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Solar Energy 84 (2010) 2431

www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

Experimental study of the salt gradient solar pond stability

Choubani Karim a,*, Zitouni Slim a, Char Kais a,
Sa Mohamed Jomaa a, Aliakbar Akbarzadeh b
b

a
Ecole National dIngenieurs de Tunis, Unite de Recherche Mecanique-Energetique, 1002 El belvede`re, BP 37, Tunisia
Energy CARE Group, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, P.O. Box 71, Bundoora 3083, Melbourne, Australia

Received 25 June 2008; received in revised form 10 September 2009; accepted 12 September 2009
Available online 23 October 2009
Communicated by: Associate Editor G.N. Tiwari

Abstract
Many natural systems such as oceans, lakes, etc.. . ., are inuenced by the eect of double-diusive convection. This phenomenon,
which is a combination of heat and mass transfer, can destroy the stability of system-ows.
In the case of solar ponds the middle layer, that is linearly stratied, acts as a thermal and mass insulator for the lower layer. This
middle layer, called the Non-Convective Zone (NCZ), needs special care to avoid convection and to maintain its stability. In fact, due to
an excess of heat stored, a thermal gradient occurs within the NCZ. A convective movement appears at the bottom of the stratied-layers
and then grows to a double-diusive convection movement. This movement transforms the stratied-layers into a well mixed layer,
reducing the storage capacity of the pond.
Laboratory small-scale pond and middle-scale outdoor solar ponds were designed and built to provide both quantitative data and to
study the dynamic processes in solar ponds, including the behavior of the gradient zone.
Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) visualization-experiments carried out in the mechanical and energetic laboratory in the engineering
school of Tunisia and experiments in the eld showed that the instability of solar ponds could be limited by using porous media placed in
the lower layer of the stratication.
2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Solar pond; Interface; Double-diusion; PIV visualization; Porous media

1. Introduction
The study of thermal instability and heat transfer in
stratied-systems heated from below nds many important
applications such as in the ocean, atmosphere, lakes, solar
ponds, etc. (Turner, 1968; Bergman et al., 1986; Veronis,
1968; Bergman et al., 1985; Poplawsky et al., 1981; Huppert and Linden, 1979). The solar pond is a captor of solar
energy, able to store and keep heat accumulated for
extended periods. It is a body of water with a certain quantity of salt, whose concentration increases with depth,
going from a rather low value on the surface to a value
*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +216 97658064; fax: +216 71872729.

E-mail address: chambanik@yahoo.fr (C. Karim).

0038-092X/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.solener.2009.09.005

close to saturation in depth. A solar pond consists of three

layers of water with a dierent saline gradient (Fig. 1): the
Lower Convective Zone (LCZ), the Non-Convective Zone
(NCZ) and the Upper Convective Zone (UCZ).
The LCZ acts as a collection and storage area, the UCZ
bears all the environmental inuences while the NCZ called
the gradient zone acts as an insulator to limit double-diusion of heat and salt from the LCZ to the UCZ.
When a ray of solar radiation is incident at the airwater
interface of a solar pond, part of the ray is reected back
into air while the remaining part is transmitted into the
pond. This latter part must pass through one or more
meters of water and reach the LCZ to provide useful heat.
If the concentration gradient of the NCZ is great enough,
no convective motion will occur in this region. The energy

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C. Karim et al. / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 2431

25

Nomenclature
C
concentration (%)
g
gravitational acceleration (m/s2)
L
stratied layer height (m)
coecient of thermal diusion (m2/s)
jT
coecient of solute diusion (m2/s)
jS
RaT agDTL3 =jT m thermal Rayleigh number, where
DT = Tb  Tu
RaS bgDCL3 =jS m solute Rayleigh number, where
DC = Cb  Cu
T
temperature (C)
t
time (s)
X
horizontal coordinate (mm)
Z
vertical coordinate (mm)
PIV
particle Image Velocimetry
CCD charge Coupled Device

