Chapter 7 - The influence of ambient crosswind on the performance of solar updraft power plant system

Abstract

To investigate the impact of a strong ambient crosswind on the system output power through the collector inlet and chimney outlet, numerical analysis on the performances of a solar updraft power plant systems (SUPPS) identical to the prototype in Manzanares, Spain which is exposed to the external crosswind with different velocities was carried out in this chapter. A geometrical model including the solar chimney power plant systems (SCPPS) and its outside ambience was built, and the mathematical models to describe the fluid flow, heat transfer, and output power of the whole system were further developed. The pressure, temperature, and velocity distribution of the air in the ambience and SUPPS together with the output power of the SUPPS were analyzed. The numerical simulation results reveal that ambient crosswind has an influence on the performance of the SUPPS in two ways. On the one hand, when the ambient crosswind is comparably weak, it will deteriorate the flow field and reduce the output power of the SUPPS. On the other hand, it may even increase the mass flow rate and output power if the crosswind is strong enough. Later, to overcome the negative impact of strong ambient crosswind on the performance of the system through the collector inlet, a 2m high blockage was circularly set a few meters away from the collector inlet. The results revealed that after a blockage was set in front of the collector inlet, the negative influence of ambient crosswind on the performance of the SUPPS was overcome to a great extent.