UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

AYDIN KHIABANI

FK 2011 127

DESIGN OF PORTABLE SHELL TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER FOR SOLAR POWERED WATER DISTILLER

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DESIGN OF PORTABLE SHELL TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER

FOR SOLAR POWERED WATER DISTILLER

By

AYDIN KHIABANI

Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia,

In Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science

October 2011

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DEDICATION

To my family whose support and understanding helped make this possible

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Abstract of thesis presented to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia in Fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science

DESIGN OF PORTABLE SHELL TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER

FOR SOLAR POWERED WATER DISTILLER

By

AYDIN KHIABANI

October 2011

Chairman: Dr. Nor Mariah Bt Adam, PhD

Faculty: Engineering

Based on the United Nation records, around 20% of world populations suffer lack of

potable water and a third of the Earth’s population live in the water stressed area

such as Sahara in Africa and South East Asia. Therefore, the importance of solar

powered water distillation systems, especially portable devices seems necessary.

The current portable solar distillers are designed based on effective evaporation or

distillation method and are usually used for distilling salt water or a liquid phased

material. Moreover, they are able to produce 4 liters in eight hours which is far too

slow for anyone to wait. On the other hand, larger size water distillers should be

installed for more amounts of produced water and they not only are not portable, but

also very huge and usually very heavy for carrying and installing in every place.

For enhancing of high condensation and evaporation efficiency, various methods

mostly involve conventional heat transfer. Moreover the devices which are composed

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of a glass heat exchanger, served as a condenser for vapor condensing were produced

in black paint solar absorber. There is a tank for supply water and a tank for storage

of produced distilled water.

In this study, a portable shell and tube condenser for solar powered water distiller

which is for army personnel or camping groups to enter ecotourism Islands or jungle

trekking and preparing their necessity fresh water at hand. This Portable design with

considering some performance parameters such as: limited length (L<1m), light

weight (W<10kg) and higher efficiency (>40 L/day) has been designed by using of

mathematical module, validating and rating of the results via experimental test and

implicit numerical analysis.

Rating results showed that accumulated mass water significantly depended on the

inlet vapor temperature and volume, heat exchanger material, coolant water

temperature and volume. Thus, Stainless Steel 304 and Pyrex glass in the same

thermo dynamical condition (vapor temperature, vapor volume, coolant temperature

and coolant volume) are considered as preliminary supposition for material in

mathematical module. Finally, because of small amounts of vapor in this device,

different quality of vapor has negligible effect on physical and mechanical

performance of portable shell and tube condensers. These inexpensive shell and tube

heat exchangers permitted to produce 40 liter/day distilled water from vapor with

378K inlet temperature in atmosphere pressure. If inlet pressure increase, vapor

temperature will decline and thereupon, heat exchanger's efficiency tangibility will

be increased.

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Abstrak tesis yang dikemukakan kepada senat Universiti Putra Malaysia sebagai

memenuhi keperluan untuk ijazah Master Sains

REKABENTUK PEMINDA HABA KELOMPANG TIUB MUDAHALIH

UNTUK PENYULING AIR BERTENAGA SURIA

Oleh

AYDIN KHIABANI

Oktober 2011

Pengerusi: Nor Mariah Bt Adam, PhD PE

Fakulti: Kejuruteraan

Berdasarkan rekod Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UN), sekitar 20% penduduk dunia

mengalami masalah bekalan air bersih dan sepertiga penduduk dunia tinggal di

kawasan kekurangan air seperti di Gurun Sahara, Afrika dan di Asia Tenggara. Oleh

itu penyelidikan tentang mendapat sumber air bersih menggunakan tenaga suria

adalah sangat penting.

Penyuling air bolehalih menggunakan tenaga suria yang sediada direkabentuk

berdasarkan penyejatan atau proses penyulingan yang berkesan, dan selalunya

digunakan untuk menyuling air masin atau bahan yang berada pada fasa cecair.

Peralatan tersebut mampu menghasilkan sebanyak 4 liter air bersih dalam tempoh 8

jam yang mana terlalu lama untuk sesiapa menunggu. Untuk meningkatkan hasil

pengeluaran, saiz pemuling harua menjadi besar dan berat, dan tidak mudah alih.

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Langkah untuk meningkatkan kadar pemeluwapan dan penyejatan yang tinggi

melibatkan kaedah lazim bagi meningkatkan pemindahan haba. Peralatan tersebut

terdiri daripada pemindah haba kaca yang berfungsi sebagai pemeluwap yang

dicatkan warna hitam untuk menyerap tenaga suria supaya memeluwap wap. jatan.

Sistem juga mempunyai tangki untuk menampung sumber air tidak bersih dan satu

lagi tangki untuk menadah air bersih.

Dalam kajian ini sebuah pemeluwap kelompang dan tiub mudahalih menggunakan

tenaga suria untuk kegunaan askar atau kumpulan perkhemahan memasuki pulau

eko-pelancongan atau pun berjalan di dalam hutan, membantu menyediakan bekalan

air bersih sendiri. Rekabentuk mudahalih ini dengan mengambilkira parameter

prestasi seperti had panjang (L<1m), ringan (W<10 kg) dan berkecekapan tinggi

(> 40 L/day) telah direkabentuk menggunakan kaedah matematik, mengesahkan dan

mengkadarkan keputusan melalui eksperimen dan analisis berangka.

