Comparative Analysis of Thermal Retention Capacity of Ice Chest Wood Cooler Stands Made from Pinus Caribeae and Nauclea Diderichii

Abstract

The efficacy of a cooler or ice chest is measured by its preservative potentials, and how long it can make substance such as food and drinks remain hot/cold. In ensuring that an ice chest meets up to its expectation, this work investigated the construction, thaw rate and heat retention capacity of an ice chest cooler stands made from Pinus caribeae and Nauclea diderichii wood, with a view of improving its ability to maintain hotness/coldness of any substance stored in it for a longer period of time. The wood samples were machined and fabricated into a cooler stand in which plastic coolers were placed. 10kg mass of Ice block (0 o C) and hot water (100 o C) were used for the two tests considered in this study. Meanwhile, an ordinary cooler was used as a control. Weight reduction and thermometer were used to measure the thaw rate of the ice block and temperature loss of the water. For the ice block test, 6kg (1.8 o C), 5kg (0.20 o C) and 3kg (0.22 o C) of ice block were left after 8 hours, while for the hot water test, water temperatures were 45 o C, 25 o C and 18 o C after 12 hours for ice chest made from N. diderichi, P. caribaea and control respectively. The thaw rate and temperature loss was lowest for ice chest made with N. diderichi, thus implying that N. diderichi wood is a better choice for making wooden cooler stand. This study thus confirms that wood can be used to improve thermal retention capacity of ice chest cooler. Contribution/Originality:This study is one of the few studies which have investigated the reinforcement of existing plastic cooler with wooden structure. With the aim of reducing more energy bills through constant refrigeration, this ice chest cooler will help in optimum temperature retention when cooling and heat is required. INTRODUCTIONWood is porous, as such; it has low thermal conductivity, with high thermal resistance and specific heat capacity, which are important characteristics needed in designing materials with great resistance to heat flow et al. [1]. Radmanović, et al. [2] stated that wood as a porous biomaterial contain small holes and spaces that can influence the mechanism of heat transfer (thermal conductivity) and specific heat capacity. The Thermal properties of wood is an essential properties considering area where they are needed in applications such as fuel conversion, building construction, and other areas of industry [3,4]. Previous Knowledge on thermal properties of wood has helped to understand and designed model of heat transfer processes in wood and woodproducts based materials. Thermal conductivity is a critical attribute when offering energy conserving building products which can be due to the fact that wood has excellent heat insulation properties [5].