Indian Climatic Conditions Research Articles

Design and development of self-cleaning PV sliding system

Abstract This study describes the designing steps of the proposed self-cleaning system for the photovoltaic (PV) system and experimentally investigates the effectiveness of the proposed self-cleaning PV sliding system for solar power plants under all Indian climate conditions. To investigate the performance of the proposed self-cleaning PV sliding system, we used three PV panels of 20 W with a sliding structure and another set of three PV panels of 20 W with a traditional (fixed) technique, and recorded the output power for the period of December 2019 to April 2021. The experimental results show that the proposed self-cleaning PV sliding system improved efficiency by 18.3%, 13.3% and 6.4%, respectively, in the summer, winter and post-monsoon seasons when compared to the fixed PV system. The results also revealed that energy consumption was very low when compared to the amount of energy gained. The proposed system not only cleans the PV system, but also protects it from hailstorms. The results of this study show that there is a significant improvement in PV efficiency and thus an increase in electricity production under all climate conditions.

Genotype x environment interaction on fertility traits of crossbred dairy cows under tropical climatic conditions of India

Present study was envisaged to examine existence of genetic group x THI in crossbred cows at institute herd of ERS, ICAR-NDRI, Kalyani, West Bengal. 1041 fertility records each on service period (SP) and conception rate (CR) and weather parameters spanned over 22 years (1994-2015) were collected; arranged under three THI groups; thermal comfort (THI<72), two heat stress zones (THI 72-78) and THI>78 and six genetic groups.SP was longest (163.61 ± 6.83 days) when THI>78and lowest (149.27±6.69 days) during THI<72. CR was lowest (65.66±2.73 %) when THI>78 and highest (70.54±2.8 %) at THI<72. Genetic group x THI was non-significant on SP and CR. However, there was re-ranking of genetic groups across three THI zones. Genetic group bearing 50% Jersey + 50% Tharparkar followed by 50% Jersey + 50% Red Sindhi exhibited least increase in SP (5.09 and 6.37 days) when THI>78.Cows bearing 50% Jersey and 50% indigenous cattle inheritance followed by 50% Jersey + 50% Red Sindhi and 50% Jersey + 50% Tharparkar depicted least drop in CR at THI>78 (-2.38, -2.40 and -3.6%) in comparison to THI<72. The genetic group with>75% Jersey depicted maximum increase in SP (15.33 days) and drop in CR (-7.43%) at THI>78.

Design and investigation of solar cogeneration system with packed bed thermal energy storage for ceramic industry

A novel cogeneration system was designed with three different configurations integrating cogeneration system with solar-aided (Configuration-1), solar-aided with packed bed thermal energy storage (Configuration-2), solar-aided with packed bed thermal energy storage and auxiliary unit (Configuration-3). Thermo-economic-environmental analyses were performed for three designed configurations under Indian climatic conditions (20°C–50 °C).The maximum energetic and exergetic efficiencies of the three configurations were found as 44.96% and 23.14%, 51.84% and 31.22%, and 58.67% and 36.21%, respectively. Configuration-3 was best among others, and the sustainability index was 1.57. The maximum irreversibility rate has occurred for the combustion chamber, ground and wall tile dryer. The payback period for Configuration-3 was found as 4.91 years. Due to various unfavourable conditions, the payback period for Configuration-2 is 27% higher than Configuration-3. The economic optimization was performed for the higher payback period configuration, and the payback period was finally reduced to 4.88 years. The cost of the product from the cogeneration system, such as electricity and ground-wall tile was found as Rs.6.29/unit and Rs.16.11/piece for ceramic tile size of 0.10 × 0.10 × 0.007 m. The CO2/SO2/NOx emission from the three configurations was found as 1,54,090/119/230 ton/year, 1,31,341/102/196 ton/year, and 1,47,961/114/221 ton/year, respectively. Furthermore, the carbon emission saving for three configurations was obtained as 21%, 24%, and 32%, which is imperative for the environment.

