Experimental Study of the Airflow in Natural Convection in an Innovative Prototype of Solar Chimney Power Plant, under Climatic Conditions in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Abstract

Objectives: In sunny regions, chimney solar power plants are a promising technology because they depend mainly on solar energy. However, chimney solar power plants require an optimal design of the power plant components to improve its reliability and scalability. As the collector is one of the essential components of the solar chimney power plant, this study presents an experimental study that aims to improve the thermo-aerodynamic parameters of the airflow involved. Methods: We used mini hemispherical concentrators in the collector as an innovation and the experimental conditions are those of a dry tropical zone during the dry season. Temperature and velocity were measured during a measurement campaign. Findings: The analysis of the results showed an improvement of the thermo-aerodynamic parameters, in particular the air temperature in the collector and its velocity in the chimney, with maximum values reaching 78.35 ◦C and 2.87 m/s respectively. We also note an improvement of the thermal field of 24.4 % and the dynamic field of 58.6% compared to a conventional solar chimney model of the same dimensions. A thermal efficiency of 68.88 % was achieved. These values highlight the innovation relevance and the performance improvement of the solar chimney prototype. Keywords: Experimentation; Airflow; Natural Convection; Solar Chimney Power Plant; Hemispherical Reflector