Experimental research on air flow performance at supply-air openings in frost-free refrigerator by DPIV

In household frost-free refrigerators, the air flow field 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 flow field in the chest. Thus, it is necessary to perform experimental research on the air flow 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 airflow 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 flow 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 flow 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.