PROJECT REPORT

On

Study of various factors affecting a box type solar cooker

Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the award of
Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.)
In
Mechanical Engineering

Submitted by:Student ID:

Deborshi Parasor ET16BTHME091
Bibek Singh ET16BTHME021
Samiran Phukan ET16BTHME077
Deepjyoti Borgohain ET16BTHME030
Arbin Chowdhury ET16BTHME099

Under the Supervision and Guidance of

MRS. RHEA MATHEWS

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

DEPARTMENT OF
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

School of Engineering and Technology

Department of Mechanical Engineering

The Assam Kaziranga University

July 2020

1
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project report entitled Study of various factors affecting a
box type solar cooker, submitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering,
The Assam Kaziranga University, in partialfulfillment for the award of the degree
of Bachelor of Technology in MechanicalEngineering, is a record of bona fide
work carried out by Mr.Deborshi Parasor, Roll No. ET16BTHME091,
Mr.Bibek Singh, Roll No. ET16BTHME021,
Mr.Samiran Phukan, Roll No. ET16BTHME077,
Mr.Deepjyoti Borgohain, Roll No. ET16BTHME030,
Mr.Arbin Chowdhury, Roll No. ET16BTHME099,
Undermy supervision and guidance.
All help received by her from various sources have been duly acknowledged.
No part of this report has been submitted elsewhere for award of any other degree.

………………………….. ………….…………………..

HOD, Dept. of ME Faculty Supervisor

Mrs. Rhea Mathews

Assistant Professor

Dept. of ME

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our special thanks of gratitude to our guide and mentor Mrs. Rhea
Mathews for her support and guidance in completing our project. We would also like to
extend our gratitude to Mr. DigantaMunshi, Head of Department and also to Dr. P.G.
Ramesh, Dean of School of Engineering and Technology for their suggestions and
instructions which has helped us patch this project and make it a fool proof success.

We also wish to express our sincere thanks to the Assam Kaziranga University for accepting
us into the graduate program and letting us fulfill our dreams and  desire to study mechanical
engineering. We are also grateful to the university staff: Mr. Mobinul Islam, and Mr. Rituraj
Das for their consistent support and assistance.

Finally, last but by no means least, we appreciate all the support by all our friends and family
who constantly supported us and kept our hopes high even in this difficult times of virus
outbreak. We are also thankful to our classmates for their valuable suggestions which helped
us in many phases of the completion of this project.

We are doing this project not just because of marks but also for knowledge and skillset. This
project has proven to be a good explanation on how Solar Energy can be a best alternative to
other energies in the near future. It has given us some very valuable information and in-depth
knowledge of solar energy. So we are very thankful that our mentor has chosen us for this
project.

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 ABSTRACT
In India, due to the high price of cooking gases, people still cook with non-commercial fuels like
kerosene and firewood. These cause a lot of health problems and also harm the environment. A
clean solution to this problem is to use a solar cooker.As solar cooker uses solar energy for its
operation and provides an effective solution for the energy crisis, which is a major
problem.Besides being safe it is also environmentally sustainable as there is no carbon
emission. Fossil fuel has been the main backbone of energy generation in India. However fossil
fuel being a non-renewable source of energy is depleting as a rapid rate.

This project describes the performance evaluation of a box-type solar cooker with reflector
fabricated using locally available materials, compressed sawdust with binder; size of the box is
650 mm × 600 mm × 450 mm and 30 mm thickness. The experimental solar cooker consists of an
aluminum absorber plate (1 mm) painted matt black and a single-glazed lid. The bottom and
sides are lagged with wool insulator, thickness = 50 mm, k=0.052 W/m°C. The reflector consists
of a wooden-framed commercially available specular plane mirror which is sized to form a cover
for the box when not being in use. Its thermal performance was tested according to the Bureau of
Indian Standards (BIS) for testing the thermal performance of box-type solar cooker. Thermal
performance experiments were conducted in order to determine the output energy (Eop) of the
box type solar cooker by calculating the temperature difference.

