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Environmental Science
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Numerical Study the Performance of Solar Chimney

Power Plant in Different Regions of Algeria

Samir DJIMLI Abla CHAKER

Energy Physics Laboratory Energy Physics Laboratory
Department of physics Department of physics
University of Constantine 1, Algeria University of Constantine 1, Algeria
djsamir.25@gmail.com chakamine@yahoo.fr

Abstract— the depletion of fossil fuels and Our focus will be primarily on the solar radiation of these sites
environmental degradation have forced looks to move then on the electric power that can be generated by the solar
towards renewable energy. Having an exceptional solar chimney.
potential, Algeria launched in 2011 a national program to Nomenclature
develop and promote clean and sustainable energy. It is in
this context that we propose to conduct an investigation on V Velocity (m/s)
the possibilities of implementing solar chimneys across the A Area (m2)
country. There are four potential areas that can suit the
Cp Specific heat (J/kg K)
purpose of our work. The results are in favor of the
construction of a solar chimney that would produce from D Diameter (m)
14 to 23 KW supplying electricity to a population which
ranges from 14000 to 23000 inhabitants. h Heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K)
m Flow rate (kg/s)
Keywords— Renewable energy; solar energy; solar chimney / G Global solar radiation (W/m2)
tower; Fluent
g Acceleration of gravity (m/s2)
I. INTRODUCTION
P Power (W)
Currently, a large part of global energy consumption is mainly Q Heat (W)
provided by fossil fuels (oil and gas) and nuclear power. T Temperature (K)
Harmful CO2 emissions generated by the first spinneret and
the heavy cost of the treatment and storage of nuclear waste H Height (m)
have forced the eyes to move towards the so-called "clean" F Heat flow(W/m2 )
energy. Like many countries, Algeria, aware of the energy and  Emissivity
environmental challenges, launched in 2011 a national
program for development of new and renewable energy and  Transmitivity
energy efficiency. The program aims to install a capacity of ρ Density of air (kg/m3)
nearly 12,000 MW on the domestic market and the possibility
of exporting 10,000 MW in 2030. η Efficiency
The exceptional solar potential of Algeria with sunshine µ Viscosity of air (kg/m s)
duration from 2 500 to 3 900 hours/year, produces nearly
1,700 kWh/m² per year in the north and 2,263 kWh/m² per 0 Ambient
year in the south [1]. This is an important asset to develop coll Collector
many applications including solar chimney solar tower which
is a preferred route for the production of green electricity. sc Chimney
Studies, on the performance of solar chimneys, have been atm Atmospheric
undertaken especially in the regions of ADRAAR [2] and
M'SILA [3] but they remain very limited. Also the objective wt Turbine
of the present work is to conduct a study that would examine e Electric
the possibility of implementing solar chimneys in other
c Input collector
Algerian sites. Consequently, four regions have been selected.
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II. DESCRIPTION AND MODE OF OPERATION The equations that describe the flow in cylindrical coordinates
are [5]:
The solar chimney [4], is essentially composed of a solar
Mass conservation:
collector, a chimney or tower and a wind turbine (figure 1).
 u u v
   0 (01)
The heated greenhouse in the collector (open to the periphery t r r z
to introduce fresh air) rises above a fireplace located in the
center of the latter. A wind turbine to the base of the chimney Linear r-momentum conservation:
is placed in the path of the flow of air to convert the kinetic
energy thereof into mechanical energy. The generator which is ( u ) u u  u   1 p (02)
driven by the turbine converts mechanical energy into u v   2   2u  
electrical energy. The prototype of Manzanares in Spain is the t r z  r   r
only solar chimney industrial scale which was built and tested
over the years 1982-1989. Many other projects have been Linear z-momentum conservation:
announced all over the world (India, Australia, China, ( v) v v   1 p  T
Namibia, USA, Chile, etc), but none has yet emerged.   v  2v   g (03)
t r z   z 
Energy conservation:
(  T ) T T
u v   2T (04)
t r z
The model of turbulence used is k   . Equation of turbulent
kinetic energy k :
k k   C u k ²  k 
uk     
t x k x k   k   x k  (05)
C u k ²  ui u k  u i
    
  x k x i  x k
Equation of the dissipation of the turbulent kinetic energy  :

