NDLI: A Solar-Powered Direct Steam Generation Boiler for an Educational Desktop Rankine Cycle

Content Provider	The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Digital Collection
Author	Toro, Ximena Compere, Marc Wie, Bernard Van Dikici, Birce
Copyright Year	2011
Abstract	This paper presents the design and hardware validation of a unique solar powered boiler for powering a desktop scale steam Rankine power cycle. The primary purpose of the desktop Rankine cycle is to improve engineering education through a hands-on laboratory learning approach. Within this context, we have designed and validated a novel, glass-enclosed boiling chamber that generates steam entirely from the sun. Using a solar concentrator, the sun’s heat is focused onto an absorber plate that acts as a heating element. The absorber plate receives solar power via radiation and heats the working fluid through convection. Since this is a direct steam generation boiler, the entering fluid is water that stratifies upon boiling into two steady-state flow regions with both liquid and gaseous phases. A thermal model is developed to characterize the concentrated solar power (CSP), chamber geometry, and heat transfer to the working fluid. A complete solar-to-steam efficiency analysis is presented and validated with the hardware. The boiler’s estimated efficiency is 27.7% for converting typical daily solar irradiance to steam. The solar water boiling process can clearly be observed and is an excellent educational tool for both concentrated solar power as well as Rankine cycle power systems.
Starting Page	241
Ending Page	248
Page Count	8
File Format	PDF
ISBN	9780791854914
DOI	10.1115/IMECE2011-63699
Volume Number	Volume 5: Engineering Education and Professional Development
Conference Proceedings	ASME 2011 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition
Language	English
Publisher Date	2011-11-11
Publisher Place	Denver, Colorado, USA
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Subject Keyword	Boiler Solar Engineering education Rankine cycle Solar power Boilers Solar energy Steam
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in