Numerical performance modelling of solar chimney power plants: Influence of chimney height for a pilot plant in Manzanares, Spain

The performance of a small-scale solar updraft power generator is experimentally investigated under the effects of collector profile, tower diameter and tower height. The updraft velocity and temperature are measured from a total of 36 experiment cases. The current study's objective is investigating the optimum configuration that produces maximum updraft velocity and mechanical power output. The highest average updraft velocity of 1.22 m/s was recorded in experiment case number A-20. The highest average mechanical power of 12.35 mW is produced by experiment case number A-24. Both the collector height and tower diameter have optimum ranges that result in maximum updraft velocity and mechanical power. Increasing the collector height is bounded by heat losses in the collector and lowering the collector height is limited by the friction force where the airflow entrance is restricted. Having a larger tower diameter could have a negative effect on system performance. This situation was observed in experiment case number A-11 where increasing the tower diameter leads to a reduction of both updraft velocity and mechanical power. Since increasing the tower height always results in increased mechanical power, the collector height must be carefully matched with the tower diameter for a given tower height.

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“…Increasing the height of the tower has a positive effect on system performance. An equivalent result was also reported in other studies [43,44].…”

Section: Effect Of Tower Heightsupporting

confidence: 91%

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Collector Profile, Tower Diameter and Tower Height on the Performance of Small-Scale Solar Updraft Power Generator

Hafizh

Fudholi

Ridwan

2021

IJRER

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“…A similar situation is valid for the pressure difference across the turbine. When the ground slope is 0.1°, the pressure difference across the turbine increases by 8.52% compared to the reference case (8) The increase in power output continues to decrease after 0.1°. The increase in power output falls below 1% after the ground inclination angle of 0.4°( 9) In further works, sloping ground design in SCPPs will be studied along with the divergent chimney geometry [33] for extra improvement in performance figures…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Esfinadi et al [5] argue that increasing the collector radius of the Manzanares pilot plant will increase the power output of the system while reducing its efficiency. Increasing the height of the chimney in solar chimney power plants has a positive effect on the power output by increasing the flow rate of the system air at the chimney inlet [8]. Researchers state that increasing the chimney height of the Manzanares pilot plant will increase its power output and efficiency [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Ground Slope on Main Performance Figures of Solar Chimney Power Plants: A Comprehensive CFD Research with Experimental Validation

Cüce

Cuce

Sen

et al. 2021

International Journal of Photoenergy

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Geometric parameters in solar chimney power plants are numerically optimised for the purpose of better power output figures. Several parameters have been investigated in the pilot plant such as chimney height and diameter, collector diameter and slope, and slenderness. However, ground slope has not been studied to date despite its perspicuous impact on turbulent flow. In this study, the impacts of the different slope angles of the ground, where the solar radiation is absorbed through the collector, on the main performance parameters of the system are numerically analysed through a reliable CFD software ANSYS FLUENT. By considering the actual geometric figures of the pilot plant, a 3D model is constructed through DO (discrete ordinates) solar ray tracing algorithm and RNG k-ε turbulence model. For the solar intensity of 1000 W/m2, the maximum velocity inside the system is found to be 14.2 m/s, which is in good accordance with the experimental data of 15.0 m/s. Starting from 5 m inside the collector, the chimney inlet heights are reconfigured 0.209, 0.419, 0.625, 0.838, and 1.04 m, respectively, and when the ground slope is 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5°, the changes in the performance output of the system are investigated. For the reference case which refers to the horizontal ground, the maximum air velocity is determined to be 14.2 m/s and the power output is 54.3 kW. However, when the ground slope is made 0.5°, it is observed that the maximum velocity increases by 37% to 19.51 m/s, and the power output is enhanced to 63.95 kW with a rise of 17.7%. Sloping ground is found a key solution to improve the turbulent effects inside the plant, thus to enhance the electrical power output.

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“…Cuce et al presented a brief discussion of energy balance, design rules, production power, and power plant cost analysis [9]. In the next study, Cuce reported the preliminary results of testing the power plant built in Spain [10]. In 2021, Malta provided an analysis to determine the total efficiency of the power plant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the Thermal Performance for Different Types of Solar Chimney Power Plants

2022

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Nowadays, due to restrictions on fossil fuels, the use of renewable energies is increasing day by day. Among renewable energies, solar energy has received more attraction due to its availability in all places. Among solar energy technologies, the solar tower has been welcomed due to its high power generation of electrical energy. For accurate modeling of the studied system, each component of the system has been evaluated and modeling has been done. Therefore, in this research, solar tower modeling has been conducted to achieve high electrical energy production, and to better compare the production rate, 5 cities in Iran with different weather conditions have been considered. According to the results, it can be mentioned that the highest production power by the studied system is related to Shiraz city with an average production of 20 kW/m2, and among the cities studied, the lowest rate is related to Mashhad with a production power of 15 kW/m2.

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Numerical performance modelling of solar chimney power plants: Influence of chimney height for a pilot plant in Manzanares, Spain

Cited by 33 publications

References 17 publications

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Collector Profile, Tower Diameter and Tower Height on the Performance of Small-Scale Solar Updraft Power Generator

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Collector Profile, Tower Diameter and Tower Height on the Performance of Small-Scale Solar Updraft Power Generator

Impacts of Ground Slope on Main Performance Figures of Solar Chimney Power Plants: A Comprehensive CFD Research with Experimental Validation

Modeling the Thermal Performance for Different Types of Solar Chimney Power Plants

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