Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 33343339

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Applied Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Experimental research on air ow performance at supply-air openings

in frost-free refrigerator by DPIV
Xiangzhao Meng *, Bingfeng Yu
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xian Jiaotong University, Xian 710049, China

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 18 September 2008
Accepted 11 May 2009
Available online 20 May 2009
Keywords:
Frost-free refrigerator
DPIV
Experimental research
Supply-air opening

a b s t r a c t
In household frost-free refrigerators, the air ow eld is the most important factor that affects temperature distributions in chambers, while the performance of the supply-air openings for each chest determines the character of the ow eld in the chest. Thus, it is necessary to perform experimental research
on the air ow performance at the supply-air openings to improve the service performance, furthermore,
to reduce the energy consumption of frost-free refrigerators. In this study, the airow performance at the
supply-air openings in a BCD-190W type household frost-free refrigerator was investigated. A transparent model was built based on similitude theory. The measurement system using 2-D Digital Particle
Image Velocimetry (DPIV) technology and the proper tracer particles were adopted. The velocity distribution performance of typical rectangular supply-air openings in the refrigerator were measured. In addition, the problem in ow rate and location design of supply-air openings were presented on the basis of
the analysis of the experimental results. The results show that DPIV can be applied to obtain the air ow
performance at supply-air openings in frost-free refrigerators. Moreover, the structure of supply-air
openings in each chest and the design of the supply-air tunnel resistance in cooling chamber should
be improved.
2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction
In frost-free refrigerators, the air cooled by the evaporator is
transported and distributed to each chest through the air circulation tunnel, the supply-air openings and the return-air openings.
Special air ow styles are built to maintain required air velocity
around the food to keep uniform cooling. The temperature distribution characters in the frost-free refrigerator have signicant
inuence on the performance and energy consumption [1], and
the temperature distributions depend on the ow eld in the
chambers. The air ow performance at the supply-air openings is
the key factor that affects the velocity distribution in each chamber. Therefore, it is very important to study the air ow performance of the supply-air openings so as to improve the service
performance and reduce energy consumption of frost-free
refrigerators.
Several investigators studied the air velocity and temperature
distributions in frost-free refrigerators. The numerical simulation
on air ow elds near the fan zone was carried out by Su [2]. The
simulation results indicated that increasing the distance between
the fan and the supply-air opening board would be helpful to eliminate the vortex ow and improve the uniformity of the air supply
velocities. The laminar ow model was adopted by Bing to calculate
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: xzmeng@mail.xjtu.edu.cn (X. Meng).
1359-4311/$ - see front matter 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2009.05.009

the velocity distributions in the chests of a frost-free refrigerator,

and the supply-air openings were set as inlet boundary conditions,
but the results did not veried by experiments [3]. Gupta et al.
established a 3-D thermojet air ow model of a frost-free refrigerator and adopted the control volume method to simulate the velocity
and temperature distribution in the chests. They indicated that the
simulation results of the temperatures in the freezing chamber were
higher than the experiment results while the simulated temperatures in the cooling chamber were somewhat lower than the experiment results. Moreover, the difference between the simulation
results and the experiment data was caused by lack of accurate
measurement for air ow velocities in the chambers [4]. Numerical
simulation study of heat transfer characteristics of air jet in frostfree refrigerators were conducted recently by Imraan, but the corresponding experimental research was not carried out [5]. Several
exploratory experiments have been conducted on the air ow eld
in the chambers of frost-free refrigerators [6,7]. Lacerda explored
the effect of the varying temperature distribution on the velocity
distributions in two orthogonal sections by using a 2-D Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) system through two transparent
adiabatic windows on the envelop of the freezer chamber of a
frost-free refrigerator [8]. However, this measurement method
can obtain only 2-D ow eld within a limited zone and cannot reect the ow eld characters in the chamber.
Rectangular opening was one type of supply-air opening used in
frost-free refrigerator. In this study, the ow eld in a BCD-190W

