DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLAR COOKER

By

MUHAMMAD KHAIRIL ANUAR BIN MOKHTAR

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of

the requirements for the
Bachelor of Engineering (Hons)
(Mechanical Engineering)

JANUARY 2008

Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS

Bandar Seri Iskandar
31750 Tronoh
Perak Darul Ridzuan
 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLAR COOKER

by

Muhammad Khairil Anuar Bin Mokhtar

A project dissertation submitted to the

Mechanical Engineering Programme
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (Hons)
(MECHANICAL ENGINEERING)

Approved by,

___________________________
(AP. Ir. Dr. Chalilullah Rangkuti)

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI PETRONAS

TRONOH, PERAK

January 2008

i
 CERTIFICATION OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certify that I am responsible for the work submitted in this project, that the

original work is my own except as specified in the references and

acknowledgements, and that the original work contained herein have not been

undertaken or done by unspecified sources or persons.

___________________________________________
MUHAMMAD KHAIRIL ANUAR BIN MOKHTAR

ii
 ABSTRACT

Solar cooker is popular in developing country such as Africa and India since most of
the regions received more heat by solar radiation from the sun. The main focus of the
project is to design and development of a solar cooker for cooking and determine the
best materials for the insulation. The project is proceed with the experiment to find
the lowest thermal conductivity of selected materials followed by calculation of
insulation thickness. The material for the solar cooker is chosen based on the several
criteria such as material properties, locally available, and cost. After the fabrication
of the solar cooker is done, the stagnation test is carried to monitor and record the
solar cooker performance by measure the temperatures inside the cooking chamber.
Through the experiment and calculations, the value of thermal conductivity of
selected insulation is determined. The thickness of the rice straw and glass fiber for
the solar cooker is 26.76 mm and 28.9 mm respectively to achieve 100 ºC on the
absorber plate. Results of thermal performance test for the absorber plate average
temperatures from 12 pm to 1 pm is 120.9 ºC and 102.3 ºC by using rice straw and
glass fiber insulation in place respectively. The thermal conductivity of rice straw by
experimentally is 7.97% less than glass fiber. The efficiency of the solar cooker by
using rice straw is increased 12.7 % compared to glass fiber as insulation. The
performance of the cooker with rice straw as insulation was improved compared to
the glass fiber.

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, thanks to God because of His bless, the Final Year Project is
completed successfully within the designated time frame. The experiences,
knowledge and skills gained from this project are very useful and beneficial in a
journey to be a wise and charismatic engineer in future.

Next, a special gratitude is expressed to AP. Ir. Dr. Chalilullah Rangkuti for his
guidance, patience and supervision in completing this project. This special gratitude
is also forwarded to Dr. Syed Ithsham Ul-Hag Gilani and AP. Dr. Hussain Al-
Kayiem for sharing their experiences and lends me their expertise.

I would like to extend my thanks to all technical staffs within Mechanical

Engineering Department especially to Mr. Zailan Alang Ahmad and Mr. Muhammad
Hazri Ahmad Shahpin who have been very co-operative in helping me through out
his project.

Not to be forgotten, to all my friends who had shared their experiences and giving a
lot of advices for the whole period of project. To those who had assist direct or
indirectly in making this project into success, highest appreciation is given to all of
them.

Finally, I dedicate this work to my parents for their support, encouragement and
understanding until completion of this dissertation report. Wassalam.

iv
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATION . . . . . . . . i

ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . . . . . . . iv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . . . . . 1
1.1 Background of Study . . . . 1
1.2 Problem Statement . . . . 2
1.3 Objectives . . . . . 2
1.4 Scope of Study . . . . 3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW . . . . 4

2.1 Solar Cooker Types . . . . 4
2.2 Testing the Solar Cooker . . . 5
2.3 Reflector of the Solar Cooker . . 5
2.4 Insulation . . . . . 5
2.5 Solar Radiation . . . . 6
2.6 Cooking Chamber . . . . 6

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY . . . . . 7
3.1 Evaluation of Design Selection . . 9
3.2 Selection the Best Design . . . 10
3.3 Analysis of Selected Design . . . 11
3.4 Experimental of thermal
conductivity of insulator . . . 18
3.5 Calculations . . . . . 19
3.6 Fabrication of Solar Cooker . . . 27
3.7 Testing of Solar Cooker . . . 28

CHAPTER 4: RESULT AND DISCUSSION . . . 30

4.1 Experiment result of thermal conductivity
of insulation . . . . . 30
4.2 Result of the calculations to finding
Insulation . . . . . 32
4.3 Result of the testing of the solar cooker . 35
4.4 Efficiency of solar cooker . . . 39

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION . 41

5.1 Conclusions . . . . . 41
5.2 Recommendations . . . . 42

REFERENCES . . . . . . . . 43

v
APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Thermal Performance Study of Solar Cooker

with Glass Fiber . . . . . 45
Appendix 2 Thermal Performance Study of Solar Cooker
with Rice Straw . . . . . 46
Appendix 3 Theoretically Approximation of Solar Incident
Radiation for Mar,1 2008 . . . . 47
Appendix 4 Box-Type Solar Cooker Drawing . . . 48

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Effect of cooking chamber volume on the air temperature inside 6
Figure 3.1 Design and Development Process . . . . 8
Figure 3.2 Decision Matrix for Comparison of Solar Cooker Types . 11
Figure 3.3 First Design . . . . . . . 12
Figure 3.4 Second Design . . . . . . 12
Figure 3.5 Third Design (Final Decision) . . . . 12
Figure 3.6 Initial design of the glazing . . . . . 13
Figure 3.7 Final design decision of the glazing assembly. . . 14
Figure 3.8 Reflector position of the solar cooker . . . 16
Figure 3.9 View factor of two-dimensional solar cooker . . . 17
Figure 3.10 Equipment used to determine thermal conductivity of materials 18
Figure 3.11 Schematic representation of heat flows in a box-type solar cooker 20
Figure 3.12 Heat loss from upper glass to environment . . . 21
Figure 3.13 Heat loss from absorber plate to lower glass (first glass) . 22
Figure 3.14 Heat transfer through single glass . . . . 23
Figure 3.15 Heat loss through double pane glass . . . 24
Figure 3.16 Heat loss through single cover and double cover. . . 26
Figure 3.17 Total heat loss occur in double pane glass with different air space 26
Figure 3.18 Assembly of main frame with cooking chamber of solar cooker 27
Figure 3.19 Bottom cover is attached to the base of solar cooker . 27

vi
Figure 3.20 Performance testing of a box type solar cooker . . 28
Figure 3.21 Thermocouple is submerged in water inside the cooking pot. 28
Figure 4.1 Experiment result for finding an insulator material for the cooker. 31
Figure 4.2 Cooker pot temperature by different type of insulation . 33
Figure 4.3 Cooker pot thickness by different type of insulation . . 33
Figure 4.4 Heat transfer against the area of glazing . . . 34
Figure 4.5 A model of box-type solar cooker using CATIA . . 35
Figure 4.6 Temperatures variation during stagnation test of the
solar cooker by using glass fiber as insulation. . . 35
Figure 4.7 Solar radiation intensity during stagnation test of the
solar cooker by using glass fiber as insulation . . 36
Figure 4.8 Comparison between absorber plate temperature of the
solar cooker with and without side reflector . . . 36
Figure 4.9 Temperatures variation of the solar cooker by using glass fiber as
insulation. . . . . . . . 37
Figure 4.10 Solar radiation condition and efficiency of the cooker using
glass fiber as insulation. . . . . . 37
Figure 4.11 Variation of temperature for the solar cooker using rice straw as
insulation. . . . . . . . 38
Figure 4.12 Solar radiation condition and efficiency of the rice using
rice straw as insulation. . . . . . 38

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Description of different types of solar cooker . . 9

