Effect of the number of turbine blades on the air flow within a solar chimney power plant

Abstract

Solar chimney power plants generate thermal heat and electrical power using the radiation from sun. These systems are characterized by their high costs. In fact, it is required to optimize the components of the solar system such as the collector, the chimney, the absorber, and the turbine. This paper focuses on the effect of the number of turbine blades on the air flow within a small prototype of a solar chimney power plant. Four configurations with different turbine blades are proposed to study the effect of the turbine blades number on the thermal characteristics of a solar chimney power plant. For each configuration, the distribution of the magnitude velocity, the air temperature, the pressure, the turbulent kinetic energy, and the turbulent viscosity are presented and discussed. This paper is identified to be of interest for engineers and designers for increasing the power output of a solar chimney power plant.