Night operation of solar chimney power system using solar ponds for heat storage

An alternative method of heat extraction from salt gradient solar ponds to solar collector is investigated with the aim of night operation for solar chimney power system. Some details of the combined power system integrated with solar ponds and solar chimney power system are also provided. Using a developed mathematical model, theoretical analyses are carried out to investigate the performance of the combined system without considering weak solar radiation effects in the early morning. It is found from steady-state analyses that the combined solar system comprising of a daytime 5 MW solar chimney power plant and solar ponds with proper dimension is able to produce more than 2.21 MW power during night. In addition, the power output for the combined system increases with the temperature of the collector entering hot brine and its mass flow, which is directly proportional to the plastic film height and the brine velocity. It is found from non-steady-state analyses that the combination of the daytime 5 MW solar chimney power plant and 1,400,000 m² solar ponds is a good choice, considering its performance and cost factor. This would make the day before performance of solar ponds be renewed by next day.

[1]  E. Bilgen,et al.  Solar chimney power plants for high latitudes , 2005 .

[2]  W. Swinbank.  Long‐wave radiation from clear skies , 1963 .

[3]  Fang Wang,et al.  Performance of solar chimney power plant in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau , 2010 .

[4]  M. A. dos S. Bernardes,et al.  Thermal and technical analyses of solar chimneys , 2003 .

[5]  S. M. Abughres,et al.  Maintenance strategy for a salt gradient solar pond coupled with an evaporation pond , 2004 .

[6]  M.A.K. Lodhi,et al.  Solar ponds in alkaline lake and oil well regions , 1996 .

[7]  Carson C. Chow,et al.  Performance of a solar chimney , 2003 .

[8]  C. Crowe,et al.  Engineering fluid mechanics , 1975 .

[9]  W. Haaf,et al.  Solar Chimneys: Part II: Preliminary Test Results from the Manzanares Pilot Plant , 1984 .

[10]  Anthony J. Gannon,et al.  Pressure Drop in Solar Power Plant Chimneys , 2002 .

[11]  Xinping Zhou,et al.  Special Climate around a Commercial Solar Chimney Power Plant , 2008 .

[12]  Xinping Zhou,et al.  Experimental study of temperature field in a solar chimney power setup , 2007 .

[13]  V.V.N. Kishore,et al.  A practical collector efficiency equation for nonconvecting solar ponds , 1984 .

[14]  B. A. Jubran,et al.  Optimization of solar pond electrical power generation system , 1997 .

[15]  Wolfgang Schiel,et al.  Design of Commercial Solar Updraft Tower Systems—Utilization of Solar Induced Convective Flows for Power Generation , 2005 .

[16]  Detlev G. Kröger,et al.  Critical evaluation of solar chimney power plant performance , 2006 .

[17]  S. A. Sherif,et al.  Experimental and theoretical performance of a demonstration solar chimney model—Part I: mathematical model development , 1998 .

[18]  W. Beckman,et al.  Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes , 1985 .

[19]  J. Schlaich.  Solar Chimney: Electricity from the Sun , 1996 .