IJFANS International Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences

ISSN PRINT 2319 1775 Online 2320-7876

Enhancement of Heat Transfer in Solar Cooker by using PCM Material

Main Article Content

Dr. M.D. Shende and Kushal S. Choudhari

Abstract

The paper discusses the use of solar cooking technology with phase change materials (PCMs) to improve efficiency and make it a more viable option for cooking. Solar cooking technology needs significant improvements to become widely accepted as the primary source of cooking energy. The current solar cooking methods have limitations that hinder their adoption. Acetanilide is selected as the PCM material due to its specific properties, including the temperature requirements for cooking and its high latent heat of fusion (222 kJ/kg). These properties make it suitable for storing and releasing thermal energy effectively during the cooking process. The research involves the development of a specialized cooking utensil. This utensil is created by welding two aluminum cylindrical pots of different diameters concentrically, forming a hollow space between them. Acetanilide is filled into this space. This design allows for efficient thermal energy storage and transfer. The cooking pot is placed within a parabolic collector solar cooker. This type of solar cooker is known for concentrating sunlight onto a central point, increasing the cooking temperature and efficiency. A one-dimensional heat balance model is developed to study how the PCM behaves during the cooking process. The model's predictions are compared with experimental results, likely to validate the effectiveness of the PCM-based cooking system. Glazing to the solar cooker improves its performance. Glazing is a transparent cover that helps trap heat within the cooker. The result is an efficiency improvement of 7% to 9% over a non-glazed system. The results suggest that this technology has the potential to provide all-day cooking capabilities at a reasonable cost.

Article Details