Box Cooker Performance Testing

Current Research Team

Past Research Teams

 Compiling Data

We collected the data from Spring 2008, Fall 2008, and this semester (Spring 2009). The
new light system was built during the Fall 2007 semester, and the data in this report only
considers results from tests using that light system. When tests were run, thermocouples
were placed in any of several locations in addition to the water in the pot(s), which include:
inside air, inside wall, inside glass, black plate, outside air, outside wall, and outside glass.
Not all of these locations had temperature data taken for a given test, so the available data
is scattered over those sites with many gaps in data. The past tests have been run with
certain experiments in mind, but the goals of the tests were not always well documented.
We have collected all the data available into the spreadsheet below tracking all the
important parameters, and have also compiled the raw data (.csv or .lmv files) in case
future groups want to look more closely at the specific measurements. Data was taken
from several folders on three of the computers in Winter Laboratory in Thurston Hall, and
the test data was located in Excel files, with descriptions of the tests in Word documents.
No efforts have yet been made to sort and catalog that information systematically, which
could be an issue future solar oven teams could address.

 Analyzing Data

The following variables were considered when analyzing the tests:

  • Total mass of water in cooker
  • Cooker volume
  • Cooker height
  • Area of glass
  • Horizontal black area
  • Number of pots
  • Pot size
  • Pot arrangement
  • Wind speed
  • Silicone caulking

The following data was also recorded for the tests when data was available:

  • Inside wall temperature at water temperature 40C
  • Inside air temperature at water temperature 95C

These variables were compared amongst the different tests to determine the effect each
had on the time to heat water from 40°C to 95°C. For most tests, one of the above variables
was varied while the others were maintained constant. We have collected and graphed
sections of the data that reveal how cooking time varies as a function of some parameters.

PIV Testing

Performance Tests

 Data and Graph on Spreadsheet: Excel Data Analysis Spring 2009

 Data Analysis in Word: Word Data Analysis Spring 2009 



Notes on terminology:
Small ovens: the ovens that were built prior to Fall 2008
Medium oven: "1-D scale-up" - the oven that was built in Fall 2008, scaled up length-wise
Large oven: "2-D scale-up" - the oven that was built this semester, Spring 2009, scaled up length-wise and height-wise

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