Abstract
•A recently commissioned experimental salt-gradient solar pond is investigated.•This work demonstrates the technical viability of solar pond in Saudi Arabia.•The objective is to reach optimal control of the pond operation.•High thermal and mechanical efficiencies are obtained.
This work describes an experimental investigation of the Makkah solar pond which was constructed in 2015 on the campus of Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The present work demonstrates the technical viability of solar pond technology in the Middle East and discusses the results of measurements taken over a period of one year. The objective of the project is to optimally manage the pond for high thermal and mechanical efficiencies.