AME Seminar: Qichao Hu
Thursday, February 24, 2022 4:00 p.m.
Qichao Hu
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
University of Arizona
"Studies To The Heat/Mass Transfer In A Desalination System Due To The Integration Of A Solar Collector Chamber And A Cooling Chimney"
AME Lecture Hall, Room S212
Zoom Link | Password: 2022
Abstract
This study presents investigations into a very promising solar desalination system that has two components integrated. The main component of the system is a water basin covered with class for solar thermal collection and is filled with seawater or brackish water for evaporation. The other component is a cooling chimney to ventilate the evaporated water vapor as well as the air entering the system, which makes the water vapor condenses into liquid water. Relying on solar energy, the system can produce clean water and collect salts as products, leaving no waste discharge to the environment. Theoretical analysis and lab-scale experimental study under controlled water and air temperatures have been conducted to understand the key factors that affect the clean water production performance of the system. The correlation between water evaporation temperature, the amount of airflow entering the system, as well as water collection in the cooling chimney was understood very well, which can lead to an optimized design of a large-scale system for clean water production using solar energy.
Bio
Qichao Hu is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. His research is focused on the performance of the water desalination chimney.