absorbed in the bottom of the pond will be stored in the

LCZ. When the temperature of the LCZ reaches a critical
value, a convective motion appears. This motion increases
in time and leads to the destruction of the interface between
the LCZ and the NCZ. As a result, the storage process is
adversely aected.
The eciency of a solar pond in collecting energy
depends on the stability of the gradient zone. Maintaining
the state of the salt gradient zone (boundaries, level and
salt gradient of NCZ) as her initial design is essential to
the successful operation of a salinity gradient solar pond.
Both of the upper and lower zones cause erosion of the
boundaries of the salt gradient zone. The progress of erosion leads to the reduction of thickness of the NCZ; thus
the pond gets destroyed, whether care is not taken.
The erosion mechanism is not well understood, but it
can be assumed that the natural convection in the LCZ is
one cause. The convection in the UCZ is essentially caused
by wind and convection and in the LCZ it is caused by the

FFT

fast Fourier transform

Greek symbols
a
thermal expansion coecient (C1)
b
saline expansion coecient (m3/kg)
m
kinematic viscosity (m2/s)
q
density (kg/m3)
D
dierence
Subscripts
u
upper
b
bottom
m
medium
1
ambient

vertical temperature dierence when the pond oor is

strongly heated by solar radiation.
In addition to the convection in the storage zone, some
other factors cause instability of the gradient zone, like
double-diusion (mass and heat). Weinberger (1964),
Tabor (1966), Rabi and Nielsen (1974) have experimentally
studied this mechanism. Hull et al. (1989) suggested an
empirical relation between the salinity and the temperature
gradients in the NCZ. In the 1980s, two models were proposed to explain the behavior of the gradient zone. The
microconvection model proposed by Hull and Mehta
(1987), which failed to predict the growth and the erosion
rate of the gradient zone, and the thermal burst model of
Witte (1989), based on the diusive process at the interface.
Zangrando and Fenando (1991) incorporated the eect of
convection in the thermal burst model.
Sa (2001) and Sa and Abdeljabar (2002) have experimentally studied the use of porous media in the LCZ to
limit the convective eect in the salt gradient solar pond.

Solar-radiation
Reflected-radiation

Thermocouples

Sampling tubes

U.C.Z
Insulation

N.C.Z

Porous media

L.C.Z
Salinity profile

Fig. 1. Schematic of a salt gradient solar pond.

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C. Karim et al. / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 2431

In this paper, two dierent experiments have been

undertaken to analyze the stabilizing role of the porous
media in small salt gradient solar ponds. The rst experiment was carried out under laboratory conditions; in the
second experiment two small ponds were constructed and
operated for a few days.
2. Laboratory-experimental set-up
A schematic sketch of the entire apparatus is depicted by
Fig. 2. Experiments (E1: without porous bodies and E2:
with porous bodies) were performed in a rectangular Plexiglas cell with inner dimensions 100  20 mm and 55 mm
depth. The sides of the cell were 10 mm thick and insulated,
except the front face that enabled the visualization of the
ow. The cell was tted at the bottom with a copper heat
exchanger (insulated around its edges), through which circulates a stream of hot water adjusted by a thermostat at
desired temperature, in order to provide uniform heating
over the base. The system is composed of two superimposed layers of miscible uids: salt-water (NaCl solution:
10% in weight) and fresh-water, initially isothermal and
with free surface. The system is suddenly heated from
below at constant temperature.
The temperature prole of the stratied solution was
measured by copper constantan thermocouples. These
thermocouples were positioned at 5 mm intervals along
the mid vertical axis, except for the lowest one which had
been set at 2 mm above the bottom of the cell. The lowest
thermocouple was set to depict probably three-dimensional
regimes. All the thermocouples were connected to an Agilent data-logger. The measurements of density were made
using a single-point conductivity probe. The liquid was
seeded with particles tracer. The elimination of the particles
was provided by a plane-light-sheet, generated by expanding the beam of a 20 mW HeNe laser by means of a cylindrical lens. Images were recorded by a CCD camera of
resolution 578  512 pixels and 25 frames per second.
Images will be stored on a computer hard disk. Fluid velocities are determined by the displacements of the seeded particles at a given time separation. The Particle Image

Helium-Neon laser

Cylindrical expanding lens

CCD camera
Computer
Test-cell

Fig. 2. Sketch of experimental set-up.