Finally, the results illustrated that the cooker has a good reliability for cooking food and boiling
water.

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 List of tables

I. Table 1 – Energy output of different time interval.

II. Table 2 –Energy output of different reflector angles.
III. Table 3.1 – Fluid temperature acquired by normal pot.
IV. Table 3.2 – Fluid temperature acquired by Aluminum coated pot.

List of figures

I. Diagram 1 – Basic design of a box type solar cooker.

II. Graph 1 – Graphical representation of output energy for different time interval.
III. Diagram 2 – Representation of different angles of reflector mirror of a box type solar
cooker.
IV. Graph 2 – Graphical representation for different angles of reflector mirror.
V. Graph 3.1 – Graphical representation of fluid temperature acquired by normal pot.
VI. Graph 3.2 –Graphical representation of fluid temperature acquired by aluminum coated
pot.
VII. Graph 3.3 – Graphical represtation of fluid temperature in both normal and aluminum
coated pot for comparison.

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 CONTENTS
1. Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7

1.1. Purpose ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8

1.1.1. Importance of solar cooker for water purifying ----------------------------------- 8

1.1.2. Sterilizing medical equipment ------------------------------------------------------- 9

1.1.3. Solar cooker keep the air clean ------------------------------------------------------ 9

1.2. Scope ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9

1.3. Aim -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10

1.4. Objective ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10

2. Literature Review ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12

3. Methodology --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14

3.1. Construction of box type solar cooker --------------------------------------------------- 14

3.2. Calculation of temperature difference --------------------------------------------------- 15

3.3. Calculation of energy output -------------------------------------------------------------- 16

4. Experimental details ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 17

4.1. Time interval -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17

4.2. Angle of reflector --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20

4.3. Aluminum coated pot and normal pot ---------------------------------------------------- 24

5. Conclusion and future enhancements ----------------------------------------------------------- 28

6. Bibliography ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30

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 1. INTRODUCTION

As solar cooker uses solar energy for its operation and provides an effective solution for the
energy crisis, which is a major problem. Besides being safe it is also environmentally sustainable
as there is no carbon emission. Fossil fuel has been the main backbone of energy generation in
India. However fossil fuel being a non-renewable source of energy is depleting as a rapid rate.
This has led to the increased price of fuel in international market. This has directly affected the
price of energy production, resulting in the increase of the price of energy. Considering the
economic condition of the region under study, cooking is generally done using non-commercial
fuels like kerosene, dung‐cakes, and firewood. This fuel have a major problem of causing
adverse effects on human health and causes diseases like asthma, pneumonia, and allergy. Apart
from this these fuels produces a lot of carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming.
There is a need to find out alternative cooking medium that is both clean and cheap. India being
located in the tropical region, receives a substantial amount of sun light around the year. The
solar energy can be used for cooking using solar cookers which are both simple, easy to operate,
and cost effective. Solar cooker suffer from a drawback that the cooking is substantially longer
than compared to traditional cooking methods. In order of the utility of solar cooker in India it is
ranked at 5th position behind kerosene stove. There is a need to increase the utility of solar
cookers in India. Heat exchangers along with the cooker can be used but this too increases the
cost of the cooker. To increase the utility of the solar cooker a lot of advancements is carried out
on the cooker. In this project the traditional solar cooker is used, to increase the utility of the
cooking a novel method is proposed utilizing the cooking pot. Most of the household uses
aluminum pot for cooking as aluminum utensils is cheaper. Cooking was done using normal
aluminum pot and then using aluminum pot coated with charcoal and the energy and exergy
analysis was done to determine the efficiency of cooking. In India as primitive methods of
cooking using firewood is done a lot of charcoal is available in every house hold.

The main advantages of box-type solar cooker are the following. It uses both direct and diffused
radiation, requires little intervention by the user, it is very easy and safe to use, it is easy to

7
construct, has high acceptance angle (angle through which the sun’s image remains on the
absorber).

