Solar Ponds

N. D. KAUSHIKA
Indian Institute of Technology
New Delhi, India

to collect solar energy and stores it as thermal energy.

1. Introduction As a practical matter, all ponds, lakes, oceans, and
2. Solar Pond Taxonomy other expanses of water in nature collect solar ene-
3. Salt Gradient Solar Pond rgy and convert it to thermal energy, but their heat
4. Saltless Nonconvective Solar Ponds retention efficiency is poor because the water near
5. Applications the surface is quickly cooled as the heat is rapidly
dissipated to the environment. The warmer and more
6. Economics
buoyant water in the lower region rises to the
7. Environmental Impact
surface; this movement of water is called natural
convection. Therefore, a water–pond system will
be more effective in the collection and storage of
Glossary solar energy if the thermal losses to the environ-
aquifer A layer of soil or rock that can hold water. ment are reduced either by suppressing the natural
double-diffusive fluid A fluid embodying the density convection of water in the pond or by covering the
gradients of two constituents. pond surface with a partially transparent insula-
nonconvective layer A fluid layer in which natural tion. The term solar pond is therefore used for a
convection is suppressed. water pool with reduced heat losses. It can coll-
permeable Allows liquid or gas to pass through. ect solar energy, concentrate and store it as heat up
solar pond Body of still water that collects solar energy to approximately 1001C (higher temperature re-
and stores it as thermal energy.
stricted by the boiling point of water). The solar
thermohaline system Solar thermal system.
pond involves simple technology and uses water as
transparent insulation layer A layer that is transparent for
solar (optical) radiations and is opaque for infrared working material for three functions: collection of
(heat) radiations. solar radiant energy and its conversion into heat,
storage of heat, and transport of thermal energy out
of the system.
The solar pond represents a low-cost option among
other solar systems. It possesses thermal storage
2. SOLAR POND TAXONOMY
capability spanning seasons and is the only viable
system with 100% solar fraction. Solar pond heat
The first recorded use of solar energy for heating
can be used for a variety of applications, including
a water pool was made approximately 2500 years
generation of electricity, industrial process heating,
ago when great Roman baths were heated by the sun.
desalination, and greenhouse heating.
Von Kalecsinsky, who reported that the bottom of
Madve lagoon in Transylvania in summer had a
temperature of approximately 701C, discovered the
1. INTRODUCTION phenomenon of the solar pond in 1902. In this lake,
salt concentration was also observed to increase with
Solar radiant energy is characterized by low-energy depth. The downward increase in salt concentra-
density and its practical utilization involves large- tion prevents the convection and renders the upper
area solar collectors. A solar pond is a unique large- region of the lake a partially transparent insula-
area solar collector that uses a body of still water tor trapping solar heat in the bottom region. The

Encyclopedia of Energy, Volume 5. r 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 651
652 Solar Ponds

conceptual design of the first artificial ‘‘sun pool’’ possibility of a maintenance-free solar pond. Alter-
was given by Tabor and Bloch in 1958. The propo- native methods of suppressing convection have also
sed system was an artificial pond (approxima- been investigated and several solar pond systems
tely 1 m deep) with a black bottom and salt gradient have been proposed and tested, including the gel- or
with a maximum concentration at the bottom viscosity-stabilized pond, the membrane pond, and
obtained by filling the pond with progressively less the honeycomb-stabilized solar pond. These are
dense brine layers. The name salt gradient solar referred to as saltless nonconvective solar ponds.
pond or solar pond was coined for such a system. In convective solar ponds, heat loss to the
The term solar pond has since been applied to environment is reduced by covering the pond sur-
a variety of water pool solar collector/storage face. The cover is transparent and the pond is
systems. These may be broadly classified as shown often of shallow depth; it is thus referred to as
in Fig. 1. a shallow solar pond. In practice, it is a water-filled
In nonconvective solar ponds, the basic principle plastic bag glazed at the top with a blackened bottom
is that heat loss to the environment is reduced by the insulated by foam. These ponds are used for pro-
suppression of natural convection in the upper layer ducing hot water at medium temperature (40–601C)
(transparent insulation layer) of water or air med- for industrial applications as well as for boiler
ium. The most documented type of nonconvective preheating. Figure 2 provides a schematic of solar
solar pond is the salt gradient solar pond. It uses such pond concepts.
salts as NaCl, MgCl2, and bitterns. It is referred to as Earliest theoretical as well as experimental studies
an unsaturated salt-stabilized pond to distinguish it of solar ponds predicted solar heat collection
from the saturated salt-stabilized pond based on the efficiencies of approximately 20% and thermal
Soret effect. The latter uses salt such as KNO3, storage capability spanning seasons. Several coun-
whose solubility increases dramatically with tem- tries have since built and operated salt gradient solar
perature; in the pond, saturation of the salt ponds. The technology of salt gradient ponds is
concentration is maintained at all depths. The pond inherently simple. However, for a solar pond energy
is hotter in the bottom region than at the top. Thus, a system of good thermodynamic efficiency, a variety
progressively larger amount of salt is dissolved of factors must be considered and quantified. There-
toward the bottom. Owing to saturation at each fore, the physics and engineering aspects of salt
level, the vertical diffusion of salt is checked and the gradient solar ponds and the conceptual outline of
density gradient is stable. This provides for the other ponds are presented in the following sections.

