ABSTRACT. There is wide recognition that climate change is a critical risk and an urgent issue facing society. 25 years after the Rio Earth Summit, the world is still hoping to decarbonize the global economy. Transition pathways to decarbonise various sectors of the economy abound the literature.

Back in 1992, if we could have foreseen where the world would be today, we would surely have been alarmed and in denial. The Paris Agreement is our latest call to action. For infrastructure and energy systems, the Paris landmark year of 2030 is just around the corner and then an even deeper transition awaits.

Looking ahead, will we experience industrial bottlenecks – limits in critical material supplies, bottlenecks in manufacturing capacity and supply chains or will human and organizational capacity be sufficient to deliver the massive and rapid transformation in systems?

What social, behavioural and regulatory trends could affect the pace of change?

How do we anticipate and overcome these bottlenecks and constraints?

Engineering research, innovation and execution lies at the heart of this transition. But, we must engage in new trans-disciplinary approaches and collaboration between nations, institutions, industries and communities to better understand these questions about the pace of the transition to a decarbonized economy.

ABSTRACT. Biodesulfurization has emerged as potential alternative to oxidative desulfurization and hydrodesulfurization, which are cost and energy intensive. However, main impediment in commercial application of biodesulfurization process is its slow kinetics. One of the recent techniques for intensification of biochemical processes is application of ultrasound or sonication. Although previous literature has reported use of ultrasound irradiation (or sonication) for enhancement of the kinetics of biodesulfurization, the exact physical mechanism of this process has remained unexplored. The present study has attempted to establish the physical mechanism of this enhancement by identifying links between physics of ultrasound/cavitation and chemistry of biodesulfurization. The investigation has three approaches: (1) fitting of experimental profiles of DBT oxidation to kinetic model using Genetic Algorithm, (2) simulations of cavitation bubble dynamics and (3) analysis of secondary structure of the intracellular proteins by circular dichroism. It is revealed that strong micro-convection generated by ultrasound and cavitation induces conformational changes in the secondary structure of the enzymes, which augments their catalytic efficiency. Oxidizing radicals generated through transient cavitation also provides a parallel pathway of oxidation of DBT to sulfoxide and sulfone, which are intermediates of DBT metabolism. This assists faster consumption of DBT by microbial cells. The results of this study clearly demonstrate the role of physical and chemical effects of ultrasound and cavitation in enhancing metabolism of biodesulfurization.

ABSTRACT. The standard injection parameters such as injection timing, nozzle opening pressure, compression ratio etc. of a compression ignition engine (CI) is not suitable for a fuel of a different origin because the conventional engine is designed only for mineral diesel. This study is aimed at investigating the effect of varying nozzle opening pressure (NOP) on the combustion characteristics of a single cylinder diesel engine fueled with a non-conventional fuel. The fuel contains 80% biodiesel derived from Jatropha oil and 20% tyre pyrolysis oil obtained from pyrolysis of waste tyres, on a volume basis and the blend referred to as JMETPO20. In order to find an optimum NOP for the blend, tests were conducted at an optimized injection timing of 24.5˚CA bTDC with two higher NOPs (220 and 240 bar) in addition to the original NOP of 200 bar, and the results were compared to those of diesel. The combustion parameters of the diesel engine were evaluated in terms of cylinder pressure-crank angle diagram, ignition delay, cumulative heat release, maximum heat release rate, maximum cylinder pressure and mass fraction burned. The test results showed that, the maximum cylinder pressure and cumulative heat release rate were marginally higher for the higher NOPs.

ABSTRACT. This work aims to downsize a 4-cylinder heavy duty diesel engine with the aid of two-stage turbocharging. The target is to increase the maximum torque and power specification by 20% on this 4-cylinder engine which makes it similar in specification to a 6-cylinder engine with single stage turbocharging. This would help in achieving improved power to weight ratio. Critical design limits considered during the study were in-cylinder peak firing pressure and maximum exhaust gas temperature. Quasi-dimensional thermodynamic simulation study was carried out to predict performance characteristics of the subject engine where the cylinders were treated zero-dimensionally and the intake and exhaust system were treated one-dimensionally (1D). In the first part of the work, simulation was carried out for the single-stage turbocharged engine configuration which formed the basis of downsizing simulations. Simulation model validation was carried out in this configuration with experimental correlation of over 90%. The validated simulation model was then modified to two-stage turbocharged configuration by specific focus on modelling the turbocharger with waste-gating. Results of the study showed that the range of waste-gating required for the high-pressure turbocharger is wider than the low-pressure turbocharger and inter-stage cooler helps in improving volumetric efficiency by 10%.

ABSTRACT. This paper present the findings of an experimental investigation on homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine fueled with gasoline and Di-ethyl-ether (DEE) blend. The experiments were conducted on a single-cylinder, four strokes, DI diesel engine modified to work on HCCI mode using 90% of gasoline in gasoline/DEE blend fuel (by volume) at a fixed engine speed of 1400 rpm. The blend fuel was supplied against the direction of the air motion, to facilitate mixture formation and it was assumed that the homogenous air and fuel mixture would be formed during the process of intake and compression. During the compression stroke, due to low self-ignition temperature the DEE fuel auto ignites first and acts as an ignition source for entire cylinder of the homogeneous gasoline–air mixture. Factors that were investigated and compared with base diesel engine include brake thermal efficiency, combustion pressure, HRR, NOx, HC, CO, smoke and exhaust gas temperature. The combustion process has obvious two stage combustion characteristics. The results show within the investigated blends that the HCCI operation could be possible in the load range from 3.25 bar to 5.27 bar

ABSTRACT. Toxic emissions from diesel engines are great contributors to localized urban as well as global pollution. Several research works have been carried out to reduce emissions by different methods. Out of those the use of alternative fuels and additives seems to be potential solution to reduce emissions in the current scenario. Present study depicts the effects of nitromethane-butanol-diesel blends on the emissions of a diesel engine. N-butanol (B) and Nitromethane (NM) were selected as additives to diesel on the basis of literature review, physical and chemical properties, availability in market and their cost. In the first phase, experiments were performed to optimize n-butanol-diesel blend on an existing engine, and in the second phase, nitromethane was blended in optimum n-butanol-diesel blend (B20). A single cylinder four stroke, water cooled engine has been used for experimentation. The results of emissions and performance for NM-n-butanol-diesel blends have been drawn and analyzed. Maximum reduction in smoke and NOx was recorded up to 82.8% and 13.85% respectively in comparison to diesel.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates the range of fuel premixing ratio for dual fuel engine fueled with port injection of gasoline/methanol and direct injection of diesel fuel. The experiments were performed on a stationary diesel engine at a constant speed of 1500 rpm. The diesel engine intake manifold was modified to run the engine in dual fuel mode. A port fuel injection controller was developed for injecting the gasoline/methanol in the intake manifold. Experiments were performed for various fuel premixing ratios at low, medium and higher load conditions (i.e. 25%, 50% and 100% engine load). The range of fuel premixing of dual fuel engine was characterized on the basis of cyclic variations and unburned hydrocarbon emissions. Results revealed that the cyclic variations reduce with engine load for dual fuel engine operation using both gasoline and methanol (i.e. gasoline/diesel and methanol/diesel operations). Results also indicate that the cyclic variations increases with an increase in the fraction of low reactivity fuel (i.e. gasoline and methanol). Results demonstrate that fuel premixing is limited by higher cyclic variations and hydrocarbon emissions. The range of fuel premixing ratio is lower for methanol/diesel dual fuel operation as compared to gasoline/diesel dual fuel operation.

ABSTRACT. There is a need for sustainable alternative fuels that can address and alleviate both economical and environmental issues. The current work is based on alcohol-diesel-water microemulsion fuels. Microemulsions are thermodynamically stable and isotropic dispersions of oil, water, and an amphiphile. Diesel is used as oil phase while water in microemulsion reduces the combustion temperature, which, in turn, reduces the NOx and smoke emissions. In this work, an alcohol has been used, that acts both as surfactant and co-surfactant, thereby making the process facile and economical. The microemulsion regions are mapped out in ternary phase diagrams. The effect of various ionic and non-ionic surfactants on the microemulsion region has also been studied. Hydrophilic surfactant expands microemulsion domain while hydrophobic surfactant shrinks the same. Cationic surfactant does not have much influence on the microemulsion domain while the anionic surfactant surprisingly does not yield any microemulsions by current methodology. The initial tests suggest that the microemulsions have a higher calorific value, and lower soot and residue as compared to neat diesel. The microemulsions also have properties such as density, viscosity, flash and fire points, and cloud and pour points close to those of neat diesel.

ABSTRACT. In this study, the experimental analysis of concentric tube heat exchanger has been done with synthesized zinc oxide nanofluid. Zinc oxide nanoparticles were prepared by polymer precursor method characterized by SEM and X-ray Diffraction. These Nanoparticles were dispersed in DI water with varying volume concentrations (ɸ= 0.02% to 0.1%) with acetylacetone as a surfactant for stability and complete dispersion. Dispersion of nanoparticles in DI water was analyzed by dynamic light scattering (DLS). In this experiment inner side flow rate maintained constant with DI water and from the outer side, nanofluid flow rate varied between 40LPH to 160LPH. Actual heat transfer & overall heat transfer coefficient were calculated. Because of enhancement in the thermo-physical properties of nanofluid, it shows promising results on the overall performance of Heat exchangers

ABSTRACT. The critical challenge in designing a thermal energy storage is enhancement of the heat exchange between the fluid and the stationary storage material. The aim of this study was to design a thermal energy storage system for storing energy from the hot air in a paraffin-wax based phase change material (PCM). A commercially available automobile air cooled radiator has been used as a heat exchanger between air and PCM due to high heat transfer coefficient. The air was passed through the inner micro-channels of the heat exchanger and the heat exchanger was immersed in paraffin wax. The charging and discharging of the storage unit was studied. During the charging process, a temperature difference of 40 – 50 °C was observed between the inlet and outlet air, which suggests high heat transfer from air to PCM. During the discharging process, a maximum temperature difference of 13.5 °C between outlet and inlet air was observed. The outlet air was maintained at 48 °C for 22 minutes. The average temperature difference between the solid-liquid interface of PCM and air inlet was at 10.6 °C during the discharge process.

ABSTRACT. Owing to the non-uniform availability of solar radiation, designing of a latent heat storage found necessary so as to bridge the supply and demand gap. In the current investigation, the charging and discharging characteristics of a 10 MJ capacity, paraffin wax-based latent heat storage is analyzed numerically. Validations with experimental results showed reasonably good agreement following which parametric studies are conducted and detailed discussion on results are presented.

ABSTRACT. Experimental investigation of a thermally responsive building element was carried out in this work. This was achieved by incorporating phase change materials (PCM) in macro-capsules of steel capsules and embedding them in concrete bricks. The PCM stores the heat conducted through the brick during daytime and releases it during night on all sides. The capsules were embedded in the centreline equidistant from all the surfaces of the bricks. The performance of these PCM integrated concrete bricks were tested in the outdoor conditions and compared with reference concrete bricks. It was observed that the PCM integrated brick walls reduce the temperature peaks by a maximum of 2.7 °C during daytime. The maximum temperature difference between the outer and inner surface of walls erected using PCM integrated bricks were -6.8 °C. The diurnal temperature difference was reduced by as much as 4-5 °C.

ABSTRACT. Latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) has been receiving considerable attention in recent years because of high storage density and isothermal phase transition. In this study, an analytical model has been proposed for prediction of solid-liquid interface and temperature during solidification of phase change material (PCM) in a two-dimensional rectangular LHTES with horizontal internal plate fins and an imposed constant heat flux on the vertical walls. The results are compared with available one-dimensional exact analytical results and two-dimensional numerical results and good agreement has been observed.

ABSTRACT. The solar energy is available in abundant but it is dilute source of energy and intermittent in nature. Therefore packed bed solar storage systems are used to store solar energy when it is available and this stored energy is later utilizes further. In this work an experimental study is carried out in a sensible heat storage packed bed to find the effect of large size perforated cylinders in void fraction ε=0.35 keeping elements in staggered manner. Cylindrical elements of concrete with perforation ratio ranges from 04 to 0.6 and numbers of perforation 2, 4, 6 are used to find energy stored and thermo-hydraulic performance in the storage bed. The Reynolds Number varies form 1200- 3200. Thermo-hydraulic performance of storage bed was found maximum 0.19 at 0.6 perforation ratio at 6-perforations. While maximum thermal heat stored in the bed was found maximum of 5.22 MJ at 0.6 perforation ratio at 6-perforations.

