Numerical Investigation of the Temperature and Flow Fields in a Solar Chimney Power Plant

Abstract

In this work, a parametric two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of a solar chimney power plant (a prototype located in Manzanares, Spain) is presented to illustrate the effects of the solar radiation mode in the collector on the plant performances. The simulations rely on a mathematical model that includes solar radiation within the collector; energy storage; air flow and heat transfer, and a turbine. It is based on the Navier-Stokes equation for turbulent flow formulated according to the standard k-ε model. Moreover, the Boussinesq approach is used to account for the fluid density variations. Different solar radiation modes in the collector are compared and discussed. The obtained results are also compared with available experimental results. It is shown that the radiation model is essential to avoid overestimation of the energy absorbed by the plant and that results based on a two-dimensional model can resemble closely those produced by three-dimensional models.