Measurements of the air flow field in the freezer compartment of a top-mount no-frost refrigerator: the effect of temperature

The energy consumption of a household refrigerator is closely related to the distributions of temperature inside its compartments. Since, such distributions are dependent on the chilled air circulating inside the refrigerator, its energy consumption can be reduced and its efficiency improved through optimization of the air flow fields inside the compartments. In this work, particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to measure velocity fields inside the freezer compartment of a commercial top-mount no-frost refrigerator at two critical vertical sections at three different temperatures levels. To perform the tests, a commercial unit was equipped with two specially constructed insulated windows which enabled clear visualization of the flow field under real operating conditions. The results show that significant changes in the air flow distribution occur when the temperature is reduced.