ABSTRACT. Distributed energy resources (DER’s) are gaining significant importance and attention in today’s world. This will continue in forthcoming years because of their apparent benefits which comprise of the improved reliabilities, operation with lower emission levels along with elimination of transmission and distribution costs over conventional generation. DER’s can be utilized to bridge the gap between demand and supply of electricity. Considering increased research integration and development in grid tied systems, renewable energy sources will add up to provide a huge portion of power along with the utility. If such systems get isolated from the grid on the onset of a fault, then it will add to pressure on the grid and lead to complete collapse of system. DER instead could be equipped with reactive power control strategies to maintain the voltage levels. The proposed research work deals with design of photovoltaic based three phase grid connected voltage source converter with unified control strategy (UCS). The UCS takes into consideration the various controls essential for the requirement of successful operation of the system as per the mode of operation. In addition, mitigation of unbalance in an adjoining microgrid or other smaller system with help of reactive power injection was attempted.

ABSTRACT. Electrical machines have become so ubiquitous that they are virtually overlooked as an integral component of the entire electrical infrastructure. Efficiency of the machine is a significant factor that is involved in its operation. The efficiency is reduced by the losses in the machine that include winding loss and mechanical losses. The heat generated due to these losses result in insulation failure, increased armature reaction and flux losses. This paper proposes an idea of boosting up the efficiency by deploying superconductors with appropriate cryostat arrangement. This will help in reducing the heat loss and will help in maintaining constant efficiency throughout the lifetime of the machine. The usage of superconductors completely changes the dynamics of the machine and quality of industrial operation

ABSTRACT. In this paper a novel three phase 5-level diode clamped inverter topology has been proposed and the control operation has been utilized to demonstrate the performance of a grid connected solar PV power system. The entire work has been simulated in MATLAB/Simulink environment. The DC side of the power system is modeled and performance is analyzed in the part-I of this work. The output of the solar PV connected dc-dc boost converter received in the part-I is utilized in this work as input to the 5-level inverter for AC side analysis. The proposed inverter is subjected to hysteresis control algorithm introduced for its switching operation. A SRF-PLL topology is used to synchronize the inverter with the grid. The performance of the solar PV system is analyzed under the influence of a practical irradiance profile. The simulation model shows very good accuracy in tracking the reference current at the grid end. The proposed model performance has been validated by a grid connected 170kWp solar PV power plant.

ABSTRACT. The spurt in the area of renewable energy has led to the research of suitable power converters. One such development is the Interleaved Boost Converter (IBC). It allows input current sharing and heat dissipation when configured with many phases. The variation in any one of the components result in the shift of overall reliability profile. The converter reliability is a function of time and operating conditions. To avoid downtime and replacement of converter and to reduce maintenance cost, the state of health and remaining life of power converter should be analysed. Thus, this paper illustrates the reliability and failure study alongwith performance degradation analysis of individual components used in two-phase interleaved boost converter. Variation in the reliability R(t) as a function of MOSFET on-resistance (RDS(ON)), capacitance (C) and equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the capacitor in a closed-loop two-phase interleaved boost converter circuit has been analysed in this paper.

ABSTRACT. This paper mainly concentrates on the analysis of different charging techniques adopted in the Solid-State Marx generator. The unipolar Marx topology has been simulated using resistance, inductive and input switch charging methods. Results obtained by simulations are validated from experimental setup for a two stage Marx generator circuit. The characteristics (traits) of each charging method is investigated based upon the parameters such as current drawn by source during charging and discharging instant of capacitors, voltage across the input charging elements, output voltage, load current, degree of isolation provided by each method. Finally, a comparison between all charging methods is carried out for all above mentioned parameters. Resistance charging is simple and less complex method. Boosting phenomenon of output voltage pulse is obtained from the RL charging method. This method also limits the source current too few mA as compared to the other two methods. Switch charging method provides complete isolation from the high voltage source during erection of Marx generator.

ABSTRACT. In photovoltaic (PV) system maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique is used to track the maximum power from the PV panel. In this paper, Radial Basis Function Network (RBFN) based MPPT algorithm is used for PV system with high voltage gain Four-phase Interleaved Boost Converter (FIBC) to track the maximum power. The output power from the high voltage gain FIBC with RBFN controller is compared with traditional Perturb & Observation (P&O) MPPT algorithm at different irradiation levels. To reduce the input current ripples and to get a smooth DC output current waveform, a high voltage gain FIBC converter is used in this paper. The performance analysis of P&O and RBFN MPPT algorithms with high voltage gain FIBC is done by using MATLAB/SIMULINK.

ABSTRACT. The present work looked at the influence of substituting Yb2O3 on the phase stability and electrical properties of xYb2O3-(12-x)Sc2O3-88ZrO2 (where x = 0, 1, 3 and 5 mol.%) electrolyte for the intermediate temperature operation of solid oxide fuel cells. Structural investigations performed via X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy on sintered pellets suggested the existence of a single cubic phase in all the compositions. Impedance spectroscopy studies showed similar conductivity trends in both the grain and grain boundary on co-doping Yb2O3 in 12Sc2O3 -88ZrO2 (12ScSZ). At 650°C, both 12ScSZ and 1Yb2O3-11Sc2O3-88ZrO2 exhibited similar conductivity values followed by higher Yb2O3 co-doped compositions. The decrease in conductivity on Yb2O3 co-doping in 12ScSZ was attributed to the large size mismatch between the Yb3+ and Zr4+ cations. Nevertheless, 3 mol.% Yb2O3 co-doped composition showed the total conductivity of 10.4 mS.cm-1 at 700°C, which is above the minimum required conductivity value (10 mS.cm-1) for an electrolyte to be used in SOFCs

ABSTRACT. 2D layered transition metal dichalcogenides are considered as a potential anode for high-performance lithium-ion batteries due to their high specific capacity, abundance, and low cost. The high structural stability and well-developed two-dimensional layers of MoTe2 provides a superior Li-ion storage property in lithium batteries. In the current study, MoTe2 polycrystalline powder sample was prepared by solid-state reaction. The crystallography and morphological characterizations have been carried out using XRD, FEG-SEM, and EDS. The XRD study reveals the crystalline structure of the material having the hexagonal structure. FEG-SEM studies depict the well-developed layered structure of the material. The electrochemical study of MoTe2 material against lithium metal anode in the potential window of 0.1 V–2.8 V, demonstrates a high reversible specific capacity. The initial discharge capacity of ~450 mAh g−1 and a corresponding discharge capacity of ~280 mA h g−1is achieved after 40 cycles at a current density of 1.0 A g−1.

ABSTRACT. A novel approach to the synthesis of polyaniline-montmorillonite (PANC) nanocomposites by mechanochemical synthesis in acetone is reported. The nanocomposites were characterized by, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, conductivity measurements and electrochemical supercapacitive properties. A new band at 1032 cm-1 (Si-O) which appeared in PANC indicates the existence of interactions between intercalated polyaniline (PAES) and MMT layers. Formation of PAES inside the montmorillonite (MMT) was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis where the d-spacing is increased from 10 Å (MMT) to 14.71 Å (PANC). Cyclic voltammograms of PANC are similar to those of PAES synthesized mechanochemically under similar conditions. Specific capacitance and other supercapacitive properties are also found to be enhanced in this composite. A simple and cost-effective preparation technique with percolative nature and good capacitive behaviour (384 Fg-1 at 1 Ag-1 current density), Energy density (43.2 WhKg-1 at 1 Ag-1 current density), Power density (1.01 kWKg-1) and 92% coulombic efficiency at 3 Ag-1 Current density, encourages its commercial use as a bio nanocomposite supercapacitor electrode.

ABSTRACT. Principally focusing on structural stability and zero strain property, lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12-LTO) has attracted significant research interest as electrode material for lithium ion battery. Yet the material suffers severe conductivity issues owing to vacant Ti 3d states resulting in poor electrochemical performances particularly at high rates. Moreover, inherently low practical capacity is another restriction. Incorporation of titanium dioxide (TiO2) into LTO is believed to be an effective approach in improving the aforementioned issues wherein TiO2 integration can provide Ti3+ conductive network upon lithiation and improve the electrode capacity. Here we report the results concerning high performance of LTO-TiO2 composite nanoparticles of average 30-35 nm which were identified to have excellent performance at both high and low rates. Upon cycling at 1C rate, the electrode was able to deliver a discharge capacity of 203 mAh/g with retention of 89% at the end of 100 cycles. The electrode exhibited superior cycling stability for 3000 cycles at current density of 2000 mA/g with almost 83% capacity retention. This high energy density, ultra-long cyclability features emerges from the synergistic combination of LTO and TiO2 facilitating rapid electron and lithium transport, demonstrating the potential of replacing LTO with LTO-TiO2 nanoparticles even for commercial applications.

ABSTRACT. The work outlined provides a method to synthesize Pb nanoparticle catalyst as sulfides (PbS) and its subsequent transformation to an active Pb nanoparticle catalyst for electrochemical reduction of CO2. The sulfide route avoids the deterioration due to oxidation or reaction with any atmospheric contaminants. The ease of synthesis and stability of metals sulfide nanoparticles make this route especially attractive. The metal naniparticles (Pb in this case) could be obtained through electrochemical reduction process. The reduced metal nanoparticles thus obtained have similar activity for electrochemical reaction of CO2 as that of the metal in terms of the reduction products in alkaline media. Characterizations as XRD, SEM, EDX and XPS were carried out to analyze the structure, shape, bulk and surface compositions of the catalyst synthesized. Formate production rates were observed at four different potentials viz. -1.6, -1.8, -2.0 and -2.2 V vs Hg/HgO. The production rate was found to be highest with a value of 0.1585 mmol/h at -2.0V (vs Hg/HgO).

ABSTRACT. Abstract: The electrolyte is a key component in determining the performance of Na-ion batteries. A systematic study is conducted to optimize the electrolyte formulation for the Sb2S3@graphene anode, which is synthesized via a facile solvothermal method. The effect of solvent composition and fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) additive on the electrochemical properties of the anode is examined. The propylene carbonate (PC)-based electrolyte with FEC can ensure the formation of a reliable solid-electrolyte interphase layer, resulting in superior charge-discharge performance compared to that found in the ethylene carbonate(EC)/diethyl carbonate (DEC)-based electrolyte. At 60 OC, the carbonate-based electrolyte cannot function properly. At such an elevated temperature, however, the use of an N-Propyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide ionic liquid electrolyte is highly promising, enabling the Sb2S3@graphene electrode to deliver a high reversible capacity of 760 mAh g-1 and retain 95 % of its initial performance after 100 cycles. The present work demonstrates that the electrode sodiation/desodiation properties depend significantly on the electrolyte formulation, which should be optimized for various application demands and operating temperature of batteries.

ABSTRACT. Solar Air Heater (SAH) play a vital role in heating of air using renewable sources of energy. This research work presents a collage of heat transfer analysis in a Flat Plate Solar Air Heater (FPSAH) with and without obstacles. Initially obstacles heat transfer rate were analysis and by adjusting number of fine using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). From this result it is observed that, outlet temperature was maximum and pressure drop was minimum in the case of FPSAH. Same study has to be repeated with/without obstacles. In this connection, design and fabricated the FPSAH experiments with air pump for analysis and optimize the fin’s heat transfer rate and; experimental results are compare with CFD results

ABSTRACT. Spectrally selective absorber coating for concentrated solar thermal (CST) receiver tube application has been developed on economically available stainless steel grade (SS-J4) substrate. The novel composite coating comprises of Zirconia and Silica network to enhance the optical properties, thermal stability, and corrosion resistance. A solar absorptance of 0.91 (αAM1.5; 300–2400 nm) and low spectral emittance of 0.15 (2.5 - 25µm) achieved in the gradient layer matrix. Coating has a superior thermal stability at 400 0C in open air atmosphere with a low value of performance criterion (PC < 0.02), and comparable corrosion resistance, low thermal emissivity characteristic of 0.15 at 400 0C temperature obtained, which are essential for the coating to give significant shelf life time for the receiver tube in CST application.

