The temperature at the Lower Convective Zone (LCZ) of a solar pond (hot water storage section  also  called  LCZ)  is  measured  to  be  75  °C  while  the  ambient  temperature  is  20 °C.  A  Carnot  cycle  is  assumed  to  use  the  heat  extracted  from  the  hot  water  storage section of the pond (at 75 °C) to run a power generation cycle while its condenser reject heat to the atmosphere at the surface of the pond (at about 20 °C).  
 
Assume  no  heat  loss  through  the  wall  or  the  surface  of  the  pond  (this  is  not  zero  in practice) and no more energy gain through the sun during the heat extraction period (i.e. night-time or cloudy period). At these conditions, the temperature of the hot water section gradually drops from 75 °C down to 20 °C (variable high temperature source), as heat is extracted by the Carnot cycle from the high temperature source.  
 
Determine the work that can be extracted by this solar pond per kg of hot water stored in the LCZ of the solar pond.  
 
 
Note: Have a look at internet sources to get yourself familiar with solar ponds 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A solar pond located at RMIT Bundoora East Campus used as a solar thermal collector and 
storage 
 
 Mark 7:  
The key assessment criteria: 
- Understanding the question 
- Sensible approach 
- Accurate calculations and results 
 

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

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