Investigation of climate effects on the performance of solar chimney power plants using numerical and analytical models: A case study for Chlef, Algeria

In this work, a semi-empirical model and 2D numerical model were developed to evaluate the Solar Chimney Power Plant (SCPP) efficiency in Chlef, Algeria. The airflow through the solar chimney is treated as a compressible flow in contrast to the Boussinsq model. In addition, the pressure and temperature in the solar are considered not constant. Thus, modelling was carried by means of Renolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations coupled to the k-ε turbulence model. The meteorological parameters used in this study such as the temperature and the global solar radiation were measured in the Chlef region, Algeria, during 2018. The power output, updraft velocity and temperature were calculated and compared with the experimental results obtained from the Manzanares prototype to validate results of the compressible flow through the solar chimney obtained with the 2D numerical model are more accurate than those produced by Bossinsq model. The COMSOL Multiphysics software was used in this study to simulate the SCPP flow behaviour. Results demonstrate that the proposed numerical model derived from fundamental engineering calculations is reasonably accurate and can be effectively applied to investigate the SCPPs efficiency.

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Przedstawiono model solarnego kominowego źródła energii zaprojektowanego w Chief – Algeria. Przepływ nagrzanego powietrza przez komin uruchamia turbinę wiatrową. Do opisu wykorzystano równania Renolds Averaged Navier-Stokes. Do obliczeń wykorzystano typowe warunki atmosferyczne w Chief. Symulację przeprowadzono wykorzystując oprogramowanie COMSOL Multiphysics.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa Nr 461252 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2021).