Investigations on the functional modes of a thermal energy storage system for sustainable steam cooking application - an experimental study

ABSTRACT

Steam cooking using parabolic trough collectors is a well-established sustainable technology. The augmentation of a thermal energy storage (TES) system with such a sustainable system will make the technology completely reliable on the renewable energy source. However, there are limited research findings to improve the thermal performance of the TES heat exchangers by adopting non-structural and non-elemental modifications. In this article, experimental studies have been performed on a TES shell and tube heat exchanger that could be envisaged for steam cooking applications. Erythritol was used as the phase change material. The heat exchanger was operated in two modes: progressive and impulsive. From the observations, the performance of the impulsive mode was better than the progressive mode. The impulsive mode of functionality witnessed a 32% decrease in the charging duration, 2.5% increase in the energy stored and 50% increase in the charging rate in comparison to the progressive mode.

KEYWORDS:

• Erythritol
• heat exchangers
• phase change materials
• sustainable steam cooking
• thermal energy storage

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India and the management of PSG College of Technology for their financial support to undertake this research study. This article is a documented presentation of a part of the research outcomes of the DST-MES 2016 project (Grant No.: DST/TMD/MES/2K16/20(G))

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Nomenclature

$\mathit{\gamma }$ Liquid fraction

$\mathit{\lambda }$ Latent heat of fusion (kJ kg⁻¹)

$C_{\mathit{pl}}$ Liquid phase specific heat (kJ kg⁻¹ K⁻¹)

$C_{\mathit{ps}}$ Solid phase specific heat (kJ kg⁻¹ K⁻¹)

$\mathit{m}$ Mass of the PCM (kg)

$Q_{\mathit{st}}$ Quantity of heat energy stored (kJ)

$\mathit{T}$ Temperature (^°C)

$T_{\mathit{amb}}$ Ambient temperature (^°C)

$T_{\mathit{em}}$ End melting temperature (^°C)

$T_e$ End temperature (^°C)

$T_{\mathit{om}}$ Onset melting temperature (^°C)

$T_{\mathit{pm}}$ Peak melting temperature (^°C)

C.M. Charging mode

D.M. Discharging mode

P.D.M. Pre-discharge mode

P.I.M. Pre-impulsive mode

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14484846.2022.2069644

Additional information

Funding

This research work was funded by Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India and PSG College of Technology;Department of Science and Technology, Government of India [DST/TMD/MES/2K16/20(G)];

Notes on contributors

Velavan Rajagopal

Dr. Velavan Rajagopal completed his doctorate in GHG mitigation in a Textile Industrial Cluster from Anna University and his research area is application of sustainable energy for industrial and domestic use.

Kannan Kumaresan

Dr. Kannan Kumaresan has 7 ½ years of industrial experience in Boilers and completed his doctorate in Flow analysis of Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers from Anna University, Chennai, and his area of research is Phase change materials, solar latent heat storage systems, and Computational Fluid Dynamics.

Paul Gregory Felix

Er. Paul Gregory Felix holds a Master’s degree in Energy Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. His fields of expertise include phase change materials, energy storage systems, computational fluid dynamics, sustainable architecture and energy-efficient building design.