Numerical investigation of rectangular fin geometry effect on solar chimney

In this paper, the performance of solar chimney as a natural convection solar air heater with longitudinal rectangular fins is numerically investigated. Heat transfer and turbulent flow in a three-dimensional domain are investigated under steady state condition and the finite volume method is used to discretize the equations. Numerical results are verified by comparing with existing experimental results in the literature and a good agreement is achieved. Effects of rectangular fins on air temperature and mass flow are discussed and the results are compated with that of a flat absorber. Furthermore, ambient temperature, solar radiation intensity and geometry parameters of the channel and rectangular fins such as depth of the channel, depth, and width of fins are checked. By analyzing the results, appropriate channel dimensions are suggested to yield better performance in the solar chimney. Finally, discontinuous fins in the solar chimney with different interruption gaps are examined. Utilizing discontinuous fins with appropriate interruption gaps may enhance the performance of solar chimney in comparison with continuous fins. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.