Abstract Conventional and not-in-kind refrigerators require heat exchangers for their operation. Yet, most magnetic cooling studies do not take full account of those components despite their importance in defining the cooling capacity and temperature span. To investigate the influence of heat exchanger design parameters on the performance of magnetic refrigerators, a model was developed to integrate the heat exchangers, regenerators and thermal reservoirs. The results were compared with data generated in an apparatus that emulates the conditions of the thermal fluid supplied by the regenerators to a cold heat exchanger positioned inside the cabinet of a retrofitted 130-liter wine cooler. Six tube-fin heat exchangers were evaluated to identify the most suitable geometry (number of tube rows and fin density) for the compact magnetic refrigerator. Numerical simulations described the influence of the heat exchanger on the regenerator performance in terms of the liquid stream effectiveness. For a temperature span of 20°C between the external environment and the refrigerated compartment, the best heat exchanger/fan assembly resulted in a cooling capacity reduction of 37\% and a temperature span increase of 32\%, in comparison with an idealized system. The expected system coefficient of performance (COP) and second-law efficiency were 1.8\% and 13\%, respectively.

Abstract The present study analyzes the time-dependent thermal behavior of a retrofitted wine refrigerator cabinet operated by a caloric system emulator. The presence of a full load of wine bottles enabled the assessment of the thermal stratification inside the cabinet. Further experimental tests have been performed to quantify the overall thermal conductance of the cabinet walls and the thermal conductance of the glass door. A detailed mathematical model was developed to predict the temperature pull down in the refrigerated compartment, considering the interaction between the cabinet air and the wine bottles. In addition to the air and bottle temperatures, a good agreement (lower than 15% relative error) was observed for the cooling capacity. The numerical simulations revealed that the cabinet door was responsible for approximately 60% of the thermal load (even though it corresponded to approximately 20% of the cabinet external area).

Abstract A performance assessment of active magnetocaloric regenerators using entropy generation minimization is presented. The model consists of the Brinkman-Forchheimer equation to describe the fluid flow and coupled energy equations for the fluid and solid phases. Entropy generation contributions due to axial heat conduction, fluid friction and interstitial heat transfer are considered. Based on the velocity and temperature profiles, local rates of entropy generation per unit volume were integrated to give the cycle-average entropy generation in the regenerator, which is the objective function of the optimization procedure. The solid matrix is a bed of gadolinium spherical particles and the working fluid is water. Performance evaluation criteria of fixed cross-section (face) area (FA) and variable geometry (VG) are incorporated into the optimization procedure to identify the most appropriate parameters and operating conditions under fixed constraints of specified temperature span and cooling capacity.

This paper proposes a numerical model to predict the growth of gaseous refrigerant bubbles in oil-refrigerant mixtures with high contents of oil subjected to isothermal depressurization. The model considers an Elementary Cell (EC) in which a spherical bubble is surrounded by a concentric and spherical liquid layer containing a finite amount of dissolved liquid refrigerant. The pressure reduction in the EC generates a concentration gradient at the bubble interface and the refrigerant is transported to the bubble by molecular diffusion. After a sufficiently long time, the concentration gradient in the liquid layer and the bubble internal pressure reach equilibrium and the bubble stops growing, having attained its stable radius. The equations of momentum and chemical species conservation for the liquid layer, and the material balance at the bubble interface are solved via a coupled finite difference procedure to determine the bubble internal pressure, the refrigerant radial concentration distribution and the bubble growth rate. Numerical results obtained for a mixture of ISO VG10 polyolester oil and refrigerant HFC-134a showed that the bubble growth dynamics depends on model parameters such as the initial bubble and liquid layer radii, the initial refrigerant concentration in the liquid layer, the initial pressure in the liquid phase, the decompression rate and the EC temperature. Despite its simplicity, the model demonstrated to be a potential tool for predicting bubble growth and foaming that may occur as a result of cavitation in oil-lubricated bearings and refrigerant degassing from the oil sump during compressor start-up.