Table 3.2 Decision Matrix for Comparison of Solar Cooker Types . 10
Table 3.3 Absorptivity, emissivity and transmittance for different
types of glass . . . . . . . 13
Table 3.4 Thermal conductivity of selected materials for absorber . 14
Table 3.5 Thermal conductivity of selected materials for insulation . 15
Table 3.6 Emissivity and absorptivity for selected materials . . 16
Table 3.7 Performance ratio for selected coatings . . . 17
Table 4.1 Efficiency of insulation for the solar cooker . . . 40

vii
NOMENCLATURE

I Incident solar radiation (W/m2)

T Temperature (ºC)
h Convection heat transfer coefficient (W/m2.K)
Nu Nuselt Number (-)
Ra Raleigh Number
k Conductivity of materials (W/m.K)
Pr Prandtl Number (-)
v Kinematic Viscosity (m2/s)
g Gravitational Acceleration (m/s2)
L Gap between glass plate (m)

Greek symbols

Δ Difference
η Efficiency
ε Emissivity (-)
β Coefficient of Volume Expansion (K-1)
σ Stefan-Boltzman Constant ( 5.67 x 10-8 W/m2.K4)
α Absortivity of materials (-)
αm Reflector angle form zenith axis (º)
θ Latitude (º)

viii
Subscripts

amb ambient
avg average
conv convection
f food
rad radiation
pl plywood
p pot or absorber plate
l loss
u useful
t top
g1 lower glass
g2 upper glass
sur surrounding
s surface
m mirror
ins insulator
w water

ix
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of Study

Solar energy is used for cooking and drying food, vegetables, fish etc. in developing
country to getting out from expensive technology which use fuel for cooking and
heating element for drying. The drying process is done by exposed the direct and
diffuse solar beam to evaporate water contains in the food. The process is usually
done during summer day light at afternoon since the direct solar radiation is
maximum at that time. The maximum of solar radiation for a solar cooker is depend
on latitude, ambient temperature, wind speed, properties of absorber, type of cooker,
number of glazing, insulation properties, effectiveness of booster system (reflector),
types of food and number of cooking vessel.

The first solar cooking made by a European naturalist Horace de Saussure after the
usage of the glass to trap the was increased during eighteenth century. He is
discovered how effectively the glass trap the heat from solar energy. Later
experiments is done by many researchers until now to bring new technologies to
make very efficient and cheap solar cooker to conserve the energy from solar
radiation to cook the food.

The principle working of solar cooker is to heat the food or pasteurize the water to
eat and drink by absorbed and trap the heat until the food is cooked. There are many
types of solar cooker which is parabolic type, hot-box type , panel type and advanced
type.

1
1.2 Problem Statement

Wood is widely used for cook in rural area and for camping. But when the rain fall or
humid season, the firewood will wet so that it can not burn to cook their food. So this
project will help them to cook their food while waiting the wood become dry for the
next days by develop a solar cooker. The impact of burning the wood is seriously for
peoples if they inhale the smoke during cooking using firewood which normally
happened in developed country. Furthermore the environment will pollute because
the excessive of smoke during burning. Some of the villagers also cook their food by
firewood in their house, this can contribute fire incident if they did not take care
awareness during cooking. But they are still refuse to use the solar cooker because
several factor which is (a) the product is expensive to buy, (b) cannot cooking
indoors, (c) the material are not locally available, (d) cannot cook in cloudy weather,
(d) cooking can only done in the direct sun too complicated to handle, (e) can not
cooking at night, (f) incompatible with traditional practices, etc. All the reason above
is only can overcome by continuous program of introduction, education and training,
and involvement of women folk to make it successful. Determine the type of the
solar cooker design is the first step to solve the problem.

1.3 Objectives

The main objective of this project is to design and build a solar cooker which can use
for Malaysia environment. Several objective is stated below, which there are:-

a. To determine the best design of solar cooker by compare the design

criteria’s.
b. To determine type and thickness of insulation
c. Performance monitoring by using one liter of water as test load.

2
1.4 Scope of Study

1.4.1 Finding the best design of solar cooker

Three type of solar cooker is compared to select which design has good criteria in
term of performance, material locally available and cost. The types of solar cooker
are Parabolic type, Hot Box type and Advance solar cooker.

1.4.2 To determine type and thickness of insulation

This analysis is done by compare several materials by measure the value of

conductivity of materials by using thermal conductivity of building and insulating
testing unit. The best result of selected materials is chosen for insulation for solar
cooker. The major study from this analysis is also to determine how much heat loss
through the top cover and floor of cooking chamber. The result obtained of this
analysis will be the guideline to select the best thickness of the wall and top of glass
cooking chamber to save the material cost but hold the best performance.

1.4.2 Performance monitoring by using one liter of water as test load.

Thermal performance of the solar cooker is monitored by using one liter of water as
test load. Optimization of solar cooker is done by add more reflector to increase the
temperature inside the cooking chamber by experimentally. The comparison of the
additional reflector is transferred to a graph to determine the effect of additional
reflector.

3
 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

Solar Cooker types

There numerous of solar cooker types existing in the world but different design and
shape. There are no standard design to make the solar cooker. The initial concept of
the solar cooker was built is to pasteurize the water so that the water is safe to drink.
The bacteria such as E.coli in the water found died after temperature of the water up
to 65ºC. According to Robert, the temperature level is a moderate method to kill
pathogenic microbes which is a carrier agent for malaria and hepatitis A. The solar
cooker is also found able to cook food and boil the water.

Many research is conducted until nowadays is to heat the pot to cooked and pasteur
water. In order to select the best selection of the solar cookers, several characteristic
evaluated by choose which the best design that can use in equatorial region
especially Malaysia. According to H. Huseyin Ozturk (2006), “The energy output of
the Solar Box Cooker (SBC) ranged from 8.2 to 60.2 W, whereas it was varied
between 20.9 and 73.5 W for the Solar Parabolic Cookers (SPC) for the same time
interval”. This experiment show that the parabolic-type is higher performance than
box-type since the parabolic is used to concentrated the heat form solar radiation.
Furthermore, the higher temperature inside the cooking chamber can be achieve for
Solar Parabolic Cooker by using the vacuum cooker.

The characteristic of good solar cooker is based on maximum temperature can be

achieved, cheap material, light, and easy to setup and stored. Even the Solar
Parabolic Cookers (SPC) is can give high temperature on the pot but the other
parameter such as cost, material available should be consider in order to get attention
for rural folks to buy the solar cooker or teach them how to do it. Mark Aalfs (2007)
says that solar parabolic cookers can cook food, but when compared to the solar box

4
approach, they are more difficult to build, require specialized materials, need
constant refocusing and may burn food when solar radiation is maximum.

2.2 Testing the solar cooker

Some of the previous solar cooker made technical practitioners, they do ‘stagnation
test’ where cookers temperature is measured without load. Copper-Constantan
thermocouples is used for the temperature measurements. During the experiment, the
ambient temperature, wind speed and solar radiation is recorded simultaneously.
According to K. S. Malhotra (1981) “A rubber gasket at the boundary of the door is
to prevent the leakage of hot air, thus increasing the pressure in the cooking chamber.
The efficiency of the cooker found to be 41.2 percent”. H.P Garg (2007) says that
there are many test procedure for thermal rating of flat-plate collectors in different
countries and the most widely accepted and used procedure is ASHRAE13 standard
93-97, yet there is no standard test procedure for a solar cooker.

2.3 Reflector of the solar cooker

Solar cooker will perform better if more reflector attach to because more insolation
will bias to the cooking chamber thus increase the temperature. The solar cooker
which is non-tracking type have to design properly to get the maximum solar
radiation since the position is not change automatically based on the direction of the
beam radiation. The existing of the reflector is also known as booster.

