AccScience Publishing / IJOCTA / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJOCTA025430181
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Optimization of solar chimney performance through CFD modelling and parametric experimental design

Alberto Hananel1* ,  Rodolfo Garcia1 ,  Alejandro Vera1
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1 Department of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo Catholic University, Chiclayo, Peru
IJOCTA, 025430181 https://doi.org/10.36922/IJOCTA025430181
Received: 21 October 2025 | Revised: 20 November 2025 | Accepted: 27 November 2025 | Published online: 8 January 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
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Abstract

This study presents a detailed parametric evaluation of solar chimney performance by combining computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations with advanced design-of-experiments (DOE) techniques. The analysis focuses on the effects of chimney height, collector-to-chimney AR, chimney geometry, and construction material under realistic environmental conditions. CFD modelling was used to compute airflow, temperature rise, and the resulting buoyancy driven updraft, while DOE procedures enabled the structured assessment of main effects and interaction effects across geometric factors. The results indicate that larger collector areas relative to chimney cross-section (high AR) and the use of a divergent chimney configuration significantly enhance updraft velocity and mechanical power generation. The configuration with a 30 m chimney and AR = 6 produced an updraft of approximately 12–13 m/s and a power output close to 15 kW, representing the highest performance among all simulated cases. Important interactions between AR and chimney geometry were identified, confirming that single-factor analyses may overlook coupled behaviours relevant to system optimization. These findings offer concise design guidance for enhancing solar chimney performance under local climatic conditions and confirm the feasibility of small, well-optimized systems as a clean energy option in high-irradiation regions. The analysis is based on steady-state simulations, which inherently simplify real conditions.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
Solar chimney power plant
Experimental design
Numerical simulation
Performance optimization
Renewable energy systems
Funding
This research was financially supported by the Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo Catholic University (USAT), Peru (005-2025-USAT-RTDO).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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An International Journal of Optimization and Control: Theories & Applications, Electronic ISSN: 2146-5703 Print ISSN: 2146-0957, Published by AccScience Publishing
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