ABSTRACT. The major problem in the performance of parabolic trough collector is due to heat losses from the receiver tube which is directly dependent on its operating temperature. Glass envelope can be an alternative but the limitation of it use is high persisting cost, maintaining vacuum and broken glass incurred every time. In such conditions, the coating can be used on absorber tube which can help to reduce the losses which are prevailing with increasing operating temperature. In the present study, experimental and theoretical investigations are carried out for the performance of parabolic trough collector by applying a different coating on absorber tube. Black nickel chrome coating and Matte black paint have been studied. Two individual setups were fabricated in order to compare the performance of different cases under the same environment. Firstly, the performance of collector was compared between bare and matte black paint tube. Secondly, the performance was compared to black nickel chrome coating and matte black paint tube. Results shows, the performance of collector was found better when the tube was coated with black nickel chrome coating compared to bare and Matte black paint. In addition, theoretical solar beam radiation was calculated and validated with experimental data.

ABSTRACT. This investigation deals with thermal performance evaluation, techno-economic analysis and quality analysis of dried mushroom flakes in a developed hybrid system using both solar and electrical energy. Hybrid dryers are efficient and economic means of continuous drying of agricultural products which require drying at temperature range of 45-60°C without compromising in the quality of the final product. Heat storage capacity of water is higher than air, so hot water is directly circulated in the drying chamber through a heat exchanger to generate heat inside the drying chamber resulting in substantial saving of electricity. Mushroom is considered for the investigation as they are highly perishable agricultural products having good off seasonal utilization. They are a source of powerful nutrients and a leading source of essential antioxidant which are relished for their characteristic aroma and flavor. Hence, drying is must for proper storage of mushrooms to increase its shelf life. Mushroom flakes were dried within 8 hrs from the moisture content of 82.0% (w.b.) to 10.67% (w.b.). For mushrooms, besides the investigation of the drying times and rates, the product rehydration capacity and quality are also evaluated.

ABSTRACT. The point focusing concentrating solar thermal systems work at a very high temperature. This allows its wider application in heating and power generation. One such example is open volumetric air receiver (OVAR) based CST system. Here the absorbers are exposed to concentrated solar irradiance and are open to atmosphere. Resultantly, dust will deposit on the surface of pores, in the arid deserts like Rajasthan. This will adversely affect the performance of OVAR and may even lead to its failure. To mollify this problem, a cleaning strategy based on cyclone separator is proposed for OVAR. Such an additional sub-system will reduce performance of OVAR due to a higher pressure-drop. This is represented by thermal efficiency that depends on the receiver geometry and its operating conditions. To incorporate the effect of additional pressure-drop due to a cyclone separator a concept of its overall efficiency is introduced. Based on the ratio of overall and thermal efficiency, the operating conditions are suggested for the designed OVAR with a cleaning device. In a nutshell, this paper presents a) a derived correlation for thermal efficiency of OVAR based on the reported experiment and b) an approach to determine an operating condition of OVAR including cyclone separator.

ABSTRACT. Paraboloidal dish collectors are widely used two axis tracking collectors for cooking and allied applications. These collectors operate with 40-70% thermal efficiency for medium temperature applications. Conventionally, the cooking vessel is mounted at the focal point of the paraboloidal dish collector and the cooking vessel itself acts as a receiver. In order to improve the performance of these collectors, various receiver designs have been investigated by many researchers in the past. In the current study, the conical and spiral receivers have been suggested for a paraboloidal dish collector of aperture area 1.5625m2, concentration ratio of 10. The CFD simulation of the receivers with water as a working fluid is carried out using semi-implicit pressure linked model. The receivers’ geometry is created using Solidworks software. The system is installed at Nagpur [21̊ N, 79̊ E]; the experiments have been performed in the month of March and April. The study shows that, for the paraboloidal dish collector, spiral receiver performs better as compared to the conical receiver; with different heat transfer liquids and appropriate thermal storage facilities, the system can be used for indoor cooking applications.

ABSTRACT. In the present investigation a single cylinder, four stroke, water cooled, spark ignition (SI) engine was modified to operate as raw biogas fueled SI engine. The engine was operated at 90% wide open throttle condition and at three deferent compression ratios (CR 8:1 to CR 10:1) over a speed range of 1400 to 1700 rpm. The spark timing of the engine was set to MBT timing. The effect of CRs on the performance, combustion and emission characteristics of the engine were investigated and presented in this paper. It was observed that with increasing CR, the brake torque (BT), brake power (BP) and brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of the engine was increased. The maximum BT, BP and BTE of the engine was found to be 19.96 N-m, 2.92 kW and 28.68%, respectively at CR 10:1. With increasing CR the peak cylinder pressure increased and shifted towards the TDC. The maximum peak cylinder pressure at CR 10 was found to be 23.66 bar. With increasing CR the rate of flame front propagation became faster and was higher at CR 10 for the biogas fueled SI engine. With increasing CR the UHC emission was reduced, whereas the CO and NOx concentration was increased.

ABSTRACT. Glycerol is the principle by-product produced from the production of first-generation biofuels i.e. biodiesel. The large-scale production of biodiesel provides enormous amount of glycerol as a waste and is responsible for its low market value. Hence, lot of glycerol is present in the environment which can be used as a renewable feedstock to produce useful precursors. The conversion of glycerol to a condensation product called solketal was achieved using acidic catalyst derived from agro-waste namely rice husk. The GC obtained for different samples of the reaction at 100 OC for 2 hours in a batch reactor setup confirms the glycerol conversion up to 55%. The yield of solketal was observed to be affected by reaction time i.e. reaction got completed within 120 minutes, after that there was not much difference in the conversion. Thus, this could be an alternative method for transforming glycerol obtained from biodiesel industry to value-added product named solketal which is an effective ingredient as a fuel additive during blending.

ABSTRACT. Biodiesel production is a widely researched area where the publications being made ranges from few hundreds to thousands. But, quest for the attainment of high volumetric and chemical conversion still continues. The attainment of both volumetric yield and chemical conversion is vital in biodiesel production for maximizing the techno-economic benefits. Being volumetric yield and chemical conversion are mutually exclusive; are difficult to achieve without compromising with anyone of these in the conventional production route from high organic gum containing oils. Generally, many vegetable and animal fat derived oils containing high free fatty acids (FFA) are also associated with high organic gums – sticky matter. Therefore, these oils are treated through acid catalyzation to minimise FFA and to remove gums before the glycerides are converted into alkyl esters in base catalysed transesterification. Post acid catalysis, volumetric yield is lost due to these gums carrying oil particles in to by-product in the upper layer during gravity separation. This problem has been successfully addressed in this work by the addition of a strong solvent isopropyl alcohol up to ~8% which helps easy separation of gums and oil. Therefore resulting in higher volumetric yield.

ABSTRACT. Use of appropriate fuel additives is one of the simplest and easiest ways to overcome the deposits problem of an engine operated on straight vegetable oil. However, the atomization of vegetable oil seems to be different than that of diesel fuel because of having different properties. Thus, atomization of straight vegetable oil (SVO) needs to be examined. Ohnesorge jet disintegration classification is most commonly accepted to describe the atomization of water jet break-up in the fluid mechanics. This concept of Ohnesorge classification is used in the present work to study the influence of fuel additives on atomization of SVO in a simple and cost effective way by measuring the physical properties of fuel only. Two commercially available fuel additives for diesel fuel named as ‘A1’ and ‘A2’ and ‘soy-lecithin’ as bio-additive were used with non-edible karanj oil(Pongamia Pinnata) in this study. The Ohnesorge classification showed that an addition of additives moved the point of karanj oil from regime III to IV indicating improvement in the atomization of karanj oil. It is concluded that additive ‘A1’ and ‘soy-lecithin’ were found more effective than additive ‘A2’ in the improvement of atomization of karanj oil as per Ohnesorge classification theory.

ABSTRACT. In this study, a two-step pre-treatment with dilute nitric acid and NaOH was performed efficiently on corncob to obtain cellulosic residue for production of ethanol. Simultaneously, the black liquor generated during delignification as a waste was used for extraction of lignin. Based on the optimized conditions in the laboratory, corncob was pre-treated with 2% HNO3 at 121oC for 15 min. Solid to acid ratio maintained was 1:5. Acid pre-treated solid residue was further delignified with different concentrations of NaOH (0.5, 1 and 1.5% w/v) at 121oC for 15 min. Maximum delignification (80.20%) was obtained with 1.5% NaOH. Simultaneous saccharification fermentation studies were carried out by utilizing the cellulosic solid residue at three different enzyme loadings (9, 15 & 21 FPU g-1 substrate) for different time points 0-96 h by Kluveromyces marxianus at 42oC. 1% NaOH pre-treated solid residue yielded maximum ethanol concentration (33.14 mg mL-1) with 15 FPU g-1 substrate enzyme load and at 87 h. Extracted lignin was purified to remove impurities and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The precipitated lignin has a calorific value of 21.05 MJ kg-1.

ABSTRACT. Biodiesel appears to be one of the most energy efficient, environmental friendly alternatives in the recent edge of technology. The present work deals with the preparation and characterization of Biodiesel from acidic oil, which is a by-product of soybean oil refining process. Biodiesel was extracted using two- step esterification and transesterification process from the raw acidic oil. Blends were prepared (B5, B10, and B20) on volume basis and one blend was prepared containing 2% Antigel Additives (B20+2AA). The biodiesel was characterized by determining its density, viscosity, flash point, fire point, cloud point, pour point, higher heating value and cetane number as per the ISO norms. The density and viscosity of acidic oil Methyl Ester were seen to be 1.09 and 3.61 times higher than the diesel at 40C. There was not much difference in the calorific values and cetane number for all the blends when compared with those of diesel. Reduction in cold flow properties was seen to be -5 to -6 C for cloud point and -15 to -17 C for pour point for the blend containing Antigel Additives. Different models are correlated using regression analysis for various properties and observed a good agreement with the experimental data.

ABSTRACT. Hydrogen as an energy vector will play an increasing role in the future. It can be coupled to renewable energy sources (wind, solar) and is a perfect partner for electricity as it could be produced by it using an electrolyzer or generate electricity from a fuel cell. One of the problems that has to be solved for the full development of a hydrogen economy is the safe and efficient storage of hydrogen. Presently gaseous and liquid storage are the choices solutions but for many applications other means of storage is needed. Metal hydrides are considered to be excellent candidates for hydrogen storage applications because of their high hydrogen volumetric densities (sometimes higher than in liquid hydrogen) and the possibility to absorb and desorb hydrogen with a small change of hydrogen pressure. The scale of applications range from portable systems such as smartphones and laptops up to fuel cell submarines. In this presentation we will discuss about the various means of hydrogen storage, focusing particularly on metal hydrides. We will review the main obstacles that have to be solved for the full implementation of metal hydrides. Some examples of our current research will be presented.

ABSTRACT. Nuclear reactors dynamics deals with the transient behavior of nuclear reactors which mostly refers to time changes of imbalance between heat production and removal. Since the prediction of the dynamic behavior is crucial for safety of a reactor, computational models and methodologies have been developed over the years with the main goal to simulate the complex behaviors of reactors under various conditions with high level of fidelity. One of the challenging areas of reactor dynamics is the stability analysis of Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs), which are complex systems designed to remain very stable under normal operating conditions, but they might be susceptible to instabilities, under very rare and specific conditions, in which diverging power oscillations or even limit cycle oscillations may develop. In this presentation, we explain the problem of instabilities in BWRs along with the motivations behind performing such analysis. In addition, an overview of advanced mathematical theories, employed in the analysis, such as nonlinear dynamics and bifurcation theory is provided along with their role in understanding and explaining the observed complex instabilities. Furthermore, we describe the recently developed and validated stability analysis methodology, relying on best-estimate coupled thermalhydraulic/3-D neutron kinetics code system. Finally, we present some results illustrating the capability of the current methodology to simulate stability events/tests, including even very complex patterns, e.g. out-of-phase power oscillations with rotational symmetry line.

ABSTRACT. This paper describes the testing of commercially available PV inverters under simulated shaded array conditions using a solar array simulator. Shaded array IV curves are generated using algorithms developed and validated at CREST. The IV curves generated for this work are representative of real shading scenarios as described above (Page 1), allowing for the contextual assessment of energy loss in time domain analyses. These tests enable the realistic analysis of inverter losses due to both sub-optimal tracking of shaded IV curves (DC-DC) and the inefficiencies of inversion to alternating current (DC-AC).

