THERMAL PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATIONS OF A HEMISPHERICAL SOLAR COOKER WITH ALUMINUM SHEET CONCENTRATORS: APPLICATION TO FOOD COOKING

Cooking is a method of transforming food by exposing it to heat. Solar cookers allow us to cook food using the heat generated from the sun's rays. In this work, we present an experimental study of a hemispherical solar cooker tested with and without glazing. In the context of sustainable development, in order to reduce environmental impact, the SDGs, in their Goal 7, advocate the use of renewable energy to ensure access for all to reliable, sustainable, and renewable energy services at an affordable cost. This work is an experimental study of a hemispherical solar cooker. The hemisphere, made of reinforced concrete, has a radius of 0.59 m, a height of 0.46 m, and an exposed surface area of 0.1535 m². The smooth inner part is covered with aluminum sheet reflectors with a reflection coefficient of 95%. This reflector allows the sun's rays to be directed toward the absorber located at the focus. The no-load tests without glazing and with glazing showed satisfactory results. The maximum oil and water temperatures during the test without glazing were 186.7 °C and 99.5 °C, respectively, with maximum irradiances of 572 W/m² and 575 W/m². With glazing, we obtained maximum oil and water temperatures of 172.6 °C and 98.5 °C under maximum irradiances of 557 W/m² and 550 W/m². During all these tests, the oil temperature remained between 150 °C and 173 °C for more than 3 hours, demonstrating the systems performance in frying.