Solar ponds

Non
convective Convective

Salt
Saltless Collector pond Shallow
stabilized
storage solar
pond

Water Air
Saturated Unsaturated insulated insulated

NaCl MgCl2 Bitterns Gel,

Membrane
salt salt viscosity
Honeycomb Others

Horizontal Vertical
partitions partitions

FIGURE 1 Classification of solar ponds.

 Solar Ponds 653

A B

Normal pond Salt-gradient

(convective) solar pond
(nonconvective) m
60
Horizontal sheet Vertical sheet 5m
A
Concrete
curbing
Tight sealing
Top glazing
Membrane-stratified ponds
Water
Bottom bag
insulation To thermal storage
A
tank

Square honeycomb

FIGURE 2 (A) Schematics of nonconvective solar pond concepts. (B) Illustration of shallow (convective) solar pond.

3. SALT GRADIENT SOLAR POND structural stability of banks and edges; a gradient
of 451 has generally been used.
3.1 Containment
Solar pond containment involves trade-offs between
3.2 Establishment and Control
several strategies related to the location of the pond,
of Gradient
earth excavation, the lining, insulation, and pond
shape. Local geology is critically important in site Three methods have been adopted for the establish-
selection; care must be taken to avoid underground ment of initial salt density gradient in solar ponds:
aquifers. The pond is usually contained in earth natural diffusion, stacking, and redistribution. The
excavated to 3 or 4 m depth. The excavation may be first method relies on the natural diffusion between a
minimized by stacking earth to make a wall around freshwater layer and the layer of saturated salt
the pond. Leakage effects from the pond can cause solution. The pond is half filled with each layer and
considerable loss of salt solution as well as stored the surface and bottom concentrations are main-
heat. In case of permeable soil, these effects may be tained constant. Stacking involves the filling of a
quite severe; care must be taken when lining the pond with layers of progressively changing concen-
bottom and sides. A membrane liner of butynol, trations. The redistribution method is considered to
nylex solid vinyl, ethylene propylene diene monomer, be most convenient and expedient for large-area
or other suitable synthetic materials may be used. An solar ponds. In practice, the redistribution method
alternative to liner is to treat the soil in such a way as involves filling the pond with brine of near-saturation
to make it impermeable to hot brine solution. For concentration (Sc) to half of its total depth (L); the
example, an inexpensive liner may be buried under a fresh water is then fed into the pond through the
layer of compacted earth. diffuser, which is initially placed at the bottom in
Thermal insulation in the pond bottom and sides the brine. The water will stir and uniformly dilute the
may be used to reduce heat losses; it may speed up pond brine above the diffuser. The pond surface level
pond heating but at excessive cost. Pond shape is also will start rising, and the diffuser is simultaneously
an important consideration. Circular surface shapes raised upward in a continuous motion or in discrete
provide a minimum perimeter for a given pond steps of up to 5 cm. The timing of diffuser movement
surface area, involve minimum heat losses to ground, is adjusted so that the diffuser as well as the brine
and hence are thermally the most efficient. Rectan- surface reach the final level at the same line.
gular shapes do not have this advantage but are Consequently, in the pond region progressively
usually less expensive to construct. Slopping side- diluted brine layers are generated and a constant
walls are very effective in reducing heat loss. Sloppy (Sc/L) density gradient, positive downward, is
walls are also desirable from the standpoint of established.
654 Solar Ponds

