Project Inti

Sammanfattning

In this report the two authors, and project contributors alike, describe their work with

developing a solar cooker intended for usage in the developing countries of the world.

Specifically, the work aims at developing a new, solar heat driven cooking device, possibly

based upon the current product. This should, in comparison to the current product, be lighter,

easier to transport and to produce. Also, the new product’s production mustn’t be more costly

than today and the included materials and components must be obtainable from within the

Bolivian national borders where the product is currently produced. During the project, certain

advantages with a more efficient, and, above all, a more moderately priced product, were

discovered. The current product is a box model solar cooker made out of fiberglass with a

plane reflector consisting of a mirror.

An extensive study of theory including technical, work process together with culture- and

region oriented theory, as well as communication theory, was conducted. As a part of the

analysis, a ten day field trip to Cochabamba, Bolivia, was carried out. In order to achieve a

comprehensive understanding of the regions where usage of solar cookers is at issue, the

project has included interviews with persons working in human aid organizations. An

extensive idea generation was conducted where some hundred different partial solution ideas

were created. Requirement specifications for the new product were put together. In order to

test the influence of different parameters on the cooker’s functioning, a mathematical model

of the solar cooker was also set up. To validate the functionality of the ideas a number of tests

were executed.

For the final prototype, a box model solar cooker design was chosen. Vital material selections,

as well as design improvements, were implemented, resulting in a solar cooker which, in

comparison to the current model, has many advantages. Since the solar cooker will be sold to

persons and organizations widely varying in solvency and since the cooker could be used in

different parts of the world, the authors chose to recommend that it should be designed and

produced in a way facilitating production of different models.