Numerical modeling and parametric study of an innovative solar oven

Abstract A unique design of a double glazed box-type solar oven with flat foldable external reflectors at the top and front and an internal reflector beneath the L-shaped absorber plate is numerically and parametrically studied. The maximum temperatures attained in the absorber cavity of the oven are observed to be in the range of 100–135 °C. A numerical model is formulated to solve the overall energy balance on the absorber plate of the proposed solar oven by incorporating the effects of the top, front, and bottom reflectors for a given set of input parameters. CFD simulations are utilized to predict the unknown buoyancy driven convective heat transfer coefficient from the L-shaped absorber plate to the surrounding glass cover forming an enclosure. Modeling results are found to be in good agreement with the experimental results which leads to the parametric study of the solar oven. The effects of various design parameters on the oven‘s performance such as spacing between glazings, influence of the vertical component of the absorber plate and internal reflector, glazing thickness number of glazings and the effect of absorber plate coatings are also discussed.