Velocimetry (P.I.V) technique traces a group of particles

through statistical cross-correlation analysis. This technique used FFTs for sampled interrogation windows of
the image eld. The P.I.V can measure the whole twodimensional or three-dimensional ow eld simultaneously
without disturbing the ow eld.
The porous media used in experiment E2 consists of
spherical-plastic-balls. It sets in the bottom of the test cell
and occupies 20% of the volume of the LCZ.
Experimental conditions, associated with the salt-stratied solution heated from below at constant temperature,
are presented in Table 1.

3. Results and discussions

3.1. Qualitative study of the ow
Once the heat is turned on, convection is rst observed
in a layer close to the bottom, as the diusion of heat
makes the density gradient unstable in the vicinity. The
motion does not immediately extend through the whole
depth of the uid. Similar phenomena have also been
observed and explained by Akbarzadeh and Manins
(1988) and Akbarzadeh (1989), when they studied the generation of convective layers by the side walls in the eld and
laboratory simulation of solar ponds.
PIV visualization (Fig. 3a and b) shows organized convective-cells in the bottom layer. These convective-cells
cause the deformation of the interfacial layer (NCZ) and
cut o thin portions of uid from it; such portions are
eroded and homogenized with the rest of the uid. The
eroding motions of these convective-cells modify the ow
structure near the interface.
As heating was continued the height of the bottom layer
increased, while the deformation of the interfacial layer
decreases. When this bottom-mixed-layer grows to a critical height, the interface behaves likes a wall. In fact, the
potential energy of the interface is greater than the kinetic
energy of vortices. Therefore, the total heat seems to be
localized in the bottom layer under the interfacial layer.
So, the upper layer will be heated from below at constant
temperature through a ctive base plate formed by a moving density interface. Thereby, the vortices motion is
assumed to enhance heat and salt through interfacial layer
to the upper free surface one. So, a less organized structure
gets developed in the upper layer. The intensity of the
motions in the upper layer seemed to be much lower than
that of the bottom layer.
While convection gets started in the lower and upper
layers, no convection is observed throughout the interface;
hence double-diusion may be the essential cause of the
instability of the interface. Indeed, the close-up view of
the gradient zone (Fig. 4a and b; eld dimension
#30  20 mm2) showed that both upper and lower vortices
motion erode edges of the gradient zone. At the boundaries
of this gradient layer the uid is in a dierent condition

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C. Karim et al. / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 2431

27

Table 1
Physical parameters related to the 2 experiments.
Experiments

T1 (C)

Tb (C)

RaT ( 106)

Cb (%)

RaS ( 106)

E1:without porous bodies

E2: with porous bodies

20
20

40
40

127
127

10
10

73
73

Fig. 3. (a) P.I.V visualization of the vortices: Experiment E1. (b) P.I.V visualization of the vortices: Experiment E2.

than at the interior, as studied by Reba et al. (2006). It is

ideally stratied on one side and convective on the other.
The progress of erosion causes the thickness of the interfacial layer (NCZ) to become increasingly diminished. In
an extreme case, when no action is taken, the stratication
would be destroyed. It is possible that the erosion velocity
of the interfacial layer (NCZ) can be suppressed by making
the temperature dierence in the bottom layer (LCZ) small
by absorbing an amount of reserve heat in this zone.
The introduction of the porous medium in the bottom
layer slows down the release of the driven convection in
this layer. Indeed, this medium absorbs a fraction of the
heat-ux received by the solution. Laboratory experiments
showed that the porous medium reduces the eect of vortices formed in the bottom layer of the stratication, but it
does not aect the structure of the interface of the upper
layer.
The experiences show that:

Fig. 4. (a) P.I.V. visualization; close-up view of the gradient zone:

Experiment E1. (b) P.I.V visualization; close-up view of the gradient zone:
Experiment E2.