The objectives of the project are:

(i) To fabricate box-type solar cooker with single glaze glass and with one reflector;
(ii) To experimentally evaluate the Temperature Difference and Output Energy of the
box-type solar cooker over varying atmospheric conditions.

1.1 PURPOSE

Many solar cookers presently in use are relatively inexpensive, low-tech devices, although some
are as powerful or as expensive as traditional stoves and advanced, large-scale solar cookers can
cook for hundreds of people.

Some of the salient features are as follows:

1.1.1 Importance of Solar Cookers for Purifying Water

Many parts of the world in which fuel is scarce have high temperatures and humidity, which
are ideal conditions for micro-organisms and pathogens that pollute the waterways. Even water
drawn from wells quickly becomes contaminated in such conditions, and diseases such as
typhoid and cholera pose serious health hazards.

The Solar Cookers International Network noted that pasteurizing water in a solar cooker before
consumption by raising the temperature to 151 degrees Fahrenheit (66 degrees Celsius) is an
effective way to purify it (as opposed to heating to 212 F/100 C as you would in a kettle on a
stove), and every type of solar oven can achieve sufficient temperatures for this under the right
conditions.

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 1.1.2 Sterilizing Medical Equipment with the Sun

In countries where clean water is scarce, infections that develop as a result of improperly
sterilized medical equipment are common. Chemical disinfectants, such as iodine, are seldom
available, and fuel for boiling water is expensive. In such places, solar ovens provide a cheap
and available alternative to wood and petroleum for heating water.

1.1.3 Solar Cookers Keep the Air Clean

One of the big problems with using wood and petroleum to heat water is that wood fires
release harmful gases and particulate matter into the air, and people have to breathe that air.
This is especially dangerous when the fire is in inside a house with an inadequate chimney and
poor ventilation, as happens in many rural areas. The World Health Organization states that 4
million people die each year from illnesses associated with indoor cooking.

Solar cookers are completely clean and eliminate this problem altogether, but they are a viable
solution only in countries with suitably dry and sunny climates. They don’t work in cloudy
weather or at night, and cooking routines must be planned to take advantage of the sun while
it’s out. That may require an adjustment to eating habits.

1.2 SCOPE

The box type solar cooker has a vast scope in the near future and is considered as a legitimate
alternative to the non-renewable sources of energy. Some of the scopes are as follows:

 Roasting Coffee and Peanut for commercial purposes:

Usage of solar cooker can help in efficient use of renewableenergy for roasting of consumption
items such as coffee beans, peanuts, popcorn.

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  Grain Sterilization:

The more effective way of sterilization of grain can be done by using solar oven to kill bugs and
weevil which may have infested the grain instead of using non-renewable source of energy.

 Ironing:

Usage of that old style hot irons are not ideal now compared to heating the iron on solar cooker
which gets hot enough and fast enough for ironing purposes.

 Dehydration:

For domestic use, solar cookers can be taken into consideration such as dehydrating food in a
solar box style in which the vents are partially open for circulation of air and also the lid/door are
partially open to prevent from excess heating.

1.3 AIM
The aim of this project is to fabricate a Box type Solar Cooker using easily available materials
and to perform experiment to know about the factors responsible for the efficiency of the solar
cooker so as to maximize the output energy.

1.4 OBJECTIVE

Collecting sunlight for cooking has long been considered as one of the most favorable benefits
that human beings can take from the sun. No doubt, safe and reliable solar cooking devices have
great significance to the sustainability of environment and economy all over the world,
particularly, to the developing world where people use bio fuel or forest wood for cooking and
heating. Unfortunately, it has been seen so far that solar cooking is mostly based on parabolic

10
concentrators. When cooking with a reflective solar collector, people are often close to a strong
and concentrated sunlight, which may cause considerable safety issues involving both burns and
blinding. Furthermore, traditional solar cookers do not allow for much control of surface
temperatures or sun location tracking and can only be used outdoors. Obviously, there are still no
well-developed commercial-grade solar cooking devices that have high reliability and safety. On
the other hand, with less and less fossil fuel being available, a huge demand of using solar energy
for cooking and heating is inevitable in the future.

