Work

Study of moist air transfer and its thermal load under refrigerator door closing and opening conditions

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study conducted a detailed experimental study of moist air transfer and its thermal loads in refrigerators under door closing and opening conditions. Trace gas technology was employed to determine the air transfer rate between the interior of the refrigerator and the external environment. It was founded that under door closing conditions, the primary pathways for moist air transfer were the gasket and defrosting drainage tube. The proportion occupied by the defrosting drainage tube was closely related to its structural design, reaching from 29.5% to 88.5%. The mass transfer rates in the pull-down and intermittent refrigeration processes were 133.018 g·h-1 and 102.920 g·h-1. Under door opening conditions, the mass transfer rates increased with both the duration and angle of the door opening. The mass transfer rate during the opening-closing process is observed to range from 65.598 to 128.593 g·s-1, approximately 5,000 to 10,000 times higher than the door closing conditions. Over a 24 h operation period, the accumulative thermal load caused by moist air transfer was 417.054 kJ, with the pull-down, intermittent refrigeration, and door opening-closing processes contributing 5.7%, 40.2%, and 54.1%. These findings offer crucial data for elucidating the thermodynamic characteristics of moist air transfer in refrigeration systems.

Source: Case Studies in Thermal Engineering

DOI: 10.1016/j.csite.2025.105909