ABSTRACT. The operation of photovoltaic (PV) based Distributed Generation (DG) system transition between grid connected and islanding is critical task. The changeover may also affect the system stability and reliability of the PV generation system due to very low inertia of the system. Hence, a suitable mechanism for transition between these modes to operate safely and reliably. The change in voltages and current will occur, which would completely outrage the entire power system as power system is dynamic in nature. Thus, to overcome these transition difficulties, this paper presents the two control strategies. The PV based DG works seamlessly by using these strategies, one is to works on current control mode during grid connected operation which is during normal operation and another is on voltage control mode that is during islanding/isolated operation. The intentional islanding algorithm and re-closure algorithm is presented in this paper.

ABSTRACT. Based on the energy balance of Semi-transparent PV module, an improved analytical expression for solar cell electrical efficiency (η_c) and solar cell temperature (T_c) have been derived. Numerical computations have been carried out for New Delhi climatic condition for all weather conditions. It has been observed that there is an increase of 0.97 % in electrical efficiency of solar cell for New Delhi climatic condition in comparison with the results of previous proposed model.

ABSTRACT. In this paper a control topology has been proposed for efficient power conversion at the DC stage of a solar PV power plant. A 170kWP solar PV array and a suitable dc-dc boost converter have been modeled in MATLAB/Simulink environment. A look up table (LUT) is generated based on practical solar irradiance and ambient temperature profile collected from Solar Radiation Resource Assessment (SRRA). The model is then trained by applying Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The maximum power point tracking (MPPT) applied in this work is a current control based technique. An algorithm is introduced to generate the LUT for solar PV current and power references to track the dynamic Maximum Power Point (MPP). The control of dc-dc boost converter operation is executed by applying Sliding Mode Control (SMC) technique which deals with the dynamics of the circuit. The proposed model performance shows very good tracking accuracy of 97% under varying weather conditions.

ABSTRACT. Liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) is an important future power source. Liquid sodium, which is highly reactive and hazardous, is being used as coolant in these reactors. Thus, it is essential to continuously monitor adequacy fuel pin / fuel subassembly cooling, so that sodium does not reach its boiling point. Due to the compact nature of fuel pin arrangement within the fuel subassembly, with small hydraulic diameter (typically, ~3 mm), development of partial flow blockage in the fuel pin bundle is possible, despite elaborate design provisions and coolant chemistry control. In the safety analysis, a total flow blockage is usually considered as an upper bound of all the partial blockages. The present work investigates the power level at which the liquid sodium reaches its boiling point for different sizes of fuel subassembly. As a part of the research, a porous body based Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model has been developed, wherein the fuel pins and sodium within the blocked subassembly have been considered as heat generating anisotropic porous medium. The results of Suresh et al. [1] have been used to validate the CFD model. For the computational simulations, the commercial CFD code ANSYS FLUENT 15.0, has been adopted.

ABSTRACT. Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) are Natural Uranium fueled and use heavy water as coolant and moderator. The increase in size and power rating of PHWRs make them neutronically loosely coupled. Flux Mapping System (FMS) is present primarily in large Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to provide effective spatial power control. It is even more important in systems where the coolant is in two phase at the exit of the channel. This is so because, the Channel outlet temperature isn’t a representative of the channel power change for a system with boiling and hence the setback on high Channel Outlet Temperature is unavailable. So, power trimming feature of FMS becomes important for safe operation of the reactor and avoiding frequent Regional Over Power trips (ROP).This paper discusses the effectiveness of the Flux Mapping System in spatial power control for large PHWRs which have boiling coolant at exit.

ABSTRACT. 700 MWe Indian PHWR core is an evolved design of 220 and 540 MWe PHWR cores. 220 MWe PHWR core is a small sized, tightly coupled reactor core. 540 MWe PHWR core is a medium sized, loosely coupled reactor core. As reactor core becomes loosely coupled, the reactor regulation and protection philosophy of 540 MWe PHWR is different from 220 MWe PHWR. Extensive neutron monitoring and control system based on in-core SPNDs is a requirement for effective control.700 MWe PHWR core is an up-rated version of 540 MWe core with only difference being the coolant in two-phase condition. The 37 element fuel bundles loaded in 540 MWe core are under-utilized. Thus by using the available margin on bundle power the reactor core fission power is increased to produce 700 MWe by similar core. Allowing 2-3 % quality towards the exit of the coolant channel combined with marginal increase of about 5 % in coolant flow enabled extracting about 25 % more heat energy from core. The slight boiling of coolant and operating with high linear heat rating demand a different philosophy based regulation and protection than 540 MWe core. The design so evolved is robust and offers smooth operation.

ABSTRACT. This work attempts to investigate the effect of In-Vessel loss of coolant accident of First Wall Helium Cooling System, of Lead-Lithium cooled Ceramic Breeder (LLCB) Test Blanket Module (TBM) system for ITER safety. The analysis discusses a number of safety concerns and issues that may result from the TBM component failure, such as VV pressurization, TBM FW temperature profile, passive decay heat removal capability and Suppression Tank (ST) pressure control capability. The analysis shows that in these accident scenarios the critical parameters have reasonable safety margins.

ABSTRACT. This paper describes the extension of CREST’s popular and open-source domestic energy demand model for UK households into one that can also model households in India. The model is based on a representation of individual appliances and their usage, dependent on ‘active occupancy’, meaning the times that people are both at home and awake. The model is well suited to the analysis of low-voltage networks and microgrids, for which its ability to account for demand diversity is of critical importance. Energy consumption in households in India is quite different from that in the UK and a substantial overhaul of the underlying data was required. Several functional extensions are required in order to represent features that are significant in India. The per-household ownership of appliances and lighting fixtures is currently much lower in India than in the UK. The model represents both urban and rural locations, and the expected increase in appliance ownership in India. In India, the model shows that domestic demand profile is currently more heavily dominated by an evening peak of demand, mainly for lighting.

ABSTRACT. India’s electrification paradigm is dominated by the government’s roll-out of the central electricity grid. Despite the strong government push for village grid connections (reaching 100% of villages in Maharashtra, for example), full electrification at the household level has not been achieved, and it is likely that some non-census hamlets will remain unconnected. In addition, the grid’s poor quality and reliability, especially for remote-area consumers, remains a major issue. Although off-grid systems are clearly in the government’s mix of solutions to address India’s energy poverty, they play an under-emphasised role due to political promises and policy settings, both firmly focussed on grid connections. In this setting, this paper investigates the private sector’s role in India’s electrification, revealing a conundrum. On the one hand, there seems to be an opportunity, and need, for the private sector to enter the market, given the grid’s low reliability and the government’s infrastructure-focussed electrification metrics. On the other hand, investigation of document data for Maharashtra and Odisha showed that private sector engagement is limited and operating on the periphery of government paradigms. The private sector faces significant risks, primarily due to government’s lack of a coordinated, integrated policy approach to optimise solutions to India’s energy poverty

ABSTRACT. This study uses the India Human Development Survey and the EORA global multi-regional input output database to generate household Human Development Index (HDI) scores, consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions distributions for India in both 2005 and 2012. Results indicate that, across both deciles and years analyzed, total direct household energy use emissions (including non-commercial biomass but not including direct transport emissions) are surprisingly flat; that indirect emissions represent a rapid growth area for CO2 emissions; and that HDI increases as expected with incomes. Results suggest that addressing pressing welfare issues connected to energy use in India, such as household air pollution from solid fuels, can be aided by an apparent emissions neutral transition to modern energy carriers. However, the wealth creation needed to sustain a modern energy transition appears to be accompanied by growing indirect CO2 emissions. Addressing both of these challenges at the same time requires a coherent strategy that targets energy poverty and wealth creation in the poorest deciles while reducing the emissions intensity of the sectors – notably transportation – of the Indian and global economies supporting increasing household consumption.

ABSTRACT. This study explores the ubiquitous links between human behavior and perception of first generation green buildings in India. It is generally assumed that similar rated green buildings should invoke similar levels of user satisfaction. However, this remains significantly under researched in case of India’s first generation green buildings. The level of user experience and perception is studied through a five-point occupant questionnaire survey across three similar green rated office buildings in India. The case study buildings are located in Delhi-NCR and lie in the same climatic zone. 25 attributes related to user satisfaction are taken into consideration. The questionnaire responses are statistically analyzed using data reduction method of factor analysis to understand the latent variables that effect human experience. The results indicate that there is significant non-uniformity in the user experience and perception. The study suggests that human behavioural aspects should be considered in design process as only physical attributes and environmental factors may not be sufficient to evaluate the performance of a green building. The broader aim of the study is to create higher acceptability of green buildings among the users that would enable across urban sectors.

ABSTRACT. To optimize the wind energy harvesting in the hilly terrain, the wind flow simulation was carried out over two-dimensional hilly ridgelines using a CFD tool namely Ansys Fluent. Eight hill Models with different leeward slopes (Vertical: Horizontal) from 1:1 to 1:8 were created for case studies of wind flow analysis over them. These were analyzed using turbulence k-  model with standard wall function. It was observed under this study that the leeward terrain had high turbulence kinetic energy zone and there was a loss of wind energy. The velocity vectors and velocity contours of wind flow were used to identify separation zones and wind pattern. The occurrence of the backflow for a wind speed 10 m/sec was found on the lee slope having more than a critical slope 1:7. The turbulence effect on wind flow is more near to the ridge top which reduces downward from the hill top. The results were compatibility of observations taken at Banihal top (Jammu and Kashmir) of the Himalayan region. The study is useful for the optimal location of the wind turbine and to understand the wind flow pattern in the hilly region.

ABSTRACT. India has 400 thermal springs owing the potential of generating more than 10600MW of electricity in the form of geothermal energy. Geothermal springs are most clean, reliable and almost CO2 free electricity production thereby mitigating the increasing CO2 concentration in the Indian environment and the electricity scarcity problems in majority of rural areas. In this work, we have considered an alternative for the utilization of unconventional geothermal energy that will be stimulating the energy production through shallower, low subsurface temperature, naturally permeable geothermal resources ultimately reducing the majority of drilling costs in the deployment of geothermal plants and induce seismicity. This system will also use geothermal heat to supplement secondary energy generating source. Hence, such a hybrid approach will also pave the way for the employment of the geothermal energy in most of the Indian regions which are incapable of producing electricity. In our numerical simulations, we analysed power output and energy conversion efficiencies of hybrid system with CO2 based geothermal power plants. The outcomes can be formulated as such system can outperform as stand-alone geothermal and waste heat power plant source.

ABSTRACT. Small wind turbines are often used for decentralized power generation. One of the major issues that have led to limited diffusion of this technology is low wind speed performance. In order to extract more power in low wind regimes, blades of turbine should start generating power at relatively low wind speed termed cut in speed. As lower cut in speed results in more power output, it is necessary to design the blade as light as possible without compromising its structural strength. In this study, a blade of 1.5 m length is chosen for weight minimization. The number of layers and the thickness of layer of the composite material blade are chosen as variables. Finite element simulation is carried out on the blade with layers numbers from 3 to 21. Results suggest that for a design wind speed of 15 m/s, 9 layers; weight reduction of 21.5% and corresponding to 21 layers to withstand at 45 m/s, weight reduction of 8.91% is possible while keeping the tip deflection and flexural strength of turbine blade within the constraints. This requires a laminate thickness reduction from 1.651mm to 1.29 mm for 9 layers and 4.064 mm to 3.669 mm for 21 layers.

ABSTRACT. Hydrokinetic turbines provides power output from kinetic energy of flowing water, which eliminates the use of massive structured dam. One of the best hydrokinetic turbine is horizontal axis, drag force driven, axial flow propeller turbine. The aim of the present work is to explore the performance of axial flow turbine with different duct configurations. In this regard, experimental setup with six vanes, 400 mm impeller diameter is prepared to evaluate performance of different duct segments on performance of axial flow propeller turbine. Experiments are carried out in real life irrigation canal for four different duct configurations, namely (1) Rotor duct only (2) Inlet duct with rotor duct (3) outlet duct and rotor duct (4)Rotor duct with both inlet and outlet duct. The results indicates that, the inlet and outlet duct with rotor duct has the highest potential to provide maximum power output from the turbine, however performance coefficient of outlet duct with rotor duct and both outlet and inlet duct with rotor duct indicates nearly similar coefficient of power.

