Numerical simulations of solar chimney power plant with radiation model

Abstract

a b s t r a c tA three-dimensional numerical approach incorporating the radiation, solar load, and turbine models proposed in this paper was first verified by the experimental data of the Spanish prototype. It then was used to investigate the effects of solar radiation, turbine pressure drop, and ambient temperature on system performance in detail. Simulation results reveal that the radiation model is essential in preventing the overestimation of energy absorbed by the solar chimney power plant (SCPP). The predictions of the maximum turbine pressure drop with the radiation model are more consistent with the experimental data than those neglecting the radiation heat transfer inside the collector. In addition, the variation of ambient temperature has little impact on air temperature rise despite its evident effect on air velocity. The power output of the SCPP within the common diurnal temperature range was also found to be insensitive to ambient temperature.

A review on solar chimney systems

“…They found that the increase in the power output was higher than the increase in the expenditure of the optimal configuration [177]. Guo et al [178] simulated a new model for a solar chimney power plant that included the solar load, turbine models, and the radiation. Then they evaluated the influences of turbine pressure drop, ambient temperature and solar radiation on the performance of the system.…”

Thermal-Fluids Analysis of a Hybrid Solar/Compost Waste Heat Updraft Tower

“…In [15] a novel small scale model of solar chimney was investigated experimentally and numerically where the experimental results show that utilization of intensifiers lead to a maximum velocity of 5.12 m/s. The research of [16] presents numerical simulations of a solar chimney power plant with a radiation model wherein the results indicate that the radiation model is essential in preventing the overestimation of energy absorbed by the solar chimney power plant. In [17], a mathematical thermal model for steady state airflow inside a solar chimney power plant based upon the modified Bernoulli equation with buoyancy effects and ideal gas equation are given.…”

A Comparative Study of CFD Models of a Real Wind Turbine in Solar Chimney Power Plants

“…Pastohr et al used the Betz limit to calculate the value of the pressure drop for the reverse fan model [17]. The value of the pressure drop was also estimated by using a parametric study [24,26], and an iterative approach [21]. The main advantage of the reverse fan model was to simulate the pressure jump of the turbine with a computationally low cost.…”