Numerical investigation of a sloped solar chimney power plant: a three-dimensional study

Sloped solar chimney power plant (SSCPP) is a solar energy technology to generate solar electrical energy. Compared to the conventional solar chimney power plant (SCPP), this system has a sloped collector that operates as a chimney. This study using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is provided a 3 D numerical simulation of the SSCPP along with a heat storage layer. The effects of pressure drop during turbine operation and solar irradiances on system parameters and the distribution of velocity and temperature are investigated. Based on results on the no-load condition, the maximum velocity of the system can be reached around 17 m/s at solar irradiance of 1000 W/m(2). On the load condition, the airflow temperature increased while the velocity decreased, compared to the no-load condition. Furthermore, the power output of the SSCPP was 50 kW when the turbine pressure drop and solar irradiances were 120 Pa and 1000 W/m(2), respectively. Also, it indicated that at a specific solar irradiance, there is an optimum pressure drop across the turbine. According to found results, the sloped solar chimney power plant is competitive with a conventional SCPP and has the same functionality under the same conditions.