Effective Efficiency Enhancement of Box-Type Solar Cooker and Optimization Using Response Surface Methodology (RSM)

Author(s) : Muhammad Raza Ahmad, Yasir Jamil, Khuram Ali

Abstract:

The objective of the current study is to optimize cooking power and effective efficiency of box type solar cooker. The solar cooker has been designed, fabricated and analyzed. The effect of loading and cooking time on the cooking power and effective efficiency has been investigated. The response surface methodology (RSM) is used to examine the performance of box-type solar cooker. FCCD (Face centered composite design) has been used to investigate the effect of different variables on effective efficiency and cooking power of the solar cooker. The optimized value of loading predicted by RSM was 4.92 kg/m2 for a cooking power of 795.89 watt and effective efficiency of 13.61% respectively. The results of predicted response were compared with actual response. The results demonstrate that the response surface methodology (RSM) is useful in constructing a mathematical model. The experiment was conducted in Faisalabad, Pakistan 31.4181° North Latitude, 73.0776° East Longitude and 184 m above the sea level.