Cooking during off-sunshine hours using PCMs as storage media

doi:10.1016/0360-5442(95)00012-6

Energy

Volume 20, Issue 7, July 1995, Pages 607-616

https://doi.org/10.1016/0360-5442(95)00012-6 Get rights and content

Abstract

The possibility of cooking during off-sunshine hours using phase change materials (PCMs) as storage media has been investigated experimentally. For this purpose, two concentric cylindrical vessels were constructed with 2-cm gaps. This gap was filled with stearic acid or magnesium nitrate hexahydrate as the PCMs. The cooker performance is evaluated in terms of charging and discharging times of the PCMs under different conditions. The cooker performance was found to depend strongly on the solar intensity, mass of the cooking medium, and the thermophysical properties of the PCM. The overall efficiency of the cooker during discharging was found to be 3–4 times greater than that for steam and heat-pipe solar cookers, which can be used for indoor cooking.

References (15)

A.A. El-Sebaii et al.
Energy—The International Journal
(1994)
M.R.I. Ramadan et al.
Sol. Wind Tech.
(1988)
A. Dang
Energy Convers. Mgmt
(1985)
A.M.A. Khalifa et al.
Sol. Energy
(1987)
D.L. Bushnell
Sol. Energy
(1988)
A. Hasan
Sol. Energy
(1994)
M. Kamimoto et al.
Sol. Energy
(1980)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (97)

