Effect of varying ambient temperature and solar radiation on the flow in a solar chimney collector

Abstract

The solar chimney is a simple solar thermal power plant that is capable of converting solar energy into thermal energy in the solar collector. The generated thermal energy is converted into kinetic energy in the chimney and ultimately into electric energy using a turbo generator. The aim of the present numerical study is to conduct a more detailed numerical analysis of a collector of the solar chimney. A mathematical model based on the continuity, Navier–Stokes, and energy equations was developed to determine the solar chimney power plant collector mechanism in detail. The basic equations were solved numerically using an iterative method. The distribution of temperature, velocity and pressure in the solar collector are illustrated for the city of “Adrar”– Southern Algeria– to examine the effect of varying ambient temperature and solar radiation on the flow in the collector. A good agreement was obtained between the experimental data of the Manzanares prototype and our results.