Experimental and simulation analysis for different pot-in-pot indirect heating scenarios for cooking applications

The paper presents simulation and experimental results to demonstrate heat transfer performance during cooking that can be practical in pot-in-pot arrangements for indirect cooking/heating. The cases included single pots, pot-in-pot with oil, and pot-in-pot with no oil. The aim was to optimize the heat transfer through conduction and the cooking process for a recently developed small-scale sensible heat storage system integrated with a cooking unit. Cooking experiments reported were carried out using an electric hot plate with a power rating of 1.8 kW, 220V. Temperature measurements were recorded using a TC-08 data logger. The heating rates were analyzed for the best option. Energy balance equations for heating the water were utilized to estimate the heat transfer coefficient for the cases of pot- in-pot with oil and that without oil (air). It was observed that boiling 1 L of water using aluminium pots in a pot with or without oil in between showed a faster heat transfer rate and quick temperature rise in comparison with a stainless-steel pot in pot. Water boiled to about 100 oC in a shorter period in an aluminium pot compared to a steel pot in all the scenarios. The heat transfer coefficient values were estimated to be 800 Wm-2K-1 and 500 Wm-2K-1 for the case of oil and no oil between the pots tested, respectively. This work presents a good learning resource for basic coding in MATLAB on heat transfer energy balance equations studies, and these results further affirm oil as a better heat transfer medium compared to air during indirect heating applications.