 The goal of this project is to develop safer, reliable, and user-friendly solar ovens to be generally
used for food cooking and water boiling at high efficiency. It is the objective of this project is to
develop and fabricate the solar cooker and obtain preliminary results to proof that the proposed
solar-energy-based cooking and heating device is highly safe, reliable, low cost, sustainable, and
capable of providing heat with sufficiently high temperatures for all cooking purpose including
boiling, baking, and frying at outdoorlocations. Upon a successful development of a matured
product on top, the technology will greatly benefit a large population of the world. Particularly in
the rural area of developing world, solar cooking will dramatically decrease the use of biofuel
that people usually get from wood and trees, which is one of the reasons that many third world
countries get deforested. In developed world, widely use of solar heat for cooking/heating will
help to reduce the use of fossil fuels and natural gas, and thus to protect the environment.

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 2. LITERATURE REVIEW

The review of earlier research work on solar cookers, concentrated solar collectors, thermal
energy storage materials and solar thermal systems with integrated energy storage presented in
this project. The objectives and methodology are also presented.

[1] Solar box cookers, also known as solar ovens, are the most common and inexpensive type of
solar cookers. These box cookers are simple in construction and are made of low cost materials
which consist of a black painted metallic tray or cooking tray, usually made of aluminum and is
usually covered with a double glass window. It is kept in an outer casing made of metal or fiber-
glass and the space between the cooking tray and outer casing is filled with the insulation like
glass wool.

[2]This literature review on box type solar cookers revealed that the maximum attainable
temperature is very less in box type cooker due to non-concentrated radiation.

[3]The thermal energy storage (TES) can be defined as the temporary storage of thermal energy
at high or low temperature. Solar energy or the product of solar process can be stored in different
forms as electrical, chemical, mechanical and thermal energy.

[4] Studied the engine oil as the sensible heat storage in a box solar cooker. Four cooking
utensils of 250 g of water capacity used in the box cooker. He tested the cooker around local
noon time and the efficiency was 27.5%. The rice cooked in 2 hours in the storage based solar
cooker but it took 30 minutes more without the storage.

12
[5] compared the efficiency of community solar cookers as well as domestic size solar cookers.
The former provided the higher energy efficiency than the later one. The exergy efficiency of
solar cooker is less than 5%. The increased reflectivity increased the exergy efficiency
marginally. The reaching of boiling time indicates suitability to cook a meal faster with the
quality cooking.

[6] Designed, developed, and performed evaluation of the latent heat storage unit for evening
cooking of solar cooker. Cooking experiments are conducted with different loads and loading
times during the summer and winter seasons.

[7] Carried out experiment on boxtype solar cooker with heat storage unit. The experimentsetup
included solar water heating that contained evacuated tubes solar collectors and storage unit.
Paraffin was used asthe phase change material in heat storage unit. He foundthat solar cooker
based on evacuated tubes solar collectorwith PCM unit gave good performance in the
conditionsof high elevation.

[8] Studiedthe concept of solar cooker and designed a solar cooker forlate cooking. Their study
demonstrated different designs forsolar cooker and studied the performance of solar
collector.The study results revealed that solar cookers are helpful inminimizing CO2 emissions.

13
 3. METHODOLOGY

This section consists of 4 parts:

 Construction of Box type Solar Cooker

 Calculation of temperature difference
 Calculation of Energy Output

3.1 CONSTRUCTION OF BOX TYPE SOLAR COOKER

Construction of a box-type solar cooker: A box-type solar cooker consists of the following
components:

1. Box: This is an insulated wooden box. It is painted black from inside and outside because
black surface absorbs more heat.
2. Glass cover: A cover made of toughened glass held together in the frame is used as a
cover of the box.
3. Plane mirror reflector: A plane mirror reflector fixed in a frame is fixed to the box with
the help of hinges. The mirror reflector can be positioned at any desired angle to the box.
The mirror is positioned so as to allow the reflected sunlight fall on the glass cover of the
box.
4. Cooking containers: A set of containers made of aluminum and blackened from outside
are kept in the box. These containers are also painted black because black surface absorbs
more heat.

