Optimisation of a new design of domestic built-in oven
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
Abstract
This research concerns the optimisation of a new design of domestic built-in oven. A proposed oven configuration, recently developed by Cambridge Sensor Innovation Ltd. , will be used as the basis for the work. The new CSI oven is capable of cooking a significantly wider range of food types than existing commercially available ovens, and offers opportunities to reduce energy consumption.
Computational Fluid Dynamics will be used to model the oven, and hence reduce the number of prototyping stages required to optimise the design.
Novel aspects of the research include:
a) effectiveness of the use of radiative / convective heat flux sensors for domestic oven control
b) optimal strategy for reduction in energy consumption
c) assessment of the present-day appropriateness of the (long-standing) standards/methods for measuring and rating oven efficiency, given the very significant changes in the food types now prepared in domestic ovens compared to the situation 20+ years ago when the standards were put in place.
Computational Fluid Dynamics will be used to model the oven, and hence reduce the number of prototyping stages required to optimise the design.
Novel aspects of the research include:
a) effectiveness of the use of radiative / convective heat flux sensors for domestic oven control
b) optimal strategy for reduction in energy consumption
c) assessment of the present-day appropriateness of the (long-standing) standards/methods for measuring and rating oven efficiency, given the very significant changes in the food types now prepared in domestic ovens compared to the situation 20+ years ago when the standards were put in place.
Organisations
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP/N509620/1 | 01/10/2016 | 30/09/2022 | |||
| 1944448 | Studentship | EP/N509620/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2021 | Jamie Davidson |
| EP/R513180/1 | 01/10/2018 | 30/09/2023 | |||
| 1944448 | Studentship | EP/R513180/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2021 | Jamie Davidson |
| Description | Developed and tested three prototype ovens that can reduce energy consumption for cooking a variety of food types by 10-40% depending on cooking time, with shorter cooking times giving greater energy savings. Time to cook including heat up time is consistently reduced by half. Chickens, bread, lasangna, chips, pies, pizza, cake and quiche have been trialed successfully with recipes that maximise food quality and minimum energy consumption and cooking being developed in parallel. A computational model of the oven design has been developed but not experimentally validated as of time of writing. |
| Exploitation Route | Oven design is in the process of being commercialised by Cambridge Oven Innovation, talks are ongoing with potential manufacturers. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Electronics |