Solar mountain - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

The solar mountain is a new system of production of electricity derived from the concept of Solar tower, developed by the Elioth research department. solar Rayonnement is stored in the form of hot air in a Serre collecting and directed towards turbines under the effect of the thermal pulling of a chimney. The solar principle of mountain was the subject of a deposit of international Brevet in 2005.

Solar tower with the solar mountain

Recall of the principle of operation of the solar tower

The solar chimneys exploit two natural phenomena: the Greenhouse effect and the Convection. They create finally a solar wind of which manufacture and the exploitation break up in the form:

Of a collector, associated with a greenhouse located near the ground which collects the solar, direct and diffuse radiation, and imprisons this radiant energy flux by a transparent envelope; the volume of air thus warms up.
the chimney which creates a Gradient Pression between the air located in bottom hotter and thus less dense than the air located at the exit of the chimney. Air resulting

collector is thus subjected to the Poussée of Archimedes and tends to create a wind at the base of the chimney. In this zone, one places turbines charged to transform the kinetic power of the air into electricity.

The power of the installation is proportional to the height of the chimney, the surface of the collector and the solar potential of the site.

Evolution towards the solar mountain

The Solar Mountain is an evolution of the concept of the solar chimney. The disadvantages inherent in the solar towers lie mainly in:

the technical difficulty and constructive of a tower of very great dimensions (in particular in the zones of the sphere subjected to the seisms and/or strong winds)
impact on the landscape of a tower
the capital cost of such a structural exploit

The original idea of the project is resulting from a commonplace: the surface of the sphere provides natural supports thanks to the relief and in particular graces to the mountains! Consequently to go up to 200,1000 or 3000 meters does not represent any more one major technical exploit insofar as the conduit of the chimney marries the relief and regularly takes support on the ground.

Description of the system

Axes of development

The axes of development of the concept were the following:

To provide a modular system being able to grow or decrease according to the energy needs: the length of the Conduit of chimney can be increased as the surface of the collector.
To limit to the maximum the print on the landscape and the ecology of the site.
To propose a light device whose installation does not create any building site: the solar mountain is only made up of elements inflated or tended, the Fondations are water ballasts.
To propose an adaptable project Low tech in all the zones of the sphere and not requiring a very qualified labor. The assembly is simple and is done starting from ready-made units by industry (inflatable posts, ballasts of anchoring, membrane external precut with its parts of anchoring…)
To create a system of production of energy ensuring a minimal electric production any hour and any date. The thermal ballast makes it possible to ensure the continuity of the energy production during the night.
To return maintenance and easy maintenance and to reduce the costs of Investment by using not very expensive materials and little dirtying like the external membrane in ETFE, so as to allow microphone-power stations to be profitable in difficult zones of access.

Evolutionarity

The Solar Mountain is a modular system. Starting from a minimal constitutive base, it is possible to increase or decrease the size of the chimney as the surface of the collectors according to the energy needs.

Objective of lightness and transparency

The solar mountain tends to reduce the gray energy. The matter used for the project functions primarily in Traction and is thus not subjected to instabilities of the compressed matter. The compressed parts are Air or Eau. The other favors this constructive philosophy lies in the very weak weight and obstruction of the matter to be transferred onto site. The building site itself will be thus limited to the equipment of electricity of power - turbines, electric transformers. Lastly, each module of 12 m X 12 m has a system independent of recovery of rain water in the form of water ballast.

Structure of the collector

The collector consists of three elements:

a transparent Membrane which lets pass the Lumière but not the Chaleur
of the inflated posts stabilized by Haubans which hold the membrane
water ballasts which play the part of foundations by anchoring the stays and the membrane

The anchoring ensured by the inflated water ballast carries out triple function:

To ballast the collector with respect to the efforts of rising due to the wind and to ensure side stability by solid friction.
To store the heat of the day to restore it the night thanks to the thermal Inertia of water.
To recover rainwater of the site.

External bonds

the official site of Elioth
an article on the solar mountain in actu-environment
an article on the solar mountain in Le Monde

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