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3335

type household frost-free refrigerator was investigated. This type

of refrigerator was the most popular capacity in China, and several
typical types of rectangular openings have been used in this type of
refrigerator. A transparent frost-free refrigerator model was built
based on similitude theory, and the proper tracer particles were
adopted. The velocity distribution characters of typical supply-air
openings were measured using DPIV system.
2. Measurement system
DPIV can be applied to perform non-contact, transient, and real
time measurement. It has been used as the standard method of 2-D
ow eld measurement in many elds [9,10]. The experiment was
performed in the State Specialized Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics
in Xian Jiaotong University. The 2-D DPIV system used had been
calibrated before our experiments. The largest measurement error
was not more than 1.0% [11] DPIV measurement system used in
the experiment consists a beam path system, an image capture system, a synchronization control system, and an image analysis system (see Fig. 1).
Our experiment was carried out on a transparent frost-free
refrigerator model for illuminating the ow elds by the laser
sheets. The model and the prototype were of the same dimension
to meet the geometrical similarity. The supply-air fan and the
evaporator were the real parts of the prototype refrigerator to keep
the same air ow rate within the prototype. Thus the Reynolds
number and the Euler number of the model would be probably
same as those of the prototype. During the steady operation period,
the temperature in the freezing chamber should be lower than
18.0 C, and the temperature in the cooling chamber should be
between 0 and 10 C. During this experiment, the air temperature
was 3.4 C. The maximum uncertainty of the Prandtl number
caused by the temperature difference was less than 2.0%. In summary, the characters of the ow eld in the model were approximately similar to those of the prototype. Therefore, the ow eld
measurement results for the model could be used to analyze the
ow eld in the prototype.
The transparent model of a BCD-190W type household frostfree refrigerator was built based on similitude theory, see Fig. 1b.
The freezing chamber was divided into three chests and the top
one was separated into two parts, see Fig. 2. The total height of
the freezing chamber (along Z direction) was 400 mm, while the
height of the top chest, the middle chest and the third chest was
130 mm, 100 mm and 160 mm, respectively. The total width
(along X direction) of freezing chamber was 420 mm, and the
width of the left part of the top chest was 160 mm and the right
part was 260 mm. The depth (along Y direction) of the top chest
of the freezing chamber was 220 mm, and same for the middle
chest, and the depth of the bottom chest was 290 mm. The cooling
chamber was divided into four chests, see Fig. 4. The total height of

Fig. 1. Experiment system.

Fig. 2. Structure of freezing chamber.

Fig. 3. Structure of cooling.

the cooling chamber was 585 mm, while the height of the top
chest, the second chest, the third chest and the bottom chest was
150 mm, 120 mm, 160 mm and 155 mm, respectively. The width
of the top chest was 390 mm, and all other chests were 450 mm
wide. The depth of the top chest, the second chest, the third chest
and the fourth chest were 350 mm, 370 mm, 390 mm and 440 mm,
respectively.
In this study, the tracer particles were generated by heating a
kind of silicon oil with a fog generator. The average diameter of
the tracer particles was about 12 lm. Thus, the particles were
with good follow movement property and easy to be dispersed.
3. Experiment results and analysis
3.1. Experiment results and analysis for freezing chamber
3.1.1. Performance analysis of the supply-air openings for the left part
of the top chest
There were three sets of supply-air openings with the same size
in the top left chest of the freezing chamber, and each set included
three openings, see Fig. 3a. The guide plate with about 10 mm high
was normal to the air supply board. Fig. 5 shows that two vortexes
existed in the measurement zones because of the combined action
of the supply-air openings and the return-air openings. The measurement results show that the air jet velocities of the top two layers of the supply-air openings were larger than those of the lower
openings. The measured largest velocity of the air jets was 2.22 m/
s. The injection effects of the upper layer openings resulted in the
air jet of the lower layer openings deviating upward and merged
with the air jet of the upper openings to form the high velocity
stratum. This ow type is favorable to protect heat transfer from
the envelope and the door. If the food was placed in the chest, it
would not destroy the mean ow type signicantly. Since the air
jets from the supply-air openings deviated upward, the upper

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X. Meng, B. Yu / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 33343339

Fig. 4. Velocity distributions in the center plane of supply-air openings for the left part of the top chest of the freezing chamber.

