TITLE:
Performance Evaluation of Solar Chimney Draft: Application to Ventilation
AUTHORS:
Boukaré Ouedraogo, Adama Ouedraogo, Arouna Kabore, Kalifa Palm, Dieudonné Joseph Bahiebo
KEYWORDS:
Solar Chimney, Natural Ventilation, Thermal Draft, Airflow, Chimney Effect
JOURNAL NAME:
Smart Grid and Renewable Energy,
Vol.15 No.4,
April
30,
2024
ABSTRACT: Ventilation is one of the factors contributing to energy consumption in buildings and food preservation. The solar chimney proves to be an alternative for reducing conventional energy consumption. Thus, in this study, the performance of a solar chimney with two active faces for thermally drawing air from a chamber for preserving agri-food products was evaluated. These performances were experimentally assessed through data measurements: temperatures and velocities within the chimney, and their analysis using Excel and MATLAB. The obtained results were compared with those from literature to verify their validity. From this study, it is found that the maximum temperature at the chimney outlet reaches 49.4˚C with an average value of 43.7˚C. Additionally, the heating evolution of the chimney air presents four (04) identical phases in pairs, reflecting the chimney’s operation throughout day. The temperature difference between the outlet and inlet of the chimney reaches a maximum of 17˚C with an average of 12.6˚C. Regarding airflow, the maximum air velocity at the chimney outlet is 0.8 m/s, and the average velocities have consistently been greater than or equal to 0.46 m/s. Thus, it can be concluded that the solar chimney is capable of providing ventilation for the preservation chamber through thermal draft.