Keputusan kajian menunjukkan jisim air bersih yang terkumpul bergantung kepada

suhu dan isipadu wap masukan, bahan pemindah haba, suhu dan isipadu air

penyejuk. Maka keluli tahan karat 304 dan kaca Pyrex didedahakan pada keadaan

termal dinamik yang sama (suhu wap, isipadu wap, suhu dan isipadu air penyejuk)

untuk diambilkira sebagai keadaan awal kaedah matematik. Seterusnya amaun dan

kualiti wap yang berbeza di dalam peranti boleh diabaikan dan tidak memberi kesan

terhadap prestasi fizikal dan meknikal pemeluwap bolehalih kelompang dan tiub.

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Pemindah haba kelompang dan tiub yang murah ini boleh menghasilkan 40 liter air

bersih sehari daripada wap dengan suhu masukan 378K sehari pada tekanan

atmosfera. Jika tekanan masukan meningkat, suhu wap akan menurun dan seterusnya

kecekapan pemindah haba akan meningkat.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to express his gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Nor Mariah Bt

Adam as project supervisor for her helpful advice, guidance, suggestion, support and

valuable opinion throughout the presentation and upon completion of this thesis.

Thanks are also expressed to Dr. Tang Sai Hong as the Co-supervisors for his

kindness, information and suggestion during the project research.

The author would like to thank, Institute Technology Maju (ITMA) AREL lab staffs

for their help and support during the working on the research work.

Last but not least, the author would like to express his heartfelt gratitude to his

family members especially his beloved wife for their utmost support and motivation

throughout this research work.

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I certify that an Examination Committee has met on 11 October 2011 voce to

conduct the final examination of Aydin Khiabani on his Master of Science thesis

entitled “DESIGN OF PORTABLE SHELL TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER FOR

SOLAR POWERED WATER DISTILLER “ in accordance with Universiti Pertanian

Malaysia (Higher Degree) Act 1980 and Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Higher

Degree) Regulations 1981. The Committee recommends that the student be awarded

the relevant degree.

Member of the Examination Committee were as follows:

Mohd Khairol Anuar b. Mohd Ariffin, PhD

Associate Professor

Faculty of Engineering

Universiti Putra Malaysia

(Chairman)

Abd. Rahim Abu Talib, PhD

Associate Professor

Faculty of Engineering

Universiti Putra Malaysia

(Internal Examiner)

Abdul Aziz bin Jaafar, PhD

Senior Lecturer

Faculty of Engineering

Universiti Putra Malaysia

(Internal Examiner)

Zulkifly Abdullah, PhD

Professor

Faculty of Engineering

Universiti Sains Malaysia

(External Examiner)

NORITAH OMAR, PhD

Associate Professor and Deputy Dean

School of Graduate Studies

Universiti Putra Malaysia

Date:

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This thesis was submitted to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia and has been

accepted as fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science. The

members of the supervisory committee were as follow:

Nor Mariah Bt Adam, PhD PE

Associate Professor

Faculty of Engineering

Universiti Putra Malaysia

(Chairman)

Tang Sai Hong, PhD

Associate Professor

Faculty of Engineering

Universiti Putra Malaysia

(Member)

BUJANG BIN KIM HUAT, PhD

Professor and Dean

School of Graduate Studies

Universiti Putra Malaysia

Date:

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DECLARATION

I declare that the thesis is my original work except for quotations and citations which

have been duly acknowledged. I also declare that if has not been previously, and is

not concurrently submitted for any other degree at Universiti Putra Malaysia or other

institutions.

AYDIN KHIABANI

Date: 11 Octber 2011

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

DEDICATION ii

ABSTRACT iii

ABSTRAK v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii

DECLARATION xi

LIST OF TABLES xiv

LIST OF FIGURES xv

LIST OF ABREVATIONS xvii

LIST OF NOMENCLATURES xix

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the problem 1

1.2 Problem statement 6

1.3 Research objectives 8

1.4 Scope and limitation 9

1.5 Thesis layout 10

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 11

2.1 Overview 11

2.2 Solar water desalination 12

2.2.1 History of solar water desalination 13

2.2.2 Mechanism of solar water desalination 15

2.3 Heat exchangers 18

2.3.1 Heat exchanger in solar water distillation equipment 21

2.3.2 Heat exchanger classification based on flow arrangements 22

2.4 Calculation of overall heat transfer coefficient 23

2.5 Effects of material and length of heat exchanger on the efficiency 26

2.6 Heat exchanger analysis 28

2.6.1 The Log Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD) 28

2.6.2 The Effectiveness-NTU Method 32

2.6.3 Design of heat exchanger by using commercial software 37

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2.7 Satisfactory design 39

2.8 Heat exchanger design considerations 40

2.9 Closure 42

3 DESIGN AND CALCULATION 44

3.1 Overview 44

3.2 Design methodology 44

3.3 Mathematical approach 46

3.4 Validation of results 57

3.4.1 Experimental procedure 57

3.4.2 Numerical analysis 60

3.5 Closure 61

4 RESULT AND DISCUSSION 63

4.1 Overview 63

4.2 Result of experimental test 63

4.3 Mathematical module results 67

4.4 Results of numerical analysis 73

4.5 Comparison between stainless steel and Pyrex glass shell and tube

condensers results 74

4.6 Summary 76

5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 77

5.1 Conclusions 77

5.2 Recommendations for future works 79

6 REFERENCES 80

7 APPENDIX A- Safe Drinking Water of the World 87

8 APPENDIX B- Fouling Resistance Factor 88

9 APPENDIX C- Thermophysical properties of Water-Steam 91

10 APPENDIX D- TEMA Design Tube-Shell Layouts (Tube Counts) 93

11 APPENDIX E- Detailed results of ASPEN B-JAC 97

12 BIODATA OF STUDENT 136

13 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS 137