Thermal performance analysis of a solar chimney, based on the experimental study of the main driving variables in a physical prototype

This work presents the thermal behavior of a stand-alone experimental solar chimney during one year. The dimensions of the solar chimney are 5.60 m high, 1.0 m width, and 0.52 m depth. The absorber plate is made of a common reinforced concrete wall of 4.5 m high, 1.0 m width and 0.15 m depth. This system was designed and constructed in 2003, and it is located in the “Laboratorio de Ensayos Energéticos para Componentes de la Edificación (LECE)” at the “Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA)” in Spain. The inlet of this solar chimney was redesigned, and also the instrumentation of the system was increased and improved recently, as well as its air outlet fitting. During one year (2014), the solar chimney was monitored and several experimental variables were measured. The results present the temperature profiles of the different measured elements of the solar chimney as well as the air flow rate through the solar chimney channel. It was observed that the effect of the outdoor wind added to the thermal effects plays an important role affecting the performance of the solar chimney studied.