2.4 Insulation

In order for the box to reach interior temperatures high enough for cooking, the walls
and the bottom of the box must have good insulation. So, it is important to choose
right insulator and their thickness of the materials. The common insulating materials
include: aluminum foil, fiberglass mat, cellulose, foam, rice hulls, wool, straw, and
crumpled newspaper.

According to Mark Aalfs, 2007, when building a solar cooker, it is important that the
insulation materials surround the interior cooking cavity of the solar box on all sides

5
except for the glazed side (usually the top). Insulating materials should be installed
so that they allow minimal conduction of heat from the inner box structural materials
to the outer box structural materials. The lower the box heat loss, the higher the
cooking temperatures.

2.5 Solar Radiation

Solar radiation is divided by two components which is direct radiation also known
beam radiation and diffuse radiation. Direct radiation is the highest energy since it
has high density of solar radiation per unit area because its the sun angle
perpendicular to the object. According to Gilani, 2007, diffuse radiation is the solar
radiation received from the sun after its direction has been changed by scattering by
atmosphere.

2.6 Cooking Chamber

According to Malholtra, 1983 the temperature inside the solar cooker is increased
when the volume is reduced. It is a proved of the gas law where the temperature is
increased proportionally with reducing of the volume and pressure of the gas of any
substance.

Figure 2.1 : Effect of cooking chamber volume on the air temperature inside.
Source : Malholtra, 1983, http://solarcooking.org/research/fi/pics/310.gif

6
 CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY

The best type solar cooker is selected by evaluation and comparison process. The
parameters used to compare the different types of solar cooker is performance,
material, and cost.

The approximation for the calculation of the reflector angle,α is done to get the
optimum solar angle, so that maximum solar radiation can be achieve. Thus, the
performance of solar cooker increased with several parameters such as declination
of the sun, hour angle, latitude, azimuth angle, zenith angle and elevation.

Experimental of the several material for insulation is done to investigate what

material and thickness is the to make the best solar cooker. The result of the
experiment is applied into the solar cooker. The thermal performance testing of the
solar cooker is done by measure the temperature of one liter of water as a test load to
know how much the time is needed to boil the water. The test is done from 11.30
a.m. to 2 p.m. during clear blue sky and bright sunshine. During the test, additional
reflectors is attached to the solar cooker to monitor and differentiate the performance
between one reflector and three reflectors.

7
This project will involve the design and development activities as state below.

Research on
Solar Cooker

Evaluate of Various Design

Selection

Select the Best Options

Analysis of the Selected Design

Define Evaluation Criteria: Type,

Material, Cost, Reflector

Modification

Select Optimum Design Criteria

Modeling of No
Selected Design

Yes

Preparation of insulation Preparation of the parts

Parts Assembly

Testing the
product

Analysis
Experiment data

Figure 3.1 : Design and Development Process

8
3.1 Evaluation of Design Selections

Table 3.1 : Description of different types of solar cooker

Types of Solar Cooker Descriptions

1. Parabolic type The beam radiation is reflected by

parabolic reflector to heat the focal
point where a cooking pot is located.
The reflector usually made by
aluminum foil or anodized aluminum
sheet. This is also known as passive
cooker.

2. Hot box type The sun’s rays are received in an

insulated box with a transparent lid
which lets in the sun’s rays. Inside the
box, this sunshine turns to heat which
is trapped in the box. Then the heat
will transfer to the cooking pot. The
absorber plate is used to absorb more
heat and transfer to the cooking
chamber.

3. Advance type A medium usually is used to transfer

the heat to the insulated box by natural
convection. The polished aluminum
parabolic reflector focus on the tube to
heat the oil inside. The reservoir which
is located inside cooking chamber
always kept at a higher position than
oil tube to help in the natural
convection of oil.

9
3.2 Selection the Best Design

The criteria chosen to design the solar cooker is stated below :-

• Performance – The highest temperature of the is the main criteria but the
total cost of the solar cooker have to consider to select the best option since
the main
• Material cost – Is there any cheaper material can give the solar cooker
good in performance.
• Manufacturing Cost – How much the labor wage to make this prototype?
• Material available – Is it the materials for solar cooker have to imported
from outside.
• Easy to Carry – The solar cooker is considered to used at remote area. Can
solar cooker able to use at remote area?
• Easy to manufacture – Does it easy to manufacture? What is the tool and
machine needed to make the solar cooker?

Table 3.2 : Decision Matrix for Comparison of Solar Cooker Types

Alternatives
Weigh Parabolic type Hot Box type Advance type
Decision Criterion
t Ratin Ratin Ratin
Score Score Score
g g g
Performance (high
3 4 12 3 9 3 9
temp.)
Material Cost
3 3 9 2 6 1 3
(Cheap)
Manufacturing Cost 3 3 9 3 9 2 6
Material available 2 1 2 4 8 1 2
Easy to Carry 2 2 4 4 8 1 2
Easy to Manufacture 2 2 4 3 6 1 2
TOTAL 15 15 40 19 46 9 24

Score = Rating * Weight

Rating Description
4 High
3 Good
2 Moderate
1 Low Satisfaction

10
 0 No Good

Figure 3.2 : Decision Matrix for Comparison of Solar Cooker Types

Refer to graph above, the hot box type is most valuable compare with others by using
Decision Matrix Selection. According to the selection method, the hot box type is the
final decision and the actual prototype is carried out to prove the solar cooker
performances.

3.3 Analysis of the Selected Design

Once the hot box type is selected, the design analysis is done to increase performance
analytically and experimentally.

3.3.1 Design Options

Several sketch of different design was selected to identify which is the best in
performance and easy to manufacture. First design (Figure 3.3) is available in
market today and for the second design (Figure 3.4) is combine with parabolic
reflector. Since the parabolic reflector is not locally available, another design is
made. The third design (Figure 3.5) is the final decision because it has an air gap

11
between absorber plate and base of the cooking chamber which able to reduce the
heat loss by conduction.

Figure 3.3 : First Design

Figure 3.4 : Second Design

Figure 3.5 : Third Design (Final Decision)

12
 3.3.2 Main Components in Hot Box Solar Cooker

3.3.2.1 Cover

Solar energy from the sun is formed of short radiation. After the energy reached to
the earth’s surface. It will re-radiated into surrounding or deep space as long wave
radiation. According to Godfrey Boyle, the most important property of glass is
transparent to visible light and short-wave infrared radiation, but opaque to long
wave infrared re-radiated from a solar absorber plate or material behind it. So, glass
is used for glazing because the ability to allow the short wave radiation and retain the
long wave radiation in the cooking chamber because long wave radiation cannot
penetrate the glass. Others characteristic to select the cover is based on cost, non-
degradability, durability, specific heat. Calculation for the selection of the number of
glazing is done to compare which design is lowest heat loss.

Table 3.3 : Absorptivity, emissivity and transmittance for different types of glass

Effective Long-wave
Emissivity, Transmitance,
Type of Glass Absorptivity, α transmittance- infrared
ε τ
absorptance, τ α transmittance

Crystal Glass 0.13 0.83 0.91 0.1183 0.02

Window Glass 0.13 0.83 0.85 0.1105 0.02
Perspex
polymethylmethacrylate - - 0.84 - 0.02
(PMMA).
Source : Radiative heat transfer, MODEST, MICHAEL, Amsterdam : Academic Press, 2003 and
Godfrey Boyle, 2004. Renewable Energy, Oxford Universiti Press

Wood
Glass

Figure 3.6 : Initial design of the glazing

13
Figure 3.6 shows that the double pane glass spaced by 11 mm of wood is used to
reduce heat loss from the cooking chamber to the environment. Standard
manufacture size of wood (11 mm x 11 mm) is used for the spacer between two
glasses. The assembly of the wood is done with the nails. Final design decision is
made to reduce the thickness of the glazing assembly by used the plywood instead of
wood (refer Figure 3.7).

