Thermal performance evaluation of solar cooker with latent and sensible heat storage unit for evening cooking

This paper presents an investigation of thermal performance of phase change material (PCM) in combination with different sensible heat storage materials (SHSMs) in a solar cooker based on parabolic dish collector for evening cooking. In the experimental set-up, a pressure cooker is placed at the centre of two concentric pots containing PCM in the inner pot and different SHSMs in the outer pot. During sunshine hours, this unit (solar cooker) is placed on a plate of parabolic dish collector for storing the thermal energy in the SHSMs. In the evening, the solar cooker is kept in an insulator box and loaded with cooking food, where the PCM deliver heat to the food. It has been found that PCM-Sand and PCM-Stone pebble cases store 3 to 3.5 times more heat as compared to PCM-Iron grits and PCM-Iron ball cases. The PCM assists in cooking while the outer material assists PCM in maintain its performance.