Abstract
A one dimensional unsteady mathematical model for predicting the air mass flow rate in a solar chimney has been proposed. The thermal resistance and thermal inertia of both the glass cover and heat absorbing wall were considered in the present model. Crank-Nicolson finite difference numerical method was used to solve the differential equations. The variation of the air temperature in the solar chimney was solved by integrating the controlling equation for the air along the chimney height. Results show the absorber wall reaches its peak temperature 2 hours later with respect to the maximum ambient temperature. The air temperature in the channel varies with the solar radiation in a day and researches its peak value at about 2:00pm. The air mass flow rate increases remarkably with the increase of the channel depth when the solar radiation is higher from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. The maximum of air mass flow rate occurs at around 2:00pm
Abstract by the authors, reproduced under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Original publication via the link below.