Natural Durability of Imported Timber in Indian Climatic Condition

Evaluation of natural durability in specific climatic conditions is a must before putting timber to use for specific purposes. In the present study, 22 different timber species, imported from different parts of the world were assessed under durability trials by stake tests in the test field of Dehradun, India (Latitude: 30°19’ N and Longitude 78°04’ E). The species were chosen keeping in mind the increasing trend of wood import in the country for the last few years and their possible commercial applications, in situ uses and importance in future. Inspections were carried out quarterly for the first year, half-yearly for the second and third years and yearly for the subsequent years. Visual inspection and knife tests, whenever required, were performed to evaluate and analyse the extent of decay and numerical ratings in line of the same were assigned. Stake test data after 3 years’ trial indicated that all 22 species of imported origin were non-durable (ND) under the climatic condition of Dehradun, India. Quite predictably, extent and severity of decay varied a lot amongst different species which supports the authors hypothesis of using specific timber for specific climatic zones and purposes. Evaluation and performance of imported timber with or without preservative is must before recommendation for in service conditions. The test results highlight the need of establishing an Indian Standard specification in terms of quality and performance of such imported timbers of ND and plantation origin so as to guide the budding timber industries of the country in terms of judicious selection of species to ensure efficient use in service.

Reliability assessment of a marine bridge structure considering Indian climatic conditions under time-variant loads

Reliability assessment of a marine bridge structure considering Indian climatic conditions under time-variant loads

Effects of different air inlet temperatures and regeneration air inlet velocities on the performance of Hybrid Desiccant Air Conditioning System

A hybrid desiccant air conditioning unit is treated as an effective alternative to the conventional air conditioning system due to independent control of humidity, temperature, and eco-friendliness. The decrease in environmental impact and energy saving is more when the desiccant recovered by utilizing “free” thermal energy. This current work has experimented with a performance study of a hybrid desiccant air conditioning unit for typical humid and hot Indian (Aligarh) climatic conditions. Here, the effects of different air inlet temperatures at the process section, i.e. (28, 29.5, 31, 32.5, 34, 35.5 and 37°C) and regeneration section, i.e. (50-58.8°C) and different regeneration air inlet velocities (2.5 and 4.5 m/s) on the performance of hybrid desiccant air conditioning system are analyzed. Thus, optimization of performance parameters i.e. refrigerating effect, heat rejection rate, VCOP, ECOP, compressor work, dehumidification effectiveness, moisture removal capacity, DCOP, regeneration effectiveness and regeneration rate is identified for attaining maximum efficiency of hybrid desiccant air conditioning system under above operating states.

Post-independence scenario of table grape cultivation in India

Grape is a high value export oriented fruit crop which has gained significance in India due to location specific suitable modifications. Now it is being practiced in almost all climatic conditions from tropical to temperate and spread over different states of the country. Grape cultivation on a commercial basis is about seven decades old in India and now considered as most remunerative amongst all fruit cultivation in the country. In India around 78–80% of grape is produced for fresh consumption and about 17–20% for raisin making and around 2% collectively for juice and wine production. If we looked 75 years back, the country has shown implausible progress in the grape production. The endeavors of Indian research institutes and innovative grape growers in respect of varietal development, adoption of grape rootstocks and modification of grape cultivation practices pertinent to Indian climatic conditions has made India prominent table grape producing country in the world next to China. To lead global market of table grapes, India needs indigenous grape cultivars with better fruit quality, varieties with vivid aromas/flavors, wider adaptability, climate resilience and inherited tolerance against biotic as well as abiotic stresses. Besides widening of varietal base and development of abiotic stress tolerant rootstocks some important areas needs to be look into like adoption of protected cultivation, off-season availability and mechanization friendly crop husbandry techniques for enhancing the export potential of the country.

Selection of a green renewable energy source in India with the help of MEREC integrated PIV MCDM tool

Selecting the best renewable energy (RE) sources are often considered as a critical task in the field of decision-making. Renewable energy depends on certain conflicting factors that might divert the proper selection of the best one. Hence, Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) would be the appropriate choice to treat this kind of confusing situations. In this article, a real-time decision-making problem is considered regarding the proper selection of a RE power plant in India. The main objective is to propose the suitable RE power plant that should be established in India based on six most important factors with the help of integrated MEREC-PIV MCDM tool. Here, five alternatives RE sources are considered and the best one is chosen based on the suitability of the Indian climatic conditions with the help of PIV, and MEREC is utilized to determine the objective weights of the six criterions. The final results show that, hydroelectric power plant would be the appropriate choice, whereas, biomass energy is the worst among the five alternatives. A ranking order of the alternatives is also proposed showing from highest to lowest rating. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to validate the outcome results and ranking.

