Experimental Study of the Effects of the Parabolic Reflected Surfaces on a Solar Cooker Performance

The present study aims to develop and improve the thermal and optical performance of the solar cookers;thus two double exposure solar cookers were designed, constructed and their performance compared under the same climatic conditions. During the tests, the parabolic reflected surface of one solar cooker was unaltered while the reflected surface of the other one varied. To change the size of the parabolic mirror, a set of narrow mirrors were used instead of a continuous surface. The narrow mirrors were installed on a parabolic curve and some of them were eliminated proportion to the test progress. By analyzing the experimental results parabolic curve of the solar cooker was divided into three sections and the effects of each part on the solar cooker performance was determined. Accordingly, we can remove the areas with minimal impact on system performance and strength the portion with the further effect. Finally, experimental study conducted in this research, could lead as a new method, to an optimum design of a solar cooker geometry. The tests were carried out in the Research Institute of Food Science and Technology, located at 37 latitude, 54 longitudes and a height of 985 meters above sea level in Mashhad, Iran.