M. H. Ruslan

Simulation Analysis of the Four Configurations of Solar Desiccant Cooling System Using Evaporative Cooling in Tropical Weather in Malaysia

A high demand for air conditioning systems exists in hot and humid regions because of the warm climate during the year. The high energy consumption of conventional air conditioning system is the reason for our investigation of the solar desiccant cooling system as an energy-efficient cooling system. Four model configurations were considered to determine the best configuration of a solar desiccant cooling system: one-stage ventilation, one-stage recirculation, two-stage ventilation, and two-stage recirculation. These models were stimulated for 8,760 hr of operation under hot and humid weather in Malaysia. Several parameters (i.e., coefficient of performance or COP, room temperature and humidity ratio, and the solar fraction of each system) were evaluated by detecting the temperature and humidity ratio of the different points of each configuration by TRNSYS simulation. The latent and sensible loads of the test room were 0.875 kW and 2.625 kW, respectively. By investigating the simulation results of the four systems, the ventilation modes were found to be higher than the recirculation modes in the one- and two-stage solar desiccant cooling systems. The isothermal dehumidification COP of the two-stage ventilation was higher than that of the two-stage recirculation. Hence, the two-stage ventilation mode desiccant cooling system in a hot and humid area has higher efficiency than the other configurations.

Study on electrical power output of floating photovoltaic and conventional photovoltaic

In this paper, several attempt were made to investigate the best electrical performance of a floating photovoltaic (FPV). In photovoltaic (PV) system, the electrical efficiency of the system decreases rapidly as the PV module temperature increases. Therefore, in order to achieve higher electrical efficiency, the PV module have to be cooled by removing the heat in some way. This paper presents study on a conventional photovoltaic (PV) module and floating photovoltaic (FPV) system. The objective of the study is to compare the performance of conventional PV module and FPV. At FPV, an absorber comprises of aluminum flat-box housing was attached to the back of the PV module to absorb heat. Water is used to cool the PV module by passing it under the bottom surface of the module. The system was tested under simulated solar intensity of 417 W/m2, 667 W/m2 and 834 W/m2. Current (I) – voltage (V) curves and power (P) – voltage (V) curves of the results were analyzed. The study found that the FPV has higher efficiency and total power gain than the conventional PV module. The average PV temperature in a FPV might be lower than that for a conventional PV module, thereby increasing its electrical power output. The simplicity of the system structure and aluminum as the chosen material enabled it to reduce the installation costs for a larger scale. Applicable as heat sink, this FPV system is convenient to place on lakes, ponds or rivers.

Experimental studies on a solar assisted drying system for herbal tea

This paper present the experimental studies conducted on herbal tea or green tea using a solar assisted drying system. The solar drying system has an array of collector with the size of 20 m2. It is located at the Solar Energy Research Park, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Fresh tealeaves form the plantation are first soaked in warm water for five minutes. Next, water from the tealeaves will be drained out and dried in the drying chamber. The collector is of the V-groove type. The system has two fans to circulate air. A 10 kW auxiliary heater is also included and will be on if the temperature of the drying chamber is less than the specified preset temperature of 50 °C. A drying chamber of 55 °C can be reached at solar radiation levels of 600 - 700 W/m2 and ambient temperature range of 27 - 30 °C. The flow rate is fixed at 15.1 m3/min. The initial moisture content is 87 % (wet basis) and the final moisture content is 54 %( wet basis). A total of 12 hours of drying time is required where solar energy contribute about 56 % of the total energy requirement.