We have fabricated the wooden box. Then attached the black aluminum sheet at thebottom of the
wooden box. Painted the outer and inner walls black. And put the glass lid in place. The mirror
reflector is then attached to the lifted side of the wooden box in such a manner so as it can make
different angles. Now fiber glass wool is attached to the inner walls. Now with the water in
beaker placed inside the box type solar cooker, we need to carry out the experiment with
variations in the factors. Then we measure the temperature readings by a thermometer and
compare the readings for maximum output energy.

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 Diagram 1

3.2 CALCULATION OF TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE

This is the difference between final temperature for each interval and the initial cooking
specimen temperature for each corresponding interval:

Td = Tf– Ti

Where, Td = Temperature difference(°C);

Tf = Final temperature(°C);

And, Ti = Initial temperature (°C).

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 3.3 CALCULATION OF ENERGY OUTPUT

After fabrication of the solar cooker, we will be evaluating the heat energy by the help of a
thermometer.

Now, the output energy is calculated by using the formula:

Eoutput = mCp∆T

Where,Eoutput = Output energy

m = mass of water

Cp= Specific heat of water

∆T=Change in temperature

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 4. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS

Here all the experimented values and graphs are given. In this section we will be looking into
three factors, which are as follows:

Factors effecting the efficiency are:

 Time interval;
 Angle of reflector;
 Aluminum coated pot and normal pot (Both pots are painted black).

4.1 Time interval

Here we have conducted the experiment with constant 0.5 kg mass of water in the pot with 4
different intervals of time taking 1 hour each in day time to know the best suitable time.

Constants:

0.5kg of water = 500g of water

Specific heat capacity of water = 4.2 J/g°C

sr. Time of day [IST] Initial Final Temperature Output

no. temperature temperature difference energy
[Ti] [Tf] [Td] [Eoutput]

(°C) (°C) (°C) (KJ)

1. 11:00 – 12:00 33 60 27 56.7

2. 1:00 – 2:00 31 62 31 65.1

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 3. 3:00 – 4:00 32 59 27 56.7

4. 5:00 – 6:00 29 51 22 46.2

Table 1

Now, we know,

Td = Tf – Ti

And,

Eoutput = mCp∆T, using this two formulas we will find the output energy for each case.

Case 1:Temperature difference (Td) = Final temperature (Tf) – Initial temperature (Ti)

= 60°C – 33°C

= 27°C

Eoutput = mCp∆T

= 500g× 4.2J/g°C × 27°C

=56700 J

=56.7 KJ

Case 2:(Td) = (Tf) – (Ti)

= 62°C – 31°C

= 31°C

Eoutput = mCp∆T

= 500g× 4.2J/g°C × 31°C

= 65100 J

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 =65.1 KJ

Case 3:(Td) = (Tf) – (Ti)

= 59°C – 32°C

= 27°C

Eoutput = mCp∆T

= 500g× 4.2J/g°C × 27°C

= 56700 J

=56.7 KJ

Case 4:(Td) = (Tf) – (Ti)

= 51°C – 29°C

= 22°C

Eoutput = mCp∆T

= 500g× 4.2J/g°C × 22°C

= 46200 J

=46.2 KJ

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 70
65.1

Output Energy in KJ 60 56.7 56.7

50 46.2

40

30

20

10

0
11am-12pm 1pm-2pm 3pm-4pm 5pm-6pm

Time intervals

Graph 1

4.2 Angle of reflector

The output energy varies with different angles of the reflector glass. In this section we carried
out our experiment to calculate and evaluate for the best possible angle for better efficiency of
the solar cooker.

