The effect of radiation shields around the air condenser and compressor of a refrigerator on the temperature distribution inside it

Abstract

In almost all domestic refrigeratorsefreezers all components are assembled in the same relative position since several years ago. It is also known that the condenser releases heat at high temperatures (first law of thermodynamics) as well as the compressor. This heat is rejected to the environment in almost all practical situations partially by natural air convection. However, part of it is due to thermal radiation that causes an overheating of the refrigeratorefreezer surfaces adjacent to those equipments. As a consequence there are more heat gains to the refrigeratorefreezer through these surfaces and hence higher air temperatures inside. This paper describes how a simple technique can be very useful in order to minimize that part of heat transfer by radiation. The improvement is achieved by placing a radiation shield e a sheet of aluminium foil e over the surfaces close to the condenser and the compressor. For validating this technique a refrigeratorefreezer was monitored with thermocouples for the measurements of the inside air temperatures in two situations: with and without the radiation shield. Results show that with this practice the average inside air temperatures in the refrigeratorefreezer could decrease to about 2 K. An available commercial code was used in order to simulate the air temperature distribution and air velocities inside the refrigerator cabinet in both situations. Results from the experimental apparatus and from simulations show that there is a good agreement between them which validates the experiments carried out.Also an available commercial code, the Fluent, was used to simulate the internal air temperature in both situations.

Experimental and Numerical Study on Performance Enhancement by Modifying the Flow Channel in the Mechanical Chamber Room of a Home Refrigerator

“…The internal velocity was measured between the compressor and condenser, as shown in Figure 6a. The governing equations were a type of continuously composed governing equations and were analyzed using the commercial CFD software ANSYS-CFX 16.2 [26,27]. The elements used in the calculation were a type of hexahedral elements, about 1,350,000, as shown in Figure 6.…”

Small Scale Refrigerators and Freezers: Thermal Improvements in the Envelope

“…Table 1 summarizes the results obtained in the three situations regarding the refrigerating cycle operation [16].…”

Enhancements in domestic refrigeration, approaching a sustainable refrigerator – A review

“…The free convection in refrigerator applications is evaluated in 3D, turbulent, transient, and coupled non-linear flow problem. In order to evaluate the effect of the heat release of the condenser and the compressor on the thermal behavior of refrigerator, Afonso and Matos [114] measured the inside air temperature in two situations: with and without radiation shield, also with Fluent simulate the internal air temperature in both situations. Björk et al [115] used a thermographic camera to observe the temperature distribution of a household refrigerator, as an alternative method to analyze the cooling system compared with conventional thermocouples.…”