A CFD model development and performance investigation of frost free refrigerator with nanoparticles suspended in the lubricant

In a refrigerator, airflow and temperature distribution along with the properties of the lubricating oil defines its efficiency and performance. The purpose of this work is to develop a numerical model to predict the airflow and temperature inside the refrigerated space and use nanoparticles in the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Haque, Muhammad Ehteshamul
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/27974/1/A%20CFD%20model%20development%20and%20performance%20investigation%20of%20frost%20free%20refrigerator%20with%20nanoparticles%20suspended%20in%20the%20lubricant.wm.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
id my-ump-ir.27974
record_format uketd_dc
spelling my-ump-ir.279742023-01-17T06:40:23Z A CFD model development and performance investigation of frost free refrigerator with nanoparticles suspended in the lubricant 2019-03 Haque, Muhammad Ehteshamul TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery In a refrigerator, airflow and temperature distribution along with the properties of the lubricating oil defines its efficiency and performance. The purpose of this work is to develop a numerical model to predict the airflow and temperature inside the refrigerated space and use nanoparticles in the compressor lubricating oil to improve the efficiency of the refrigerating system. The present research focuses to improve the performance and efficiency of the refrigerator through the analysis by CFD and nanotechnology. The objective is to develop a CFD model for airflow and temperature distribution inside the refrigerator and validated it with experimental results. The model is then used for parametric study to modify the inside geometry of the refrigerator to improve better airflow and temperature distribution. To improve the cyclic efficiency of the refrigerator Nano-particles are added into the compressor lubricant to improve the lubricity of Polyol ester oil (POE), thereby improving the performance of the refrigerator. In this research work, CFD model has been developed for a domestic no-frost refrigerator. The conservation equations of energy mass and momentum are solved by using Finite Volume Method (FVM) in an environment of three-dimensional unstructured mesh. Experiments were conducted on a no-frost domestic refrigerator to compare and validate the results of the CFD model. Nano particles when added to the lubricating oil is called Nano-lubricant. In the present study, three nanoparticles namely Al2O3, TiO2 and SiO2 have been added to the lubricant oil of a domestic refrigerator and experiments have been performed to determine the enhancement in the performance of the refrigerator. A CFD model for the selected refrigerator has been developed in Ansys software. This CFD model has been validated by experimental results. A comparison of CFD model and experimental results of surface temperature in freezer and refrigerator compartment are within the acceptable range of 5% difference. In the freezer compartment the difference in temperature on a vertical line at the center of freezer as predict by the CFD model and experiment is less than one percent. Similarly, the temperature difference, as measured by experiment and predicted by the CFD model, on a central vertical line inside the refrigerator compartment, is less than three percent. The result of the parametric study by using the developed CFD model showed improvement in the temperature distribution inside the refrigerator compartment. Through this research work, it is established that CFD can be used successfully to model the airflow and temperature distribution inside the refrigerator. The results of experiments with nanoparticles suspended in the lubricant oil of the compressor showed better performance of the refrigerator as compared to pure Polyol Easter (POE) oil system. The energy consumption of 0.05% SiO2 nanolubricant is 9.4% less than pure POE oil system. Similarly, the energy consumption of compressor with 0.1% TiO2 nanoparticles is 6.84% lower than the pure POE oil system. COP of the refrigerator increased by 29% when 0.1% SiO2 nanoparticle was added to the compressor lubricant. Therefore, the addition of nanoparticles in the refrigerator system has very good potential to improve the energy consumption and COP of the unit. 2019-03 Thesis http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/27974/ http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/27974/1/A%20CFD%20model%20development%20and%20performance%20investigation%20of%20frost%20free%20refrigerator%20with%20nanoparticles%20suspended%20in%20the%20lubricant.wm.pdf pdf en public phd doctoral Universiti Malaysia Pahang Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Rosli, Abu Bakar
institution Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah
collection UMPSA Institutional Repository
language English
advisor Rosli, Abu Bakar
topic TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
