Experimental Test Procedures for Thermal Performance Evaluation and Parameters Determination of a Paraboloid Concentrator Type Solar Cooker

Abstract

In Algeria, harvesting of wood for cooking causes its exhaustion and accentuates more the problem of the scarcity of this resource causing deforestation and leads to disastrous consequences on the ecosystem. On the other hand, the use of conventional energy sources leads to serious environmental problems. Solar energy is responsible for the so-called group of renewable energy sources, which is the most important. As part of this work, we will discuss about the use of solar energy for cooking using a parabolic solar cooker (PSC). The need to normalize and evaluate a solar cooker and compare different designs calls for testing procedures, which represent their respective thermal performance. The testing procedure followed for concentrating solar cookers presently consists of determination of the time required for sensible heating of a known quantity of water up to the boiling point. A test procedure to evaluate the thermal performance of these types of cookers has been proposed by Mullick et al., in which, it gives the thermal performance in terms of the heat loss factor and optical efficiency factor. In addition, a test method of solar cookers has also been suggested by Funk in year 2000, in which the performance is given by two parameters, namely, adjusted cooking power and overall heat loss coefficient. The parabolic solar cooker is designed and realized at the Applied Research Unit in Renewable Energy (URAER) of Ghardaïa, according to international norms and standards. Different tests were carried out under various climatic conditions to assess the thermal performance of the cooker through the profiles of the water temperatures measured at the level of the cooker, which will allow to examine the feasibility of cooking with this kind of cookers in South Algeria.