Simulation of a sloped solar chimney power plant in Lanzhou

Solar chimney power system is one large-scale utilization style of solar energy, which has drawn high attentions worldwide. Though scholars all over the world have made many researches on the solar chimney power system, reports of sloped solar chimney power system are still few. A sloped solar chimney power plant, which is expected to provide electric power for remote villages in Northwest China, has been designed for Lanzhou City in this paper. The designed plant, in which the height and radius of the chimney are 252.2 m and 14 m respectively, the radius and angle of the solar collector are 607.2 m and 31° respectively, is designed to produce 5 MW electric power on a monthly average all year. The performances, such as the airflow temperature increase, pressure, the airflow speed, system efficiency and solar collector efficiency, of the built sloped solar chimney power plant are simulated and presented. Simulation results show that parameters of the sloped solar chimney power plant are symmetrical and stable; the power plant has better performances in spring and autumn days; the overall efficiency of the power plant is low. Considering the abundant solar radiation, environmental friendliness, easy management and low population density, the sloped solar chimney power system is of high value to Northwest China.

Research highlights
► A sloped solar chimney power plant in Lanzhou, China is investigated.
► The configuration sizes are designed separately.
► The system has high periodicity and stability but low efficiency.
► The sloped solar chimney power system is of high value for Northwest China.