Plywood Glass

Figure 3.7 : Final design decision of the glazing assembly

3.3.2.2 Absorber Plate

Absorber plate is used to absorb heat from the solar radiation to increase the
temperature of the cooking chamber since it has high thermal conductivity than other
material being used in solar cooker. Aluminum (k= 237 W/m.K) with matt black
painted as absorber plate is chosen because it is cheap compare to copper (k= 401
W/m.K) even copper has good thermal conductivity. The price for aluminum also is
less than copper. The absorber plate is roughed by sand paper to produce rough
surface because more surface area can be develop, thus increase the absorbtivity.

Table 3.4 : Thermal conductivity of selected materials for absorber

Thermal
Density, ρ Specific Heat,
Materials conductivity, k
(kg/m³) C (J/kg.K)
(W/m.K)
Aluminum 1100 2379 903 237
Copper 8933 385 401
Carbon Steel 7832 434 60.5
Tin 7310 227 66.6
Source : Frank P. Incropera and DeWitt, Introduction to Heat Transfer, 5th ed. (Asia :
John Wiley & Sons, 2007). p A1-A8.

14
 3.3.2.3 Insulation

Selection of the insulation is based on the lowest thermal conductivity and the
material cost. Selected materials that can be use for the solar cooker as stated in
Table 3.5.

Table 3.5 : Thermal conductivity of selected materials for insulation

Materials Thermal conductivity, k (W/m.K)
Rigid foam 0.026
Glass Fiber 0.043
Blanket 0.038
Cotton 0.06
Sawdust 0.06
Straw 0.09
Paper 0.18
Plaster / gypsum 0.48
Extracted from : Incropera, DeWit, 2007. Introduction to Heat Transfer
5th Edition, John Willey and Sons. and
<http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-d_429.html>

3.3.2.4 Reflector

Reflector is use as a booster to solar cooker to cook the food. The material for the
reflector should have high emissivity,ε to reflect the heat energy from the solar
radiation. When the reflector of the solar cooker is adjusted for certain angle, in can
maximize the flux arriving the target. The reflector for the solar cooker is not
tracking type where the angle of the solar reflector should be adjusted over the time.
The reflector are made of 2 mm thick of glass mirror which is suitable in term of cost
and material locally available.

15
 Table 3.6 : Emissivity and absorptivity for selected materials

Materials Absorptivity,α Emissivity, ε

Mirror 0.13 0.83

Aluminum (Polished) 0.09 0.03
Aluminum Foil 0.15 0.05

Aluminum, soft anodized,

0.23 0.79
Reflectal alloy

Extracted from : Modest and Michael, 2003. Radiative heat transfer, Amsterdam : Academic
Press and Yunus A. Cengel, 2003. Heat Transfer : A Practical Approach, Mc. Graw Hill.

Aluminum foil has low emissivity but it is cheap compare to the glass mirror. The
characteristic of glass mirror because it is capable to reflect more incident radiation
due to high emissivity. The main mirror reflector is facing to the south at 28.33º
angle from zenith axis because the solar angle is not changed but the hour angle is
changed 15º per hour due to rotation of the earth. Additional of solar reflector which
also from glass mirror is attached to plywood to increase the concentration ratio. The
concentration ratio is the effective aperture area divided by absorber area. The higher
concentration ratio resulting the higher heat gain is absorbed by absorber. According
to U.S. Mirdha and S.R. Dhariwal, the position of the reflector obtained from
following equation :-
1 π
Reflector angle (from zenith axis), α =  2θ + β − 
3 2
Latitude for Malaysia, θ = 2.5ºN
Angle of absorber or cover plate, β = 0º
∴ Reflector angle (from zenith axis), α m = -28.33º

Figure 3.8 : Reflector position of the solar cooker

16
 3.3.2.4 Selective Coatings

The characteristic of coating that should select for absorber plate is determined by
solar absorptance,α and emittance,ε of the material. According to Gilani, 2007, the
objective to select coating for absorber plate is to achieve maximum absorptance,α
and minimum re-emittance,ε so that the ratio of performance factor, α/ε is a
maximum. The Flat Black paint is selected for coating because it is locally available
and cheap compare to Black Nickel or Black Chrome plating.

Table 3.7 : Performance ratio for selected coatings

Absorptivity, Emissivity, Performance
Material
α ε Factor, α/ε
Black chrome on
0.95 0.12 7.92
copper
Nonmetallic black
0.92 0.94 0.98
surfaces: carbon
Flat black paint 0.97 0.86 1.13
Gray paint 0.75 0.95 0.79
Source : W. Shepherd and D.W. Shepherd, 1998. Energy Studies, Imperial
College Press, p293.

3.3.2.5 View Factor

According to Incropera, the view factor is defined as the fraction of the solar
radiation leaving between any two surfaces. The equation of view factor for two-
dimensional of the solar cooker is stated below :-

α 
Fij = 1 - sin  
2
30.85° 
= 1 - sin  
 2 
= 0.734

Figure 3.9 : View factor of two-dimensional solar cooker

17
3.4 Experimental of thermal conductivity of insulation

Figure 3.10 : Equipment used to determine thermal conductivity of materials

Experiment to determine the thermal conductivity of materials is done by record the

temperature of the hot plate and cold plate inside the testing chamber. The size of the
specimen is 300 mm x 300 mm. The set point, SP 1 for the heater plate is 40ºC and
the thickness of the samples is 50mm for all type of materials. The reading is taken
after is 30 minute due to achieve steady state conditions. Thermal conductivity is
determined by using calibration constants (k 1 to k 6 ) supplied with the tester unit. The
temperature for the cold plate is not set according to manual lab. The temperature for
hot plate and cold plate is needed for calculation.

Thermal conductivity,

k=
[ (
l * (k 1 + (k 2 * T )) + ((k 3 + (k 4 * T )) * HFM ) + (k 5 + (k 6 * T )) * HFM 2 )]
dT
Where :
l = Sample thickness
Temperature different, dT = T 1 – T 2
T1 + T2
Average Temperature, T =
2
k 1 = -5.4636 k 4 = 0.0499
k 2 = 0.0983 k 5 = 0.0644
k 3 = 2.6335 k 2 = -0.0002
Source : Lab Manual, Thermal conductivity of Building and Insulating Materials
Unit B40, P.A. Hilton Ltd.

18
3.5 Calculations

Three main parts of calculation for the solar cooker which are heat transfer from
solar incident radiation, heat useful from pot to food and heat loss through cover and
insulator.

The following assumption is used to make the model of the solar cooker :

• The solar cooker is considered as a flat plate solar collector operating under
steady state condition.
• Constant thermal conductivity
• Ambient temperature is constant, T amb = 30ºC
• The mass of air in oven is neglected
• Heat loss through the wall is neglected. Heat loss through the base and top
cover is calculated.
• Pot temperature is assumed same as absorber plate.
• Previous experiment (Emad H. Amer, 2002) that the temperature of lower
glass, T g1 of the cover is greater than upper glass, T g2 .
• Natural convection and radiation inside enclosure is exchanged in between
absorber plate - lower cover and lower cover - upper cover.
• Combination of natural, forced convection and radiation heat transfer is
assumed on outer glazing.
• Heat convection coefficient in cooking chamber is assumed h cc =3 W/m²K
since there is no air flow inside the cooking chamber.
• Incropera (2007) says the view factor is introduced to calculate the heat
transfer by solar radiation on tilted and horizontal surface due to sun angle
from zenith axis.

