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Numerical analysis of flow parameters on solar updraft tower (SUT) with and without thermal energy storage (TES) system

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Abstract

Effect of thermal energy storage (TES) system of solar updraft tower (SUT) is studied in this work. A 3D numerical model was developed to analyze the same and estimate the performance parameters. Two models were developed: case-I and case-II. Case-I is without TES system and the case-II with TES system. The collector diameter 3.5 m, chimney height 6 m, chimney diameter 0.6 m, inlet gap 0.15 m, slope of the collector 30° were the dimensions considered for the model of case-I. Case-II consisted of same dimensions of case-I with additional storage material of thickness 0.15 m and diameter of 3.5 m. Steady-state pressure-based solver with realizable k–ɛ turbulent model and solar ray-tracing algorithm were employed. SIMPLE scheme was used for pressure–velocity coupling and in spatial discretization; first order upwind for momentum and second-order upwind for energy were used. Flow parameters such as velocity, pressure, density, and temperature were estimated for both the cases. Results from the numerical simulations showed that adding TES to the SUT plant decreases the pressure, velocity, and temperature of air because certain amount of heat energy was stored in case-II setup.

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Abbreviations

A c :

Cross sectional area (m2)

A s :

Surface area (m2)

dT :

Temperature difference (K)

dy :

Thickness of storage (m)

g :

Gravitational acceleration (m s−2)

G k :

Turbulent kinetic energy due to mean velocity gradients

G b :

Turbulent kinetic energy generation due to buoyancy

h :

Convective heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

k :

Thermal conductivity (W m−1 K−1)

T s :

Surface temperature (K)

T ∞ :

Free stream temperature of air (K)

\( x \) :

Characteristic length (m)

Y M :

Fluctuating dilatation contribution in compressible turbulence to overall dissipation rate

α :

Thermal diffusivity (m2 s−1)

β :

Coefficient of thermal expansion (K−1)

ν :

Kinematic viscosity (m2 s−1)

ρ :

Density (kg m−3)

μ :

Dynamic viscosity (kg m−1 s−1)

μ t :

Eddy viscosity

Ra :

Rayleigh number

Gr :

Grashof number

Pr :

Prandtl number

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by Science &Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi 110 070, India, Grant No. File Number: EEQ/2016/000111.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Warangal, Warangal, Telangana State, 506 004, India

    A. Yaswanthkumar & V. P. Chandramohan

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  1. A. Yaswanthkumar
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  2. V. P. Chandramohan
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Correspondence to V. P. Chandramohan.

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Yaswanthkumar, A., Chandramohan, V.P. Numerical analysis of flow parameters on solar updraft tower (SUT) with and without thermal energy storage (TES) system. J Therm Anal Calorim 136, 331–343 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-018-7756-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-018-7756-z

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