Controlling power output of solar chimney power plant according to demand

ABSTRACT

The solar chimney power plant (SCPP) is a simple solar thermal power plant that is capable of converting solar energy into thermal energy in the solar collector. In the second stage, the generated thermal energy is converted into kinetic energy in the chimney and ultimately into electric energy using a combination of a wind turbine and a generator. The numerical simulations were performed for the geometry of the prototype in Manzanares, Spain. Using computational ?uid dynamics (CFD) techniques; we have simulated a two-dimensional axisymmetric model of a SCPP with the RNG k-ε turbulence. In this model, the discrete ordinates (DO) radiation model was implemented to solve the radiative transfer equation, using a two-band radiation model. The main objective of this work is to explore dynamic control over plant power output. We have presented a technique to control the power output of the solar chimney power plant, in order to deliver power according to specified demand patterns. In order to present this, the reference plant model was modified to include a secondary and tertiary collector roof under the existing main collector. In terms of base load electricity generation, the inclusion of a secondary and tertiary collector roof produces good control over plant output.