Modares Mechanical Engineering

Modares Mechanical Engineering

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Mesh Hole Geometry on Fog Harvesting

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Tarbiat Modares University
Abstract
Nowadays, fresh water scarcity is one of the major concerns of the global community. To tackle the freshwater scarcity situation, several solutions have been suggested, including the extraction of water from fog-laden flow. Fog harvesting is known as a sustainable and effective approach to supplying freshwater. Various types of fog collecting elements (FCEs) have been implemented in studies to collect water from fog-laden flow. Woven meshes with square-shaped holes are among the most frequently employed FCEs in studies. One of the major drawbacks of these types of FCEs is their low water collection efficiency, particularly at low wind velocities. In this study, two alternative mesh hole geometries, triangular and hexagonal, were proposed to enhance the collection efficiency and compared with an equivalent square mesh in terms of the shading coefficient (SC). The evaluations were conducted experimentally using an experimental setup capable of mimicking atmospheric fog-laden flow at two different air velocities. The results indicate that the water harvesting rate is highly affected by mesh hole geometry. Using triangular and hexagonal meshes, compared to square mesh, can improve the water collection rate by up to 12.6% and 29%, respectively
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