A review of thermal energy storage designs, heat storage materials

and cooking performance of solar cookers with heat storage

By :Lameck Nkhonjera

Objective:

1. Optimization of geometry parameters and heat transfer

characteristics of the thermal energy storage units for cooking
applications.

2. Development of high temperature thermal energy storage units

for solar cooking.

3. Field investigation of the performance of 4-stage solar cookers.

4. To produce a low cost high rigidity structure of cooker.

Outcomes:

1. water boiling or cooking of rice soaked in water were the

means used to test the reviewed cookers. Therefore, cooking
power was calculated.
2. The cooking power is greatly influenced by thermal diffusivity
of the storage medium and TESu design parameters namely
cooker category, configuration of the cooking vessel in relation
to the fi storage unit.
3. Optimization of the geometry as well as heat transfer
characteristics of thermal energy storage units remain the
potential areas of research in heat storage for cooking.