A free flow flat plate solar still

Solar distillation (desalination) of salt water is suitable for supplying water for drinking and agricultural purposes to small communities where the supply of fresh water is inadequate or of poor quality and where solar radiation is abundant. Historical reviews and theoretical developments of solar distillation, including the physical and technical results of the various designs and configurations, are reported. This research is confined mainly to one type of solar still, an inclined free flow flat plate solar still. To study the effect of significant parameters, a mathematical two dimensional flow analysis was carried out based on continuity, momentum and energy equations for liquid and vapour flow. It is presented together with an iterative computational procedure. A dimensional set of equations is developed and solved by the Runge-Kutta method. It is shown that the Significant parameters of the combined two phase flow are the film thickness, the liquid flow rate, the collector length and inclination and the solar radiation. A small scale free flow flat plate solar still was designed and constructed, and experimental studies conducted under laboratory and direct solar conditions to investigate features which would seem to affect the still performance such as solar radiation, wind velocity, ambient air temperature, liquid flow rate and angle of inclination. Finally the theoretical and experimental results are combined together to form a basis for the design of a long, large solar still for further study