Performance evaluation of solar nozzle plant useful for electricity generation: A numerical analysis
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Marwadi University, Rajkot, Gujarat, 360003, India
J Ther Eng 2026; 12(2): 784-801 DOI: 10.14744/thermal.0001105
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Abstract

Passive solar electricity generation relies on natural heat transfer, avoiding the use of fans or pumps. To decrease overall cost, it is essential to discover some new techniques for optimizing the solar chimney plant’s overall efficiency and capacity. The smoke jack devised by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) has been quoted by many reviewers as the initial illustration of the principles of the solar chimney. The fundamental reason why it works is that it contains a venturi or nozzle. Thus, it is important to evaluate the performance of solar chimney plant using solar nozzles. Hence, this study numerically investigates the different configurations of solar chimney power plants (SCPP) with and without the use of solar nozzle design. The numerical analysis of the system has been done in ANSYS software with its latest available version (2022 R1). The three different model configurations of SCPP were studied and found that using solar nozzle design; one can achieve increased air release velocity at the outlet, thus, enhancing overall system performance. This SCPP design offers a sustainable electricity generation solution for both urban and rural environments. The solar nozzle plant is primarily depending on three governing equations i.e. mass, momentum and energy conservation laws. The natural convection heat transfer phenomenon related to SCPP is the useful fundamental law of heat transfer. The solar chimney equation plays a pivotal role in deciding different design parameters such as chimney dimensions, and the air released velocities at various parts. With the help of appropriate formulae; the efficiency of the overall design can be calculated. Results show that with the help of solar nozzle design, one can improve air release velocity at the outlet by a significant amount to the conventional basic design of SCPP with no nozzle. This increase in air updraft velocity will have a considerable impact on the power output of the electricity generation plant when the turbine is fixed at the nozzle outlet region. The solar nozzle model 6 with 3 m of nozzle height shows an optimum increment of nearly 29 % than solar chimney model of 3 m height and with no nozzle used.