Design and performance analysis of a solar furnace usinga solar tracking system

In this thesis, the design and performance of a parabolic solar cooker with point focusing, which is used by African countries, Middle Eastern countries, and some European countries, although not very common, which have the opportunity to benefit from the sun, has been designed and its performance has been examined. The dish dimensions are 80 cm in diameter and 7 cm deep, and the system is designed to follow the sun continuously on two axes at any time of the day. The inner surface of the dish is covered with very thin and flexible hexagonal mirrors called plexi mirrors. The sun path in the Çankaya district of Ankara province, where the experiment will be carried out, was calculated and estimated locations were calculated. In light of these results, the most appropriate algorithm was calculated for the system to follow the sun with a computer-controlled Arduino. The aim of the thesis is to analyze the performance of a dual-axis point-focusing solar tracking system that can use direct heat in the cooker around external factors such as ambient temperature, cloudiness, and wind. As a result of 1000 g water boiling experiments were carried out continuously between 07:00-19:40 for 30 days starting from 10 July, it was calculated that a family boiling water three times a day for three months in the summer season could save 37,8 TL if they use the system designed in this thesis instead of an electric kettle. In the thesis, many techniques belonging to the fields of study such as Arduino control systems and mechanics were utilized. Linear actuator motors were used on both axes for the motion system. As a result, the data obtained are promising.