Construction and analysis of the receiver for a solar thermal cooker system.

Abstract

One of the key components in a solar thermal cooker system is the receiver since the performance of the receiver greatly affects the entire system. Absorption of the maximum amount of reflected radiation is crucial for ensuring the system is operating at high efficiency. A small-scale solar thermal cooker was constructed and tested. The main focus was the design, construction and analysis of a receiver for the solar cooker. The receiver was constructed from mild steel and contains water as the heat transfer fluid. The receiver consists of two half shells fixed to either end of a short cylinder to form an elongated boiling chamber for the water as it is heated by concentrated solar radiation. One of the half shells is exposed to the concentrated solar radiation and is coated with a high-temperature resistant black paint. The size of the receiver was determined by the method of ray-tracing. The maximum temperature the water attained within the receiver during solar heating was 136 C. The highest receiver efficiency was 66%. It was shown that there has been effective heat transfer within the system.