Performance of a mobile covered shallow solar pond

A simple, efficient mobile small-scale solar pond was designed and operated for several months to measure its thermal performance. The pond is a covered shallow saltless one, used with a boosting plane reflector for water heating. The pond was tested under several conditions including with and without adjusting the pond's position for maximum solar radiation and the booster reflector tilt angle for maximum solar concentration. The solar pond proved to be reliable and quite efficient. The energy balance for the pond from heat transfer considerations enabled estimates of theoretical water temperature to be made. Calculated values agreed well with experimental measurements.