EGM 335 Thermal System Design - Spring 2017

Project 5 - Solar Chimney

Project by - Rushi Patel

Dr. Rachmadian Wulandana

22 May 2017

Abstract
The project involves researching different prototype models of solar chimney either made on
a large scale model for experimental purpose, or simulated using computational fluid
dynamics software (CFD) and collect the information regarding dimensions of height and
diameter of the chimney and the collector. Along with physical dimensions of the
structure,the behaviour of the air was determined by collecting specs including the max
velocity and max temperature of the hot air as it rises from base to the tip the chimney.
 Table of Contents
Abstract 1

Nomenclature 3

Introduction 4

Theory 6

Data Collection and Discussion 8

Conclusion 10

References 11
Nomenclature

turbine Efficiency of turbines

tower Efficiency of tower

P Pressure

T Temperature Difference

coll Efficiency of Collector

Ptotal Total Pressure

Ptot Total Pressure Difference

g Acceleration due to gravity

tower Density of tower

a Density of air

Gh Horizontal Radiation

Solar heat Input

and solar
Introduction
The objectives of this project is to collect the specs of different models of solar chimney
already built or simulated using the computational fluid dynamics and observe how the size
of the solar chimney or of the collector plays a role in drawn power output.

Solar chimney power plant, or SUPP for short utilizes a combination of three technologies
such as the open solar collector (greenhouse effect), chimney and turbines to harness and
convert the thermal energy into electrical power. It takes the solar radiation given off by the
sun and uses it to generate electricity. The air is used as working fluid in the system. The
way the process works is first the solar energy is absorbed from the sun and is used to heat
the air trapped underneath the collector of certain diameter. Once the trapped air becomes
hot it expands and this causes its density to vary as a result of temperature change. The
less dense hot air then moves naturally towards the cold air due to the buoyancy. The cold
air would be inside the chimney above the turbine since it is open to the atmosphere so the
hot air moves in the center towards the base of the chimney and spins the turbine as it
leaves the chimney and mixes with cold air in the atmosphere and as a result, the power
produced by the movement of the turbine blades would be collected and stored. To make
sure that the trapped air gets hot quickly usually the material used for the collector is either
glass or plastic. The process mentioned above is demonstrated in figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Movement of hot air inside the solar chimney

its overall process comprises of 4 steps, 1) first solar energy is converted into thermal
energy, 2) thermal energy is collected to kinetic energy in the collector passage. 3) the
kinetic energy is converted into mechanical energy in the wind rotor, and lastly 4) the
mechanical energy is converted into electrical power using generators. This series of
conversions from solar radiation to electrical form causes the system to be less efficient
around 1%. However many research performed overtime have claimed the improvement in
efficiency but it is not enough for the investors to happily invest and expect the higher
payback.

The solar chimney has a capacity to produce massive amounts of energy equivalent to the
energies produced by the conventional power plants such as nuclear power plants and it is
cheaper, cleaner and environmentally friendly however it is not yet recognized for practical
use to generate electricity for selling. The reason behind this is along with advantages, it has
disadvantages. some advantages of solar chimney are that it is cleaner since it only uses
hot air to generate electricity and hence no chemical reactions going around and this makes
it safer for the environment. Its cheaper since the energy source is the sun and the only
cost required is the cost to built and cost of maintenance. However some disadvantages of
the solar chimney that limits its uses is that it relies on the solar radiation of the sun, which is
good and bad, good because it's free and bad because it's the heat received from the sun is
not constant in terms of temperature throughout the day or different days. In other words the
even at the hottest locations, the temperature of the heat from the sun varies throughout the
day and coarse of the whole year. This means the power generated from the turbines would
not be constant which is required for the power plant. Another disadvantage is that to
generate the power output equivalent to the one produced by the conventional power plant,
the diameter of the collector needs to be very big and the height of the tower needs to be
high. This means constructing the solar chimney would require vast amount of land if it was
to generate electricity for the entire city. For example, to produce 200 MW of electricity, the
diameter of the collector would have to be at least 7000m if the chimney height is 1000 m.
The prototype model of the solar chimney made in manzanares, spain had a chimney height
of about 195 m high and the collector diameter of about 244m. Using four bladed single
turbine the chimney outputs around 50 KW of power. This model was just a prototype to
determine whether the solar chimney would be practical to generate electricity for city. It was
not made to sell electricity. The prototype of the manzanares built can be seen in figure 2
below.

Figure 2: Manzanares solar chimney power plant

Theory

As mentioned above, air trapped under the collector is heated by the radiation of the sun. As
the air gets hot, it naturally travels towards the base of the tower at the center and rises
upwards. The air spins the turbine during its journey to the top of the tower. During the
whole process the mass flow rate of air would be same for inlet and outlet. The mass flow
rate of the air coming in the system and leaving the system can be calculated using the
formula shown below

The collector of the solar chimney collects the solar radiation, Gh that falls on the collector
area Acoll and convert it into the solar input of the system. In other words the solar input is the
product of the solar radiation and the collector area. The formula to calculate the solar input
is shown below

Heat output can also be calculated by multiplying the mass flow rate, specific heat, and
change in temperature of the air. The formula is shown below is first law of dynamics

The heat flow developed under the collector then moves towards the base of the chimney
and drives the turbine as the it rises towards the top of the chimney. The heat flow is
converted into kinetic energy when the hot air rotates turbines. The difference in the density
of the air which is caused by the temperature rise in the driving force works as a collector
force. The pressure difference produced between the base of the tower and the top of the
tower can be calculated using the formula shown below.

represents gravity (9.81m/s2),

In the above formula, g a represents the density of the air
at the base of the tower, tower is the density of the air rising up to the top of the chimney. It
makes sense that the change in the total pressure depends on the change in the air density
and height of the tower. This would imply that change in total pressure increases as the
height of the tower increases.
In the above equation, the total pressure difference can be divided into two sub categories,
static component and dynamic component. The static component of the pressure difference
drops at the turbine while the dynamic component draws the kinetic energy of the air flow.

