Analysis of variable cross-section effect of solar chimneys on optimal natural ventilation and application of solar chimneys in architecture

The solar chimney is one of the of natural ventilation elements that works by using the sun's radiation. Air ventilation can create comfortable conditions due to surface evaporation. Among the advantages of solar chimneys is the absence of pollution and its continued operation in windless conditions. The solar chimney is considered an element for using renewable and clean energy. In this research, the basis of the function and components of solar chimneys and the schematic and conceptual models of single and combined systems of solar chimneys have been investigated and the corresponding calculation formulas have been investigated. Next, to achieve an optimal model, the physical geometry and optimal geometric dimensions obtained in past research have been discussed. To apply past achievements studies and avoid repetition, the optimal model has been formed and a new variable has been analyzed. Therefore, while examining different ideas, after collecting a set of principles related to the optimal performance of solar chimneys, effective parameters in the operation of solar chimneys were identified and considered in a computational simulation model. The mentioned model was analyzed by considering some of the parameters as fixed to obtain new variable effects in solar chimneys under the name of variable cross-section effect. The investigated variable is the effects of the narrowing variable cross-section in solar chimneys. The analysis has been studied in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) context. The results obtained in the comparison between models with fixed and variable cross-sections show the positive and significant effect of variable cross-sections in improving the efficiency and performance of solar chimneys.

Keywords:

solar chimney , natural ventilation , climate , architecture , computational fluid dynamics