Measurement of Temperature

Field experiment will take up 8 hours per day from 8 AM to 4 PM for the days we will be

gathering data so temperature measurement will be measured every 30 minutes within the

time period. The temperature of the water entering and exiting the PTC will be measured using

the temperature and a temperature humidity logger will be used. This will provide data

showing the changes happening in the time span of experimentation.

Solar Flux Measurement

Solar flux will be measured using a solar power meter in BTU/hr-ft 2 . The device can be

damaged by direct sunlight exposure, hence the device will be placed near the parabolic

troughs collector’s surface.

Measurement of Relative Humidity

Relative humidity is the ratio of the actual amount of moisture present in the air to the

maximum amount of moisture which the air can hold until its saturation point at a specific

condition. Air can no longer hold extra amount of moisture once it reached 100 percent relative

humidity. Relative humidity affects water’s speed of evaporation; hence water vapor in air

through different places differs. Evaporation rate at a specific place is always directly

dependent on the humidity of the place’s air. If the air has a relative humidity close to
saturation or 100 percent saturated, the air can no longer hold any additional moisture that will

cause slowing of evaporation.

Humidity will be measured through the use of a digital hygrometer every 30 minutes

starting from 8 AM up to 4 PM. Humidity data gathered will show humidity changes happened

from time to time in the duration of experimentation.

Measurement of the Amount of the distillate

The amount of distillate produced will be measured using a graduated cylinder every 30

minutes of the Solar Desalination’s operation which is 8 hours per day of experimentation and

data gathering. Time to time measurement will be done to identify the specific time where the

system begins to produce distillated seawater and to determine what time periods has the

most effective evaporation rate. The distillate to be collected within the day should be tested

for Bacteriological Analysis within 24 hours after collection according to the general protocol of

testing sample waters and as a requirement of water testing at SLU Laboratory.

Statistical Treatment of Data

With the help of a statistical tool, data gathered on the experimentation days will be

tabulated separately per set-up of the desalination unit. The independent T-test statistical test

will be used to determine differences between the same variable from the different

experimental set-ups.
 Summary and tabulate gathered data

Evaluate gathered data

State hypothesis (Ho and Ha)

Choose appropriate test statistic

Determine critical region; state decision rule

Compute test statistic
Decide
Accept alternative hypothesis (Ha) Accept null hypothesis (Ho)

Conclude Ha is true and interpret results in Conclude Ho is true and interprets results
simple terms in simple terms

Research Question: Is there a significant increase to instantaneous thermal efficiency by using

parabolic trough collector (PTC) with both pre-heating pipe and glass covering equipped with
solar tracking mechanism?

Ho (null hypothesis): There is no significant difference between the instantaneous thermal

efficiency of PTC set-up without solar tracking mechanism and PTC set-up with solar tracking
mechanism.

Ha (alternative hypothesis): There is a significant difference between the instantaneous thermal

efficiency of PTC set-up without solar tracking mechanism and PTC set-up with solar tracking
mechanism.

Research Question: Is there a significant increase to the distillate produced by operating

parabolic trough collector (PTC) with both pre-heating pipe and glass covering equipped with
solar tracking mechanism?
Ho (null hypothesis): There is no significant difference between the distillate produced of PTC
set-up without solar tracking mechanism and PTC set-up with solar tracking mechanism.

Ha (alternative hypothesis): There is a significant difference between the distillate produced of

PTC set-up without solar tracking mechanism and PTC set-up with solar tracking mechanism.