Experiment and simulation study of a trapezoidal salt gradient solar pond

A mini trapezoidal solar pond with surface 2.4 m x 2.4 m and bottom 1.0 m x 1.0 m is constructed. Thermal performance of the trapezoidal solar pond is numerically simulated by a one-dimension model base on the experimental data. The simulation builds a thermal and salt diffusion model, a modified bottom reflection and radiation transmission model, and a detailed heat dissipation model considering the heat loss from the surface, the wall and the soil layer. It shows a good agreement between the experimental data and the simulation. In the simulation the temperature of the trapezoidal pool is overall higher than that in the rectangular pool, the maximum difference is about 5 degrees C, and the trapezoidal structure contributes to reduce the heat loss of heat storage layer. It has great significance for the thermal performance of the solar pond to reduce the turbidity of upper convective zone and non-convective zone. The stability of the interface between non-convective zone and lower convective zone is better than that between upper convective zone and non-convective zone. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.