Heat transfer analysis of hybrid active solar still with water flowing over glass cover

The aim of this research is to carry out the heat transfer analysis of PVT hybrid active solar still (HASS) at different water depth to obtain maximum output. Experimentation is performed for validation of thermal modeling with and without flowing water, having water depth of 0.15m in the solar still basin. During experimentation, water flows above the glass cover. Theoretically calculated values of basin water, basin liner, glass temperature and yield obtained using thermal modeling are very near to the experimental values having correlation coefficients 0.988, 0.981, 0.999 and 0.985 respectively. It is also found that thermal efficiency and daily exergy output increases by 4% and 8.2% respectively for this hybrid system whose glass cover is getting cooled by water flowing over it. Theoretical calculation for distillate output of the system was also calculated out for various climatic conditions of India using developed thermal modeling and it is found that proposed system gives higher annual yield of 2756.67 kg/m2 for the climate of Mumbai. The experimental uncertainty of the HASS is obtained as 14.82%.

Electricity generation using solar parabolic dish system with thermoelectric generator—An experimental investigation

AbstractThe present electricity grid installation cost as well as the tariff is quite high in India, particularly remote rural areas, to electrify houses. These problems can be easily solved by installing standalone systems that operate on one of the clean energy sources such as solar energy. An experimental analysis of generating electricity from a thermoelectric generator (TEG) powered by a solar parabolic dish concentrator device with aperture area and focal length of 12.6 m2 and 2.42 m, respectively, is presented in this article. A TEG is made up of a thermoelectric module connected to a flat receiver by an absorber layer. The studies were carried out in Indian climatic conditions at the National Institute of Technology, Puducherry. Over a spectrum of beam radiation, the system's maximum energy conversion efficiency, as well as efficient electrical output, are evaluated and presented. The proposed system's average effective electrical efficiency is 0.424%, corresponding to the TEG's average energy conversion efficiency of 2.76%.

Performance Analysis of different technology PV Modules in Eastern Indian climatic conditions---------An Approach based on Solar Geometry

Performance Analysis of different technology PV Modules in Eastern Indian climatic conditions---------An Approach based on Solar Geometry

A relative study on energy and exergy analysis between conventional single slope and novel stepped absorbable plate solar stills.

The innovation of novel absorbing materials using composite materials and nanotechnology is of new trends for many researches. Here, the present study is concerning to enhance the distilled water productivity of a proposed solar still (PSS) using novel absorbing materials. The absorbing material is composed of chitosan (obtained from waste shrimp shells), ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), and Chrysopogon zizaniodes (Vetiver). The combination of these materials is coined as CHEDZ, and it acts as a super absorbent polymer that is coated on the stepped solar still. Evaporation rate increases due to this absorbent, which further increases the yield of the still. In this present study, the PSS is compared with the conventional solar still (CSS) for the use of assessing the yield of freshwater in the same atmospheric circumstance. The experimental setup was performed through the period from December to February 2020 in the Indian climatic condition. The freshwater productivity was improved to 3.05 L/day while the yield of the CSS is 2.47 L/day. The increase in efficiency obtained from a PSS is 39.71% more than the productivity attained from the CSS. The energy efficiency of the PSS is 18.34% and the exergy efficiency is 0.45%.

An Efficient Decision-Making Approach for Short Term Indoor Room Temperature Forecasting in Smart Environment: Evidence from India

“Smart cities” start with “Smart Buildings” that improve the quality of urban services while ensuring sustainability. The current scenario in India reveals that the corporate and residential building structures are incorporating various self-sustainable techniques. Out of the multiple factors governing the comfort of smart buildings, indoor room temperature is an important one, since it drives the need of cooling or heating through controlling systems. Around one-third of total energy consumption of commercial buildings in India is attributed to Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. Accurate prediction of indoor room temperature helps in creating an efficient equilibrium between energy consumption and comfort level of the building, thus providing opportunities for efficient decision making for energy optimization. Considering Indian climatic and geographical conditions, this paper proposes an efficient decision making approach using Bayesian Dynamic Models (BDM) for short-term indoor room temperature forecasting of a corporate building structure. The results obtained from Bayesian Dynamic linear model, using Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm, have been compared to standard Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model, and have been found to be more accurate. Forecasting of indoor room temperature is a highly nonlinear phenomenon, so to further improve the accuracy of the linear models, a hybrid modeling approach has been proposed. The inclusion of state-of-the-art nonlinear models such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) improves the forecasting accuracy of the linear models significantly. Results show that the hybrid model obtained using BDM and ANN is the best fit model.

