Cylindrical Solar Cooker with Automatic Two Axes Sun Tracking System

All concentrating solar cookers were found to provide adequate temperature needed for cooking. But the common problem of these systems is the need for frequent tracking, and standing in the sun while cooking. This problem could be tackled if one goes in for automatic sun tracking. In this work a cylindrical solar cooker with two axes sun tracking system was designed, constructed and operated. Mechanical system; which consists of two parts, one for altitude tracking and another for rotating around vertical axes was designed and constructed.The hardware and software components of the two axis sun tracking system were designed. The programming method of control with open loop system was employed. The programmable logic controller (PLC) was used to control the motion of surface on which the solar cooker was mounted. A continuous test during different days in the year 2008 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm was performed. The test showed that the using of cylindrical solar cooker system with two axes tracking can increase water temperature up to 90 o C.

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