The present study introduces a methodology for mapping the thermodynamic losses of vapor compression refrigeration systems which consists of a theoretical model that splits the coefficient of performance into four terms: (i) the coefficient of performance of an ideal cycle (Carnot), (ii) the efficiency of a real cycle running with an ideal compressor, (iii) the compression efficiency of a real compressor, and (iv) the cycling efficiency. In addition, measurements of the relevant variables at several positions along the refrigeration loop are also required, generating performance data not only for the whole unit but also for each one of the system components. The proposed methodology points out the thermodynamic losses of the refrigeration system, identifying opportunities for energy performance improvement. In addition, the methodology is suitable for comparing different refrigeration systems with respect to the same thermodynamic baseline. Albeit the methodology was originally developed for household refrigerators, it can be easily extended to any kind of vapor-compression refrigeration systems.

Thermodynamic property data including specific enthalpy, specific entropy and specific volume were generated for the new refrigerant HFO-1234yf (2,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene) using the well-known Peng and Robinson cubic equation of state. A general approach applicable to any fluid based on the concept of departure functions has been applied. Data for saturated vapor pressure, saturated liquid density, ideal gas heat capacity at constant pressure and critical properties were obtained from the open literature. The predictive capability of the proposed calculation methodology has been validated with thermodynamic property data for HFC-134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane), showing average deviations lower than 0.6%. A thermodynamic analysis of the new refrigerant in the light of thermodynamic properties of an idealized cycle was carried out so as to measure its performance with respect to that HFC-134a under the same evaporating and condensing pressure conditions.

Experimental data on the viscosity of mixtures of CO2 and lubricant oil were acquired and correlated using an excess-property approach based on the classical Eyring liquid viscosity model. Three oils of different types and viscosity grades (alkylbenzene AB ISO 32, mineral MO ISO 50 and polyol ester POE ISO 68) were evaluated at temperatures ranging from 36.5 to 82ºC. The excess activation energy for viscous flow was successfully correlated as a function of temperature and concentration using Redlich-Kister polynomial expansions with up to three terms. Large departures from the ideal solution viscosity behavior have been identified in all mixtures. The nature of the observed deviations has been explored in the light of their dependence on temperature, refrigerant concentration and oil type. The Katti and Chaudry (1964) model of the activation energy of viscous flow displayed the best correlation of the experimental data, with RMS deviations of 4.6% (AB ISO 32), 3.3% (MO ISO 50) and 2.8% (POE ISO 68).

The purpose of this paper is to assess some aspects of the design of evaporators for household refrigeration appliances using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The evaporators under study are tube-fin 'no-frost' heat exchangers with forced convection on the air-side and a staggered tube configuration. The calculation methodology was verified against experimental data for the heat transfer rate, thermal conductance and pressure drop obtained for two evaporators with different geometries. The average errors of the heat transfer rate, thermal conductance and pressure drop were 10%, 3% and 11%, respectively. The CFD model was then used to assess the influence of geometric parameters such as the presence and position of the electrical heater coil relative to the tubes, the fin configuration and the width of the by-pass clearance between the outer edge of the fins and the tube bank for conditions typical of the design of household refrigeration appliances

This paper describes some of the key experimental results and features obtained from a study on upward flow boiling of water in a vertical tube at sub-atmospheric pressures. The experiments were conducted at 250, 500 and 1000 mbar (abs) exit pressures. From the experimental results, several interesting features and effects were observed, namely, heat transfer coefficient maxima at around zero thermodynamic quality were observed for high inlet liquid subcoolings at low sub-atmospheric pressures, which were attributed to local thermal non-equilibrium instability (Jeglic and Grace, 1965). Such effects were also observed in boiling of pure hydrocarbons in vertical tubes (Kandlbinder, 1997; Urso et al., 2002) and were explained and explored quantitatively with a thermal non-equilibrium slug flow model (Barbosa and Hewitt, 2005) that associates vigorous bubble growth at sub-atmospheric pressures to the formation of large Taylor bubbles separated by subcooled liquid slugs.