Improving the Power Generation Performance of a Solar Tower Using Thermal Updraft Wind

Masataka Motoyama¹, Kenichiro Sugitani², Yuji Ohya², Takashi Karasudani², Tomoyuki Nagai², Shinsuke Okada¹

¹Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
²Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/epe.2014.611031                

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to improve the efficiency of the power generation system of a solar tower using fluid dynamics. The power generation system of a solar tower can be designed and constructed at relatively low cost. However, the energy output tends to be low for its physical size compared with other renewable energy production systems. The technical and scientific improvement of these types of generation systems has lost its momentum since the shutdown of the wellknown Spanish pilot plant “Manzanares Solar Chimney” in 1989, although it still has the potential to play a role in renewable energy in the future. We have focused on the tower component of the system to seek possible enhancements of the power output of the internal turbine. As a result of our fluid dynamic shape optimization, a diffuser-shaped tower was employed to increase the internal flow speed of a scaled model. The results show a remarkable improvement in the power output of the internal wind turbine.

Keywords

Solar Tower, Thermal Updraft, Wind Turbine, Diffuser

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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