Research Projects

This project proposes to provide an alternate solution to the water problem in hilly regions of our country, India, where the climatic conditions are usually cold and dry. The hilly areas are known for their high altitudes, tough terrain, valleys, and landscapes. The hill states of India have less number of reliable sources of surface water and to access the groundwater, the people have to keep their lives at risk as they have to travel sometimes through rocky terrain or to great depths. Moreover, in some of the locations, rivers or streams are seasonal which leads to scarcity of water. The challenges do not stop here only. The transport of water to high altitudes from the source is also a great challenge to the engineers as the construction of water tanks and maintenance of pipes due to landslides, floods, and sometimes extreme cold atmospheric temperatures like in Srinagar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim add an extra burden. The pumping of water to the high-altitude location is a big challenge as it consumes more energy compared to the pumping of water in plain areas. Thus, there is a need to look for alternate solutions for the generation of water besides conventional technologies. One of the most prominent technologies is the generation of water from atmospheric air by using an integration of Atmospheric Water Generation (AWG) with the desiccant wheel. A mathematical model of a desiccant wheel, solar air heater, and heat exchanger will be developed to optimize the design and operating parameters of the proposed system. The performance of each component and thermal analysis of the system will be analyzed based on adequate indices like solar intensity, type of desiccant materials, ambient air temperature, and humidity, desiccant wheel angle of adsorption and regeneration, regeneration temperature, air flow rate for process and regeneration, condenser temperature (heat exchanger), and the effect of different seasons throughout the year. A cost analysis will be done to determine the commercial aspect of the system. The water generated by the proposed system will be tested for its improved quality of water as per the desired parameter. This research will be very effective for the commercial and domestic needs of hill states/UT like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and North-Eastern states having almost the same geographical terrain.