SOLAR COOKER WITH PARABOLIC TROUGH COLLECTOR USING PCM

Solar radiation reaches the Earth’s upper atmosphere with the power of 1005 watts per square meter (W/m2). Many technologies have been developed to make use of solar radiation. Some of these technologies make direct use of the solar energy (e.g., to provide light, heat, etc.), which helps us to generate electricity. But in order to generate higher temperatures with good efficiency a solar collector in the form of a parabolic trough reflector can be productive. The parabolic trough reflector is a solar thermal energy collector designed to capture the sun’s direct solar radiation over a large surface area and focus, or more generally “concentrate it” onto a small focal point area increasing the intensity of solar energy received at the focal point.

Experiments are conducted on solar cooker using solar energy. Heat collected by a fluid from the Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) with the one axis Tracking Mechanism (TM) is passed through the Storage Tank (ST). A Phase Change Materials (PCM) in the ST products absorbed the heat in the irregular sunlight and is released constantly for cooking purposes.