Fuzzy sets implementation for the evaluation of factors affecting solar still production

Abstract

The process of solar distillation is used worldwide for arid communities that do not have access to potable water. In the present study an attempt has been made to find out the effect of different parameters on the solar still output using a fuzzy set technique. The proposed methodology was applied to a case study in solar distillation system for validation. Relative weights for three scenarios of yield detection were used, i.e., increase, decrease, and no change. The study reveals that the major factors that affect yield are: wind speed (WS), ambient temperature (AT), solar intensity (SI), sprinklers (SPR), coupled with collector (CC), salt concentration (SC), water depth (WD). Based on the increase of productivity, the results show that different factors are found to affect the yield of a solar still, and these factors should be given the highest priority for enhancing the solar still productivity.