    C k ²  
 uk    u 
t xk xk   e  xk
(06)
Fig. 1. Solar chimney
 u i u k  u i ²
 C 1Cu k   
  C 2
III. MATHEMATICAL MODEL AND BOUNDARY  xk xi  xk k
CONDITIONS Constants take the following values [6]:
The rotational symmetry of the cylinder indicates that the C1  1.44, C2  1.92, C  0.09, k  1.0,   1.3
solution is two-dimensional (only depends on r and z) (Fig. 2)
A. Solar collector

The efficiency of the collector with surface Acoll and

irradiation G is given by:

Q
 coll  (7)
Acoll .G
The heat generated Q and mass flow m
 are respectively given
by equations 8 and 9

Q  m
 .C p .T (8)

Fig. 2. Two-dimensional geometric of the solar chimney

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m   coll .Vc . Ac (9)

As shown in figure 3, a double mesh ration was used.

Ac is the entry surface of the collector

By substituting in Equation 7, Q and m by their expressions,

we obtain the relation:

 coll .Vc . Ac .C p .T

 coll  (10)
Acoll .G

B. solar chimney

The efficiency of the chimney is expressed by [4]:

P gH
 sc  tot  sc
(11)
Q C pT0

The pressure difference produced by the chimney is calculated

T
by: Ptot   coll g H sc (12) Fig. 3. Mesh used
T0
The electrical power is given by: IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
2 g
Pe   coll wt H sc Acoll G (13) The performance of any solar system is closely related to solar
3 C pT0 irradiation. Our interest was first focused on this key
parameter. The solar potential of Algeria, according to the
Where  wt is the turbine efficiency. Special German Agency [1], is more important than that of
other Mediterranean countries as illustrated in figure 4 [7].
The boundary conditions, parameters and the dimensions of
the solar chimney, used in this study are grouped in tables I
and II

TABLE I. BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

Place Type Value

Bottom of the collector Heat flow F (W/m²K)
Top of the collector adiabatic T0, h=10 W/m²K
Surface of the chimney adiabatic qsc=0 W/m²K
Collector inlet Pressure inlet P=Patm, T=T0
Chimney outlet Pressure outlet P=Patm

TABLE II. DIMENSIONS AND PARAMETERS USED

Parameters Value Parameters Value

Chimney height (Hsc) 194,6 m Product of
transmittance and
0,65
Chimney diameter (Dsc) 10 m absorbance of the
collector 
Distance from ground to Fig. 4. Gglobal solar. Irradiation received on an inclined plane at
1,85-3,7 m
the cover (Hcoll) the latitude of the place: annual average [7]
Collector diameter
244 m
Efficiency of the turbine (Dcoll)
 wt 0,85
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Our study has focused on four different areas whose

geographical coordinates are summarized in table III
1000

TABLE III. GEOGRAPHICAL COORDINATES OF REGIONS

Solar radiation (W/m )

800

2
Region Alger Batna Ghardaia Bechar
600

Alger
Latitude 36°75’ 35°56’ 30°86’ 31°60’ 400 Batna
Ghardaia
Longitude 3°04’ 6°162’ 3°09’ -2°226’ 200 Bachar

0
Our interest was first focused on solar radiation. Formula 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
PERRIN BRICHAMBEAU was used [8]. Time (hour)

The temporal evolution of the global irradiation of the

four regions surveyed during day 21 [3] for several months of Fig. 7. Solar radiation during the day on July 21 for the four regions
the year (January, April, July and October) is shown in figures
5-8.

