Combustion modelling of a semi-enclosed cook stove using computational modelling

Energy sector is the driving force of the modem system of social development and the global economy. It is obvious that the energy sector should be properly optimised and fuel sources be used in the most efficient manner for the better existence of human beings. It should be balanced ecologically, economically and socially. Present attention is directed towards the non-conventional energy sources due to the rapid depletion of fossil fuels and high rate of growth of population. Among various alternatives, biomass holds a special promise owing to its inherent ability to store solar energy and being the only renewable source of carbon. No oil or natural gas reserves are found in Sri Lanka. The primary energy sector of Sri Lanka is dominated by bio-energy, especially by fuel wood [8]. According to the Regional Wood Energy Development Programme (RWEDP) estimates, 55% of total energy consumption comes from biomass and 49% comes from wood fuels in Sri Lanka. 90% of the people of Sri Lanka depend on fuel wood for their daily cooking purposes, thus the major biomassconsuming device is the cookstove[8]. These stoves are associated with the main problems of low overall efficiency and high indoor pollution. As a consequence, the fuel consumption will be high, resulting in rapid deforestation and excessive fuel costs. Not only these drawbacks but also low efficiency of unventilated stoves has linked to a number of increased health risks. The performance of the cook stove will depend on the geometry, input conditions, type of fuel used and specially the combustion characteristics inside the stove. The present study is involved in determining the optimum heat transfer model for a cook stove that uses wood as the fuel with a known amount of heat release rate from wood gas