Author(s): Francisco Suarez; Scott W. Tyler; Amy E. Childress
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Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: A salinity-gradient solar pond (SGSP) is an artificially-stratified pond that is heated by solar radiation and can provide long-term thermal storage of collected energy. It consists of three distinct layers: the upper convective zone (UCZ), the non-convective zone (NCZ), and the lower convective zone (LCZ). In this paper, a 2-D, fullycoupled, numerical model that evaluates the performance of an SGSP is presented. Model results show that in a two-week period, for a 1.0 m depth SGSP, the temperature of the LCZ increased from 20 to approximately 52 oC, showing that an SGSP could be a promising technology for renewable energy. During this same time period, the thicknesses of the UCZ and LCZ increased from 0.1 to 0.2 m, and from0.5 to 0.6 m, respectively; while the NCZ thickness decreased from 0.4 to 0.2 m, showing that erosion of the NCZ occurs naturally, diminishing the stability of the SGSP.
Year: 2009