Data Acquisition and Control of a Thermal Energy Storage and Cooking System

A thermal energy storage (TES) system has been developed using a packed pebble bed. An electrical hot plate heats up oil circulating in a copper absorber which charges the storage system. A Visual Basic program has been developed to acquire data for monitoring the storage system and to maintain a nearly constant outlet temperature from the charging point. The input power to the electrical hot plate has also been controlled to simulate an incident daily solar radiation on a clear day using another Visual Basic program. Results obtained can be used to characterise the system