Abstract
This numerical investigation examines the airflow in a solar chimney with a conical geometry. The goal is to understand how the conical shape affects the flow characteristics and overall system performance. The findings indicates that conical design can enhance air velocity and minimize pressure losses, leading to improve energy production efficiency. We simulated a constant airflow in a chimney solar power plant using a mathematical fluid flow model. The influence of the wind speed at the entrance of the solar collector and the R/H radius-height ratio of the conical solar tower. We based ourselves on the Navier-Stokes equations, in cylindrical coordinates. The simulations were carried out with Maroua climate, the capital city of the Far North Region of Cameroon. We observe that the best speed is at the top of the cone and varies between 55.5m/s; 44.1m/s and 27.5m/s, for R/H ratios of 1.5; 1 and 0.4 respectively. Likewise, the best pressure recorded is 1.02.10 5 Pa with an R/H ratio of 1.5. The temperature values are between 300K and 314K and increase from the base to the top of the conical tower. The phenomenon is favorable to the increase in speed in the same way as the conical geometry of the lathe. The speed values thus obtained are within the favorable operating ranges of mini turbines for electricity production. This research enhances our understanding of the flow physics in conical-shaped solar chimneys and offers guidelines for optimizing the design of such systems.
Abstract by the authors, reproduced under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Original publication via the link below.