Solar chimney power plant is a sustainable alternative for electricity generation using solar as the source of energy. In general, the main body of a solar chimney plant requires a tall structure which is costly and challenging to construct. Thus, it is important to increase the performance of the solar chimney power plant and have a better energy-cost ratio. This study aims to experimentally investigate the influence of divergent solar chimney as opposed to a cylindrical chimney on solar chimney performance. Three divergent scaled-down solar chimney model at 1-meter, 1.5-meter and 2-meter were fabricated and tested for its performance at various simulated heat loads. The test results were compared with similar heights cylindrical solar chimney. The experiments show that divergent solar chimney increases the theoretical power generation potential and improves the stalk effect and have higher outlet velocity compared to a cylindrical solar chimney. The power potential of the divergent chimney is increased up to 18 times with the maximum theoretical power obtain at 0.183W on the 2-meter divergent chimney. Higher temperature was recorded on the 2-meter divergent chimney outlet at 341.3k compared to 330.4k on the cylindrical chimney indicates better stack effect. The highest average velocities in the divergent and cylindrical chimneys were recorded under the electric heat load of 2 kW at 0.994 m/s and 0.820 m/s respectively in the 1-meter configuration. It is also observed that the air velocity in a shorter divergent chimney is higher than taller divergent chimney models while better compared to all cylindrical height. This study finds that a shorter divergent solar chimney produces greater energy compared to a higher cylindrical solar chimney. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the overall cost of solar chimney by reducing the height of the main structure without sacrificing the performance of the solar chimney.

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In 1750s European houses, chimneys are used to remove smoke and dust particle from the fire place to the ambient. At present the applications of chimneys are extended for house ventilation, which is known as solar chimney assisted ventilation system. In this paper, the effect of wire mesh screen on chimney assisted ventilation system is studied and presented. Natural draft chimney integrated with solar heating system that is known as solar chimney, can be used for building ventilation. Number of research works had been conducted on different types of solar chimney to enhance the building ventilation performance. In this study a solar chimney model is designed and modified with wire mesh screens. An electric heating system is installed in the models to replace the solar absorber in the solar chimney. The airflow rates and the exit air temperatures are also measured and compared for normal chimney and modified chimneys under different heat loads. The performances of the chimneys are evaluated to determine the effects of wire mesh screen on the solar chimney. Experimental results indicated the solar chimney model with 0.64 mm × 0.64 mm pore size wire mesh screen at the exit is able to enhance velocity and the exit air temperature are about 54% and 41%, respectively. It has been concluded that the wire mesh screen has significant effect of model solar chimney and is able to enhance the performance.