Simulation study of a box type solar cooker for different locations

Abstract

Solar cooker which relies on solar energy can be a viable alternative for the reduction of pollution during the combustion of biomass during the cooking process. The emission from biomass contains hydrocarbons as its major source. This simulation study of box type solar cooker performed using ANSYS Fluent version R1 2022 helps in optimizing the design of solar cooker to predict solar heat flux values for different locations such as Chennai, Vellore, Karur and Rameswaram for a particular day and particular time intervals such as 9 am, 12 pm, 2 pm, 5 pm. The proposed work further highlights the region where the solar cooker can be efficiently used by utilizing non-conventional energy sources for cooking process. In the simulation process, Discrete Transfer Radiation Model (DTRM) was used for tracking the solar radiation and solar calculator to predict the direct and diffuse solar irradiation for a particular day, by considering the latitude, longitude and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) for specified locations. The specified geographical regions are plotted in a spatial map with solar radiation data obtained from Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) through ArcGIS geospatial techniques. The maximum solar heat flux values obtained at 12 pm, in the simulation results are 718 W/m2, 698 W/m2, 726 W/m2 and 720 W/m2, it is identified that among the four regions karur recorded the highest solar heat flux value of 726 W/m2. The minimum solar heat flux values at 5 pm are 215 W/m2, 202 W/m2, 265 W/m2 and 230 W/m2. Vellore was observed to have the minimum solar heat flux value of 202 W/m2. Solar radiation data obtained from the solar calculator and IMD radiation data were in good agreement with each other with a maximum error percentage of 2.36% because of the variation in the sunshine factor.