Investigating the effects of air inlet jet on the performance of solar still: A comprehensive numerical study

Solar stills are a simple method of producing potable water, but their low efficiency makes them insufficient for meeting daily water needs. This study aims to improve the efficiency of simple solar stills (simple SS) by investigating the effect of an air inlet jet. Factors such as air velocity, entrance angle, and inlet and outlet location were studied. The effect of inlet velocity was studied for air inlet velocities of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9 m/s, and the effect of inlet angle was studied under six different angles ranging from −45 to +45 degrees. Results showed at Uin=5m/s for the case where the glass cover and basin water were in the highest temperature difference when the inlet was located on the left wall (left-inlet mode), water production rate (ṁ) and heat transfer rate (Nu) improved by %125 and %126, respectively, and for the right-inlet mode, ṁ and Nu improved by %209 and %205, respectively. For an angled inlet, at Uin=9m/s with inlet angle of +15 degrees, for left-inlet mode, ṁ and Nu improved by 211 % and 207 %, respectively, And for right-inlet mode, the ṁ and Nu improved by up to 264 % and 257 %, respectively. •292 cases were studied around the effect of an air inlet jet within a solar still.•The study examined inlet/outlet locations, velocity, and angle's impact.•Flow pattern has a direct impact on solar still performance.•Left inlet mode with Uin=5 m/s, increased water production rate (ṁ) by up to %125.•Right inlet mode with Uin=5 m/s, increased ṁ by up to %209.•Changing the left inlet's angle had a negative effect compared to horizontal inlet.•An angle of +15 with Uin=9 m/s on the right inlet mode increased ṁ by %264.