Performance Analysis of Solar Stills with Different Absorbing Materials

Water is the fundamental need of humanity. The consumption of water is rising with each day. The major parts of the available water, i.e. 97%, are saline seawater and 2% is ice and glaze. Just 1% of the water is pure drinking water. Therefore in order to satisfy the demand for fresh water, it is important to turn the impurity of salty sea water or brackish water into pure water. The Solar Single Slope Single Basin (SSSB) is not being experimentally investigated. The experimentation was performed during the months of May and June 2020 under Indian climatic conditions. The efficiency of still cotton cloth with marbles and jute cloth with marbles is 50.00 per cent and 46.15 per cent respectively, higher than average.

Failure Mode Analysis of PV Modules in Different Climatic Conditions

Understanding the reliability of photovoltaic (PV) modules under field conditions is one of the primary areas to ensure prolonged operation. This article reported a study on assessing PV modules' reliability under different outdoor environments, using procedures available in the literature. We identified dominant failure modes of PV modules under different climatic conditions of India. Risk priority number (RPN) of different failure modes are estimated by analyzing the consequences of defects in performance and safety. Modules deployed under cold and sunny, hot and dry, warm and humid, and composite climates of India have more varieties of failure modes than those in cold and cloudy and moderate climatic conditions. The frequency of occurrences of benign or cosmetic defects of PV modules varies under different climatic zones. The biggest concerns in old PV systems were hot spots, internal circuitry discoloration, backsheet problems, and grounding wires' corrosion. In the hot zones, primary safety issues were frame grounding corrosion, backsheet problems, hot spots, and nonhot zones were backsheet burn marks, backsheet peeling, and grounding wire corrosion. The defects observed in different climatic zones were analyzed in terms of its possible defect generation route also.

Simulation and performance evaluation of trans-critical CO2 refrigeration system with modified evaporative cooled finned tube gas cooler in Indian context

The gas cooler is the most sensitive component which affects the performance of the CO2 system in the trans-critical cycle, and its performance highly depends on the climatic conditions. The CO2 system operating in high ambient conditions has lower performance; therefore, it is necessary to improve the system. The present work investigates the performance of trans-critical CO2 refrigeration system with proposed modified evaporative cooled finned tube gas cooler and with finned tube gas cooler for typical Indian climatic conditions. A mathematical model of CO2 refrigeration system finned tube gas cooler has been developed and validated with experimental data (literature), for different operating conditions. Further, it is integrated with a separate subroutine developed for the modified evaporative cooler (experimentally validated). The simulation has been performed in MATLAB to evaluate and compare the annual performance of systems for five selected cities in India of different climatic conditions, with different operating conditions. The result shows a maximum increase in seasonal energy efficiency ratio is 28% at 8 MPa for Ahmedabad city using the system with modified evaporative cooled finned tube gas cooler compared to a system with finned tube gas cooler. The overall improvements in SEER for all the selected cities are in the range of 10–28%.

Financial viability assessment of concentrated solar power technologies under Indian climatic conditions

In the present work, the financial viability of three CSP technologies viz. PTC, SPT and LFR for 50 MW, CSP power plants, has been studied for 10 different locations of diverse climate conditions in India. Latest fiscal guidelines laid by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) in 2016 have been followed in the System Advisor Model. Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), Payback Period (PBP), Discounted Payback Period (DPP), Net Present Value (NPV), and Capital Recovery Factor (CRF) have been estimated to obtain a holistic extensive research view of the CSP projects. The highest NPV is 2626.68, 1311.25, and 827.90 million ₹, and the lowest LCOE calculated is 9.89, 10.63, and 10.99 ₹/kWh for SPT, PTC and LFR. Jodhpur has been identified as the most suitable location for the installation of a CSP plant. A 50 MW Solar Power Tower based CSP plant has LCOE of 9.89 ₹/kWh, PBP of 2.20 years, and NPV of 2626.68 million ₹, which is the best among all selected locations. The findings of this research will help in selecting locations and CSP technology for the installation of power plants. It will also assist investors to understand the financial viability of the project beforehand.

