A Solar Radiation Concentrating System for generation of high temperature heat for a
solar oven was developed and evaluated at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville
Campus, Durban - South Africa. The system concentrates direct solar radiation on a small
area receiver which absorbs the radiation and converts it into thermal energy that may be
stored and used for several applications where food preparation and water pasteurization
is the priority.
The concentrator, area 2.2 m², is a half satellite communication dish covered with
trapezoidal acrylic mirror tiles. The receiver/absorber is a spiral coil of blackened
stainless steel pipe. Oil is circulated as heat transfer fluid.
To determine the optimal dimension and position of the receiver, two experimental
methods were used:
(1) The tiles were scanned using a vertical, self adjusting laser beam to get a distribution
of reflected radiation across the focal volume.
(2) A thin, blackened stainless steel plate was placed at appropriate distances in the
focal volume, and temperature distribution scanned using a temperature gun.
The latter method proved to be the more useful.
Results of the analysis of system performance showed that the system has the capability
to produce high temperatures for domestic purposes. The efficiency of the system is
about 35 %. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/5424 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Artur, Célia Domingas. |
| Contributors | Pillay, S., Løvseth, J. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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