19
 Figure 3.11 : Schematic representation of heat flows in a box-type solar cooker

The energy balance on solar cooker under steady state is :

IA g (τ g α g ) + α g Q ref = Q u,f + Q loss ……………….……………(1)

Where :
Q loss = Q l,wall + Q l,,t + Q l,g + Q l,,p-g1

The equation (1) become :

IA g (τ g α g ) + α g (F ref-g2 A ref I) = Q u, f + Q l,wall + Q l,,t + Q l,g + Q l,,p-g1 …..(2)

Where :
a) Heat useful to cook a food, Q u, f

mC p (Tp - Tf ) (1 kg)(4200 J/kg.K)(100 - 30)

Q u, f = = = 61.25 W …..(3)
∆t 4800 s

20
b) Heat loss through wall, Q l,wall

R total = R conv,p + R pl + R ins + R conv,a

1 L pl Lins 1
= + + +
h cc A p k pl A pl k ins Ains h amb Ains

1 0.003 Lins 1
= + + +
3(0.3 × 0.3) 1.4(0.4 × 0.4) 0.12(0.4 × 0.4) 5(0.4 × 0.4)

Tpl − Tamb
Q l, wall =
R Total
80 − 30
= .....(4)
1 0.003 Lins 1
+ + +
3(0.3 × 0.3) 0.12(0.4 × 0.4) 0.0464(0.4 × 0.4) 5(0.4 × 0.4)

c) Heat loss (Top), Q l,t (between upper cover and sky)

Figure 3.12 : Heat loss from upper glass to environment.

Assumption :
 Upper glass temperatureT g2 = 35 ºC
 Sky temperature, T amb = 30 ºC
 Sky temperature, T sky = T amb – 6 = 24 ºC
 Wind velocity, V amb = 2.05 m/s
Ag (0.54x0.54)
 Characteristic length, L c = = = 0.135 m
p 4 x 0.54
 Average temperature, T f = (T s + T amb )/2 =
32.5 ºC
 Properties of air at 32.5 ºC :-
- k = 0.02607 W/mk ; - Pr = 0.7275 ;

21
 - v = 1.6315x 10-5 ; β = 1/T f = 1/(32.5 + 273) =3.2733x10-3;
Vamb L c (2.05)(0.135)
Re = = = 1.705x104
ν 1.6315x10 -5

h.L c
Nu = = 0.664Re L 0.5Pr1/3
k
h = 3.763 W/m2

Q l,t = hA s (T g2 - T amb ) + σε g A g (T g2 4 - T sky 4)

= (3.763)(0.54x0.54)(35-30) +
(5.67x10-8)(0.83) )(0.54x0.54) (3084 - 2974)
= 5.487 + 16.719
= 22.206 W ………………………………………………………(5)

d) Heat loss from absorber plate, Q l, p-g1

Heat loss occurred from absorber plate to lower glass is assumed as heat
transfer between two enclosure.

Figure 3.13 : Heat loss from absorber plate to lower glass (first glass)

Assumption :
 Pot temperature, T p = 100 ºC
 Lower glass temperature, T g1 = 80 ºC

Q l, p-g1 = Q conv,p-g1 + Q rad,p-g1

= h p A ref (T p - T g1 ) + σε p A p (T p 4 - T g1 4)

22
 Nu k air (Tp − Tg1 ) σA p ( Τp 4 − Τg1 4 )
= +
Lc 1 1
+ −1
ε1 ε2
(6.583)(0.03024)(100 - 80) (5.67 x10 −8 )(0.3x0.3)(373 4 − 353 4 )
= +
0.1 1 1
+ −1
0.09 0.83
= 39.812 + 1.727
= 41.539 W ………………………………………………(6)

Subsitute (3), (4), (5) and (6) into equation (2) :-

IA g (τ g α g ) + α g (F ref-g2 A ref I) = Q u, f + Q l,wall + Q l,,t + Q l,g + Q l,,p-g1 …..(2)

(700)(0.2916)(0.91x0.13) + 0.13(0.734x0.36x700) =
80 − 30
61.25 + + 22.206
1 0.003 Lins 1
+ + +
3(0.3 × 0.3) 0.12(0.4 × 0.4) 0.0464(0.4 × 0.4) 5(0.4 × 0.4)
+ 56.889 + 41.539

∴ L ins = 27.02 mm of rice straw thickness.

3.5.1 Calculation for the cover to compare single glass and double glass
performance

1. Single glazing

Figure 3.14 : Heat loss through single glass

Assume : T amb = 30 ºC ; V amb = 2.06 m/s ; T g = 80 ºC ; T sky = T amb -6 ºC = 24

ºC
A g = 0.54 m x 0.54m

23
 T avg = (T g + T amb ) / 2 = (80ºC + 33 ºC) / 2 = 56.5ºC ≈ 329.5 K
Ag
Charecteristic Length, LC =
P

Vamb LC
Reynold Number, Re = Re < 5 x 105 : Laminar
ν
Nu = h.L C /k
Nu = 0.664 Re0.5 Pr1/3 (Equation 7.21, Cengel, Yunus)
∴ h = Nu*k /L C

Heat Transfer by convection, Q conv = hA g (T g - T amb ) = 58.476 W

Heat Transfer by radiation, Q rad = σε m A g (T g 4 - T sky 4) =102.405 W
∴ Total heat loss for single glazing is :
Q l,g = Q conv,g + Q rad,g
= 54.476 + 102.405
= 160.881 W

2. Double Glazing

1. Natural Convection Inside Enclosure, Q conv

Figure 3.15 : Heat loss through double pane glass

Assume : T g1 = 80ºC and T g2 = 35 ºC

T avg = (T g1 + T g2 ) / 2 = (80ºC + 33 ºC) / 2 = 56.5ºC ≈ 329.5 K

Properties at T = 56.5 ºC :
k = 0.02782 W/m ºC v = 1.862e-5 m²/s
Pr = 0.7211 β = 1/ T avg = 1/329.5 K = 3.035e-3

24
 ε 1 = ε 2 = 0.9 L = 10 mm (0.01m)

The Raleigh Number, Ra for the enclosure is determined from :

g β ( Τ1 − Τ2 ) L3 Pr
Ra = = 2.911 x 103
v2

Nusselt Number for horizontal plate :

Based on experiment with air, Hollands et al (1976) recommend this correlation for
enclosure,

+
 1708   Ra L1 / 3 
Nu = 1 + 1.44 1 −  + − 1 Ra < 108 (Cengel, Yunus)
 RaL   18 
Nu = 1.388

k Nu As (Tg1 - Tg2 )
∴Heat Transfer by convection, Q conv = hA s (T 1 - T 2 ) =
L
= 56.375 W

2. Radiation heat transfer between two parallel plates, Q rad

σA(T g1 4 − T g 2 4 )
Qrad = = 0.514 W
1 1
+ −1
ε1 ε2

∴ Total heat loss in the glazing, Q l,g :

Q l,g = Q conv + Q rad
= 56.375 W + 0.514 W
= 56.899 W

The results of the analytical solution shows that the maximum heat loss occur at
single glass application compare to double glass since heat transfer by convection
and radiation removed the heat on the glass surface. The gap of air between double
glass causing to reduced the heat loss thus increased the performance of the solar
cooker. The comparison of heat loss between single glass and double glass is shown
in Figure 3.16. The temperature different between outer glass and ambient for single

25
glass and between lower glass and upper glass for double glass application is
assumed 20 ºC. Figure 3.16 shows that total heat loss occur in single glazing is larger
than double glazing. So, the double glass is selected to make the glazing for the solar
cooker.

90

80
Outer Glass Temperature, T (ºC)

70

60

50

40 Single Glass
Double Glass
30

20

10

0
0 50 100 150 200
Total Heat Loss,Q (W/m²)

Figure 3.16 : Heat loss through single cover and double cover.

100

80
Total Heat Loss (W)

60
Assumption :
Tg2 = 35ºC
40 Tg1 = 80ºC
Ag = 540 x 540

20

0
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Gap between cover plates (mm)

Figure 3.17 : Total heat loss occur in double pane glass with different air space.

