1982) Numerical calculation of heat and mass transfer in solar stills,
Solar Energy, 28, pp 173-179.
2. Yadav, Y.P. and Tiwari. G.N., (1987) Monthly comparative performance of solar still
coupled to various designs, Desalination, 67, 5 65.
3. Tiwari G. N., Thomas J. M., Khan Emran (1995) the maximum efficiency of single-effect
solar stills, Solar Energy, pp 205-214.
4. Kumar S. and Tiwari G.N. (1996a) Performance evaluation of an active solar distillation
system, Energy. Vol 21, 805-808.
5. Kumar S. and Tiwari G. N., (1996b) Estimation of convective mass transfer in solar
distillation system, Solar Energy 57, 459-464.
6. Kumar S., Tiwari G.N., Singh H.N. (2000). Annual performance of an active solar
distillation system, Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) Solar Energy
Conversion and Photo Energy systems Vol. II - Solar Distillation - Gopal Nath Tiwari and
Hriday Narayan Singh Desalination 127(2000), 79-88.
7. Tiwari G. N. and Tripathi R., (2003) Study of heat and mass transfer in indoor condition
for distillation, Desalination, 154, 161-169.
8. Tripathi R. and Tiwari G. N., (2005) Effect of water depth on internal heat and mass
transfer for active solar distillation, Desalination, pp 173, 187-200.
9. Farid Mohammed et al. (1993), Performance of a single-basin solar still. productivity,
temperature of water, glass cover, and ambient air were recorded.
10. Tiwari G.N., Khan Emran, (1994) Optimization of glass cover inclination for maximum
yield.
11. G.N.Tiwari, J.M.Thomas, (1995) The maximum efficiency of single-effect solar stills.
100

12. Later on Kumar and Tiwari (1996), Estimation of a convective mass transfer.
13. Miguel Angel Porta-Gandara, (1998), Experimental validation of thermal modeling of
solar still Tiwari and Tripathi (2003), A study of a heat and mass transfer indoor
simulation.
14. Further, Anil Kr. Tiwari, G.N. Tiwari (2005). Effect of the condensing covers slope on
internal heat and mass transfer in distillation. The oldest relation formulated by Dunkle
(1961) is a semi-empirical relation for internal heat and mass transfer in solar distillation
units. Those proposed values for C and n were 0.075 and 0.33, respectively, and for Gr >3.2
105. However, this Relation has its own limitations which have been discussed by many
researchers.
15. S.K. Shukla and A.k. Rai, (2010) Estimation of Solar Still Output under Indoor
Environment.
16. Omar Badran*(2011) Theoretical Analysis of Solar Distillation Using Active Solar Still.
17. Parmendra Singh, Dr. Ajeet Kumar Rai and Vivek Sachan, Study of Effect of
Condensing Cover Materials on the Performance of a Solar Still, International Journal of
Mechanical Engineering & Technology (IJMET), Volume 5, Issue 5, 2014, pp. 99 - 107,
ISSN Print: 0976 6340, ISSN Online: 0976 6359.
18. Ajeet Kumar Rai, Ashish Kumar and Vinod Kumar Verma, Effect of Water Depth and
Still Orientation on Productivity of Passive Solar Still, International Journal of Mechanical
Engineering & Technology (IJMET), Volume 3, Issue 2, 2012, pp. 740 - 753, ISSN Print:
0976 6340, ISSN Online: 0976 6359.
19. Hitesh N Panchal, Dr. Manish Doshi, Anup Patel and Keyursinh Thakor, Experimental
Investigation On Coupling Evacuated Heat Pipe Collector On Single Basin Single Slope
Solar Still Productivity, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering & Technology
(IJMET), Volume 2, Issue 1, 2011, pp. 1 - 9, ISSN Print: 0976 6340, ISSN Online:
0976 6359.
20. Ajeet Kumar Rai, Nirish Singh and Vivek Sachan, Experimental Study of a Single Basin
Solar Still with Water Cooling of the Glass Cover, International Journal of Mechanical
Engineering & Technology (IJMET), Volume 4, Issue 6, 2013, pp. 1 - 7, ISSN Print:
0976 6340, ISSN Online: 0976 6359.

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