Performance study of a box-type solar cooker employing an asymmetric compound parabolic concentrator

The construction and the performance evaluation of a new box-type solar cooker equipped with an asymmetric Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) are presented. The optogeometrical design of the cooker was optimized for Adrar which is located in Algerian Sahara. A thermal model was developed for the cooker and validated with experimental results. The cooker performance was rated by using the first figure of merit (F1 = 0.1681) and the second figure of merit (F2 = 0.35). Experimental tests demonstrated that the cooker, which remains in a stationary position during all test period, is suitable for cooking even in winter and without having recourse to tracking towards the sun.