We studied the temperature distribution and fluid
velocity in a box-type solar cooker by using the Finite Element Method (FEM) in
Ziguinchor southern of Senegal. Indeed, this is one of the sunniest countries
in the world: more than 3000 hours of sunshine per year with an average
temperature of around 30˚C. This abundant and exploitable solar energy
contributes to the development of more efficient, profitable and clean sources
of energy. This will help to satisfy the increasing demand of energy. This numerical
model was validated by comparing the numerical results with those of the
experiment carried out on a single day. The relative error obtained is below
3%. The model results confirmed the performance of this cooker as its cooking
temperature is available for more than seven hours. They have shown that the
temperature and internal fluid velocity fields are not homogeneous. The results,
although preliminary and encouraging, are a first step towards the complete
simulation of a solar cooker integrated into a drying column.
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