The mathematical expression for the rate of where QT is the heat source term resulting from the
diffuser movement was derived by Zangrando as absorption of solar radiation in the pond, QS is the
follows: If xs(t) and xd(t) represent the height of the salt source term resulting from the process of salt
pond surface and the diffuser with reference to the replenishment in the pond,
pond bottom at any time t, then in accordance with 2 3
u
the proportionality criteria, we have ~¼6 7
V 4v5
xd ðtÞ ¼ b1 xs ðtÞ þ b2 ; ð1Þ
w
where b1 and b2 are constants: D
is the convective velocity vector, Dt is the convective
At t ¼ 0; xd ðtÞ ¼ 0 and xs ðtÞ ¼ 1=2 ð2Þ
derivative given by
At t ¼ tf ; xd ðtÞ and xs ðtÞ ¼ 1: ð3Þ D @
¼ þ~ v r;
Equation (1) in combination with Eqs. (2) and (3) Dt @t
yields m is the coefficient of viscosity, F is the external force,
xd ðtÞ ¼ 2xs ðtÞ  1 and x is the viscosity coefficient.
Due to thermal expansion, the fluid of the bottom
or region tends to be lighter than the fluid at the top.
x’ d ðtÞ ¼ 2x’ s ðtÞ: ð4Þ Thus, the system has a top-heavy configuration,
which is potentially unstable. The stability criteria in
Equation (4) implies that the rate of diffuser motion
such a situation have been obtained as follows:
should be twice that of the surface motion.
The solar pond may be considered as a horizon- @S v þ aT ac @T
¼ 
tal layer of incompressible fluid of depth l and infi- @X min v þ aS bc @X
nite horizontal dimension (y,z plane); the x-axis or
is taken along the vertical direction and posi-
@S pr þ 1 ac @T
tive downward. The layer embodies the gradien- ¼  ; ð5Þ
ts of temperature and salinity corresponding to cold @X min pr þ ts bc @X
water at the top and hot brine at the bottom. Owing where pr ¼ v/aT is the Prandtl number, and tS ¼ aS/aT
to gradients, diffusion of heat and salt occurs is the ratio of diffusivities and referred to as the
continuously. The solar pond may therefore be Schmidt number. Equation (5) gives the minimum
considered a thermohaline double-diffusive fluid salt gradient requirement corresponding to a given
system, and its physical behavior may be descri- temperature gradient in the double-diffusive solar
bed by the following equations of fluid mechanics pond. This equation is often referred to as the
and salt diffusion: hydrodynamic stability criterion in the context of
1. Conservation of mass (continuity equation): static stability criteria based on a simple buoyancy
model given as
@r ~Þ ¼ 0
þ rðrV @S ac @T
@t ¼ ; ð6Þ
@X min bc @X
or
Dr ~ ¼0 where ac is thermal expansion coefficient, and bc is
þ rrV the salt expansion coefficient.
Dt
2. Conservation of momentum (Navier–Strokes For dilute solutions at ambient air temperature,
equation): v ¼ 7aTE103aS. Therefore,

pr þ 1
~
DV m
~  E1:14:
r ¼ rp þ F þ mr2 V þ x þ rV pr þ t S
Dt 3
3. Conservation of energy (heat conduction equa- This implies that a concentration gradient approxi-
tion): mately 14% greater than the static stability is
DT required by the hydrodynamic stability criterion.
¼ aT r 2 T þ Q T The vertical gradient of density causes an upward
Dt
diffusion of salt in the pond. For a typical sodium
4. Conservation of salt: chloride solar pond, the amount of upward diffusion
DS
¼ aS r 2 S þ Q S ; of salt is 60–80 g/m2 day. The tendency of salt
Dt diffusion is to destroy the gradient. One gradient
 Solar Ponds 655

