Effects of water turbidity and salt concentration levels on penetration of solar radiation under water

Journal Article · Sun May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1994 · Solar Energy (Journal of Solar Energy Science and Engineering); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(94)90120-Q· OSTI ID:7294036

Wang, J; Seyed-Yagoobi, J ^[1]

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1. Texas A M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

Two large, outdoor tanks were constructed in order to investigate the effects of water turbidity and salt concentration levels at various depths of water on penetration of solar radiation. These experiments were followed by a laboratory investigation that measured spectral transmittance and the extinction coefficient of water at different salt concentrations and turbidity levels. Both the outdoor and laboratory results indicate that the salt concentration level does not significantly affect solar radiation penetration. However, water clarity, quantified in terms of the turbidity level, plays a critical role on the magnitude of the solar radiation penetration, with the effect of turbidity on penetration increasing with the depth of water. A best-fit model is developed that gives the solar radiation penetration as a function of turbidity level and depth of water.

• OSTI ID: 7294036
• Journal Information: Solar Energy (Journal of Solar Energy Science and Engineering); (United States), Vol. 52:5; ISSN 0038-092X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
SOLAR ENERGY
LIGHT TRANSMISSION
SOLAR PONDS
SALINITY
TURBIDITY
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
SOLAR RADIATION
ENERGY
ENERGY SOURCES
EQUIPMENT
PONDS
RADIATIONS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SOLAR COLLECTORS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
STELLAR RADIATION
SURFACE WATERS
140100* - Solar Energy- Resources & Availability
990200 - Mathematics & Computers