spellingShingle TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
Haque, Muhammad Ehteshamul
A CFD model development and performance investigation of frost free refrigerator with nanoparticles suspended in the lubricant
description In a refrigerator, airflow and temperature distribution along with the properties of the lubricating oil defines its efficiency and performance. The purpose of this work is to develop a numerical model to predict the airflow and temperature inside the refrigerated space and use nanoparticles in the compressor lubricating oil to improve the efficiency of the refrigerating system. The present research focuses to improve the performance and efficiency of the refrigerator through the analysis by CFD and nanotechnology. The objective is to develop a CFD model for airflow and temperature distribution inside the refrigerator and validated it with experimental results. The model is then used for parametric study to modify the inside geometry of the refrigerator to improve better airflow and temperature distribution. To improve the cyclic efficiency of the refrigerator Nano-particles are added into the compressor lubricant to improve the lubricity of Polyol ester oil (POE), thereby improving the performance of the refrigerator. In this research work, CFD model has been developed for a domestic no-frost refrigerator. The conservation equations of energy mass and momentum are solved by using Finite Volume Method (FVM) in an environment of three-dimensional unstructured mesh. Experiments were conducted on a no-frost domestic refrigerator to compare and validate the results of the CFD model. Nano particles when added to the lubricating oil is called Nano-lubricant. In the present study, three nanoparticles namely Al2O3, TiO2 and SiO2 have been added to the lubricant oil of a domestic refrigerator and experiments have been performed to determine the enhancement in the performance of the refrigerator. A CFD model for the selected refrigerator has been developed in Ansys software. This CFD model has been validated by experimental results. A comparison of CFD model and experimental results of surface temperature in freezer and refrigerator compartment are within the acceptable range of 5% difference. In the freezer compartment the difference in temperature on a vertical line at the center of freezer as predict by the CFD model and experiment is less than one percent. Similarly, the temperature difference, as measured by experiment and predicted by the CFD model, on a central vertical line inside the refrigerator compartment, is less than three percent. The result of the parametric study by using the developed CFD model showed improvement in the temperature distribution inside the refrigerator compartment. Through this research work, it is established that CFD can be used successfully to model the airflow and temperature distribution inside the refrigerator. The results of experiments with nanoparticles suspended in the lubricant oil of the compressor showed better performance of the refrigerator as compared to pure Polyol Easter (POE) oil system. The energy consumption of 0.05% SiO2 nanolubricant is 9.4% less than pure POE oil system. Similarly, the energy consumption of compressor with 0.1% TiO2 nanoparticles is 6.84% lower than the pure POE oil system. COP of the refrigerator increased by 29% when 0.1% SiO2 nanoparticle was added to the compressor lubricant. Therefore, the addition of nanoparticles in the refrigerator system has very good potential to improve the energy consumption and COP of the unit.
format Thesis
qualification_name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.)
qualification_level Doctorate
author Haque, Muhammad Ehteshamul
author_facet Haque, Muhammad Ehteshamul
author_sort Haque, Muhammad Ehteshamul
title A CFD model development and performance investigation of frost free refrigerator with nanoparticles suspended in the lubricant
title_short A CFD model development and performance investigation of frost free refrigerator with nanoparticles suspended in the lubricant
title_full A CFD model development and performance investigation of frost free refrigerator with nanoparticles suspended in the lubricant
title_fullStr A CFD model development and performance investigation of frost free refrigerator with nanoparticles suspended in the lubricant
title_full_unstemmed A CFD model development and performance investigation of frost free refrigerator with nanoparticles suspended in the lubricant
title_sort cfd model development and performance investigation of frost free refrigerator with nanoparticles suspended in the lubricant
granting_institution Universiti Malaysia Pahang
granting_department Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
publishDate 2019
url http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/27974/1/A%20CFD%20model%20development%20and%20performance%20investigation%20of%20frost%20free%20refrigerator%20with%20nanoparticles%20suspended%20in%20the%20lubricant.wm.pdf
_version_ 1783732107994988544