Performance of Solar Collector for Thermal Storage System Using Nanofluids: A Review

Globally there is profuse literature on the continuous developments of solar based thermal storage system. The performance characteristics of a solar based thermal storage system can be effectively improved by using circulating fluid in different types and content. Abundantly available solar energy utilization for domestic and industrial applications is hindered because of its intermittent nature. The thermal energy storage (TES) system using both sensible and latent heat has many advantages like large heat storage capacity in a unit volume and its isothermal behavior during the charging and discharging processes. In the present literature the efforts have been made to focus on diverse development of solar energy based thermal storage till now. The rural and urban population, depend mainly, on non-commercial fuels to meet their energy needs. Solar cooking is one possible solution but its acceptance has been limited partially due to some barriers. Solar cooker cannot cook the food in late evening. That drawback can be solved by the storage unit associated with in a solar cooker. So that food can be cook at late evening. Therefore, in this paper, an attempt has been taken to summarize the investigation of the solar cooking system incorporating with phase change materials (PCMs). Thermal energy storage system plays a critical role in developing an efficient solar energy device. Many research works is being carried out to determine the suitability of thermal energy storage system to integrate with solar thermal gadgets. This review paper summarizes all the research and development work carried out in the field of solar cooker in particular the storage type solar cookers. A novel concept of PCM-based storage type solar cooker is also presented which is under experimental investigation.