CFD analysis of solar chimney power plant: Effect of chimney height, shape and collector size

This paper presents computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of the solar chimney power plant to analyze to analyze buoyancy-nature of heated air by har- nessing solar energy. ANSYS Fluent a finite volume code has been used for axisym- metric model of the solar chimney power plant (SCPP) prototype in Manzanares, Spain considering updraft tower. A standard k- turbulence model and Boussinesq approximation for buoyancy driven flow is considered. Small pressure difference because of natural draft inside the chimney during day time has been observed due to solar radiation. The numerical results obtained for average velocity and temper- ature at chimney inlet are validated with the experimental results of the prototype. It has been observed that both the velocity and temperature of air inside the SCPP increases significantly with the increment in solar radiation. Increase in the chimney height and collector radius also increases the power output of the plant. The effect of chimney convergence with different area ratio on the power output of SCCPs have been analyzed