Performance Analysis of Parabolic Solar Cooker with Different Reflective Materials

Abstract

The working principle of the parabolic solar cooker is to concentrate the solar radiation and converted it into heat energy with the help of reflecting materials. The performance of the parabolic solar cooker highly depends on the proper choice of reflecting materials. This paper illustrates the significant comparison of three different types of reflecting materials. They are Stainless Steel, Aluminum Foil and Mylar tape. These three types of cooker were tested at various weather condition and got the wide variation of temperatures output. The maximum temperature of 93.7 °C was achieved by using Mylar tape as a reflective material. Moreover, 77.1 °C and 73.1 °C of highest temperature were achieved by using Aluminum foil and stainless steel respectively. By performing the testing analysis of different reflecting materials, it can be concluded that Mylar tape has the property to reflect the maximum amount of heat within a very short time.