600
800

500 700
Solar radiation (W/m )
2

600
Solar radiation (W/m )
2

400
500
300
400
Alger
200 Batna 300 Alger
Ghardaia Batna
200
100 Bechar Ghardaia
100 Bechar
0
8 10 12 14 16 18 0
6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Time (hour)
Time (hour)

Fig. 5. Solar radiation during the day on January 21 for the four regions
Fig. 8. Solar radiation during the day on October 21 for the four regions

1000 It is easy to see that all the curves have a similar shape (bell-
shaped) reaching the height between 12h and 13h. Also we
can notice that these curves are almost superimposed during
Solar radiation (W/m )

800
2

the days of 21 July and October. The solar potential of

600 southern regions (Ghardaia and Bechar) is still greater than
Alger that of the northern regions (Algiers and Batna) for the days of
400 Batna 21 January and 21 April.
Ghardaia
200 Bechar
The ambient temperature may influence the operation of the
0
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
system. We examined the temporal evolution of this parameter
Time (hour)
during the 21st day of January, April, July and October for the
four regions under study (figures 9-12).

Fig. 6. Solar radiation during the day on April 21 for the four regions
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290 302
288
300
286
284 298
Temperature (K)

282
296

Temperature (K)
280
278 294
Alger
276
Batna 292
274
Ghardaia Alger
272 290
Bechar Batna
270
288 Ghardaia
268
266 286 Bechar
8 10 12 14 16 18
284
Time (hour) 8 10 12 14 16 18

Time (hour)

Fig. 9. Ambient temperature during the day on January 21 for the four Fig. 12. Ambient temperature during the day on October 21 for the four
regions regions

304 The analysis of different curves leads to notice that the

302
300
values of the ambient temperature is relatively close to the
298 four regions in winter and autumn but it is different in the
296
spring and summer between the northern and southern regions.
Temperature (K)

294
292 This can be explained by their geographical positions.
290
288
286
Alger
284
282 Batna
280 Ghardaia
278
Bechar
276
274 25
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Time (hour) 20
Power productivity (KW)

15
Fig. 10. Ambient temperature during the day on April 21 for the four
regions
10

Alger
5 Batna
318
Ghardaia
316
314 0
Bechar
312
310
Temperature (K)

308 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
306
304
Time (hour)
302
300
298 Alger
296 Batna
294 Fig. 13. Variation in production energy during the day on 21 Januray 21
292
Ghardaia
290 Bechar
288
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Time (hour)

Fig. 11. Ambient temperature during the day on July 21 for the four regions
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The shape of the curves in figures 13 to 16 represents the

40 temporal evolution of the electric power generation during day
35 21 for the months of January, April, July and October. This
30
temporal evolution for the four selected regions is similar to
Power productivity (KW)

those found in the literature [9,10,11]

25

20
Alger V. CONCLUSION
15 Batna
10 Ghardaia An investigation on the possibility of implementing a solar
Bechar chimney in Algeria was conducted. Four potential sites were
5
chosen and a particular attention has been paid to solar
0
radiation and ambient temperature which remain decisive
-5 parameters for any project of a solar system. The results show
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
that:
Time (hour)
• Both solar radiation and ambient temperature are higher in
the southern regions.
Fig. 14. Variation in production energy during the day on April 21
• The electricity produced depends on solar radiation and
ambient temperature
40
• The variations of solar radiation and energy have the same
allure.
35
• Electricity generation in southern regions is higher than
Power productivity (KW)

30 other regions because the solar radiation is higher.

25
• A chimney can produce power up to 23-38 kW in different
months of the year. The production of electrical energy is
20
Alger sufficient to meet the power demands of the villages located
15 Batna outside the network. Moreover, the manifold can be used as an
10 Ghardaia agricultural greenhouse to improve economic people.
Bechar
5 REFERENCES
0
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
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35
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Power productivity (KW)

Solar Energy 59, NOS, 1997.

25
[5] S.V.Patankar "Numerical heat transfer and fluid flow". Hemisphere
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[6] Documentation FLUENT: Fluent Inc, July 26,1998.
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10 Alger [8] Michel Capderou. Allas solaire de l'Algérie, tome 1.2 ;O.P,U. 1986.
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0 October 2002.
Bechar
-5 [10] A. Asnaghi, S.M. Ladjevardi, "Solar chimney power plant performance
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Fig. 16. Variation in production energy during the day on October 21