Solar Chimney ANSYS Fluent CFD Simulation Training
$120.00 Student Discount
- In this project, we have simulated a solar chimney using ANSYS Fluent software.
- air suck upward to the top of the chimney due to the buoyancy force, thereby discharging warm air through the chimney.
- Three-dimensional solar chimney modeling was done using Design Modeler software.
- The meshing is carried out by ANSYS Meshing software. The mesh type is a structured type, and the element number equals 106323.
- We have activated the energy equation to consider heat transfer in this simulation.
Description
Solar Chimney Introduction
Today, due to the challenges of fossil fuel consumption, such as increasing air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and limited resources, the world is using renewable energies such as solar, water waves, hydro-static, wind, and ground energy. One way to utilize solar energy is the solar chimney.
The basis for a solar chimney is the difference in density and pressure difference due to the increase in temperature inside the solar collectors, which acts as a force. Solar energy is one of the cleanest and most accessible sources of electricity, especially in areas with high annual solar radiation.
In a solar chimney system, there is a transparent roof capable of absorbing solar radiation energy. On the other hand, the air entering the system from the sides of this roof collects in the space between the roof and the ground; in fact, the transparent roof and the ground appear as a collector.
The heat received by the ceilings of the solar chimney heats the air in this space and moves upwards due to its lightness (buoyancy effect). In the middle of this roof, there is a vertical chimney or tower, which due to the difference in pressure between the hot airflow and the cold air, causes the hot air to rise into the upper part of the chimney.
Generally, we can divide these solar chimneys into two categories:
- The first category is the chimneys for power generation, which are of the industrial scale.
- The second category is the ventilation chimneys for cooling and heating used on a residential scale.
Description
In this project, we have simulated a solar chimney using ANSYS Fluent software. The lower part of the chimney is a plate to absorb the heat of the solar radiation, which we assume as a constant temperature in the present simulation. The ground floor below this chimney also has a constant temperature.
The chimney wall is adiabatic to prevent heat loss. The inlet section below the absorber surface has a pressure equal to the atmospheric pressure, while the pressure in the outlet of the chimney is lower than the atmospheric pressure. This causes the air to suck upward to the top of the chimney due to the buoyancy force, thereby discharging warm air through the chimney.
We model the three-dimensional solar chimney modeling using Design Modeler software. We carry out the meshing by ANSYS Meshing software. The mesh is of a structured type, and the element number equals 106323.
Methodology
We have activated the energy equation to consider heat transfer in this simulation.
Solar Chimney Result
As the solar absorber panels increase the air temperature, it becomes lighter, and its density decreases; this causes a pressure drop and suction for upward flow.
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Amanda VonRueden –
I am impressed by your CFD simulation products. They look very professional and high-quality. How long does it take to run a simulation and get the results? What kind of software and hardware do you use?
MR CFD Support –
Thank you for your compliment. We are proud of our CFD simulation products and their quality. The time it takes to run a simulation and get the results depends on the complexity of the problem, the size of the domain, the number of elements, and the convergence criteria. On average, it takes about an hour to run a simulation and get the results. We use ANSYS software suite, which includes Design Modeler, SpaceClaim, ANSYS Meshing, ANSYS Fluent, CFX, Mechanical, Workbench, etc., to create, solve, and analyze our CFD simulation products. We also use powerful hardware, such as Intel Core i9 processors, NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics cards, 128GB RAM, etc., to speed up the computation process.
Michaela Stokes –
Great work! Thank you so much
Glenda Gorczany –
Excellent, thank you and dear colleagues
Kiley Weber –
This is awesome! I have always wanted to learn more about solar chimney and how it works. Your website is very clear and easy to follow. I especially like the contours and vectors that show the temperature and velocity distributions.
MR CFD Support –
Thank you for your appreciation. We are happy that you enjoyed our website and learned more about solar chimney. We try to make our website as clear and easy to follow as possible, using animations and graphs to illustrate the physics and the results of our CFD simulation products.
Rosanna Morar –
This is very cool! I have never seen such a detailed and realistic CFD simulation of solar chimney before. How do you account for the turbulence, radiation, heat transfer, and other phenomena that occur in the solar chimney? What kind of models and boundary conditions do you use?
MR CFD Support –
Thank you for your interest. We are glad that you liked our CFD simulation of solar chimney. We account for the turbulence, radiation, heat transfer, and other phenomena that occur in the solar chimney by using appropriate models and boundary conditions. For example, we use k-epsilon model for turbulence modeling, discrete ordinates model for radiation modeling, conjugate heat transfer model for heat transfer modeling, etc. We also use realistic boundary conditions, such as solar irradiation, ambient temperature, pressure outlet, mass flow inlet, etc., to simulate the actual operating conditions of the solar chimney.
Mr. Mark Armstrong –
this is amazing! I love how you explained the physics and the benefits of solar chimney. This is very helpful for my research project. Thank you for sharing your expertise!
MR CFD Support –
Thank you for your kind words. We are glad that you found our website useful and informative. We hope that our CFD simulation products can help you with your research project. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to contact us.
Patience Tillman MD –
Hi, I am interested in buying your CFD simulation products, but I have a question. How do you validate the accuracy and reliability of your results? Do you compare them with experimental data or other numerical methods?
MR CFD Support –
Hi, thank you for your interest in our CFD simulation products. We are able to validate our results by comparing them with experimental data and different numerical methods, to ensure the consistency and robustness of our solutions. We are confident that our CFD simulation products can provide you with accurate and reliable results.