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 Diagram 2

Constants:

0.5kg of water = 500g of water

Specific heat capacity of water = 4.2 J/g°C

Time = 1 pm to 2 pm

Sr. no. Angle of the Initial Final Temperature Output

reflector temperature temperature difference energy
[Ti] [Tf] [Td] [Eoutput]

(°C) (°C) (°C) (KJ)

1. 90° 30 56 26 54.6

2. 60° 32 65 33 69.3

3. 45° 32 54 22 46.2

Table 2

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Now, we know,

Td = Tf – Ti

And,

Eoutput = mCp∆T, using this two formulas we will find the output energy for each case.

Case 1:Temperature difference (Td) = Final temperature (Tf) – Initial temperature (Ti)

= 56°C – 30°C

= 26°C

Eoutput = mCp∆T

= 500g× 4.2J/g°C × 26°C

= 54600 J

=54.6 KJ

Case 2:(Td) = (Tf) – (Ti)

= 65°C – 32°C

= 33°C

Eoutput = mCp∆T

= 500g× 4.2J/g°C × 33°C

= 69300 J

=69.3 KJ

Case 3:(Td) = (Tf) – (Ti)

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 = 54°C – 32°C

= 22°C

Eoutput = mCp∆T

= 500g× 4.2J/g°C × 22°C

= 46200 J

=46.2 KJ

69.3
70

60
54.6

50 46.2
Output energy in KJ

40

30

20

10

0
90° 60° 45°

Angle of reflector

Graph 2

4.3 Aluminum coated pot and normal pot

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At first an ordinary cooking vessel is used and its performance is studied. Water weighing 0.5 kg
is heated and the values of water temperature are taken at an interval of 15 min using a
thermometer. The same experiment is then performed using aluminum coated pot and the water
temperature are taken at an interval of 15 min again.

The first table below is for the ordinary normal pot and the second table is for the aluminum
coated pot:

Sr. no. Time of day Fluid (water) temperature

[IST] (°C)

1. 12:15 33

2. 12:30 38

3. 12:45 43

4. 1:00 46

5. 1:15 47

6. 1:30 49

7. 1:45 50

8. 2:00 52

Table 3.1

Sr. no. Time of day Fluid (water) temperature

24
 [IST] (°C)

1. 12:15 33

2. 12:30 43

3. 12:45 58

4. 1:00 61

5. 1:15 61

6. 1:30 59

7. 1:45 60

8. 2:00 58

Table 3.2

Using the values from the above tables, we can now plot a graph to understand which of the two
pots performs better for more raise in fluid temperature.

Graph for normal pot:

25
 65

60

Fluid temperature (°C) 55

52
50
50 49
47
46
45 43

40 38

35 33

30
1 2 :1 5 1 2 :3 0 1 2 :4 5 0 1 :0 0 0 1 :1 5 0 1 :3 0 0 1 :4 5 0 2 :0 0

Time of day

Graph 3.1

Graph for Aluminum coated pot:

65
61 61
60
60 59
58 58
Fluid temperature (°C)

55

50

45 43

40

35 33

30
1 2 :1 5 1 2 :3 0 1 2 :4 5 0 1 :0 0 0 1 :1 5 0 1 :3 0 0 1 :4 5 0 2 :0 0

Time of day

Graph 3.2

26
For comparison:

65
61 61
60
60 59
58 58
Fluid temperature (°C)
55
52
50
50 49
47
46
45 43 43

40 38

35 33

30
1 2 :1 5 1 2 :3 0 1 2 :4 5 0 1 :0 0 0 1 :1 5 0 1 :3 0 0 1 :4 5 0 2 :0 0

Time of day

Graph 3.3

27
 5. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS

From the above graphs and tables we can clearly figure out the best value for the best possible
efficiency of the solar cooker.

For Time interval: From the graph 1, we can clearly identify the best suitable time for maximum
output energy from a box type solar cooker is between 1pm to 2pm with 65.1 Kilo Joule of
output energy and the least favorable time is between 5pm to 6pm.

For angle of reflector: From the graph 2, experimentally it is proven that the angle of reflector
mirror should be adjusted to 60° for more sun rays to enter the chamber and to get better
efficiency.