The total pressure can be calculated by multiplying the total pressure difference with the
max volume flow of air inside the tower and the area of the collector. The formula to
calculate total pressure is shown below

The efficiency of the tower can now be calculated by dividing the total pressure by the
chimney divided by the solar input. The formula is shown below

The Boussinesq approximation can be used to determine the maximum flow speed of the air

Where change T is the temperature rise between the ambient and the collector outlet.

The efficiency of the collector can be calculated using the formula shown below

Lastly, after all the efficiencies were collected The power output produced by the turbines
can be calculated using the formula shown below.

Where, P is the power produced, Qdot solar is the solar energy that is being input in the
system. coll is the efficiency of the collector, tower is the efficiency of the tower, and turbine is the
efficiency of the turbine. Equation 1 states that the power output can be calculated by
multiplying the solar input with the efficiencies of the turbine, tower and collector.
 Data Collection and Discussion
Table 1 below shows the specs of prototype of solar chimney made for either experimental
purposes or tested theoretically or simulated under CFD software

The table 1 above shows the spec of the solar chimney built, theoretically calculated or
simulated in different locations to generate the expected power output. Theoretical
calculations were performed to determine the the dimensions needed for tower height and
the collector to produce enough power output that can be used to light a city. Some were
simulated using computational fluid dynamics software and two models were built to
determine the maximum power output. The data shows that the small prototype built in
manzanares, spain produced 50 KW power output. Another small prototype was built in
botswana which had the tower height seven times smaller than the height of manzanares
tower. The information on the power output was not available for the botswana plant
however from the specs of the tower and the collector, it can be judged that the power
produced by botswana plant would be less than 50 KW. the Namibian chimney plant
theoretically produces the highest power output of all. It produces 400 megawatt of power. It
also the highest tower height of 1500 m, largest tower diameter and collector diameter of 280
m and 6863.66m. Another theoretical chimney plant the determines the power output of 200
MW is proposed in australia. It has the tower height of 1500 m, tower diameter of 160 m and
collector diameter of 6900m.
 Figure 3: Power Output in relation to the height of the tower

The first parametric study was done to determine the relation between the power output and
the height of the chimney. The chart in figure 3 indicates that power output is directional
proportional to the height of the chimney. This makes sense because the higher height of
the chimney will give greater pressure difference. There will also be the greater density
difference between the hot air at the base and the air inside the chimney. This difference
controls the speed of the hot air as it rises. The higher the difference, the higher the air
velocity, and the faster the air will exert force on the turbines causing them to move. This will
result in greater power output.

Figure 4: Power Output in relation to the diameter of the chimney

The second parametric study was done to determine the relation between the power output
and the diameter of the chimney. The chart in figure 4 above indicates that power output is
directional proportional to the diameter of the chimney. This makes sense because greater
diameter of the chimney will give the greater volume for the air to flow. The higher the
volume, more air can flow.

Figure 5: Power Output in relation to diameter of the collector

The third parametric study was done to determine the relation between the power output
and the diameter of the collector. The chart in figure 5 below indicates that power output is
depends on the collector of the diameter. This makes sense because greater collector
diameter of the chimney will give the greater volume for the hot air to store. This means the
more hot air can be collected under the collector and used to spin the turbines. More air
rising up increases the speed of the airflow and faster air flow will spin the blades faster
which will result in more power output.

Conclusion

Power Output of the chimney depends on the overall specs of the solar chimney
including tower height, tower diameter, collector height and collector diameter
Power Output also depends on temperature op solar radiation.
Despite being cheap, the solar chimney cannot be used as a primary power plant yet
to generate electricity due to having very low efficiencies and the it requiring vast
amount of land to generate greater power output.
Not enough information is available yet for the investors to take risk and investing in
it.
No large scale model has made yet which can produce as much electricity as the
conventional power plant.
References

[1] Kayeim, Hussain H. Historic and Recent Progress in Solar Chimney Power Plant Enhancing
Technologies. Tech. Science Direct, 11 Oct. 2014. Web. 23 May 2017.

[2] Bergermann, Rudolf. Design of Commercial Solar Updraft Tower Systems Utilization of
Solar Induced Convective Flows for Power Generation. Tech. Vol. 127. N.p.: ASME, 2005. Print.

[3] Zhou, Xinping. A Renew of Solar Chimney Power Technology. Tech. N.p.: Elseveir, n.d.
Print.

[4] Meyer C M. Towers of Power: Solar Updraft Tower. Tech. N.p. Print