Field Assessment of Fixed-Focus Concentrators for Industrial Oven

A fixed focus concentrator (Scheffler type) is at present extensively used for cooking applications. It can be used for industrial heating applications. The aim of the present study was to design, fabricate and test the industrial oven based on solar energy for heating 100 kg mild steel plates to 150 C in about 20-30 minutes time for its techno-economic feasibility. To achieve this aim two fixed focus concentrators having total aperture area 20 square meter were selected. A suitable oven to be used with these concentrators was designed. The system was tested by performing the heating and cooling trials. The heating test was carried until fairly steady state is reached. For the cooling test, the concentrators were de-focused and the oven was shaded from the direct sunlight. The test results were analyzed by two different methods.