In the case of 90° angle, at this angle, the reflector surface does not engage the sun, so it
cannot increase the sunlight falling on the box-oven window. It is clear that an angle greater than
90 degrees will cause the reflector to shade the window

In the case of 45° angle, none of the sunlight reaches the chamber because all of the light is
reflected parallel to the surface of the window. Also, as the angle becomes smaller than 45
degrees the sunlight is increasingly reflected back toward the sun itself instead of through the
window.

For aluminum coated pot and normal pot: From the graph 3.3 we can conclude that the
aluminum coated pot retains better heat than the normal pot as in aluminum coated pot the
fluid temperature reaches to its peak temperature 61°C whereas in normal pot the fluid
temperature reaches its peak temperature 52°C only.

Hence, Aluminum coated pot is more desirable for a box type solar cooker than a normal pot
for better efficiency.

28
The future enhancements to this project are:

 If the cooker is placed on a rotating platform, it can be tracked according to the position
of the sun, for receiving maximum insulations all throughout the day (from sunrise to
sunset). As the daily heat energy consumption is increased, more number of cooking’s
per day is feasible. The tracking can be done manually or electronically.

 The efficiency of a solar cooker is directly related with its total capacity to catch the solar
radiation during a day. This can be done by making a small modification in the present
device. A blackened metallic plate/blackened many folded metallic net can be placed just
below the glass cover. This modification will reduce the heating time, as the absorption
of solar radiation is more than the previous one.

 There is always an optimum humidity and temperature for an item being cooked. The
control over these two parameters can be achieved by incorporating the temperature and
humidity sensors in the cooking chamber.

 Arrangement for keeping multiple trays inside the cooker can be done. This will enhance
the quantity of the item cooked in a single run.

Thus, we have come to an end of this project report with the conclusion that solar cookers do not
require a very high technology but on the other hand can help in solving the energy crisis for
future prospects to a greater extent especially in the tropical countries, like India where the
availability of solar energy is in abundance. The conventional energy sources are for few more
decades but the solar energy is forever and freely available at the premises of the users. Let us

29
prepare a goal for availing the renewable energy on a larger scale and stop not till this goal is
reached.

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] Dinesh Kumar, “Box Type Solar Cooker”, International Journal of Scientific Research. (2014).

[2] Chinnumol Francis, Victor Jose, “A Review on Performance Improvements in Box Type Solar Cookers”,
International Journal of Current Engineering and Scientific Research (2015).

[3] Solomon Abate, “Evaluation of Thermal Energy Storage Materials for Solar Cooker”, Dept. of Environmental
Engineering, Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, (2014).

[4] Nahar, “A comprehensive review of solar cooker with sensible and latent heat storage materials”, (2003).

[5] Kaushik and Gupta, “Energy and exergy efficiency comparison of community-size and domestic-size solar
cooker performance” (2008).

[6] S. D. Sharma, D. Buddhi, R. L. Sawhney, and A. Sharma, “Design, development and performance evaluation of
a latent heat storage unit for evening cooking in a solar cooker,” EnergyConversion and Management, vol. 41, no.
14, pp. 1497–1508, (2000).

[7] T.K.Kassem, “Investigation of solar cookerwith PCMheat storage for high altitude places,” International Journal
ofMechanicalEngineering & Technology, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 555–564, (2012).

[8] P. Saini, V. Sharma, C. Singh, and S. Singh, “Solar cooker for off sunshine cooking,” Journal of Academia and
Industrial Research, vol. 3, no. 9, pp. 438–444, (2015).

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Websites:

https://www.researchgate.net/

https://www.hindawi.com/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/

https://vikaspedia.in/energy/energy-production/solar-energy/solar-cookers

https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/187324/5/chapter%202.pdf

https://www.ecoideaz.com/expert-corner/solar-cooking-in-india

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364032114003438#:~:text=A%20solar%20cooker
%20converts%20solar,pasteurization%20and%20sterilization%20%5B8%5D.

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