control approach is to remove salt from the surface The resultant downward flux of salt is given by
and inject it back into the bottom. For this approach,
v0 S ¼ ðV2  V1 ÞS=A:
an evaporation pond is required. However, a more
practical approach, which does not require the con- The condition for the maintenance of the gradient
tinual addition of salt, is the ‘‘falling pond’’ concept. may be written as
A schematic of the falling pond technique is shown in
Fig. 3. Hot brine is withdrawn from the bottom layer ðV2  V1 ÞS=A ¼ aS ð@S=@xÞ;
without disturbing the layers above. This is possible where aS is the coefficient of salt diffusion.
since in a fluid system stratified with a density gra-
dient, selective flow of the bottom layer can be
accomplished in the same manner as the withdrawal 3.3 Wind and Precipitation Effects
of a single card from the deck. The hot brine with-
drawn from the solar pond is passed through the flash Wind interaction with a solar pond generates waves
evaporator to remove some of its water. The solution, and currents in the surface layer. Waves cascade
which now has a higher concentration and a smaller energy through a wave spectrum that results in
volume, is reinserted into the pond bottom. Conse- turbulence, which in turn depletes the salt concen-
quently, the concentration gradient is maintained. tration gradient and can promote complete convec-
The decrease in surface level is restored by the addi- tion in the surface region. The surface currents
tion of fresh water to keep both the pond depth and interact with banks and edges and create circulations
the surface concentration constant. In the preceding in the vertical plane and cause layer mixing. The
process, the gradient tends to be displaced downward, raindrops also considerably influence the dynamics
hence the name falling pond technique. Following of gradient erosion in the pond surface region. The
Tabor, if v0 is the vertical velocity (measured wind flow over the pond surface increases the
positively downward) of the mass of the brine in the convective as well as evaporative heat losses.
pond, V1 and V2 are values of volume flow rates at Suppression of wind effects is therefore very im-
input and output, and A is the horizontal area of the portant for increasing the operating efficiency of
pond (assumed to be uniform vertically), then solar ponds. Various methods of limiting the wind
mixing have been tested or proposed, including
v0 A ¼ V2  V1 : floating plastic pipes, floating plastic nets, floating

Makeup water

Run Velocity
off profile

Hot
Cold brine
brine
0 Velocity
Steam for
utilization system
Flash
evaporation
chamber

Pump

FIGURE 3 Schematic of falling pond technique of gradient control and heat removal.
656 Solar Ponds

plastic rings, wind baffles, and an immiscible liquid seasonal variation is observed. A storage layer 1.2 m
(amyl acetate and silicone oil) surface layer. deep is usually considered appropriate. The optimum
depth of the nonconvective zone is a function of
collection temperature, which seems to favor a depth
3.4 Fouling and Corrosion
of approximately 1.25 m for this zone.
Fouling and corrosion are inherent problems in solar The following are typical thermal performance
ponds. Fouling may be caused by the falling of wind- efficiencies of solar ponds:
blown material such as dirt and leaves as well as by
the growth of algae or bacteria in the body of the Predicted: 20–30% at a collection temperature of
pond. Heavy wind-blown debris normally settles to 70–901C
the pond bottom, where its effect on pond perfor- Achieved: 15% (Israel ponds) and 9–12% (U.S.
mance is not significant. The material of low-specific ponds)
gravity is usually confined to the convective layer at
the pond surface and can be removed by filtering and
skimming the layer Biological growth can be checked 4. SALTLESS NONCONVECTIVE
by adding a biocide such as copper sulfate with salt SOLAR PONDS
at the time of filling the pond. A hot and saline
environment is usually the cause of corrosion, which A saltless nonconvective solar pond was conceived
is often encountered in feed water pumps and heat primarily to overcome numerous problems encoun-
exchangers. Careful material selection can help. tered with conventional salt gradient solar pond. It
Bronze, ceramic, stainless steel, and plastics (poly- consists of a convective water reservoir insulated on
propylene) are well suited for saline and hot water. the bottom and sides. The surface insulation to the
water is provided by a nonconvective layer of
transparent fluid such as ethanol and silicone oil.
3.5 Thermal Performance
The convective stability of the insulation layer is
In practice, a salt gradient solar pond is a three-zone characterized by the stability of the fluid layer with
configuration. The temperature gradients are rela- adverse temperature gradient. In hydrodynamics, this
tively large in the surface region where most of the problem is referred to as the Rayleigh–Bennard
infrared portion of the solar spectrum is absorbed; problem. The maximum stable temperature gradient
the gradient induces instabilities and results in the across the layer is given by
formation of the surface convective zone. Various Rc Kn
processes, including wind mixing, penetrative con- ðdT=dxÞmax ¼ ;
gbD4
vection, and diffusive action of salt and heat, also
contribute to the formation of this zone. In normal where g is acceleration due to gravity, b is the
conditions, its depth ranges between 0.2 and 0.5 m. coefficient of volumetric expansion, dT/dx is the ad-
This layer is a liability on solar pond heat collection verse temperature gradient, D is the depth of the
and storage since in a pond of fixed depth the growth layer, K is the thermometric conductivity or thermal
of the mixed surface layer takes place at the expense diffusivity of fluid, n is the kinematic viscosity of the
of the thickness of the insulating gradient layer. The fluid, and Rc is the critical Rayleigh number.
mixed surface layer does not provide thermal The insulation layer is nonconvective if its
insulation to the storage layer and absorbs a characteristics (n, D, and Rc) are matched to the
considerable portion of incident solar energy. Simi- temperature difference between its bottom and top
larly, the excessive absorption (up to 30%) of surfaces. Shaffer suggested that the insulation layer
radiation by the pond floor induces thermohydrody- could be stabilized against convection by using
namic instabilities in the bottom region and makes it viscous fluids such as silicon oil and water syrups.
convective and isothermal. The bottom convective The control of convection by an array of horizontal
zone provides thermal storage. A convective storage membranes has been investigated by Hull. It has been
layer is therefore placed in the bottom of all modern shown that the separation of membranes (D) must be
solar ponds. The minimum depth of this zone should approximately 3–5 mm for convection to be sup-
be 0.5 m, which is sufficient to level the diurnal pressed; hence, to minimize the reflection losses at
fluctuations in the storage zone temperature. Depths the interface, it is necessary to match the refractive
of more than 1.25 m are very effective in leveling the index of fluid to that of the membrane. Water and
seasonal fluctuations, and at a depth of 10 m no ethanol are recommended as liquids for the surface
 Solar Ponds 657

