Thermal performance evaluation of a latent heat storage unit for late evening cooking in a solar cooker having three reflectors

In this paper, a phase change material (PCM) storage unit for a solar cooker was designed and developed to store energy during sunshine hours. The stored energy was utilised to cook food in the late evening. Commercial grade acetanilide (melting point 118.9 degreesC, latent heat of fusion 222 kJ/kg) was used as a latent heat storage material. Evening cooking experiments were conducted with different loads and loading times during the winter season. The experimental results showed that late evening cooking is possible in a solar cooker having three reflectors to enhance the incident solar radiation with the PCM storage unit. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.