Thermal and energy analysis of a novel solar updraft tower design with divergent chimney and convergent collector concept: CFD analysis with experimental validation

The fact that energy sources are heavily dependent on fossil fuels increases the need for alternative energy day by day. Solar energy is the most popular alternative energy source with massive potential. Solar chimney power plants (SCPP) are one of the systems of interest based on solar energy. SCPP systems are rare systems that can provide 24-hour power output. Their performance has been the subject of constant research since the first pilot plant in Manzanares. Design is crucial for performance figures of SCPPs, and the limitation of climatic parameters causes the system to be approached with different designs. This study makes a 3D CFD model by combining the divergent chimney and convergent collector structure based on the first pilot plant. The solar ray tracing algorithm and the RNG k-e turbulence model are applied and the model equations are solved under dynamic conditions with the reliable software ANSYS FLUENT. After the mesh-independent solution of the model is complete, it is validated with experimental data. The two cases are compared for solar radiation of 1000 W/m2 and environmental temperature of 293 K. A power output of 50.51 kW is achieved for standard pilot sizing. With the new model, the power output rises to 146.34 kW. It is seen that the divergent chimney and convergent collector affect the airflow in the system, increasing the maximum air velocity to 19.363 m/s. In parallel with the experimental data, it is seen that the temperature on the ground exceeds 360 K in the CFD results. © The Author(s) 2024.