Experimental Investigation of the Effect of the Burner Cap Geometry on the Performance of a Domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas Stove

Abstract

Cooking is an important domestic activity that needs energy. Traditionally, solid fuels such as firewood and charcoal have been used. However, the combustion of solid fuels inside households causes internal pollution and harms the health of users and other occupants. Nowadays, gaseous fuels like natural gas (NG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are the most used for domestic cooking. Considering the limitation of fossil fuel resources, energy conservation issues, environmental problems, and the increase in demand for gaseous fuels, it is necessary to explore ways to improve the thermal efficiency and emission characteristics of existing cooking systems. Although the use of gaseous fuels reduces domestic air pollution, the earliest domestic gas burners have low heat performance with an efficiency value of approximately 40%. Continuous research and development in stove design and analysis has led to a significant improvement in the thermal performance of commercial gas burners, with efficiencies exceeding 60%. This study’s main objective is to improve an LPG domestic stove through the modification of the cap burner geometry. The effects of various inclination angles (between the top and the lateral cap faces) ranging from 0 deg to 90 deg have been experimentally investigated. Results demonstrated that the thermal efficiency of the burner increases with increasing inclination angle. The highest efficiency was obtained at an angle of 75 deg, and beyond this value, the efficiency dropped. Unfortunately, at this angle value, CO emissions were the highest.