Figure 3.17 shows that the analytical result of spacing between glasses where total
heat is lowest for the small gap instead of larger gap space. But since the standard

26
size of lumber for 8 mm is not available, the size of 11 mm x 11 mm is selected and
put between the glasses.

3.6 Fabrication of Solar Cooker

Three main parts is divided to make the solar cooker which is main frame, cooking
chamber, cooker covers and glazing. All assembly is combined with the nails and
screws. Support wood is designed to make the solar cooker more rigid. A set of
mirrors is placed on the inclined wall to keep solar radiation bouncing to the pot and
absorber plate.

Inclined
Inclined Wall
Frame

Support
Wood

Figure 3.18 : Assembly of main frame with cooking chamber of solar cooker

Bottom
Cover

Figure 3.19 : Bottom cover is attached to the base of solar cooker

27
3.7 Testing of Solar Cooker

Direct radiation from the sun is measured using a solarimeter, while the velocity of
wind and temperatures of the solar cooker is measured by anemometer and Copper-
Constantan thermocouples with data logger. The solarimeter probe is inclined 2.5º
(according to latitude of Malaysia) to the southward from horizontal surface. The
thermocouples is attached to several position in solar cooker which is absorber plate,
both surface of double glazing and inside of the pot. The purpose of placement of
thermocouples at different location in solar cooker is to study the behavior inside the
solar cooker experimentally and to compare assumption made by analytically.

Figure 3.20 : Performance testing of a box type solar cooker.

Figure 3.21 : Thermocouple is submerged in water inside the cooking pot.

28
According to “Standard of Testing and Reporting Solar Cooker Performance,
American Society of Agricultural Engineers, the thermocouple junction should be
immersed in the water in the cooking vessel and secured 10 mm above the bottom, at
the center. A piece of wood or stone is put between plywood and absorber plate
because to prevent the plywood thermal expansion during cooking. During the
experiment, temperatures of the cooker, ambient temperature and solar radiation is
recorded simultaneously for every 10 minutes from 11.30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wind speed
is taken for once only because to simplify the test method. According to
http://www.ask.com/weather, the average wind speed in Malaysia is 7.4 km/h (2.06
m/s).

29
 CHAPTER 4
RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Experimental result of thermal conductivity of insulation

There are four possible material to be used as insulation, namely : Glass fiber,
Coconut husk, Rice straw and Bushes straw. To decide the thermal conductivity
of each material respectively, the result of the experiment as follows :-

Material : Glass fiber

Date : 14 February 2008 (Thursday)
Thickness : 50 mm

Samples
1 2 3 4
SP 1(ºC) 40.0 40.0 40.0 40.0
l (mm) 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05
T1 (ºC) 40.1 40.2 40.1 40.1
T2 (ºC) 26.8 27.7 28.3 29.4
Tavg (ºC) 33.45 33.95 34.2 34.75
HFM (mV) 1.62 1.05 4.32 4.9 Average
k (W/mK) 0.0186 0.0099 0.0751 0.0969 0.0501

Material : Coconut husk

Date : 14 February 2008 (Thursday)
Thickness : 50 mm

Samples
1 2 3 4
SP 1(ºC) 40.0 40.0 40.0 40.0
l (mm) 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05
T1 (ºC) 40.1 40.2 40.4 40.4
T2 (ºC) 25.6 27.3 27.1 27.4
Tavg (ºC) 32.85 33.75 33.75 33.9
HFM (mV) 6.19 6.79 8.05 8.73 Average
k (W/mK) 0.0911 0.1156 0.1366 0.1539 0.1243

30
 Material : Rice Straw
Date : 19 February 2008 (Tuesday)
Thickness : 50 mm

Samples
1 2 3 4
SP 1(ºC) 40.0 40.0 40.0 40.0
l (mm) 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05
T1 (ºC) 39.9 40 40.2 40.3
T2 (ºC) 26.7 26 26.7 27.4
Tavg (ºC) 33.3 33 33.45 33.85
HFM (mV) 0.9 4.86 3.79 3.46 Average
k (W/mK) 0.0065 0.0712 0.0554 0.0524 0.0464

Material : Bushes Straw

Date : 20 February 2008 (Wednesday)
Thickness : 50 mm

Time (minute)
30 60 90 120
SP 1(ºC) 40.0 40.0 40.0 40.0
l (mm) 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05
T1 (ºC) 40.1 40.1 40 40.1
T2 (ºC) 25.7 26.6 27.6 28.1
Tavg (ºC) 32.9 33.35 33.8 34.1
HFM (mV) 1.49 0.84 5.2 8.03 Average
k (W/mK) 0.0148 0.0054 0.0882 0.1517 0.0651

0.14

0.12
Thermal Conductivity (W/m.K)

0.10

0.08

0.06

0.04

0.02

0.00
Glass fiber Coconut husk Rice Straw Bushes Straw
Insulation materials

Figure 4.1 : Experiment result for finding an insulator material for the cooker.

31
From the graph, the rice straw is the lowest thermal conductivity and the value is
almost the same with the glass fiber. Therefore, the straw of rice is selected as
insulation of the solar cooker. The thermal conductivity of rice straw is 7.97% less
compared to glass fiber.

4.2 Result of the calculations to finding insulation

From the experiment done to determine the value of lowest thermal conductivity, the
rice of straw is selected to compare with glass of fiber which is always used for
building insulation material. The Figure 4.2 below is based on the energy balance
equation (Refer page 20) to find the suitable thickness of insulation for the pot
temperature achieved at 100ºC. The insulation is located below surface of the
plywood in the solar cooker.

Figure 4.3 shows the result of the thickness for the insulation by using the equation 1
(Refer page 20). From the Figure 4.3, the rice straw is the lowest thermal
conductivity compared to glass fiber by experimentally. The result of the existing
material which is straw, paper and foam also included in the calculation for
comparison purpose. Through the analytically and experimentally, the insulation
thickness for the solar cooker by using the rice straw and glass fiber is 26.76 mm and
28.9 mm respectively to achieve 100ºC on the absorber plate or cooking pot.

32
 Figure 4.2 : Cooker pot temperature by different type of insulation

60
Thickness of Insulation (mm)

50

40

30

20

10

0
Straw : Paper : Glass Fiber : Foam : Glass Fiber : Rice Straw : Bushes Straw :
Literature Literature Literature Literature Experiment Experiment Experiment
Types of Insulation

Figure 4.3 : Cooker pot thickness by different type of insulation

33
 100
90

Total Heat Loss (W) 80

70
60
50
Assumption :-
40 Gap between glasses = 11 mm
Tg1 = 80ºC
30
Tg2 = 35ºC
20
10
0
0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20 0.22 0.24 0.26 0.28 0.30 0.32 0.34
Area of Glazing (m²)

Figure 4.4 : Heat transfer against the area of glazing

In order to determine the size of glazing area, the calculation of different area of
glazing was made. Figure 4.4 shows that the heat loss through the glass is increasing
proportionally with the area of the glazing. The glazing is the first medium of heat
transfer before the solar radiation penetrate into the cooking chamber. The size of the
glazing is chosen by measure a piece of standard plywood (4 ft x 8ft) in the market to
fit with the size of the solar cooker. So, no additional standard size of plywood
required to make the solar cooker because the prototype cost will increase. The larger
glazing area, more solar radiation is absorbed into the cooking chamber. The heat
loss also increased proportionally with the glazing area because more surface is
contact with surrounding air where natural and forced convection may occur. To
design the solar cooker with accurate dimension, the design software is used to
model the solar cooker. Modeling of the solar cooker (Figure 4.5) is made by using
CATIA because it is very beneficial since the inclined wall is need more time to
draw by AutoCAD.