ABSTRACT. The present work deals with the entropy generation and heat transfer analysis of natural convection in a closed square porous cavity filled with water-Cu nanofluid. The generalized lattice Boltzmann method (based on Brinkman–Forchheimer extended Darcy model) is used to simulate the flow through the porous medium for three different arrangements of thermal boundary conditions at the cavity walls where the vertical walls are maintained at relatively cold temperature compared to the bottom wall and the top wall is thermally insulated. The comparison is carried out with existing published results to lend legitimacy to the findings. Numerical simulations are carried out for the range of Rayleigh number (Ra) 103-105 and Darcy number (Da) 10-1-10-5 with porosity (ε) at 0.5 while varying volume fractions (Φ) of Cu-nanoparticles in water from 0% to 5%. The analysis of heat transfer rate and entropy generation has to be carried out in order to make a judicious choice of boundary condition in terms of energy efficiency. The results indicate that the selection of optimum boundary condition depends on the values of Ra and Da and Φ has a positive impact on the enhancement of heat transfer efficiency.

ABSTRACT. Uniform mass flow rate through each channel of microchannel heat sink is most important aspect for more efficient heat transfer. The present numerical investigation is concentrated on the effect of header design and inlet configuration on flow maldistribution in microchannel (25 channels). Numerical validation has been performed for different header shape (rectangular, triangular and trapezoidal) with different inlet positions (inline inlet and vertical inlet flow). Investigation predicted that flow maldistribution is because of initial jet flow momentum, pressure difference effect and formation of small circulations at inlet of channels. Modification in trapezoidal type of header for better flow uniformity is achieved at dimension (10-4mm) with vertical inlet configuration. Flow non-uniformity factor varies with mass flow rate. Increase in flow rate decreases the maldistribution.

ABSTRACT. A novel multi-utility, medium temperature, seasonally tracked, concentrated solar technology based collector with absorber integrated heat storage is developed and tested in Heat Pump Laboratory at IIT Bombay. This solar collector can be used for different applications such as water heating, steam generation, cooking and liquid desiccant regeneration. Theoretical and experimental performance of the novel solar thermal collector as a one through water heater is presented in this paper. Theoretical analysis of the evacuated glass based solar collector shown the optical efficiency to be 62%. The five solar collector panels, 1.42 m2 each, were connected in series and were used for once through water heating. Water was heated from 30oC to above 95.4oC. Weighted average efficiency of 55+-1.7% was recorded over 6 h periods, for average global insolation of 800 W/m2 and ambient temperature of about 30oC. Absorber integrated heat storage enabled generation of hot water even after sunset. The solar thermal collectors have already been deployed for solar cooking and will be used for regeneration of liquid desiccant in a solar air conditioning system in near future.

ABSTRACT. Energy efficiency and conservation are gaining attention due to greenhouse gas emissions and scarcity of fossil fuels. Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) offers significant advantages compared to the conventional steam Rankine cycle in low-grade heat recovery. In this paper, an experimental study of micro-scale ORC, using scroll compressor converted expander, for low-temperature heat source has been presented. Due to unavailability of the local manufactures and cost-effectiveness, the penetration of micro-scale ORC is limited into the market. The proposed system can utilize low-grade heat economically in the countries like India. The experimental results show that the isentropic efficiency of the expander and thermal efficiency of the cycle are in a range of 60-73% and 2.5-4.8%. Increase in heat source temperature has positive impact on the isentropic efficiency of the expander and thermal efficiency of the cycle. The calculated value of the levelized cost of energy for the proposed system is 0.079 USD/kWh, which is 37% lower compared to the supply cost of unit electricity for industrial sector in India. The proposed system, with a gross capacity of about 1.03 kWe, reduces the emissions of combined NOx and HC, CO, and PM of about 28.1 kg/y, 24.6 kg/y, and 1.4 kg/y, respectively.

ABSTRACT. The enthalpy of formation of metal hydrides is estimated by van't Hoff equation. Pressure Concentration Isotherms (PCIs) at different temperatures are used to obtain van't Hoff plot. Enthalpy of formation is an important input in simulation and performance estimation of metal hydride based engineering devices. The absolute error in the measurement of enthalpy of formation depends upon the relative error of PCI measurements. The error in the estimation of this quantity depends upon the number of temperature points used for obtaining van't Hoff plot and temperature range and size of the range. In the present study PCIs of MmNi3.5Co0.8Al0.7 hydride were measured in the temperature range of 20 to 240°C. The effect of number of temperature points, temperature range and size of the range on the estimation of enthalpy of formation is studied. The effect of the temperature range and size of the range is found to be more sensitive in the estimation of enthalpy of formation.

ABSTRACT. Metal organic frameworks (MOF’s) have the potential as hydrogen storage materials due to large surface areas and presence of binding sites. To further enhance H2 storage capacities of MOF’s, crown ethers have been incorporated to improve the interaction energies between the framework and binding molecules (H2). Therefore, the present study deals with the structure and energetic of complexes of H2 with crown ethers (dibenzo-12-crown-4 and dibenzo-18crown-6) and alkali metal ion decorated crown ethers at the DFT level of theory. The binding energy of H2 with only crown ethers was shown to be positive and thus not suitable for adsorption. But, after decoration with metal namely, Li and K , the binding energy of H2 was seen to be negative indicating feasibility for H2 adsorption. Increase in binding energy indicates an increase in stability of the complex and as such catenated crown ethers have a much improved hydrogen storage capacity allowing them to hold more molecules of hydrogen. Also the binding energies are greater for Li+ systems compared to K+ systems thus showing it as a better catenating agent than the latter. The present computational results thus suggest that Li+ -DB18C6 might be incorporated within MOF to enhance hydrogen storage capacity.

ABSTRACT. Hydrogen is the most important candidate for a future energy source in the automobile industry. Metal-organic framework (MOF) with the inorganic BN linker namely Metal-borazocine framework (MBF) is studied for hydrogen energy storage material. BN linker, namely, borazocine (B4N4H8) is decorated with metals, M (Sc, Li), and studied the stability and storage capacity of the resulting framework. Using density functional theory and MD simulations, structural stability, hydrogen sorption kinetics of Sc and Li decorated MBF have been examined. Each Sc and Li physisorbed 4 and 3 H2 molecules, respectively in MBF. BN ring binds strongly with the metals by Dewar coordination while each metal adsorbs H2 molecules by Kubas-Niu interaction. The calculated adsorption and desorption energy of H2 molecules make metal decorated MBF is an ideal hydrogen storage material at ambient conditions. H2 storage capacity is found to be wt % 7.8 for Sc and 9.0 in Sc and Li decorated MBF, respectively. Sc decorated MBF is better than metal-decorated MOFs with respect to higher H2 wt %, stability, and reversibility.

ABSTRACT. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) are one of the primary pollutants from diesel engine emission. There are different types of control technologies exist for its control but each technique has advantages and disadvantages. At present, there is no single optimal technique that can control NOx without other side effects. Technologies available for NOx reductions either cause fuel penalty or increase other polluting emissions in terms of particulate matter. Exhaust Gas Recirculation is an effective technique in controlling oxides of nitrogen in diesel engines. In present paper NOx is reduced by Proportional EGR technique. Number of consistency trials was performed to achieve the required percentage of NOx margin. But due to effect of EGR it adversely affects the percentage value particulate matter to overcome this problem exhaust after treatment such as partial oxidation catalyst is used. With this proper hardware selection and experimental results NOx margin is improved by 10 % and PM by 23%.

ABSTRACT. Availability of pungamia oil seeds in Tamilnadu and other regions of our country have made us think about pungamia oil as an Alternative for diesel fuel. At preliminary the seeds are collected, smashed and oil is extracted. Then oil is filtered and transesterified to reduce the viscosity. In this process raw oil is converted into bio diesel. The properties such as viscosity, density, flash and fire point, cloud and pour point were found. The experimental results proved that bio diesel produced from pungamia oil is very close to the diesel properties. A single cylinder, water cooled, high speed direct injection diesel engine was used for this experiments. AVL 444 Digas analyzer and AVL 437 standard smoke meter is used to measure the CO, HC, CO2, O2, NOX and Smoke opacity. Experimental investigations have been carried out to examine performance and emissions of different blends of bio diesel. A series of exhaustive engine test were carried out using 15% EGR rate and different concentration of bio diesel. The experimental result was proved that 20% bio diesel blend with 15% EGR is found to be optimum concentration gives better thermal efficiency, reduces the exhaust emissions.

ABSTRACT. The heat transfer characteristics along with pressure drop inside a rectangular channel embedded with pin fins are numerically and experimentally investigated. The geometry of the problem and meshing of it have been made in ANSYS Workbench. The models have been solved by ANSYS Fluent 17 solver to find the optimum pin fin shape based on maximizing the heat transfer. Several differently geometrical shaped pin fins (i.e. circular, square threaded cylindrical, and helix grooved cylindrical) with the identical cross sectional areas are compared in staggered arrangement. An adiabatic thermal condition is applied to the side walls of rectangular channel and a constant heat flux 3200 watt/m2 condition applied to the heated aluminum base plate. Air is used as the working fluid. The experimental review shows that the modifications with square threaded and helix grooved geometries produces blockage to fluid flow which increases turbulence within a channel and lead to heat transfer enhancement and pressure drop by increasing thermal efficiency. In terms of specific performance parameters and heat transfer, the square threaded cylindrical shaped pin fin is a promising alternative configuration to conventional geometrical shape pin fins.

ABSTRACT. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanostructures composed of nanorods and nanoparticles (NRs/NPs) were successfully prepared via one-step hydrothermal method. Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has been fabricated using prepared NRs/NPs. The influence of NRs/NPs in the fabricated device has been tested under the illumination of 1 sun and the performance was compared with commercial AEROXIDE@ TiO2 P25 nanoparticles. A high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9 % has been found with NRs/NPs employed solar cell. In addition, stable DSSC has been fabricated with a sealed configuration and its performance was evaluated by subjecting the device to the irradiance of 100 mW/cm2. The sealed device was monitored frequently with 500 hr of the interval. Up to 2500 hr, no significant drop has been observed in the J-V characteristics.

ABSTRACT. Improvements and application of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT) as a power source has been a field of interest for many years now. Many previous studies have indicated that the wind energy in highways due to fast moving vehicles has considerable potential but is still untapped. In this case unlike a natural wind source wherein the wind strikes in a single direction, bidirectional wind flow is observed in an highway. In this paper we find the optimum design of a blade for a VAWT for the applications involving bidirectional wind flow. The effect of varying thickness and blade profile on the performance of VAWT is studied by Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations using Ansys Fluent. Results indicate that curved blades of 2mm thickness have the highest performance owing to its quick development of high angular velocity. The pressure and stress profile of flat and curved blades were also studied. It is found that the stress levels for the 2mm curved stainless steel blades are well within the permissible limits.

ABSTRACT. Utilization of hydrogen as a fuel in a compression ignition engine (CI Engine) under dual fuel mode could reduce all carbon based emissions however it emits high content of NOx due to high localized in-cylinder temperatures formed during combustion. The present study is aimed at analysis of effect of localized in-cylinder temperature and pressure using theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. The simulation results are in-line with the experimental results with the error band of 13-18%. It is well established from the study that precooling and preheating the cylinder contents leads to decrease and increase in in-cylinder temperature and pressure respectively. The distribution of in-cylinder temperature for different cases are compared and studied.

ABSTRACT. Bismuth sulphide is a promising n-type semiconductor for solar energy conversion. In this work, we have successfully synthesized bismuth sulfide nanoparticles (Bi2S3 NPs) from a single-source precursor complex [Bi(ACDA)3] [HACDA=2-aminocyclopentene-1-dithiocarboxylic acid] through simple solvothermal decomposition method. The as-synthesized particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV−Vis spectroscopy. The prepared material exhibits a high absorbance coefficient, a low band gap and good disparity.Thus prepared Bi2S3 material provides a new candidate for the fabrication of environmentally friendly and low-cost inorganic hybrid solar cells.