Erosion of the NCZ was less important in experiment

E2 than in Experiment E1.
Vortices were more intensive in experiment E1 than in
experiment E2. So, the bottom erosion of the interfacial
layer was fairly consistent in experiment E1.
Vortices were decelerated in experiment E2.

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C. Karim et al. / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 2431

3.2. Quantitative study of the ow

Once the heat is turned on, an unstable temperature gradient develops above the heated surface. This gradient
induces a local thermal instability and a convection motion
in the bottom layer, as said previously. As time progresses,
the gradient zone is well developed, falling more and more
sharply.
During the initial growth, temperature proles (Fig. 5a
and b) show the homogeneity of the mixed layer. As experiment progresses, three zones were distinguished from vertical temperature proles:
A lower zone with a quasi-uniform temperature.
A gradient zone where the temperature is unstably
stratied.
An upper zone with a quasi-uniform temperature.
Therefore, the non linear stratication, consists of two
convective layers separated by an interfacial non-convective one, was found.
Comparisons between the experiences in the two experiments show that:

a 60

0s
1200s
2700s

300s
600s
900s
1500s
1800s
2400s
3000s
3300s
3600s

Z (mm)

40

NCZ
30

20

10

LCZ

0
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Tempertaure (C)

b 60
50

0s
1200s
2700s

Fig. 6 shows that the maximum temperature in experiment E1 is more important than in experiment E2.
The variation of the average concentration of the upper
and the lower zones (Fig. 7a and b), shows that:
The salinity in the UCZ increases due to convective mixing with NCZ and salt diusion from the bottom.
Transition from a stable state to an unstable one
(Dq = qb  qu < 0) occurs at t  115 min in experiment
E1 and at t  140 min in experiment E2: porous bodies
decelerate the salt diusion through the interfacial layer
due to the decrease of the additive salt-ux produced by
supplied heat-ux. Suggesting that porous media plays
the role of stabilizers.
4. Experimental apparatus and method used in eld

UCZ

50

The temperature dierence between the lower and upper

layers increases at nearly constant rate, but it is more
prominent in experiment E1 than in experiment E2; a part
of heat supplied was absorbed by the porous medium.
The interface (gradient zone) between layers is so sharp
that it can be interpreted as a diusive interface separating two strongly convective layers.
The interface moves in time and space causing the thickening of the bottom layer as well as the thinning of the
upper one; the introduction of the porous medium decelerates the interface movement.

300s
600s
900s
1500s
1800s
2400s
3000s
3300s
3600s

Fig. 1 shows the schematic view of the pond used in

eld. Two tanks of 3.6 m2 each, made of galvanized steel
and put in the earth. The walls of the two tanks were insulated with polystyrene foam. A set of thermocouples,
placed along the depth of the pond and connected to a
manual multiplexer, are used to measure the time and
space variation of the temperature. The concentration is
measured by sampling.
Each of the tanks had three stratied-layers using NaCl
solution of concentration in the range from 250 to 40 g/l.
Each tank is 1 m deep, so that: UCZ = 150 mm,
NCZ = 500 mm and LCZ = 350 mm. The NCZ is formed
40

UCZ

38
36

NCZ
30

20

LCZ

10

Temperature (C)

Z (mm)

40

34
32
30

Tmaxin experiment E1
Tmaxin experiment E2

28
26
24

22
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Tempertaure (C)

20
0

10

20

30

40

50

Time ( 60s )

Fig. 5. (a) Temperature proles: Experiment E1. (b) Temperature proles:

Experiment E2.

Fig. 6. Evolution of the maximum temperatures.