Fig. 5. Velocity distribution in the center plane of supply-air openings for the right part of the top chest of the freezing chamber.

guide plate could protect the air jet from impacting the roof of the
chest to cause the signicant loss of momentum. However, the
lower guide plate had no effects on the air jet, so it should be removed in the design improvement.
3.1.2. Performance analysis of the supply-air openings for the right
part of the top chest
There were seven supply-air openings for the right part of the
top chest of the freezing chamber, see Fig. 2. The guide plates were
located at the under limb of the openings, and the included angle
was about 60. Fig. 5a shows that the velocity of the left-hand supply-air opening was the largest in that of the seven openings in the
chest, the measured largest velocity was 2.21 m/s. The air jet velocities decreased from left to right because of the distance between
the opening and the fan increased. The velocity of the right-hand
opening was 1.22 m/s, see Fig. 5b. Comparison of Fig. 5a with
Fig. 5b shows that, the distance and the inuence zone of the air
jet from the left-hand opening were less than those from the
right-hand opening although its velocity was larger, since the
velocity vectors of the openings for the right part of the top chest
in the freezing chamber all deviated toward right-hand. Thus, the
air jets mainly inuenced the right part space of the chest, and
the mean temperature in the right region would be lower than that
in the left region.
3.1.3. Performance analysis of the supply-air openings for the second
and third chest
There were two symmetric same size rectangular supply-air
openings in the second chest and the third chest of the freezing

chamber, respectively. While, the volume of the third chest was

60% larger than that of the second chest. The guide plates were located at the upper limb of the openings, and the included angle between the guide plate and the supply-air openings was about 45
degrees. Measurement results showed that the air jets from the
two openings deviated downward, see Fig. 6. The center velocity
of the air jet of the left opening of the second chest and the third
chest were 0.93 m/s and 1.96 m/s, respectively. And those of the
right opening were 1.19 m/s and 0.75 m/s, respectively. Therefore
the ow rate of the two openings of each chest would be different
obviously, and it would cause different temperature distribution in
the left part and right part of each chest.
In third chest, it is more serious that the measurement plane
was separated into two parts by the air jet. Although the velocity
of the right air jet is only 38% that of the left air jet, the air jet
reached the return-air openings directly, see Fig. 7. That is, the
air jet had a short circuit It is difcult to avoid air jet short circuit
in the third chest only by reducing the air jet velocity. It could be
suggested that the supply-air openings for the third chest should
be improved by adjust the direction of the air jets of the supplyair openings to avoid the air jet short circuit.
The measurement results of the freezing chamber indicate that
the openings should be modied to improve the uniformity of the
temperature distributions. Since all these openings are located at
the back panel, the velocity and pressure distribution in the space
between the fan and the back panel are key factors that determine
the performance of each opening. Further research is needed on
the ow eld between the fan and the supply-air panel for optimizing the supply-air openings design for the freezing chamber.

X. Meng, B. Yu / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 33343339

3337

Fig. 6. Velocity distribution in the center plane of supply-air openings for the second chest.

Fig. 7. Velocity distribution in the center plane of the supply-air opening for the third chest.

3.2. Experiment results and analysis of cooling chamber

There were two symmetric rectangular supply-air openings for
each chest of the cooling chamber, see Fig. 3. The cold air for the
cooling chamber was distributed by two air tunnels that connected
with the left openings and right openings separately.
3.2.1. Performance analysis of the supply-air openings for the rst
chest of cooling chamber
Fig. 8 shows that the measured center velocity of the left air jet
was 0.37 m/s, and that of the right air jet was 0.64 m/s. Thus, the

ow rate would be obviously different between the two openings.

The directions of the two air jets were also different clearly. In
Fig. 8a, the air jet owed along horizontal direction and attenuated
rapidly, and its inuence region was very small. The air jet of the
right opening owed upward, and the velocities of the upper part
were larger than those of the lower part in the measurement zone,
as shown in Fig. 8b. The measurement results indicate that the air
tunnel and the supply-air openings should be optimized in order to
ensure equalization of the ow rates of the two supply-air openings in the rst, and then determine the proper directions of the
air jets center velocities.

