Performance analysis of tubular solar still with different water depths on corrugated and flat absorbers

One of the biggest impediments in solar distillation is the lower fresh water yield. In the present study, the effect of water depth on the thermal performance of tubular solar still (TSS) with v-corrugated and flat absorbers has been analyzed experimentally and optimized using the response surface methodology (RSM) technique. Experimental results showed that the water temperature of TSS using a v-corrugated absorber is improved by increasing the surface area of water. The peak temperature of water from the TSS using corrugated fins is improved by about 7.54, 7.12, and 3.77% than the TSS with a flat absorber for water depths of 5, 10, and 15 mm, respectively. The average temperature difference between water and cover is improved by about 53.19, 64.28, and 112.90% for water depths of 5, 10, and 15 mm using the TSS with a corrugated absorber rather than a flat absorber. The influence of water depth on cumulative yield using 5, 10, and 15 mm in the v-corrugated absorber is recorded as 4.35, 3.86, and 3.83 kg, and it is higher by about 108.13, 128.40, and 216.52% compared to the cumulative yield of TSS with a flat absorber, respectively.