ABSTRACT. In the current study, Nickel Oxide(NiO) nanoparticles have been synthesized via sucrose derived carbon sphere as soft template derived from the Hydrothermal treatment of sucrose. The size of the carbon sphere template is around 2-4µm and the derived NiO varied in size between 40-100nm. The derived NiO coated CNF has been used to coat glass fibre separator which works by effectively blocking and activating the lithium polysulfides thus resulting in high capacity as well as high columbic efficiency. The modified NiO/CNF employed cells provided a reversible capacity of 461.11mAh g-1 along with high columbic efficiency of 92% at the end of 50 cycles. The cells also displayed high reversible capacities of 1105.74mAh/gm, 800mAh/gm, 603.92mAh/gm, 415.49mAh/gm and 742.9 mAh g-1 at the end of 0.05C, 0.2C, 0.5C, 1C and 0.05C respectively. The modified separator with its electrostatic interactions of lithium polysulfides with functional groups of CMC binder and electronegative part of NiO nanoparticles combined with the high surface area of carbon nanofibers provide a promising design for developing high energy Lithium Sulfur batteries.

ABSTRACT. Sodium ion battery is most alternative advanced technology for portable electronics devices. In our present study, we are dealing with a suitable cathode material for sodium ion battery which can deliver high capacity as well as good stable cyclic performance. We prepared sodium vanadium phosphate (Na3V2(PO4)3) by the simple solvothermal process. The as prepared electrode is characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope (FEG-SEM). The cathode material gives very high reversible discharge capacity of 123 mAh/g at current rate C/6 and has a very good stable cyclic performance. After 50 cycles, we achieved a discharge capacity of 115 mAh/g with same current rate, almost 94% capacity retention.

ABSTRACT. Mandatory labelling and periodic revision of efficiency standards have improved the energy efficiency of room air conditioners in India. The impact of standards on the incremental price of efficiency is not well understood due to fragmented data on retail price and energy efficiency. In this study, the incremental price of efficiency for room air conditioners in India is estimated before and after strengthening of efficiency standards. The results show that there has been a decline in the incremental price of efficiency in 2016-17 as compared to 2012-13 despite strengthening of efficiency standards in 2014.

ABSTRACT. Noble metal catalysts are mostly used for electrochemical hydrogen evolution making the process cost ineffective. Ag nanoparticle decorated in mixed phase TiO2 was synthesized by sol-gel method for electrochemical hydrogen evaluation. The synthesized nano-composite was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy analysis. XRD spectra reveals the formation of mixed phase of anatase and rutile structure of TiO2. Raman spectroscopy analysis also confirms the presence of anatase and rutile TiO2. Electrochemical study shows the catalytic activity of the nano-compositeAg-TiO2 for hydrogen evolution reaction.

ABSTRACT. In the present scenario energy sectors and individual entrepreneurs can opt a new way of power generation using the most abundantly available renewable source of energy in the form of biomass wastes. Among the biomass resources coconuts are the abundant renewable resource of energy available all around the world. Literature review showed that limited research studies had been carried out on yielding the product from coconut shell pyrolysis. The Novelty of present work is to envisage the methodology of generating power by pyrolysis to obtain a high-grade of pyrolytic liquid that potentially could be used as a fuel or as feedstock to valuable chemicals. Pyrolysis is a thermal decomposition technique which decomposes carbonaceous bio wastes into liquids, gases, and char (solid residue) in the absence of oxygen.

ABSTRACT. The thermal performance of a solar air heater is low mainly because of the lower heat transfer coefficient between absorber plate and the flowing air which results in low thermal efficiency. In this paper, effort has been given to increase the net heat output of the solar air heater by providing triangular fins. Numerical investigation has been carried out to investigate the heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics for a fully developed turbulent flow through triangular fin based solar air heater. The finite volume CFD analysis code ANSYS FLUENT 17.1 is used to simulate the turbulent flow governing equations. The effect of varying Reynolds number and fin height (h) on dimensionless performance parameters of the solar air heater has been observed and compared with other research works. Seven different design configurations (h=0.93845 mm-16.104 mm) have been considered. Mass flow rate ranging from 0.001 kg/s to 0.011 kg/s has been considered for investigation. Renormalization group (RNG) k-ε turbulence model was found to have good agreement and accordingly this model was used for further analysis.

ABSTRACT. A class of quasi Switched Boost Inverter (qSBI) topologies is developed for low power Renewable Energy Source (RES) applications. This paper analyzes a qSBI topology which is capable of boosting and inverting the available dc voltage in a single stage. The operating modes, steady state analysis and PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control of three phase embedded type qSBI are discussed in detail in this work. The three phase qSBI supplying, 100W RL-Load is designed and simulated with MATLAB/Simulink software tool. The Fast Fourier Transform analysis (FFT) of output voltage waveform is carried out and the harmonic profile is presented. The simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of single stage qSBI topology.

ABSTRACT. One pot reduction of Pd anchored on MoS2/ Reduced Graphene Oxide (RGO) as cocatalyst has been demonstrated. The resulting RGO/MoS2–Pd nanocomposite exhibits superior catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction as compared to MoS2, RGO/MoS2, and MoS2-Pd.

ABSTRACT. It is must to have efficient and reliable thermal energy storage for solar applications due to its irregular nature. Thermal energy storage units with Phase Change Materials (PCMs) as a Latent Heat Storage (LHS) material have received greater attention in recent years due to its larger heat storage capacity and isothermal nature. Many researchers mainly focused on the suitability of various PCMs for LHS systems. However, very limited research has been observed on a stability of PCMs after a number of thermal cycles. In this work, Solar Water Heating System (SWHS) were selected as LHS system. Three samples of PCMs namely Myristic acid, Paraffin wax and Stearic acid were selected which is suitable for SWHS. 600 continuous thermal cycle tests have been carried out to see the variations in latent heat of fusion and melting temperature. Results shows very slight variation in melting temperature for all PCMs, while latent heat of fusion falls reasonably. For the latent heat of fusion percentage variation from initial value is greater in case of paraffin wax of about -3.91% while for stearic acid it is -2.96%. So stearic acid can be considered as a capable PCM for the SWHS at least for two years.

ABSTRACT. Solar power plants are expected to play a significant role in India’s power sector. The country plans a large capacity addition of 100 GW by 2022. However, in standalone mode, solar power plants are not able to deliver consistent power supply, as per the demand requirement, to the distribution sector. This is mainly due to the nature of intermittency associated with solar. Hybridization of renewable energy resources for power generation would help in solving this issue to a large extent. Biomass, one of the RE resources is a potential candidate for hybridization. Considering the technology maturity and economics, the present study looks into solar and biomass hybrid systems for power generation and is restricted to decentralized applications. Photovoltaic based solar system has been considered for hybridizing with biomass. A detailed case study has been presented for a 5 MW solar photovoltaic and biomass hybrid system in the present paper. The results show that PV-biomass is a viable system and more importantly provides stable power to the grid during the day time without any battery support. Further, biomass plant can be utilized to operate the plant beyond solar hours depending on the power demand and biomass availability.

ABSTRACT. Approximately 30% of heat produced by the combustion process in a diesel engine is sent out as waste to the atmosphere in the form of exhaust gas. A proper waste heat recovery system(WHRS) can be installed, so that a considerable amount of heat energy can be saved and reused for other suitable applications.To analyze the performance of thermal energy storage using PCM based compact shell and tube heat exchangerexperiments are carried in the present paper and Paraffin RT 35 has been selected as the PCM, exhaust gas from the engine as hot fluid in tube side and water as cold fluid in shell side. The phase change in the shell-and-tube model was dominated by the effect of convective heat transfer. It is found that 0.35 kW of heat energy is saved at full load condition; it is nearly 7% of fuel power is stored as heat in the storage system, and the water can be utilized for suitable applications which are available reasonably at higher temperature.

ABSTRACT. Energy and exergy analysis of the triangular finned solar air heater has been investigated analytically in the present work. The flow channel is formed by positioning the triangular fin below the absorber plate. For the purpose of comparison, analytical results are compared with computational results using MATLAB R2016a. The effects of mass flow rate, fin spacing and solar radiation on thermal and exergy efficiency have been presented and the results are compared with the results produced when using the plain solar air heater. It has been found that depending on air flow rate, the thermal efficiency of the finned solar air heater is 13.73-19.12% more efficient than simple solar air heater. The appropriate value of mass flow rate to yield the maximum value of energy and exergy efficiency is found to be 0.11kg/s and 0.01kg/s respectively.

ABSTRACT. Lignite is the world’s most abundant fossil fuel and one of the major indigenous sources of energy in India. This resource is characterized by low calorific value, high volatile matter, high moisture and low ash contents. Inspite of the huge availability of this lignite, its use is still in the nascent stage. In order to reduce the amount of fuel import and utilize India’s resources in an eco friendly way circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) turns out to be the one of the best technologies for power generation. A significant number of studies are available on mathematical modeling of CFBC in open literature. However, a comprehensive model that considers combustion of low quality coals such as lignite and its validation against measurements is not available much to date for particularly Indian lignite. The present study provides the design and performance evaluation of 210 MW CFB boiler for Indian lignite as a part of effort to utilize with available data. The present work focuses a numerical investigation of design of CFB boiler which contains solid circulation loop. This work also investigates the heat duty of boiler elements, surface area calculations and hydrodynamic parameters for 210 MW CFB boiler using Indian Lignite.

ABSTRACT. The present work investigated the effect of three nanofluid additives in pure neem biodiesel (PNB) - eucalyptus oil (EO)-Water (W)-Surfactant(S) emulsion fuel samples in diesel engine to study performance and emissions parameter. Fuel samples was prepared using 79% PNB +15%EO+4%W+2%S and dosing 60 mg ZO, CEO and CNT nano particles separately using magnetic stirrer followed by ultrasonication. The fuel properties like calorific value, flash point density and cetane number was tested for all samples. Experimental results shown reduction in NOx, CO HC and Smoke opacity emission with addition of nanofluid additives. Brake thermal efficiency was enhanced using nano fluid additives and slight reduction of fuel consumption was obtained. However, CO2 was increased which can be compensated by planting neem trees for production of biodiesel feedstock

ABSTRACT. In this article, performance of four two stage CO2 refrigeration configurations are analysed and compared with that of single stage cycle. These include two stage cycles incorporating compressor intercooling (IC), flash gas bypass (FGB), flash gas intercooling with flash gas removal (FGI) and parallel compression (PC). Annual hourly averaged temperature variation at four well known cities across the world are taken as case study. Actual behaviour of compressors and their effect on the cycle performance are mapped by adopting isentropic efficiency relations using dedicated software. PC followed by FGB, FGI and IC are found to be better solution over and above BC for the warm climatic conditions. While FGI followed by FGB and IC are found to be better solution for the cold climatic conditions. Annual energy savings for PC configuration is found maximum and the same is found to be 22.16%, 15.2%, 20.06% and 16.8% when operated in New Delhi, Seville, Phoenix and Teheran respectively

ABSTRACT. Energy efficient building design measures can reduce the building energy consumption significantly. In the warm and humid climatic zone, energy consumption for maintaining the thermal comfort level is the major contributor to the building energy consumption. This study attempts to explore the energy consumption reduction potential of energy efficient building design measures by varying combinations of the different building envelope, window to wall ratio, orientations and system components of building energy system. The objective of simulation study is to assess the potential energy saving and emission reduction of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) if applied to a residential building operating in a mixed mode in the context of Urban Redevelopment Schemes in Mumbai. 12.24% reduction in energy consumption can be achieved by adopting ECBC compliant energy efficient building envelope design. Further reduction of 16.61% can be achieved by selection of appropriate Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning system, optimization of daylight and occupancy load using control systems, use of higher efficiency appliances and reducing operating hours. The results show substantial energy savings and the need for future residential building under redevelopment to be brought under the purview of ECBC if our environmental goals of 2030 are to be achieved.

ABSTRACT. India has proposed Lead-Lithium cooled Ceramic Breeder (LLCB) Test Blanket Module (TBM) concept for testing in ITER. The First Wall of TBM (TBM FW) directly faces the plasma and is cooled by First Wall Helium Cooling System (FWHCS), it is considered as a critical component from ITER safety point of view. The scope of this work comprises of thermal hydraulic analysis of the Indian LLCB Test Blanket System (TBS) and the assessment of In-Vacuum Vessel (VV) Loss of Coolant Accident (In-Vessel LOCA) and Loss of Flow Accident (LOFA) in FWHCS on the ITER safety with the help of thermal-hydraulic code RELAP/SCDAPSIM/MOD4.0.

