Parametric study of the geometry of a solar chimney power plant in Peru using computational fluid dynamics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18686/cest872Keywords:
computational fluid dynamics; parametric analysis; renewable energy; simulation; solar chimney; solar energyAbstract
Solar Chimney Power Plants (SCPPs) are emerging renewable-energy systems that convert solar radiation into electrical energy through buoyancy-driven airflow. Despite recent advances in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling of SCPPs, studies employing fully three-dimensional parametric analyses under South American high-irradiance conditions remain limited. This study presents one of the first three-dimensional parametric CFD analyses of solar chimney geometry optimization under the climatic conditions of Olmos, Peru. Unlike conventional two-dimensional or axisymmetric approaches, the present methodology employs a fully three-dimensional CFD framework capable of capturing complex airflow behavior, thermal asymmetries, localized recirculation, and pressure-recovery mechanisms associated with divergent chimney geometries. Four chimney configurations were evaluated: cylindrical, divergent, vertical-to-divergent, and divergent-to-vertical. The results indicate that the divergent-to-vertical configuration exhibited the best overall aerodynamic performance, achieving the highest airflow velocity and predicted power output while maintaining stable flow behavior without significant recirculation regions. The improved performance was associated with enhanced basal acceleration and more effective pressure recovery within the chimney. The findings demonstrate the aerodynamic advantages of divergent chimney configurations under high-irradiance operating conditions and provide a technical framework for the future development and optimization of SCPP systems in regions with strong solar-resource potential.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rodolfo Garcia Uchofen, Alberto Hananel, Alejandro Vera Lázaro
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