A Parametric Study of a Pilot Solar Chimney Power Plant Using CFD

Using preliminary evaluations, a pilot solar chimney power plant with a 1-kW nominal power output was designed and built in Kerman City, Iran. This power plant produced about 400-W electrical power at high solar irradiance, which was 60% less than its nominal potential capacity. This investigation simulated fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics through this pilot, using ANSYS Fluent. The model was validated by comparing the results with the measured data of the Kerman pilot power plant. Then, parametric studies were performed to improve the main configurations of the system. The configuration of the system was improved by considering the collector and chimney dimensions. The collector inlet and outlet heights were re-designed, and then, the system was scaled at the factors of 1, 1.5, 3, and 5 in the radial direction, with three chimney heights of 60, 90, and 120 m. It was found that the collector of the Kerman pilot reached its maximum efficiency when its height was increased from 1 m at the collector inlet to 2 m at the collector outlet. Finally, a configuration to produce a power output of 1 kW was determined, with a scale factor of 1.5. More investigations to improve the system performance were conducted, and the velocity and temperature distributions for configurations with a scale factor of 3 at three different chimney heights were illustrated.