Numerical Study of the Performance of a Double-Insulated Barbecue Oven: Implication for Energy Savings and Thermal Comfort

Abstract

This work is devoted to a numerical study of the performance of a double insulated barbecue oven using terracotta bricks and plywood. The numerical methodology is based on the nodal method and the heat transfer equations have been established by performing an energy balance on each node. The equations obtained were then discretized using an implicit finite difference scheme and solved by the Gauss algorithm. The numerical results validated by the experiment show that this double insulation considerably reduces the energy losses through the walls of the oven. However, the addition of plywood does not significantly change the energy savings compared to simple terracotta insulation but does drop the external wall temperatures. Thus, for 4 cm of thickness of terracotta bricks and 1 cm of plywood, the energy savings (compared to the non-insulated oven) are of the order of 70% and the temperature of the outer walls of the oven does not exceed not 60°C, which ensures better thermal comfort for users.