The Effect of Inlet Area Ratio on the Performance of Multi-pot Natural Draft Biomass Cookstove

Abstract

The performance of cookstove is mostly determined by trial-and-error experiments and its evaluation using simple thermodynamics and heat transfer equations. The effect of variation in inlet area ratio on the flame temperature and the exhaust is investigated on natural-type biomass cookstove. Numerical simulations have also been carried out and validated with the experimental results. Commercially available software ANSYS ver. 16.2 is used to simulate the two-dimensional computational domain. The computational domain has been simulated using non-premixed combustion and standard k-e turbulence model. Geometry creation and meshing of the domain are done using ICEM ver. 16.2. Probability density function (PDF) accounts for the interaction between turbulence and fuel composition. The data obtained from the experiment is used as a boundary condition for the numerical simulation. Results showed that CFD is a great tool with accuracy and time-saving features to understand the thermal behavior of cookstove and can be used to model different stoves at different conditions without performing the actual experiment. The value of critical inlet area ratio remains almost the same for any natural draft biomass cookstove, which is around 0.7.