solarise

SOLARISE

Once we rid ourselves of traditional thinking we can get on with creating the future.

- James Bertrand

INTRODUCTION
After a long and a tough semester, Raj, an engineering student, finally returns home which lies in a
calm and serene hill. Raj is astonished, shocked and also worried at the rate at which the forest
adjacent to the village is being cut down for firewood. He thought that no sooner than ever, the
aesthetic appeal of the place would be lost to antiquity if this would continue. He found that the sun
shines brightly in the day for only four to five hours a day. He thought that one could harness the
prime source, the sun instead of a secondary source, the trees, which accounts for only 1% of the
latter. He immediately sits down to design a solar energy based heater for his village. He also
understands the need for storing the heated water in a container, so that it doesn’t lose heat. Help
the budding engineer design a suitable solar heat exchange system.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Participants are provided with 2 litre of water at ambient temperature which they are expected to
heat to the maximum possible temperature within the stipulated time, using solar energy as a
primary source. In addition, an adiabatic vessel must be designed to store this heated liquid for a
given amount of time such that the fall in temperature of the heated liquid is minimised.

The event consists of two rounds.

ROUND I

The participants are expected to mail their abstracts on or before 10th Feb, 2010 to
chromoxone@daksh.sastra.edu with subject SOLARISE.
ROUND II

The selected teams will be intimated through e-mail . The finished working models have to be
presented during DAKSH'10.

SPECIFICATIONS
 Dimensions of the vessel are left to the participant’s choice.
 One hour of residence time will be given for the participant to harness solar energy. (It can be a
batch/continuous/ semi-continuous process).
 The drop in temperature in the adiabatic vessel will be calculated for a fixed amount of time.
 The vessel used for heating water and adiabatic vessel’s maximum carrying capacity should not
exceed 3 litres. Suitable allowances should be made in the design to account for leakage or any other
loss of fluid.

RULES

GENERAL GUIDELINES:
1. A team can have maximum of 3 participants.
2. All the members of the team should carry valid ID cards of their institutes.
3. Abstracts have to be mailed to chromoxone@daksh.sastra.edu with subject SOLARISE on or before
10th Feb, 2010.
4. Abstract should contain the registered name of the team, team mates, college name, contacts and
the description of the model.
5. The teams who qualify to round I have to present only their models in working condition (Posters /
presentations may be used additionally as an aid in visualising the theme and concept of the model).
6. The selected teams should bring a soft copy and three hard copies containing detailed description of
process and equipment along with the abstract (with mathematical calculations based on the model,
if applicable, is most desired).

SPECIFIC GUIDELINES:
1. The material used for design should not cause physical or chemical changes to the liquid given.
2. The abstract should mention clearly the mechanism of action and a general picture of the model to
be designed. Also suitable references should be mentioned in the abstract.
3. The process maybe chemical, mechanical or biological or a combination of these. Novel ideas for
models are most welcome.
JUDGING CRITERIA
 Process capable of storing and using maximum solar energy will be given more preference.
 The innovativeness of the design is of prime importance.
 The compactness of the design (The surface area occupied per unit amount of energy absorbed).
 Additional points will be given to those who convert solar energy into some other useful form in
addition to the problem statement.
 The temperature rise of given liquid in the specified time.
 Liquid temperature maintained by the adiabatic vessel during the storage for a specified time.
 Economy of the process and process equipment.

FAQS:
1. Should the energy source be purely solar?

It should primarily utilise solar energy. Conversion of this energy into any other secondary forms and
consecutive indirect heating is both accepted and desired.

2. In case of using biological organisms to trap solar energy, one hour of residence time may not suffice,
what should be done in this case?

In this case a notification should be sent prior to sending the abstract which should contain the microbe used
and the time needed for incubation.

3. In case of continuous flow, can any fluid pumping equipment be used?

Conventional energy inputs to the system should be minimum (/nil), as the basic theme of the model gets
violated, leading to reduction of overall points. In case of requirement of fluid pump, it should be brought by
the participant. Also note that the two litres of water will not be provided in a continuous manner, but will be
given at once. It is left to the participant to make his desired flow possible.

CONTACTS
Shashank [+91 99527 56321]

Shyam Krishnan [+91 94452 79587]

Ram Narayan [+91 95851 53832]

Mail your queries to chromoxone@daksh.sastra.edu with Solarise as subject.