ABSTRACT. An era of primary energy demand and utilization are increasing in the world for the application of thermal comfort. It imposes a demand for air conditioning mainly in hot and humid climate. A promising low-grade energy has a potential to alleviate using fossil fuels. In absorption system, humidity is absorbed directly from the process air. The Absorbent is regenerated at a relatively low temperature heat sources by the novelty of Marquise Shaped Channel Flat Plate Solar Collector. The experimental setup using solar energy for regeneration of diluted CaCl2 due to process air is used. The desiccant regeneration is higher for the first one hour and then it is stable. Also, the desiccants temperature into PHE is also increasing for the first one hour and then almost stable. RH% leaving the dehumidifier is lower as compared to entering but lower RH% reduction is observed due to lower RH% in ambient air.

ABSTRACT. In present research, investigation on power consumption has been carried out. Flow forming is rotary contact deformation process which is normally used to fabricate seamless tubes for defence and aerospace sectors. In this process, deformable workpiece is placed on the rigid mandrel and rotating roller(s) are deforming it under contact zone. There are normally two methods used during production i.e. forward and reverse/backward. In the forward method, the roller feed and deformation direction are same. Whereas, in reverse method, the roller feed and deformation direction are opposite. It is desirable to evaluate net power consumption during the process to establish energy efficient production environment. With this aim, power consumption has been investigated considering design of experiment (DOE) technique to reduce number of experiments. Three levels of operating parameters (speed, feed and reduction) and two levels of roller (shape) parameters (roller attack angle and nose radius) have been considered. An experimental setup has been developed for online power measurement and monitoring. Further, the numerical analysis has been done using ABAQUS/Explicit in order to validate experimental results. It was observed that speed and feed are the major factors influencing the power consumption and experimental and numerical results were found in close conformity.

ABSTRACT. At present days power electronic technology is placing main role to improve power quality in distribution systems. Apart from this Pulse Width Modulation Technique (PWM) controller is used in the inverter because of the current harmonics voltage is become constant, Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) with in the range is maintained. To improve quality of power in distribution systems compensation device that is nothing but such as distribution (D) static (STAT) compensator (COM) is used. Which gives less THD, improved voltage profiles results efficiency and reliability is improved. In this paper the voltage of DC link is maintained constant, and total harmonic distortion is improved using a new mamdani fuzzy logic with triangular based PI control technique. Such a way that KP and Kd values are tuned by fuzzy logic it is very helpful to maintain converter side capacitor voltage. A MATLAB and simulation diagram models are to be designed. Here nonlinear load is developed then we get great performance than compared with other conventional method that is best voltage regulation, time taking to clear the problem is very less.

ABSTRACT. Wind energy system has advantages over the thermal system due to pollution free, environment friendly and low cost power generation etc. The elevation of the Northeast India is less than 2000 m which is in the range of the wind power generation. The efficient system design as well as controller design becomes important area of the research and development to the scientist to generate quality power. In India pitch angle control and yaw control technique are mostly employed for the wind turbine system. In the present work hydraulically actuated wind turbine pitch control system has been considered for the simulation study. The aerodynamics load has been estimated by the BEM theory. The model free fuzzy-tuned PID controller has been used for the simulation in the Matlab Simulink. The control performance has been studied for the various pitch angle demand under the consideration of the variation of the wind speed.

ABSTRACT. A primary concern in dealing with renewable resources is its non-probabilistic nature. The greatest challenge in hand is to understand the complexity of energy storage, and to store the excess energy during off-peak conditions, favoring its re-use. A handful of literatures have documented the scope and benefits of using thermal energy storage (latent heat), which focuses on the use of phase change materials (PCM) as a reliable and economic mode of energy repository. In this paper, an experimental analysis centered on a counter flow double-pass solar air heater (SAH) system has been carried out. A macro (rectangular) encapsulation has been provided and is filled with paraffin wax (58~62C) up to 75% of its volume, which acts as the energy storage medium. The objectives of the analysis were to extend the operational capability and to improve the reliability of SAH system with the aid of phase change materials. A comparison of the performance of SAH system with and without macro encapsulated PCM were also conducted. The analysis showed that higher the flow rate (0.06kg/s,) higher was the efficiency (86%). Incorporation of energy storage medium has extended the duration of operation by 3 hours and thereby improved the efficiency of the system.

ABSTRACT. Photovoltaic (PV) generation systems have reported many problems with the Illumination Transition Conditions (ITCs) that can impact the maximum power generation capability and causes mismatch losses. The key objective of this research article is to model Series (S), Serial-Parallel (S-P) and Total-Cross-Tied (T-C-T) PV array configurations to extract the maximum power and to mitigate the mismatch losses by employing bypass and blocking diodes; to analyze the output characteristics and the performance of PV array configurations under different ITCs. This will provide the choice to choose the best PV array configuration to the design of grid connected and stand-alone PV systems. The 5X5 PV array is used to analyze output characteristics and to compare the performance these configurations under different ITCs. The parameters of the KYOCERA-KC200GT PV module are used for modeling and simulation of PV array configurations in MATLAB/SIMULINK software.

ABSTRACT. A conducting polymer polyaniline (PANI) carbon-based materials are mostly used as support materials in next generation of energy conversion and storage devices. PANI has an excellent thermal, electrical, mechanical, optical properties so that it offers high conductivity, activity, controllable morphologies and high dispersive ability. Therefore, improved electrochemical surface area, catalytic activity and high capacitance of polyaniline. Nanostructured PANI has been synthesized by simple interfacial polymerization using chemical oxidation route. The present work examined that, continuous flow synthesis of polyaniline from aniline and ammonium persulfate (APS) as an oxidizing agent. The structured and morphology of polyaniline were characterized by Particle size distribution (PSD), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM). The prepared polyaniline based material by continuous flow microreactor on the comparison with the conventional based method.

ABSTRACT. Simultaneous use of more than one type of renewable energy source known as Renewable Hybrid Energy System (RHES) is becoming limelight these days. Due the presence of multiple sources of energy in RHES, the overall timely availability of energy production increases. However, the optimum sizing of the RHES is very important for a cost effective energy supply and over all reliability. This paper gives an account of a basic model for optimization of RHES, its economics and summarizes the initial evaluation.

ABSTRACT. Abstract: Although single basin solar distillation (SD) has been extensively studied for desalination, it has been recently explored for enhancing the rate of desalination by integrating it with other technologies. The current work focuses on developing an integrated technology consisting of flocculation and solar distillation as a cost and energy effective alternative to existing technologies for sea water desalination. Experimental studies were carried out using a solar distillation set-up (SD), flocculation-SD set-up and membrane distillation- SD (MD-SD) set-up at varying parameters namely, radiation, distillate volume, temperature variation, total dissolved solids removal (%), variation in pH and global efficiency (%) for a month duration. Results suggested a higher change in latent heat of vaporization in case of Floc-SD and MD-SD which enhanced the process efficiency. This was also in accordance with the temperature values obtained at the water/vapour interphase. A higher variation in pH was noted in case SD set-up whereas the variation was less in case of Floc-SD set up which was attributed to the maintenance of dissolved oxygen in the latter case. Based on the results, it could be inferred that Floc-SD was as effective as MD-SD in terms of desalination and allied pollutant remediation.

ABSTRACT. In the present investigation influence of Injection Timing (IT), Injection Pressure (IP) and compression ratio (CR) on the performance and emissions of a single cylinder,four stroke diesel engine was studied using biodiesel from Waste Fried Oil blended with diesel. All together 36 tests were conducted by varying CR at four levels (16, 17, 18 and 19), IP at three levels (200 bar, 225 bar and 250 bar) and IT at three levels (24o CA BTDC, 27o CA BTDC and 30o CA BTDC). All tests were conducted for fuel blend of B40. Artificial Neural Networks(ANN) was used to predict the engine performance and emission characteristics of the engine. To train the network, CR, IP and IT, were used as the input parameters whereas engine performance parameters like Brake Thermal Efficiency , Brake Specific Energy Consumption , Exhaust Gas Temperature were used as the output parameters for the performance model and smoke opacity for the emission model. ANN results showed that there is a good correlation between the ANN predicted values and the experimental values for various engine performance parameters and smoke emission characteristics and the relative mean error values (MRE) were within 8%, which is acceptable.

ABSTRACT. Some of the highest solar insolation regions of the world are in the arid and semi-arid zones. These zones have seen large scale deployment of solar power plants during the previous decade. Data quality analysis of solar radiation information from various sources is significant in this context. Semi-arid zones have large number of clear sky days per year but are also subjected to other micro-climactic events. All the three components of solar radiation change during these events. The gaps in the solar radiation data sets need to be filled appropriately to obtain a continuous time series that can be used for solar resource assessment and forecasting. A review of the gap filling techniques and their application to a semi-arid zone solar radiation data set are presented in this work. Further, it is pointed out that various cloud conditions need to be considered while gap filling for a better assessment of bankability of a solar power project.

ABSTRACT. Thermochemical energy storage (specifically salt hydrates) is one of the unconventional thermal energy storage (TES) methods that can mitigate the environmental impacts by facilitating clean and efficient storing of thermal energy. The process involved is based on a reversible chemical reaction, during which energy is either absorbed or released by breaking or reforming chemical bonds. On heating to a threshold temperature, salt hydrates dissociate into a lower hydrate or an anhydrate and evolve water vapor. The chemical energy used for the process of dissociation gets stored in the lower hydrate or anhydrate in the form of internal energy. Salt hydrates are a tempting material for their use in TES system because of their high volumetric heat storage capacity, moderate reaction temperature, availability and low cost. In this paper, a macroscopic model of decomposition of salt hydrate has been presented by taking into account solid state chemical kinetics, thermodynamics, and associated transport phenomenon. Equations of chemical rate, mass, and energy have been coupled within a single domain continuum formulation and have been solved numerically for the process of conduction. The model predicts temperature and concentrations of all species as the thermochemical dissociation reaction takes place.

ABSTRACT. Bangladesh, the 8th most populous country in the world, is facing an acute problem in managing the energy demand. Its gas reserve, on which it has been dependent for years, is depleting. However, the energy demand will keep on increasing as Bangladesh has already set the goals to become a higher middle income country by the year 2021 and a high income country by 2041, with per capita electricity consumption of 600 kWh and 1500 kWh, respectively. Although the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Bangladesh are quite low (0.37 tCO2 /capita/ year), Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change. According to the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) submitted by Bangladesh, it is committed to reduce GHG emissions by 5% (with respect to the base year 2011) from Business-as-Usual levels by 2030. However it is planning to have 35% coal-based electricity generation by 2041, resulting in 400% increase in GHG emission from power sector alone. In such context, this study examines the current energy plans in Bangladesh (Power Sector Master Plan i.e. PSMP 2016) and proposes an alternative energy mix for the next couple of decades.

ABSTRACT. In this study we have synthesized copper incorporated silver indium sulfide nanocrystals with a unique method (hot injection method) to improve the photovoltaic performance of the base material i.e. AgInS2 ternary semiconductor nanocrystals. Incorporation of copper has been confirmed by a new peak in the XRD pattern and also by clear dark spots found in the TEM images of the hybrid nanomaterial. Also incorporation of copper induces red shift of the electronic spectra which facilitates the absorption of visible light. Experimental results indicate a ninefold enhancement of the solar efficiency of the copper incorporated nanomaterial compared to that of the pure hybrid nanomaterial. Photocurrent sensitivity and stability have also been examined by chronoamperometric measurements within a wide time range. Nyquist plots reveal the decrease in the resistance (Rct and Rs) values and increase in the charge carrier densities which indicate that incorporation of metal into the semiconductor helps to migrate the electrons of the semiconductor through the metal towards electrolyte thus resulting in the improvement of its photovoltaic performances.

ABSTRACT. Renewable energy generation has gained much more importance in India than ever before. Photovoltaic (PV) based electricity generation shares a major portion of renewable energy generation in India. PV based electricity generation requires land of about 2 ha per MW of installation. Since both food and energy are required for human civilization to progress, here a concept of integrating PV based electricity generation and crop production from a single land unit is designed and developed, which is known as agri-voltaic system. Such systems of 105 kW and 25 kW have been established at ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute Jodhpur and its regional station at Bhuj, respectively with a land requirement of 29 m2 per kW. Rainwater harvesting system from top surface of PV module has been designed and developed. The harvested water is expected to provide supplemental irrigation of 43 mm in 0.76 acre land on which 105 kW system has been established. Suitable crops for agri-voltaic system have been identified, which generally does not attain height not more than 50 cm during its crop growth period. Few of the selected crops are Vigna radiata (moong bean), Vigna aconitifolia (moth bean), Plantago ovata (isabgool), cuminum cyminum (cumin) etc.

