Analysis of a solar chimney power plant in the Arabian Gulf region

A simplified thermodynamics analytical model for steady airflow inside a solar chimney is performed. A simplified Bernoulli equation combined with fluid statics and ideal gas equation was implemented and solved using EES solver to predict the performance of the solar chimney power plant. The analytical model matched the experimental data and numerical study available in the literature. The developed analytical model was used to evaluate the effect of geometric parameters on the solar plant power generation. The analysis showed that chimney height and turbine pressure head are the most important physical variables for the solar chimney design. The study showed that second-law efficiency has non-monotonic relation with turbine pressure head. The model shows that second-law efficiency and power harvested increase with the increase of chimney height and/or diameter. The developed model is used to analyze the feasibility of solar chimney power plants for the UAE climate which possesses typical characteristics of the Gulf climate. The solar characteristics of the UAE are shown along with characteristic meteorological data. A solar chimney power plant with a chimney height of 500 m and a collector roof diameter of 1000 m would produce at least 8 MW of power. The amount of power produced during the summer would be higher where the demand in the Gulf area is the highest.

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