34
Main Side
Reflector Reflector

Double
Pane Glass Inclined
Reflector
Support
Frame

Figure 4.5 : A model of box-type solar cooker using CATIA

4.3 Result of the testing of the solar cooker

Thermal performance result as shown in the Figure 4.6 is the stagnation test where
no load condition is put in the cooking chamber. Emad H. Amer ( 2003) suggest that
the stagnation test is the experiment of the solar cooker where the cooker have to
exposed to the steady weather under no load condition. The maximum temperature
inside the empty cooking pot by using glass fiber in Figure 4.6 is 128 ºC and average
solar radiation in Figure 4.7 is 493 W/m2. The average ambient temperature for the
stagnation test is 36 ºC.

160
140
Ambient Temp.Ta
Temperature (ºC)

120
100 Upper Glass Temp,Tg2
80 Lower Glass Temp. Tg1
60 Absorber Plate Temp. Tp
40 Temp in the pot,Tp,in
20
0
0

0
:3

:4

:5

:0

:1

:2

:3

:4

:5

:0

:1

:2

:3

:4

:5

:0
11

11

11

12

12

12

12

12

12

13

13

13

13

13

13

14

Time of Experiment

Figure 4.6 : Temperatures variation during stagnation test of the solar cooker by
using glass fiber as insulation.

35
 800
700

Solar Radiation,I (W/m²)

600
500
400
300
Solar radiation,I
200
100
0
0

0
:3

:4

:5

:0

:1

:2

:3

:4

:5

:0

:1

:2

:3

:4

:5

:0
11

11

11

12

12

12

12

12

12

13

13

13

13

13

13

14
Time of Experiment

Figure 4.7 : Solar radiation intensity during stagnation test of the solar cooker by
using glass fiber as insulation.

140

120
Absorber Plate Temperature (ºC)

100 Without Side Reflectors

80 With Side Reflectors

60 Linear (Without Side

Reflectors)
40 Linear (With Side Reflectors)

20

0
11:30
11:40
11:50
12:00
12:10
12:20
12:30
12:40
12:50
13:00
13:10
13:20
13:30
13:40
13:50
14:00

Time

Figure 4.8 : Comparison between absorber plate temperature of the solar cooker with
and without side reflector.

The presence of the side reflector shown in Figure 4.8 is resulting of the absorber
plate temperature can be increased when the solar reflector is aligned properly.
Thermal performance for the cooking test by using glass fiber is shown in Figure 4.8
and Figure 4.9. The maximum temperature achieved for the absorber plate by using
rice straw and glass fiber is 151.8 ºC and 127.7 ºC respectively. Efficiency of the

36
solar cooker is highest during noon time (Refer Figure 4.9 and Figure 4.10) due to
more solar radiation received by absorber plate.

Figure 4.9 : Temperatures variation of the solar cooker by using glass fiber as
insulation.

800 18
15.9 15.8 15.5 15.7
700 14.9 15.1 15.1 16
14.4
Solar Radiation,I (W/m²)

13.5
600 12.7 14
12.0 11.9
11.2 11.1
Efficiency (%)

10.3 12
500
10
400
8
300
6
200 4
100 2
0.0
0 0
11:30 11:40 11:50 12:00 12:10 12:20 12:30 12:40 12:50 13:00 13:10 13:20 13:30 13:40 13:50 14:00
Time of Experiment
Efficiency
Insolation

Figure 4.10 : Solar radiation condition and efficiency of the cooker using glass fiber
as insulation.

37
 Figure 4.11 : Variation of temperature for the solar cooker using rice straw as
insulation.

720 25

700 19.9 19.4 19.4 19.4

Solar Radiation,I (W/m²)

18.1 20
17.3 17.3
680
15.6
Efficiency (%)

14.2 15
660 13.0
11.3 12.0
11.1 10.4
640 8.9 10

620
5
600
0.0
580 0
11:30 11:40 11:50 12:00 12:10 12:20 12:30 12:40 12:50 13:00 13:10 13:20 13:30 13:40 13:50 14:00
Time of Experiment Efficiency
Insolation

Figure 4.12: Solar radiation condition and efficiency of the rice using rice straw as
insulation.

38
The water temperature was constant after reached 100 ºC because the boiling point
for the water at sea level (101.325 kPa) is 99.97 ºC. The water is boiled in 80 minute
using straw of rice (Figure 4.6) which is faster compare to 140 minute using glass
fiber (Figure 4.5). The performance for both insulation is different due to weather
condition. The weather during experiment for rice straw is very clear with less cloud
compared to the testing for the glass fiber which is cloudy. For comparison between
glass fiber and rice straw as insulation, the data from 12 pm to 1 pm is taken due to
the average of the solar radiation is almost same (Refer Appendix 1 and 2). The
efficiency of the solar cooker from 12 pm to 1 pm by using rice straw is increased
12.7 % compared to glass fiber as insulation.

4.4 Efficiency of solar cooker

The efficiency of the solar cooker is determined by divide the power output with
incoming power from solar radiation. According to Klemen Scwarzer 2006, the
incoming power is the solar radiation I in W/m2 multiplied by the collector surface A
in m2. The power output is the power that required to heat amount of food or water
for certain period of time. The highest temperature achieved for the water is 100 ºC
and the average ambient temperature is 30 ºC. The time taken to boil the water until
100 ºC is 80 min by using straw of rice as insulation and 120 min by using glass
fiber.

The heating-power of the solar cooker :-

mw .c p .∆T
Q=
∆t

Where : m w = mass of water = 1 kg

c p = Specific heat capacity at constant pressure = 4200 J/(kg K)
ΔT = Temperature difference (T w,j – T w,i ) = ( 100 - 30) = 70 ºC
Δt = The duration of the measurement (s)

39
Thus, the efficiency of the cooker to boil the water :-
Q
Efficiency,η =
I. Ag

Table 4.1 : Efficiency of insulation for the solar cooker.

Type of Insulation
Thermal Performance
Glass Fiber Rice Straw
Heating Power (W) 35 61.25
Efficiency (%) 20.8 32.35

The efficiency of the material as stated in Table 4.1 is based on temperature of the
water inside the pot from 30 ºC to 100 ºC. The time taken to boil the water for the
glass fiber and rice straw as insulation is 8400 s (140 min) and 4800 s ( 80 min)
respectively.

Final Design Dimension (Refer to Appendix 4) :

Overall dimension of cooker (606 x 606 x 282 ) mm

Main reflector 522 mm x 522 mm
Material for reflector Glass mirror
Thickness of reflector 2 mm
Absorber plate 400 mm x 400 mm
Material for absorber plate Aluminum
Material for outer casing of the cooker Plywood
Material for glazing Clear glass
Thickness of glass cover 3 mm
Spacing between the glass cover 11 mm (Wood)
Depth of cooking chamber 123 mm
Pot height 67 mm
Pot Diameter 150 mm
Type of insulation Rice straw

40
 CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Conclusions

The box-type of solar cooker is selected among the other types because the material
to make it is cheap, locally available and no special machine is required to build the
solar cooker. From the experiment determine the thickness of insulation by finding
the value of thermal conductivity, the straw of rice is the best because it is cheap and
most available at any place. The small pocket inside the straw of rice is give an
advantage to make the insulation since the air trapped air inside the trunk provide no
air circulation thus reduce the value of thermal conductivity. The low cost insulation
with good performance by using straw of rice is another option for those who does
not afford to buy the expensive insulation. The thickness of the rice straw and glass
fiber for the solar cooker is 26.76 mm and 28.9 mm respectively to achieve 100 ºC
on the absorber plate. Results of thermal performance test for the absorber plate
average temperatures from 12 pm to 1 pm is 120.9 ºC and 102.3 ºC by using rice
straw and glass fiber insulation in place respectively. The thermal conductivity of
rice straw by experimentally is 7.97% less than glass fiber. The efficiency of the
solar cooker by using rice straw is increased 12.7 % compared to glass fiber as
insulation. The performance of the cooker with rice straw as insulation was improved
compared to the glass fiber.