ABSTRACT. The work presented in this paper discusses about the usage of DC electric springs in the micro grid system consisting of more than one renewable energy source and one main grid connection point. The objective of this work is to reduce the dependability of the micro grids on the main grid by coordinating the power supplied by renewable energy sources during generation intermittence of the renewable generators. In order to achieve the said objective a control algorithm is proposed in this work which makes the DC non-critical loads consume lesser power during generation deficits in the micro grid. The proposed control algorithm is simple to implement and can be used for complex micro grid structures also. A micro grid system consisting of two renewable generators, one main grid connection point and DC loads fed through a rectifier are considered for the study and the models of the same are developed in MATLAB/Simulink.

ABSTRACT. Soapnut (Sapindus Mukorossi) is a non-edible seed available in northeastern region of India. Biodiesel produced from Soapnut oil was blended with petroleum diesel in various proportions to test and evaluate the performance of single cylinder CI engine. Different fuel blends of diesel and Soapnut biodiesel viz. BD5, BD10, BD20, BD30 were tested in engine for studying effect of load on engine performance. Tests were carried out to with calculating the performance parameters such as brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) for different blends. After experimentation it has been found that BD5 gave best performance of CI engine amongst four different blends with BTE and BSFC as objective functions.

ABSTRACT. The paper focuses on analyzing the performance of solar (PTC - Parabolic Trough Collector) by using the secondary reflector (CPC - Compound Parabolic Concentrator) as per the local economic and environmental considerations. The solar PTC has been designed with the consideration of the acceptance angle of the incident solar rays and rim angle for a unit length. The effects of acceptance angle and the rim angle on the optical performance of PTC have been analyzed using TRACE PRO software. Thus a secondary reflector has been designed and optimized for the specific conditions of PTC and the optical performance has been analyzed. Based on the results obtained using newly designed CPC, the PTC has been optimized. The optical performance of this secondary reflector coupled with PTC shows 87% of reflected rays were absorbed on the receiver tube with the effects of tracking error. The absorbed flux on the receiver tube has been calculated for solar PTC with and without secondary reflector. The average radiation striking the Solar PTC has been noted and the absorbed flux on the receiver tube has been calculated from March to June 2017. The average absorbed flux has been increased from 3450 W/(m)^2 to 4500 W/(m)^2.

ABSTRACT. : In the present work, Polyaniline (PANI) electrode material is synthesized by simple electrodeposition method on stainless steel (SS) substrate. The crystal structure and morphological characterizations of the obtained electrode material were carried out by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) respectively. The FE-SEM micrographs show interconnected nanofiber network like morphology.The electrochemical properties of PANI electrode like Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Galvonostatic Charge-Discharge (GCD) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) were studied in a 1 M H2SO4 solution as electrolyte. The maximum specific capacitance is 277 F/g at scan rate 5 mV/sec obtained from cyclic voltammetry (CV).The electrochemical stability of PANI electrode was investigated using cyclic voltammetry for 500 cycles. The PANI electrode exhibits good cycling stability for 500 cycles at scan rate100mV/sec. From all the electrochemical properties of PANI electrode, it indicates that it will be promising electrode material for supercapacitor application.

ABSTRACT. The study is based on production of Biomethane by using Napier Grass along with co-substrate as a cow dung. The lignocellulosic content in Napier species increases with maturity of the grass. The first cut gives more Biomethane potential than the later cuts since water-soluble carbohydrates are higher in former case resulting higher methane potential. The parameters like pH, Moisture Content, Total Solids, Volatile & fixed solids, Chemical Composition, TSS, TDS were measured. An economical bioreactor having 35 Lit working volume was designed for evaluating the biogas potential of above substrates and was operated at ambient temperature range 20 to 32 ºC. The outcomes revealed that there was a continuous reduction in pH level, i.e. up to 4.6 during initial fifteen days since beginning of slurry feeding. The average gas production of continuous mode biogas digester& Batch mode digester containing of slurry feed gave a result of 0.43 m3/kg & 0.34 m3/kg VS added respectively at an average temperature of 29.91ºC. The Napier grass test unit showed 88.38 % VS removal during the studies and the chemical composition for the Yeshwant specie of Napier grass showed lignin, cellulose, Hemicellulose & ash content as 32.2 %, 35.9%, 40.1% & 3.2 % respectively.

ABSTRACT. Several attempts have been made by researchers across the globe to produce alternate fuels for the diesel in a diesel engine. The physio-chemical properties of tamarind seed oil were evaluated experimentally. The present work is focused on the experimental investigation of various tamarind seed methyl ester (TSME) blends (10%, 20%, and 30%) on compression ignition engine and the outcomes are analyzed with base fuel. It is observed that TSME20 biodiesel generated improved performance and minimal emissions when compared with the tested blends. Diethyl ether (DEE) is used as an oxygenated fuel additive for the optimum blend; added in 5%, 10%, and 15% concentration on a volume basis. TSME20 with DEE10 has shown better thermal efficiency (36.75%) over diesel (34.13%) and also it produces lower emissions of CO, HC, and smoke opacity. However, the NOx emissions are increased by the addition of DEE. Thus, the present work identifies tamarind as a suitable biofuel for the diesel engine and addition of DEE further enhanced the performance and emission characteristics.

ABSTRACT. The present study investigates the performance of two bed adsorption refrigeration system for various types of activated carbon-ammonia pairs by employing steady state thermodynamic model. Tow performance parameters, namely: coefficient of performance (COP), and specific cooling effect (SCE) are evaluated and compared for different types of activated carbon particle under various working conditions. The control parameters to depict variable working conditions are chosen to be maximum desorption temperature, minimum adsorption temperature, condensation pressure and evaporation pressure. A simple thermodynamic model has been developed to obtain the cycle analysis. Heats of adsorption and desorption are estimated using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, while the Dubinin-Astakhov (D-A) adsorption model have been used to correlate concentration of ammonia in the adsorber/desorber bed with respect to pressure and temperature under equilibrium condition. The theoretical analysis shows that activated carbon-ammonia adsorption refrigeration system can achieve COP of 1.4 and specific cooling effect of 240 kJ/kg at maximum and minimum bed temperature of 185°C and 22°C respectively for Compact AS12 activated carbon ammonia pair. The result of this simulation will provide convenient guidelines for the design of two bed continuous type basic adsorption refrigeration cycle.

ABSTRACT. In the present paper, overall thermal energy and exergy performance of partially covered N photovoltaic thermal - compound parabolic concentrators (PVT-CPC) (25% covered by glass to glass PV module) collector connected in series have been carried out at constant flow rate of water. Further, comparison has been made on the basis of four different concentration ratio or cases (i-iv), respectively. The ratio of aperture and receiver, Aa: Ar has been considered as 1:1 [case (i)], or 2:1 [case (ii)], or 3:1 [case (iii)], or 4:1 [case (iv)]. It has been observed that case (iv) have most preferable to obtain maximum overall thermal energy and exergy whereas case (i) is most suited for obtaining electrical gain and chosen for delivering minimum thermal gain. Case (i) is acting like a conventional N-PVT collector due to concentration property is not working in collector system because aperture area has equal to receiver area. Case (ii) has been found to be best for overall exergy point of view due to lower input energy from case (iii-iv).

ABSTRACT. This paper proposes two new adaptive regressive smoothing models for wind speed forecasting (WSF). Generally WSF largely depends on the numerical models used which contribute the most error in WSF. This paper first uses most commonly used moving average and regressive smoothing models for WSF. Second, two new adaptive models are proposed for WSF. These adaptive models reduce the error in WSF by using difference of wind speeds with respect to the back period and current period wind speed values. In this paper model’s quality measures are calculated by using mean error (ME), mean absolute error (MAE), mean square error (MSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and root means square error (RMSE) statistics. Simulations are performed to compare different models. It proves that the proposed models can improve the wind speed forecasting by effectively identifying and adjusting the errors from wind speed.

ABSTRACT. A dual purpose solar collector permits the simultaneous heating of two fluids utilizing the incident solar energy on the collector. An experimental study on an improved dual purpose solar collector integrated with fins and wire mesh in absorber plate has been performed. Simultaneous heating of both air as well as water is obtained using such a system. The hot air can be used for drying of crops,timber etc. while water can be used for domestic purposes. The performance study of the system has been reported for the typical summer day conditions of Kozhikode (11.25°N, 75.77°E). The variations of solar intensity, air temperature rise, water temperature rise, absorber plate temperature etc. have been illustrated for three modes of system operation. For the system working a single mode solar air heater, maximum temperature difference between inlet and outlet air was obtained as 33.5oC for a plate temperature of 104oC. For the system working a single mode solar water heater maximum temperature difference between inlet and outlet air was obtained as 43oC for a plate temperature of 90oC.For the system operating in the dual purpose mode, maximum temperature rise of 20.8oC and 40.5oC were observed for the air and water streams respectively.

ABSTRACT. The parabolic troughs are the most popular line focusing collectors. They are being used for process heating, and medium temperature applications since long. In these collectors, the sunlight is concentrated at the receiver fixed at the focal line of the parabola. In general, the tubular types of receivers are used in the line focusing collectors. The working liquid is allowed to flow through the receiver tube. In the current study, the performance of a parabolic trough collector with the modified receivers is analysed by experiments. Two types of receivers viz; 'U' tube receiver and ' helical coil receiver' enclosed in an evacuated glass tube are used. The system is installed at Nagpur [21.14° N, 79.08° E]; experiments have been performed in the month of February. The highest output temperature of 90°C and the corresponding efficiency of 90.92% is obtained with helical coil receiver geometry. The details of receiver geometries and the experiments are discussed in this article.

ABSTRACT. In this study, Cascabela Thevetia seed shell (CTSS), Maize corn cob (MCC), Black liquor (BL) are used for the production of cylindrical fuel briquettes in various mixing proportions at different pressures; 60MPa,70MPa,80MPa,90MPa under room temperature conditions.Briquette properties such as compressed density, relaxed density, relaxation ratio, shattering index were evaluated. The regression mathematical equation between independent variables (applied pressure and mixing proportion) and briquette properties were developed using SPSS statistical software and briquette property values obtained from mathematical equations compared with experimental values. The results showed that addition of BL could significantly enhance the briquette properties at all pressures and briquette produced with a mixing proportion of CTSS: MCC: BL=60:25:15 at 90MPa gives better briquette properties. Thus, combustion characteristics of a briquette produced with a mixing proportion of CTSS: MCC: BL=60:25:15 at 90MPa were evaluated and compared with other briquettes. The results showed that combustion characteristics were eco-friendly and comparable with other briquettes.

ABSTRACT. Abstract: The financial and industrial growths require safe, sustainable resources of energy. For the future reorganization of a sustainable financial system to natural raw materials, completely new approach in investigate and growth, production, economy are necessary. The present work shows the production of Used Temple Oil Methyl Ester (UTOME) and an effort was done to maximize the percentage of yield by using different parameters like catalyst, reaction time and molar ratio. The various percentage of catalyst used are 0.75and 1.15% of NaOH. The different reaction time is from 35 to 105 minutes at the range of 15 minutes. The two different molecular ratio 6:1 and 4.5:1 are used. The physical and chemical properties were determined according to ISO 9001: 2015 which are well within the limits. The maximum yield of UTOME was round to be 94.5% at 95 reaction time and 6:1molar ratio with 1.15% of catalyst.

ABSTRACT. Energy has a crucial role in monetary and social expansion of any country but there used to be a general deficiency of rural energy development policies that focus on agriculture. Agriculture has a dual role as an energy user and as an energy supplier in the form of solar energy. Rajasthan state is more blessed with solar insolation. However, use of solar energy has not been fulfilled yet, predominantly in the field of agricultural sector where irrigation is being done by out dated methods. This paper focuses on the development of strategies to enhance the use of solar energy in agriculture sector of Rajasthan state. A intensive survey was conducted among scientists, academician, farmers and government officials regarding the knowhow of present policies and schemes of solar energy in rajasthan state. The survey clearly reveals that not only farmers and rural persons but the intellectual world is also unaware about the different policies of solar program prevailing in the state. On the basis of survey, various strategies have been suggested to accelerate the solar program among rural and agriculture sector of rajasthan state.