2013 KOMBOTADES LAMIA GREECE
www.gchimneytech.com
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Experimental Solar Chimney Power Plant
My name is Christos D. Papageorgiou,
I am a Professor of NTUA, and what you are about to see in the
next video is a small experimental solar chimney power plant
constructed at a suitable piece of land near Kompotades, outside
Lamia.
In this small experimental solar chimney power plant, the possibility
of increasing the efficiency of solar chimney technology, through a
proper arrangement and design of its components is examined.
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Solar Chimney Technology R&D
Over the last ten years Prof Dr Eng Christos D. Papageorgiou
was methodically involved in research and development of the
solar chimney technology,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/solar_updraft_tower , because he
strongly believes that it may come out the major solar
technology for mass production of low-cost electricity.
His theoretical study on solar chimney technology started in
2003 and resulted in a number of international patents and a set
of publications in international conferences and journals. The
results of his research were presented in a separate chapter of
an e_book on Solar Technology
http://www.intechopen.com/books/solar-energy/floating-solarchimney-technology .
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Experimental study - step1
His experimental study of solar
chimney technology began in 2010
when he raised a small
experimental floating solar
chimney
(somewhere near Livadia ), as
shown in the adjacent figures.
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Experimental study –step 2
The small experimental power plant
that was shown in the previous
video, shown also in the adjacent
photo, is his next experimental step
in which the possibility of increasing
the efficiency of solar chimney
technology, through a proper
arrangement and design of its
components is examined.
The results of this experimental
study were satisfactory and we are
now in the position to build solar
chimney power plants with lower
solar chimneys and smaller area
greenhouses than initially was
estimated
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Typical Solar Chimney Power Plant -Components
The typical solar chimney power plant consists of two parts:
1. A solar air up-drafting system that, using solar energy, creates
a constantly moving warm air stream (artificial wind). This
system is consisting of a special solar collector (the
greenhouse), and a tall cylindrical structure (the solar chimney),
connected to the greenhouse.
2. An electricity generating power system, consisting of a set of
air turbines that rotate forced by the previous warm air stream
and generating electricity by means of the electric generators
that are engaged to them (as special wind turbines).
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Solar Chimney Power Plant - Operation
The solar irradiation passing through the transparent roof of the greenhouse
warms the ground beneath the greenhouse, while its transparent roof blocks
the thermal radiation of the ground and decreases the thermal losses due to the
air convection.
Thus the air temperature inside the greenhouse is increasing and becomes
lighter than the ambient air. As a result, the warm air is pushed to escape
through the solar chimney to the upper atmosphere.
The escaping warm air is continuously replaced by fresh ambient air entering
into the greenhouse from its open entrance. So the warm stream of air is
moving constantly, as far as the greenhouse ground is warmer than the ambient
air and this phenomenon can last several hours after the sunset.
The turbines can be placed anywhere in the path of the warm air stream,
generated by the system greenhouse -solar chimney, and as they are forced to
rotate by this stream they are generating electricity through their engaged
electric generators.
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Solar Chimney Power Plant – Performance Efficiency
It can be shown that the rating electrical power of the solar
chimney power plant and its annual electricity production, is
proportional to the height of solar chimney and the surface area
of ​the greenhouse.
The proportionality factor is the performance efficiency of the
power plant and depends, among other things, on the geometry,
the arrangement and the size of the components of the solar
chimney power plant.
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Experimental power plant –
The solar chimney
The solar chimney is a light
metal structure with a height
of 25 meters and a diameter
of 2.5 meters.
This metal structure was
designed and its
construction was supervised
by the architect-engineer
Dimitrios Korres, who is a
warm supporter of the solar
chimney technology.
Experimental power
plant – The greenhouse
The roof of the greenhouse
of the small experimental
plant, as a temporary
structure, was made of a
clear plastic and has a
surface area of 1020 square
meters (about 1/4 acre).
The material of the
transparent roof of an
ordinary greenhouse should
be of crystal clear glass (low
iron float glass).
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Experimental power plant – The air turbine
At the entrance of the
greenhouse a small turbine
of 1.12 meters diameter
was placed.
This turbine rotates
continuously, forced by the
incoming stream of
ambient air.
This stream of air
becomes warmer as
moving inside the
greenhouse and is updrafted through the solar
chimney to upper layers of
the atmosphere.
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Experimental study -Results
The measurements in the power plant showed that the
produced electricity by its turbine is higher than the kinetic
energy of the rising column of air inside the chimney, when the
turbine forced to stop, thus the results have been considered
as very satisfactory.
The experimental power plant was designed as part of the
research effort to improve the performance efficiency of solar
chimney power plants. His PhD candidate Mr. Michael
Psalidas. has contributed in the study, design and experiment
of the small solar chimney plant
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Further R&D
Our next step on the development of solar chimney technology is the
construction of a solar chimney power plant with a solar chimney of 50-60
meters height and 5-6 meters diameter, connected to a specific solar collector
(glass roofed) with a covered area of ​5000-6000 square meters and equipped
with a special set of wind turbine generators with a total power 10-25 KW.
The results up to now are satisfactory and with the aid of the upcoming
experiments and measurements of the intermediate power plant of 10-25 KW,
the solar chimney technology may have direct production cost of electricity
lower than the direct production cost of the other two major solar technologies
i.e. photovoltaic (PV) and solar concentrated power plants (CSP).
Due to the fact that the solar chimney technology uses simple materials
(mainly glass and steel), has negligible maintenance cost and long life,
despite its needs for more area per produced KWh, will prevail over other
solar technologies, especially in countries with abundant solar energy and
unlimited deserted territories.
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Prototype and Solar Farming
The ultimate goal of the R&D is to design and construct a prototype
solar chimney power plant of rating power about 1 MW generating
not less than 3000 MWh/year.
The construction of the prototype solar chimney power plant will
permit the construction of huge electricity generating solar farms,
consisting of hundreds of adjacent prototype solar chimney power
plants in deserted land fields.
Favorable countries for the implementation of the solar chimney
technology are:
• USA ( NEVADA, YUTA, ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO, TEXAS etc.)
• UAE, QATAR
• INDIA
• AUSTRALIA
• SOUTH AFRICA
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Business Proposal
Soon we will be in the position to send a business proposal to
potential investors in these areas for cooperation.
For more Information see our company’s website
www.gchimneytech.com
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