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Comparative studies on performance of solar towers with variable scale ratios

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Abstract

Improvements in the geometry of solar towers are explained in this study. Both computational and experimental studies are carried out. Three different solar towers of 1:60, 1:70, and 1:122 scale ratios are taken for the study. All the studies are carried out in an open atmosphere, where a hot wire anemometer is used to measure the peak velocity at the collector–tower junction. The collector geometry is kept flat, inclined, and semi-divergent. The tower geometry is modified from the straight tower into semi-divergent and fully divergent towers. The fully divergent tower with a semi-convergent collector achieves the highest power output among the other two models. The area convergence is the prime factor for an increase in peak velocity. The divergent tower with a semi-convergent collector achieves 54% more power output than a cylindrical tower with a flat collector.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

α :

coefficient of absorptivity

o:

ambient condition

η collector :

efficiency of the collector

η turbine :

efficiency of the turbine

η tower :

efficiency of the tower

ΔP :

pressure difference for driving potential

ε :

coefficient of emissivity

Q solar :

solar irradiance in W/m2

ρ :

density in kg/m3

C p :

specific heat capacity at constant pressure

β :

thermal expansion rate

T o :

reference buoyancy temperature

STPP:

solar tower power plant

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend thanks to the management of Apollo Engineering College, and Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, India, for providing a place to carry out the experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Bharath Institute of Science and Research, BIHER, Chennai, India

    Rajamurugu Natarajan

  2. Department of Automobile Engineering, Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Sriperumbudur, India

    Venkatesan Jayaraman

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering, Tamil Nadu, Arasur, Coimbatore, 641407, India

    Ravishankar Sathyamurthy

Authors
  1. Rajamurugu Natarajan
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  2. Venkatesan Jayaraman
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  3. Ravishankar Sathyamurthy
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Contributions

Rajamurugu Natarajan: Conceptualization, experimentation, calibration of instruments, data collection, and original draft preparation.

Venkatesan Jayaraman: Supervision, conceptualization, and validation of CFD results.

Ravishankar Sathyamurthy: Writing—review and editing, software, and validation of experimental results; also carried out the language corrections.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rajamurugu Natarajan.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Natarajan, R., Jayaraman, V. & Sathyamurthy, R. Comparative studies on performance of solar towers with variable scale ratios. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 45601–45611 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19079-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19079-0

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