41
5.2 Recommendations

The recommendations of the design and development of solar cooker is to reduce the
dimension and weight so that the product easy to relocate from one place to another
place. Beside that, the material of the solar cooker need to study to bring the cheap
material but high performance thus increase poor people to build or buy it for
themselves. The performance of the design need to simulate by using thermal
simulation software such as ANSYS or TRNSYS to optimize the solar cooker
performance and reduce calculation error before it manufacture.

42
REFERENCES

Cengel and Yunus A.. 2003, Heat Transfer : A Practical Approach, Mc. Graw Hill.

D. Buddhi, S. D. Sharma and Atul Sharma, 2003 “Thermal performance evaluation

of a latent heat storage unit for late evening cooking in a solar cooker having
three reflectors”, Science Direct : Energy Conversion and Management,
Volume 44, Issue 6, April 2003, Pages 809-817

Emad H. Amer, 2002. “Theoretical and experimental assessment of a double

exposure solar cooker”, Science Direct : Energy Conversion and
Management, Volume 44, Issue 16, September 2003, Pages 2651-26

Funk, 2007. “Evaluating the international standard procedure for testing solar
cookers and reporting performance”, Science Direct : Solar Energy, Volume
68, Issue 1, January 2000, Pages 1-7, USA

H.P. Garg and J Prakash. 2000, Solar Energy : Fundamentals and Applications, New
Delhi, Tata McGraw Hill

Hosny Z. Abou-Ziyan, 1996. “Design and measured performance of a plane reflector

augmented box-type solar-energy cooker”, Science Direct : Applied Thermal
Engineering, Volume 18, Issue 12, December 1998, Pages 1375-1394, Egypt.

<http://solarcooking.org/research/fi/petri.htm>

<http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-d_429.html>

<http://www.ask.com/weather>

<http://www.ausbale.org/fusion/viewpage.php?page_id=1>

43
Incropera, DeWit, 2007. Introduction to Heat Transfer 5th Edition, John Willey and
Sons.

Lab Manual, Thermal conductivity of Building and Insulating Materials Unit B40,
P.A. Hilton Ltd.

Mark Aalfs, Solar Cookers International, 2007

<http://solarcooking.org/sbcdes2.htm>

Modest, Michael, 2003. Radiative Heat Transfer, Amsterdam, Academic Press.

Mohd. Yusof Hj. Othman and Kamaruzzaman Sopian. 2002, Teknologi Tenaga
Suria, Bangi, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

S.P. Sukhatme, 1996. Solar Energy : Principle of Thermal Collection and Storage,
2nd Edition, Tata McGraw Hill.

Standard of Testing and Reporting Solar Cooker Performance ASAE S580 JAN 03,
American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE), 824 - 826

U.S. Mirdha and S.R. Dhariwa, 2007. “Design optimization of solar cooker”, Science
Direct : Energy Conversion and Management, India.

W. Shepherd and D.W. Shepherd, 1998. Energy Studies, Imperial College Press.

44
 Appendix 1
Thermal Performance Study of Solar Cooker with Glass Fiber

Upper Lower Absorber Temp in

Duration Solar Ambient Heating
Time Glass Glass Plate the Efficiency
(min) radiation,I Temp.,Ta Power
Temp,Tg2 Temp. Tg1 Temp. Tp pot,Tp,in
11:30 0 633.0 38.4 47.8 69.1 72.3 33.1 0.00 0.0
11:40 10 677.0 38.1 48.7 71.9 75 35.4 2,268.00 12.0
11:50 20 700.4 36.8 49.7 74.8 77.7 40.1 2,121.00 11.2
12:00 30 745.0 37.1 54.2 82.6 90.9 50.1 2,814.00 14.9
12:10 40 737.0 37.6 58.6 86.3 95.1 58.7 3,013.50 15.9
12:20 50 744.5 36.3 50.8 76.9 83.4 65.6 2,990.40 15.8
12:30 60 650.0 37.2 58.8 88.8 104.7 72 2,940.00 15.5
12:40 70 600.0 34.7 59.5 95.4 113.4 79.5 2,970.00 15.7
12:50 80 700.0 40.8 64.4 99.1 120.1 84.4 2,856.00 15.1
13:00 90 623.2 40.1 61.3 95.3 108.8 91.2 2,856.00 15.1
13:10 100 550.0 36.5 60.5 97.3 113 95 2,730.00 14.4
13:20 110 524.0 37.5 63.4 102.5 120.2 96.9 2,554.36 13.5
13:30 120 438.0 37.8 66.5 104.3 119.7 98.8 2,408.00 12.7
13:40 130 470.0 37.5 67.7 106.4 121.2 99.9 2,258.31 11.9
13:50 140 538.0 38.3 70.7 110.9 127.7 100 2,100.00 11.1
14:00 150 555.3 38 70.7 109.6 124.8 99.9 1,957.20 10.3
Average 617.8 38 60 92 104 75 2427 13
Min 438.0 34.7 47.8 69.1 72.3 33.1 1957.2 10.3
Max 745.0 40.8 70.7 110.9 127.7 100.0 3013.5 15.9
Average (
685.7 37.7 58.2 89.2 102.3 71.6 2920.0 15.4
12 pm - 1 pm)

45
 Appendix 2
Thermal Performance Study of Solar Cooker with Rice Straw

Upper Lower Absorber Temp in

Duration Solar Ambient Heating
Time Glass Glass Plate the Efficiency
(min) radiation, I Temp.Ta Power
Temp,Tg2 Temp. Tg1 Temp. Tp pot,Tp,in
11:30 0 623.0 38.6 61.2 79.9 69.6 32 0.00 0.0
11:40 10 660.0 40.1 62.5 81.6 72.6 34 1,680.00 8.9
11:50 20 645.0 35.1 61.4 85.5 79.4 40.2 2,142.00 11.3
12:00 30 637.0 39.1 68.8 98.4 96.1 54.5 3,430.00 18.1
12:10 40 695.0 37.8 70.9 100.5 101.7 61.2 3,276.00 17.3
12:20 50 691.0 36.1 71.8 103.4 110.3 74.9 3,771.60 19.9
12:30 60 696.3 35.9 72.3 106.6 116.5 82.5 3,675.00 19.4
12:40 70 701.1 36 67.9 110.6 132.5 91.3 3,678.00 19.4
12:50 80 690.0 36.4 69.2 119.5 142.9 100.1 3,680.25 19.4
13:00 90 704.4 39.9 75.8 121.9 146.4 100.1 3,271.33 17.3
13:10 100 697.7 36.3 75.5 122.1 147.8 100.2 2,948.40 15.6
13:20 110 701.9 34.9 73.7 118.5 151.1 100.2 2,680.36 14.2
13:30 120 694.3 39.1 73.8 118.6 151.8 100.2 2,457.00 13.0
13:40 130 700.8 37 72.4 119.6 147.9 100.2 2,268.00 12.0
13:50 140 690.0 39.6 71.6 120.5 141.7 100.3 2,109.00 11.1
14:00 150 653.2 39.2 71.7 121.6 135.1 100.3 1,968.40 10.4
Average 680.0 38 70 108 121 80 2690 14
Min 623.0 34.9 61.2 79.9 69.6 32.0 1680.0 8.9
Max 704.4 40.1 75.8 122.1 151.8 100.3 3771.6 19.9
Average
687.8 37.3 71.0 108.7 120.9 80.7 3540.3 18.7
(12 pm - 1 pm)

46
 Appendix 3

47
 Appendix 4

48
 Appendix 4 (Continue)

49
 Appendix 4 (Continue)

50