Fig. 8. Velocity distribution in the center plane of the supply-air openings for the top chest of the cooling chamber.

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X. Meng, B. Yu / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 33343339

3.2.2. Performance analysis of the supply-air openings for the second

and third chest
The supply-air openings for the second and third chest were
grid-type, see Fig. 3. The air jets performance of the supply-air
openings in the second chest were shown in Fig. 9. The maximum
velocities in the measurement zones were lower than 0.03 m/s. the
performance of the supply-air openings in the third chest were almost same to that of the second chest. In the third chest, the measured center velocity of the left jet was 0.085 m/s, and it was 85%
higher than the that of the right jet, 0.046 m/s. The air ow rates
of the openings could not meet the required cooling capacity of
the two chests. The too high resistance of the supply-air openings
and the air tunnel may be the primary reason for the too small ow
rate of the supply-air openings.
3.2.3. Performance analysis of the supply-air openings for the forth
chest
The air jets directions of the supply-air openings for the forth
chest are different from the other openings, see Fig. 3. The two

openings are located at the end of the air tunnels along the back
of the third chest. Their locations are higher than the shelf of the
third chest. Each air jet owed through the gap between the third
shelf and the back wall and entered the forth chest. Fig. 10 shows
that the air jet ow downward along the back wall of the chest until it reached the bottom, and then it owed toward outside of the
chest. Therefore, the air velocities in the lower part of the chest
were rather large in the chest. The measured center velocity of
the left air jet was 0.31 m/s, and that of the right air jet was
0.14 m/s. This would cause the non-uniform temperature distribution in the forth chest.
Comparison of the measurement results of the cooling chamber
indicates that the center velocities of the supply-air openings for
the second and third chests were rather lower than those of the
other two chests. Thus, the average temperatures in the second
and third chests would be lower than those in the other two chests
of the cooling chamber. The experiment results show that the air
ow rates of the lower three chest were different signicantly, so
the average temperature in these chests would also be different.

Fig. 9. Velocity distributions in the center plane of the supply-air openings for the second chest of the cooling chamber.

Fig. 10. Velocity distributions in the center plane of the supply-air openings for the forth chest of the cooling chamber.

X. Meng, B. Yu / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 33343339

The optimum resistance design of the air tunnel and the openings
is a critical approach to good service performance and energy
saving.
4. Conclusions
In this study, the experiment research on the air ow characters
of the supply-air openings in a transparent BCD-190W type household frost-free refrigerator model was carried out based on the
similitude theory. The experiment results indicate that DPIV technology used for the model experiment could overcome the difculty on measuring the ow eld in the prototype refrigerator,
and the accurate air ow performance at the supply-air openings
were obtained. The measurement results show that all the supply-air openings in this refrigerator should be improved.
In the freezing chamber, good ow type was formed in the left
part of the top chest, but the lower guide plate could be removed
because it is useless. The air jet velocities in the right part of the
top chest of freezing chamber decreased from left to right with
the increasing of the distance between the openings and the fan.
The velocities of each two supply-air openings in the second and
the third chest of the freezing chamber were different obviously.
The air jets of the openings for the third chest had short circuit.
In the cooling chamber, the air jets velocities in each chest were
different clearly, and the air jets velocities in the top chest were
the largest, and those of the middle two chests were the smallest.
The velocity difference between the symmetric two openings in
each chest of the cooling chamber was also obviously because of
the difference of the resistances of the air tunnel and the openings.
From the experiment results and the analysis, it could be suggested that the supply-air openings should be modied. For the
freezing chamber, the under guide plate of the openings for the left
part of the top chest could be removed. Further research on the
ow eld in the space between the back board and the fan should

3339

carried out in order to achieve equal air ux at the symmetric

openings in the same chest. The short circuit of the air jets for
the third chest should be avoid by reducing the air jets velocities
and making the air jet ow upward. For the cooling chamber, the
primary task is to obtain equal air ux of each opening in the same
chest through optimizing the resistance of the openings. Simultaneously, the structures and the resistance of the two parallel air
tunnels should be same to obtain equal ux in each tunnel.
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