60

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C. Karim et al. / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 2431

110

Upper layer

100

Bottom layer

UCZ

43210 s
3

86410 s

80

80

70
60

Transition : stableunstable state

50
40
30

Depth ( 10mm )

Concentration (g/l)

86,410 s

100
90

90

29

20

129610 s

70

1468,810 s

60

NCZ

50
40
30
20

10

LCZ

10

0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100 110 120 130

10

Time ( 60s )

25

30

35

110

Upper layer

100

Bottom layer
3

b 100

90

Concentration (g/l)

20

Temperature (C)

80

90

70

80

60

70

86,410 s
3

UCZ

43210 s
3

86410 s
3

Transition : stableunstable state

50
40
30
20
10

Depth ( 10mm )

15

129610 s
3

1468,810 s

60

NCZ

50
40
30
20

0
0

10 20

30 40 50 60

70 80

90 100 110 120 130 140 150

Time ( 60s )

Fig. 7. (a) Average concentration: Experiment E1. (b) Average concentration: Experiment E2.

by piling up from the bottom to form a ladder-type concentration zone with intervals of dC = 35 g/l and dZ = 100 mm.
The rst xed-thermocouple was set at 50 mm from bottom. The other thermocouples were placed from 200 to
900 mm with 100 mm interval in the vertical centre line.
A system with manual scanner is used to measure the temperature at the central points of the basin in order to detail
the temperature distribution of the heat storage zone, especially for the boundary zone.
The porous media used is natural rocks. It sets in the bottom of the tank and occupies 33% the volume of the LCZ.
4.1. Results and discussion

LCZ

10
0
10

15

20

25

30

35

Temperature (C)

Fig. 8. (a) Temperature proles in pond without porous media. (b)

Temperature proles in pond with porous media.

The temperature is greater in the former pond with a

maximum at 20 mm from the bottom while the presence
of porous media causes conversely in the temperature
proles at this distance.
In both ponds, the temperature is not uniform in the
LCZ, as observed by Jaefarzadeh and Akbarzadeh
(2002) in a pond without porous media.
The temperature dierence between the lower and upper
layer is more prominent in pond without porous media.
The concentration distribution in the two ponds (Fig. 9a
and b) shows that:
The gradient in the LCZ remains stable.
The presence of a salt gradient in the LCZ of the classical pond suggests that a mechanical homogenization of
this layer should be done.
The maximum concentration in the pond with the porous medium in the lower convective zone is smaller than
that in the classical pond.

The two ponds started working under the same operating conditions. Fig. 8 shows the history of the temperature
since the beginning. A dierence in the vertical prole of
the two ponds was noted.
Fig. 11 shows that the maximum radiation occurs at
about 1 pm and the maximum of temperature at the bottom
is recorded at 2 pm. During our experiments there isnt a signicant dierence in daily solar radiation measurements.
Comparison between the two ponds shows that:

Fig. 10 shows the maximum temperatures recorded into the

two ponds compared to the maximum ambient temperature:

The temperature-stratication takes place after ve days

in the pond with porous media and later in the second
pond (classical pond).

Rise of the temperature in the pond with porous medium is less abrupt, suggesting that porous media plays
the role of a thermal moderator.

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C. Karim et al. / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 2431

3

+ 12

86410 s

172810 s

+ 11

UCZ

90

+ 10

Solar radiation ( 10w/m )

86,410 s
100

80

Depth ( 10mm )

70

NCZ

60
50
40
30

LCZ

20
10

+ 9
+ 8
+ 7
+ 6
+ 5
+ 4
+ 3
+ 2
+ 1
0

0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

-1

Salinity (g/l)

06:00

08:00

10:00

12:00

14:00

16:00

18:00

20:00

Time (h)

86,410 s

100
90

86410 s

172810 s

Fig. 11. Solar radiation.

UCZ

Depth ( 10mm )

80

porous medium can strongly inuence entrainment of

salt-stratied uid and the breakdown of an initially stable
stratied system. However, more experiences are required
to forge a perfect knowledge on the eect of nature and
characteristics of porous media.
These experiments show that the presence of porous
medium in the bottom layer of a solar pond appears promising in the sense that:

70
60

NCZ

50
40
30
20

LCZ

10
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

Salinity (g/l)

Fig. 9. (a) Evolution of concentration in pond without porous media. (b)

Evolution of concentration in pond with porous media.

