Parametric analysis and optimization of a portable evacuated tube solar cooker

摘要

In this study, the performance of a portable evacuated tube solar cooker along with a stainless steel tank is analytically investigated. The presented model is validated by comparing the analytical results with those of the experiments. The effect of the important design and weather parameters on the performance of the solar cooker is evaluated. The studied parameters are the absolute pressure of the vacuum envelope, absorber coating absorptivity and emissivity, and solar radiation. In this research, the Taguchi method is applied to optimize the useful thermal power and efficiency of the solar cooker. According to the results, increasing the absolute pressure of the vacuum envelope from 0.01 Pa to 100 Pa reduces the solar cooker efficiency about 23.07%. Moreover, using a material with the absorptivity of 0.95 in the absorber coating of the evacuated tube solar cooker enhances the useful thermal power by about 33.76 W compared to that of the absorptivity of 0.75. Taguchi analysis reveals that the solar radiation is the most effective parameter on the useful thermal power of the solar cooker. Furthermore, in order to optimize the solar cooker efficiency, the most effective parameter of the solar cooker is the absolute pressure of the vacuum envelope.