Locational dynamics of concentration and efficacy of phosphine against pulse beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus (Fab)

Phosphine is considered as an effective substitute to methyl bromide (MB), an ozone depleting fumigant which was phased out honouring ‘Montreal Protocol’. Limited field studies are available on phosphine toxicity against storage insects of pulses under different climatic conditions in India. In the present study phosphine efficacy was investigated against laboratory cultured and field populations of Callosobruchus maculatus by organising field fumigation trials of 5 MT pulse stacks, each in triplicate, under varied climatic conditions. The trials were conducted at three locations, Jaipur for Cicer arietinum (chickpea), Cuttack for Vigna radiata (green gram) and Mumbai for Lathyrus aphaca (yellow pea) using conventional 56% Aluminium phosphide (AlP) tablets (2 tab/MT and 3 tab/MT) application; and gas derived from on-site phosphine generator with 77.5% granular (1.0 g and 1.5 g phosphine/m3) formulations for two exposure periods (7 and 10-days) for each dosage including untreated control. Phosphine gas concentration was monitored daily until the exposure periods using gas monitoring equipment. No emergence of adults was observed until 60 days after treatment indicating 100% insect mortality of both populations (laboratory and field) for both exposure periods using all dosages. The minimum effective phosphine gas concentration for controlling C. maculatus was observed as 300–500 ppm for 7-days exposure using 1.5 g phosphine/m3 depending on climatic conditions. A significant variation was observed in gas concentration monitored during fumigation of pulses at different locations. Average concentration-time (Ct) product for green gram was higher than that of chickpea and yellowpea. The loss of gas concentration was found to be significantly low in yellowpea treated with phosphine at moderately hot and humid climate.

Comparison of three models to estimate the slant path atmospheric attenuation in central receiver solar thermal plants under Indian climatic conditions

This paper compares three attenuation models for the distinct meteorological conditions of India and assesses the feasibility of using the satellite data to calculate the slant path extinction coefficient and the slant path transmissivity of the lower atmosphere. The attenuation models are compared for the sites of Pune, Kanpur, and Jaipur. The AERONET data is used with REST2 to model the direct normal irradiance and the total optical depth. The results indicate that the three models give similar transmissivity values for low aerosol concentrations. As the aerosol concentrations increase, the difference in the slant path transmissivity as calculated by two of the models increases with respect to the third reference model.The slant path transmissivity comparison shows that for AERONET AOD at 550 nm (AOD550) less than 0.3, the relative error in the transmissivity values estimated by two of the compared models with respect to the third model is not higher than 10 % for Pune, 18 % for Kanpur, and 12 % for Jaipur. The mean relative error in the slant path transmissivity values obtained from the reference model using MODIS data with respect to the values obtained using AERONET data is 4.8 %, 10.2 %, and 9.2 % for Pune, Kanpur, and Jaipur, respectively. A difference of 0.2 between AERONET AOD550 and MODIS AOD550 values resulted in a difference of 0.05–0.08 between the transmissivity values calculated by the reference model using AERONET AOD550 and using MODIS AOD550 for the three sites.

Effect of temperature humidity index on sexual behavior and semen quality in Barbari buck under Indian climatic condition

• Buck mounting per cent during May and June were 93.88 % and 90.81 % respectively while comparatively lower values (61.64 %, 57.93 %) were observed in November and December month respectively. • The progressive motility, live sperm count, abnormality, hypo osmotic swelling positive spermatozoa and acrosomal integrity (Mean ± SE) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in post thaw semen in November and December month compared to other month. • The comfortable THI during November and December month have beneficial effect on semen quality in spite of poor libido. • The freezable quality of semen (mass activity >4) was good in November (73.33 %) and December (66.33 %) month. The present study suggests that semen freezing should be carried out in November-December months not round the year in Barbari breed of goats. Temperature Humidity Index (THI) is a single value representing the combination of air temperature and humidity associated with the level of thermal stress. Ejaculates (n = 890) from 12 Barbari bucks (2–4 years) maintained under semi-intensive management system were utilized to find out the effect of THI on sexual behavior and semen quality in Barbari buck. Semen with mass activity ≥ 4 was considered freezable. Buck mounting per cent during May and June were high whereas comparatively lower during November and December. Interestingly freezable quality of semen was good during November and December. The poorest freezable quality was observed during January and February. The comfortable THI (<72) during November and December have beneficial effect on semen quality in spite of poor libido. It is suggested that semen freezing should be carried out in November-December not round the year in Barbari bucks.