Analytical analysis of solar thermal collector with glass and Fresnel lens glazing

Solar thermal collector is a system that converts solar radiation to heat. The heat will raise the temperature higher than the ambient temperature. Absorber and glazing are two important components in order to increase the temperature of the collector. The thermal absorber will release heat by convection and as radiation to the surrounding. These losses will be reduced by glazing. Other than that, glazing is beneficial for protecting the collector from dust and water. This study discusses about modelling of solar thermal collector effects of different mass flow rates with different glazing for V-groove flat plate solar collectors. The glazing used was the glass and linear Fresnel lens. Concentration ratio in this modelling was 1.3 for 0.1m solar collector thickness. Results show that solar collectors with linear Fresnel lens has the highest efficiency value of 71.18% compared to solar collectors with glass which has efficiency 54.10% with same operation conditions.

Theoretical study of new combined absorption-ejector refrigeration system

An improved system of the new combined single stage absorption cycle operated with NH3/H2O as working fluid was performed. In order to enhance performance the cycle a new configuration of absorption system was utilized. The performances of two configurations of the combined absorption cycle were compared; a) with common solution heat exchanger and b) divided the streamline of solution heat exchanger to recover the internal heat. Based on the analysis, it has been shown that the second configuration a significant reduction of the required generator and absorber loads by about 20% and 17% respectively, with increased coefficient of performance (COP) about 12% compared to the first configuration. This improvement in the overall COP is found due to improve energy utilization efficiency significantly.

Development of a Solar Assisted Drying System Using Double-Pass Solar Collector with Finned Absorber

The Solar Energy Research Group, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, International Islamic University Malaysia and Yayasan FELDA has designed and constructed a solar assisted drying system at OPF FELDA Factory, Felda Bukit Sagu 2, Kuantan, Pahang. The drying system has a total of six double-pass solar collectors. Each collector has a length of 480 cm and a width of 120 cm. The first channel depth is 3.5 cm and the second channel depth is 7 cm. Longitudinal fins made of angle aluminium, 0.8 mm thickness were attached to the bottom surface of the absorber plate. The solar collectors are arranged as two banks of three collectors each in series. Internal manifold are used to connect the collectors. Air enters through the first channel and then through the second channel of the collector. An auxiliary heater source is installed to supply heat under unfavourable solar radiation condition. An on/off controller is used to control the startup and shutdown of the auxiliary heater. An outlet temperature of 70–75 °C can be achieved at solar radiation range of 800–900 W/m2 and flow rate of 0.12 kg/s. The average thermal efficiency of a solar collector is approximately 37%.

Thermal performance of solar collector with multi direction properties using cross absorber

A solar collector with multi direction properties using cross absorbers has been developed and its performance has been studied. The concept of multi direction is used so that solar radiation can penetrate to the top and sides of the solar collector. In this study, comparison between conventional solar collector (CSC) and solar collector with multi direction properties (SCwMDp) were made whereby SCwMDp was installed with polycarbonate on the side while the CSC will be insulated by using an insulfex type on its side. The experimental setup has been constructed to investigate the thermal performance over a range of the designs and operating conditions. Several important relationships between the designs and operating conditions have been obtained where the effects of mass flow rate, solar radiation, and temperature rises on the thermal efficiency of both solar collectors have been observed. Overall, the SCwMDp is suitable to add or increase the intensity of solar radiation passing through the solar collecto...

Design and Performance of 20 Watts Portable Solar Generator

A new portable solar generator has been developed to generate electricity. It has the potential to replace petrol generator, widely used by peddlers at night markets (pasar malam). Conventional generators are heavy, oily, have high maintenance and use fossil fuel to generate electricity. The solar generator can generate 20 Watts of electricity. This amount of power can supply up to 96 hours of electricity for the purpose of lighting and running small electrical appliances. The power output is (alternating current) AC current using 150 Watts inverter with 200 Watts surge, suitable for all commercial single phase electric appliances. Solar charge controller is used to maximize the charging rate and to protect the battery. The system has low maintenance whereby the batteries need to be changed every three to four years, depending on the usage. The main concepts of portable solar generator are to reduce installation cost and to introduce a compact design of an optimal energy sizing system. The materials used to develop the solar generator can be easily obtained from local markets, thus reducing the cost of developing the system and making it suitable for commercialization.