T ambient max
Tmaxin pond with porous media
Tmaxin pond without porous media

34
32

It reduces the increase in temperature of the LCZ.

It reduces the temperature dierences in the solar pond
which cause the instability.
It decelerates the convective vortices in the bottom layer
where the erosion of the bottom edge of the NCZ is
fairly consistent.
It absorbs a part of the supplied heat-ux.
It increases the stability of the NCZ and so, the stability
of the solar pond.

30

Temperature (C)

28

Therefore, this technique may increase drastically the

life time of the salt gradient solar pond which doesnt
exceed, actually, 1015 years.

26
24
22
20
18

References

16
14
12
10
8

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

Time( 24h )

Fig. 10. Evolution of the maximum temperatures in the two ponds.

Dierence between maximum ambient temperature and

maximum temperature in ponds is greater in pond without porous media than in classical pond.
5. Conclusions
Experiments in eld as well as those carried out under
laboratory conditions revealed that the introduction of a

Akbarzadeh, A., 1989. Convective layers generated by side walls in solar

ponds: observations. Sol. Energy 43, 1723.
Akbarzadeh, A., Manins, P., 1988. Convective layers generated by side
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Bergman, T.L., Incorpera, F.P., Viskanta, R., 1985. A dierential modal
for salt stratied, double-diusive systems heated from below. Int. J.
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Bergman, T.L., Incorpera, F.P., Viskanta, R., 1986. Correlation of mixed
layer growth in a double diusive salt-stratied system heated from
below. J. Heat Transfer 108, 206211.
Hull, J.R., Mehta, J.M., 1987. Physical model of gradient zone erosion in
thermohaline systems. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 30, 10261036.
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Ponds. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Huppert, H.E., Linden, P.F., 1979. On heating a stable salinity gradient
from below. J. Fluid Mech. 95, 431464.

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Jaefarzadeh, M.R., Akbarzadeh, A., 2002. Towards the design of low
maintenance salinity gradient solar ponds. Sol. Energy 73, 375384.
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development in double diusive thermohaline system. J. Sol. Energy
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Tabor, H., 1966. Solar ponds. Sci. J., 6671.
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Choubani, K.: Received his degree in Mechanical

Engineering in 2001 from the National Engineering School of Tunis and his Master in applied
Mechanical Engineering in 2002 from the same
University. He is an assistant Professor in the
Institute of Industrial Systems of Tunis. His current research interests are stratied ows and
solar pond applications. Email:
chambanik@yahoo.fr. Postal address: Ecole National
dIngenieurs de Tunis, Unite de Recherche
Mecanique-Energetique 1002 El belvede`re BP 37,
Tunisia.

31

Char, K.: Received his license physics in 1996

from Faculty Science University of Sfax, and his
M. Sc degree in physics of semi-conductors in
2000 from Faculty Science University of Tunis.
He is working toward the Ph.D. degree in
numerical simulation and experimental study of
Membrane Distillation. Postal address: Ecole
National dIngenieurs de Tunis, Unite de
Recherche Mecanique-Energetique 1002 El Belvede`re BP 37, Tunisia.

Sa, M.J.: Received his rst Ph.D. in Physics in

1980 from University Pierre et Marie Curie in
Paris and his second Ph.D. in mathematics (Fluid
Mechanics) in 1987 from the same University. He
taught Physics in the University of Orsay
(France) before joining the National Engineering
School of Tunis where he is currently a full Professor of Thermal Science, Water and Energy. He
is the head of the research Laboratory Mecanique-Energetique. He has been visitor Professor
in University of Ancona (Italy); University of
Texas and M.I.T (USA). One of his research interests is Flow visualization. Postal address: Ecole National dIngenieurs de Tunis, Unite de
Recherche Mecanique-Energetique 1002 El Belvede`re BP 37, Tunisia.