The impact of turbulence models and design parameters on solar chimney power plant efficiency: A CFD study

Abstract

This study numerically examines the effects of chimney height, chimney radius and collector height on the velocity, pressure and temperature distribution in a Solar Chimney Power Plant (SCPP). The analyses were performed using ANSYS Fluent software with two different turbulence models (RNG k-ε and SST k-ω). The results show that increasing the chimney height significantly boosts the outlet velocity but decreases the outlet temperature. Conversely, as the chimney radius increases, the outlet velocity decreases and the outlet temperature slightly drops. Changes in collector height result in complex behavior for both turbulence models in terms of outlet velocity and temperature, highlighting the importance of an optimal collector height. The study includes detailed and numerical data on how different turbulence models can be used for performance analysis and optimization. According to the analysis results, increasing the chimney height from 100 meters to 200 meters resulted in a 35% increase in outlet velocity and a 20% decrease in outlet temperature in the RNG k-ε model. In the SST k-ω model, the same increase raised the outlet velocity by 30% and decreased the outlet temperature by 15%. The research showed that both RNG k-ε and SST k-ω turbulence models respond notably to changes in collector height and design parameters. The RNG k-ε model reacts more quickly and sensitively, while the SST k-ω model behaves more steadily.