insulation zone. Teflon film seems to be an appro- However, binary fluid cycle turbines are commer-
priate membrane. Ethanol is preferable since it can cially available. These turbines are similar to steam
float on the hot water reservoir. turbines and are based on the Rankine power cycle.
Another method of convection suppression in the Their working fluid is not steam but an organic fluid,
insulation layer (air) involves the use of honeycomb such as freons, toluene, chlorinated hydrocarbon, or
panels. It consists of a sealed air-filled honeycomb hydrocarbons with a low boiling temperature. These
panel floating over the hot water reservoir. It is are high-molecular-weight fluids and so the turbine is
predicted to be an attractive alternative, giving solar smaller than the corresponding steam turbine. These
efficiencies of 40–60% at collection temperatures of turbines obtain 0.4–0.7 Carnot efficiency. A con-
70–901C. This is approximately double the efficiency ceptual schematic of a binary fluid cycle-based solar
of conventional salt gradient ponds. pond power plant is shown in Fig. 4. Israel is the
world leader in the operation of such plants. A 150-
kW electric power plant was put into operation at
Ein Bokek, Israel, in 1979.
5. APPLICATIONS
5.1 Electric Power Conversion 5.2 Process Heating
The Solar pond is ideal for electricity generation. Solar pond heat holds great promise for application
One remarkable advantage is that its upper surface is for process heating. Salt production is one of the
cool due to evaporation and can be used for cooling earliest applications of the solar pond. Any of the
the condenser. Thus, a power-generation application following industries and industrial processes may be
pond can accomplish three functions: radiant energy supplied heat from a solar pond; salt and mine-
collection, thermal energy concentration and storage, ral production; drying and curing of timber; milk
and heat rejection. The heat available from salt pasteurization; concentration and separation by
gradient solar ponds is at temperatures of 50–1001C. evaporation; cleaning and washing in the food
Thus, the basic element involved in electricity industry; tanning of skins; textile processing, such
generation is the low-temperature turbine. Based on as wool scouring, carbonizing, and dyeing; indus-
the nature of the turbine, two plant types are trial laundry; and the paper industry for prehea-
possible: flashed steam plants and binary (organic) ting. Solar pond heat has been demonstrated to be
fluid cycle plants. Commercial turbines that operate applicable to the social sectors of both the develo-
with flashed steam cycle conditions are not available. ped and the developing world. Specific applications

Sun

Condenser

Makeup
water

Wind-mixed zone
Generator Turbine Insulation zone

Storage zone
Organic working
fluid
evaporator

FIGURE 4 Solar pond power system.

658 Solar Ponds

include heating swimming pools, low-temperature 7. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