The role of phase change materials in lithium-ion batteries: A brief review on current materials, thermal management systems, numerical methods, and experimental models
2023, Journal of Energy Storage
Phase change materials (PCMs) have been used as high-performance materials in various applications since they have great features such as low viscosity, low melting temperature and excellent wettability on the surfaces. Energy storage systems like Li-ion batteries are facing many challenges and one of the main challenges in these systems is their cooling component. PCMs could transfer the heat during their phase change from solid to liquid and be transferred to their solid phase below their melting point. In this paper, recent developments of PCMs on thermal management systems (TMS) in Li-ion batteries are investigated. The thermal performance of different PCMs in Li-ion batteries is compared with each. Different numerical and experimental models were reported to evaluate the PCMs' behavior in thermal management systems of Li-ion batteries. The goal of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview on the role of PCMs in the application of Li-ion batteries.
Design of a recyclic solar air heater for low temperature regions utilizing integrated wavy corrugated thermal energy storage systems
2023, Applied Thermal Engineering
This work presents thermal performance prediction of a design of solar air heater for low temperature regions utilizing integrated thermal energy storage systems (PCM unit). Recyclic double air pass is considered for a range of recycle ratio, G = 0–1 at a mass flow rate of 0.01 kg/s. Paraffin wax as a PCM for thermal energy storage is used in two different designs of wavy corrugated PCM unit. Geometrical parameters related to PCM units are considered such as wavelength $(0.05 \leq λ \leq 0.1 m),$ amplitude $(0 \leq α \leq 0.015 m)$ , length $(1 \leq L \leq 2 m)$ , width $(0.5 \leq W \leq 1.414 m),$ and height $(0.02 \leq h \leq 0.04 m)$ . Energy-enthalpy method is used to predict the temperatures and phase change of PCM employing finite volume method. Explicit time marching scheme is applied to present transient thermal performance of solar air heater designs. In addition, employed non-orthogonal structured mesh in the complex wavy corrugated PCM units, ensured the numerical accuracy in the prediction. Ambient temperature, T_a and heat flux of the range $5^{o} \leq T_{a} \leq 20^{o} C$ and 1000 W/m² is considered to present realistic situation of low temperature regions, respectively. Thermal backup of 24 h at a significant high outlet air temperature than ambient is aimed to provide in order to support wide thermal applications of solar air heater. The obtained results reported the significantly higher outlet air temperature for the heater design i.e. 9 °C than ambient corresponding to 24 h. Optimum value of different geometrical and flow parameters is obtained as $\dot{m} = 0.01 k g / s, G = 1, λ = 0.1 m, α = 0.005 m, L = 1.414 m, W = 1.414 m a n d h = 0.04$ . In addition, presented contours results revealed the associated physics and important guidelines upon the use and size of the thermal energy storage systems in solar air heaters.
Experimental investigation of thermal storage integrated indirect solar cooker with and without reflectors
2023, Results in Engineering
Environmental degradation, harmful gas emissions, and the increase in prices of fuel and electricity are the main driving forces behind the need for more effective utilization of renewable energy. In the present study, indirect solar cooking system with a flat plate collector integrated with a phase change material was designed, constructed and experimentally tested. Comparative study was conducted on the performance of the solar cooker with and without reflectors. Four plane reflectors on each side of the collector were used to enhance the solar insolation falling on the collector while stearic acid is used as PCM in the thermal storage unit. Daily average enhancement of 42.3% on the reflected solar radiation was found with four reflectors. The result showed that the maximum average absorber plate temperature, maximum outlet water temperature, maximum energy and exergy efficiency of FPC with and without reflectors are found to be 130 $°C$ , 103.65 $°C$ , 79%, and 48% and 92 $°C$ , 71 $°C$ , 63%, and 42% respectively.
The overall system efficiency of the indirect solar cooker was found to be 19.04%. The utilization efficiency and characteristic boiling time of the cooker was found to be 22.3% and 15.7 min/kg.
Effective estimation of the state-of-charge of latent heat thermal energy storage for heating and cooling systems using non-linear state observers
2023, Applied Energy
An effective quantification of the energy absorbed and supplied by latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) units is critical to maximise their use within thermal systems. An effective control of the charging and discharging processes of these units demands an accurate estimation of the state-of-charge (SoC). However, a direct and reliable SoC estimation requires incorporating internal sensors to monitor the temperature gradient of the phase change material (i.e. the storage medium), resulting in higher instrumentation costs and technical specifications. These issues may be relieved by adopting state observers for SoC estimation to drastically reduce the number of measurements. This paper bridges this gap by presenting a novel and direct method for estimating the SoC of LHTES units, both for heating and cooling applications, based on a non-linear state observer. The observer is based on a simple one-dimensional dynamic model of the thermal store and the thermophysical properties of the storage medium and the heat transfer fluid, which are usually provided by manufacturers. This enables the estimation of the internal temperatures of the LHTES unit and, in turn, SoC calculation. The observer implementation is simple as it requires three measurements only as input variables (i.e. the mass flow rate and the input and output temperatures of the heat transfer fluid). The SoC estimation approach is assessed through dynamic simulations of two LHTES units: one for a heating application and one for a cooling application. The results show that the SoC can be estimated with root mean square and mean absolute errors of less than 4.6% and 3.62%, respectively, compared with experimental measurements.
Potential of phase change materials and their effective use in solar thermal applications: A critical review
2023, Applied Thermal Engineering
Citation Excerpt :
These are used to provide heat energy to cook the food. Utilization of solar energy for cooking requires optimum geometry design, glazing system, design of cooking vessels, insulation, booster mirrors, financial feasibility and even heat storage [117-119]. Different PCMs for solar cookers are getting importance due to their potential to store a huge amount of energy.
Potential of the thermal energy storage materials especially phase change materials (PCM) is great support to the thermal systems for their performance enhancement especially for those systems which are operated on solar energy. In the present review study, some PCM operated solar thermal systems have been studied thoroughly to observe the real behavior of their improved performance by using a specific phase change material under variable ambient conditions. Apart from this, it has been observed that a complete charging and discharging cycle is necessary for a specified life cycle of the tested PCM. Heat transfer studies of different solar applications which operates on a variety of phase change materials shows that the performance improvement is fairly possible if the PCM is selected by considering the thermodynamic behavior of ‘to be used’ thermal system under a specific environment. It helps in selecting a suitable phase change material for a specific solar energy application. Results of the review study recommends some suitable phase change materials for solar cookers, solar stills, solar ponds, air heaters, PV systems and water heaters on the basis of their thermal characteristics specially operating temperature and their costs. A brief study on technology readiness level and levelized cost of storage shows the appropriateness of phase change materials for a wide adoption of them to be used in solar thermal applications. Overall, this study provides a very useful information about the thermal behavior, selection and the possible use of different phase change materials in solar energy systems, round the globe.
Design, Development and Performance Testing of a Novel Utility Solar Cooker with Highlighting Its Significance in Current Scenario
2023, Materials Today: Proceedings
In most developing worlds, cooking with heat has been a technically feasible replacement for fuelwood in food production as the need of the hour. Cooking energy accounts for 36% of India's gross primary energy use. Non-commercial oils are used mainly by the rural and urban populations to fulfil their energy requirements. Solar cooking is one potential alternative, but it has been met with some resistance due to some obstacles. Simple box-type solar cookers are an easy way to cook food utilizing solar energy throughout the day, but cooking is not feasible all across the night-time. In this research, a box-type solar cooker with energy storage is developed, and a performance study is conducted to enable food to be cooked at odd hours. Thermal energy has been stored using phase change content (PCM). The amount of energy retained, the amount of heat lost during the charging and discharging period, and the amount of PCM needed are all calculated. Experiments were carried out with two continuous loads in a cooker with a 0.5 m2 aperture region and PCM (Erythritol). While the performance of the PCM cooker is comparable to that of a simple box-type cooker, cooking during off-sunshine hours is not feasible with the simple box-type cooker, according to the report. However, by utilizing the specially built and manufactured PCM cooker, cooking can be done at any time of day. As a result, this paper aims to summarise the research on solar cooking systems that incorporate phase shift materials (PCMs).

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Cooking during off-sunshine hours using PCMs as storage media

Abstract

Energy—The International Journal

Sol. Wind Tech.

Energy Convers. Mgmt

Sol. Energy

Sol. Energy

Sol. Energy

Sol. Energy