Numerical modeling of turbulent natural convection in a solar updraft tower

Space-time finite element and finite volume methods are presented to analyze the turbulent natural convection of air in a solar updraft tower. The models presented are the stabilized variational multiscale for the finite element method, and the k-epsilon for the finite volume method. The objective is to develop a model that will be useful to design and simulate solar updraft towers.;The stabilized variational multiscale technique is a unified approach to solve the governing equations of fluid dynamic phenomena. The layout for the implementation of the code based on this method is presented.;The k-epsilon model is also developed and implemented. Results of the analysis of the turbulent fluid flow in a solar updraft tower, based on the k-epsilon model, compare favorably to measurements of an actual system in Spain. The three-dimensional analysis of the time dependent turbulent natural convection shows highest values of available wind power at the top of the internal deflector.