cooking in southern India and western Africa, and
desalinating water in outback Australia. The solar Stabilization of the greenhouse effect is the focus of
pond heat has multiple applications in the agricul- global environmental concerns. The carbon dioxide
tural industry. At the Ohio Agricultural Research emissions resulting from the use of fossil fuels must
and Development Center (OARDC), a solar pond be reduced by more than 60% to stabilize the
(18.5  8.5  3.0 m) has been constructed to sup- greenhouse gases at present concentrations. Stabili-
ply the winter heat requirements of a single-family zation cannot be achieved simply by improving fossil
residence and partial needs of an adjacent green- fuel technologies and demand management. The
house. In this system, hot brine is extracted from the world, in which process heat and electricity are
pond and passed through shell and tube heat ex- the major needs, has therefore pinned its hopes on
changers. If the pond temperature is higher than the introduction of renewable energy systems. The
401C, the extracted heat is supplied to a water-to-air solar pond is an inherently simple and inexpensive
discharge heat exchanger in the green house; if the renewable energy means of heat and electricity. It
pond temperature is less than 401C, extracted heat is therefore has the greatest potential for cost-effective
first upgraded by a heat pump and then supplied for implementation of renewable energy in the short
the heating of greenhouse. The method is quite term and long term. However, in a salt gradient pond
suitable for this application and has good thermo- approximately one-third of a ton of salt per unit area
dynamic efficiency. is used and at certain locations salt contamination
may cause serious environmental hazards, such as
the detrimental effect of salt in drinking water and
toxicity to the vegetation surface by saline soil. The
6. ECONOMICS development of the honeycomb solar pond elim-
inates the expense of large quantities of salt and the
The major cost factors of a solar pond system are the potential problems of degrading the aquifer with salt.
earthwork (excavation, leveling, and compaction), Fouling resulting from the falling of wind-blown
the synthetic lining, the salt, the water, the land, and debris is another inherent problem in solar ponds.
other miscellaneous supplies. These factors vary
considerably with the location and the size of the
system. Consequently, small ponds are considerably SEE ALSO THE
more expensive than large ponds, and there is a wide
FOLLOWING ARTICLES
variability in the per unit area cost estimates of solar
ponds operated at different locations throughout the
Materials for Solar Energy  Solar Cells  Solar
world. Installation costs of two small-size solar ponds
Cookers  Solar Cooling, Dehumidification, and Air-
are provided in Table I. These estimates exclude all
Conditioning  Solar Detoxification and Disinfection
expenses related to the heat recovery systems.  Solar Distillation and Drying  Solar Fuels and

Materials  Solar Heat Pumps  Solar Thermal

Energy, Industrial Heat Applications  Solar Thermal
TABLE I Power Generation  Solar Water Desalination 
Cost of Small-Size Pond Installation Thermal Energy Storage

Australian pond American pond Further Reading

Item ($/m2)a ($/m2)b
Clark, A. F., and Dickinson, W. C. (1980). Shallow solar ponds. In
Earth work 9.81 5.00 ‘‘Solar Energy Technology Handbook’’ (W. C. Dickinson and P.
Liner 2.79 11.00 N. Cheremisinoff, Eds.), p. 377. Dekker, New York.
Salt 1.91 9.70 Hull, J. R. (1980). Membrane stratified solar ponds. Solar Energy
25, 317.
Water 0.025 —
Hull, J. R., Nielsen, C. E., and Golding, P. (1989). ‘‘Salinity-
Land — — Gradient Solar Ponds.’’ CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Miscellaneous 0.52 5.90 Kaushika, N. D. (1986). Solar ponds. Adv. Energy Systems
Total 15.06 31.60 Technol. 5, 75–165.
Nielsen, C. E. (1980). Non-convective salt-gradient solar ponds. In
a
Location: Alice Springs (Sheridan, 1982). ‘‘Solar Energy Handbook’’ (W. C. Dickenson and P. N.
b
Location: Miamisburg (Wittenberg and Harris, 1981). Cheremishoff, Eds.). Dekker, New York.
 Solar Ponds 659

Ortabasi, U., Dyksterhuis, F., and Kaushika, N. D. (1983). Tabor, H., and Weinberger, H. Z. (1980). Nonconvecting solar
Honeycomb stabilized saltless solar pond. Solar Energy ponds. In ‘‘Solar Energy Handbook’’ (J. F. Kreider and F. Kreith,
31, 229. Eds.). McGraw-Hill, New York.
Roothmeyer, M. (1980). Soret effect and salt-gradient solar ponds. Weinberger, H. (1964). The physics of solar ponds. Solar Energy
Solar Energy 25, 567. 8, 45.
Shaffer, L. H. (1978). Viscosity stabilized solar pond. In Wittenberg, L. J., and Harris, M. J. (1981). Construction and
‘‘Proceedings of the ISES Congress, New Delhi, India.’’ startup performance of the Miamisburg salt-gradient solar
Sheridan, N. R. (1982). Solar salt pond at Alice Springs, Report pond. J. Solar Energy Eng. 103, 11.
1382. Queensland University, Queensland, Australia. Zangrangdo, F. (1980). A simple method to establish salt-gradient
Tabor, H. (1980). Nonconvecting solar ponds. Philos. Trans. R. solar ponds. Solar Energy 25, 467.
Soc. London Ser. A 295, 423.