Thermodynamic assessment of a small-scale solar chimney

Cristiana Brasil Maia and Janaína de Oliveira Castro Silva

Renewable Energy, 2022, vol. 186, issue C, 35-50

Abstract: In recent decades, the world is facing significant global population growth, leading to an energy use intensification. Due to the depletion of global energy resources, renewable sources can be used to replace or enhance conventional sources. Solar energy is a non-polluting and inexhaustible energy source. The solar chimney uses solar energy to heat the air and generate an updraft airflow, which can be used for electricity generation or agricultural drying. Most models from the literature predict the steady-state airflow parameters using fixed values for ambient temperature and solar radiation, or unsteady analysis using experimental data. In this paper, a comprehensive assessment of the unsteady airflow inside a small-scale prototype is presented. A mathematical model is used to predict the mass flowrate and the temperatures of the airflow throughout a year, on an hourly basis, and the results showed a good agreement with experimental data obtained in a small prototype. The performance of the system was evaluated, with a maximum exergy efficiency of 11%. The low energy and exergy efficiencies were mainly attributed to the small dimensions of the prototype.

Keywords: Solar chimney; Energy and exergy analysis; Analytical model; Experimental prototype (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:186:y:2022:i:c:p:35-50

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2021.12.128

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