Investigation the performance of solar chimney power plant for improving the efficiency and increasing the outlet power of turbines using computational fluid dynamics

Abstract

SCPP (Solar Chimney Power Plant) parameters were investigated and modified by using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). In this study, the hydrodynamic parameters of flow and heat transfer in an SCPP were numerically investigated. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of geometrical parameters and different thermal boundary conditions on the performance of SCPP in a two-dimensional space. In this research, the effect of parameters such as heat flux (200, 400, 600, and 800 Wm−2), collector radius (100, 120, 140, and 160 m), and divergent angle (0° to 3°) of the chimney was considered. The height of the inlet section and the height of the chimney are constant and equal to 1.7 m and 195 m, respectively. By increasing the divergent angle of SCh θ=1∘, the rate of power generation improvement of the turbine is reduced. Therefore, the radius of SC and solar radiation has a direct relation with power generation. However, the divergent angle of the chimney has an optimum value and in the model of the present study, the maximum rate of power generation of SCPP was obtained in the divergent angle θ=1∘

Keywords

• Solar chimney
• Solar collector
• Energy efficiency
• CFD