Study on refined mathematical model of solar chimney power plant integrated with seawater desalination and the influence of dewing

Abstract

In order to more accurately evaluate the operation and output characteristics of the solar chimney power plant integrated seawater desalination, a refined mathematical model for unsteady heat and mass transfer was built under consideration of the convection heat transfer mechanism of the collector, dewing phenomenon, and the disturbance to the hot airflow caused by the oblique-toothed flow channel boundary. The influence of nighttime dewing and humid environments on system performance was discussed. The results show that it is feasible and more appropriate to use the forced convection heat transfer coefficient of bellows to consider the influence of the oblique-toothed flow channel boundary; the refined mathematical model is also more accurate and reliable. Due to the effect of seawater heat storage, dewing has little effect on system performance, and the integrated system has a better anti-dewing negative impact characteristic. However, when the ambient humidity reached a higher level, dewing had a greater negative impact on freshwater production. The critical value of relative humidity for dewing to occur is 51 %. When the relative humidity increases from 45 % to 60 %, the daily utilization efficiency of solar energy decreases from 27.4 % to 22.5 %.