Abstract
The objective of refrigeration is to achieve and maintain a temperature below that of the surroundings. The refrigeration industry is expanding worldwide to fulfill the increasing needs to ensure living conditioning of humans. For example, in China, 10,272 million domestic refrigerators and freezers were manufactured in 2009 [1]. The adverse aspect is that refrigeration devices consume a large amount of energy in the world, which invokes more efficient and economical design. The design of refrigeration devices involves many aspects, in which fluid flow is a key mechanism. Due to the complexity of flow process in refrigeration applications, to a large extent, trial-and-error method has been the mainstream technique for a long time. Since Bejan proposed the constructal law in 1996 [2], principle-based flow system optimization technique has been practiced by many engineers in diverse fields [3, 4]. Like in other flow engineering fields, constructal theory is playing a more and more important role in improving the design of refrigeration devices [3–12]. In this chapter, we present our recent advances in constructal optimization in refrigeration devices through two case studies, i.e., domestic freezers and heat pump water heaters.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
National Bureau of Statistics of China. http://www.stats.gov.cn/ (2011)
Bejan A. Constructal-theory network of conducting paths for cooling a heat generating volume. Int J Heat Mass Tran. 1997;40:799–816.
Bejan A. Shape and structure, from engineering to nature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2000.
Bejan A, Lorente S. Design with constructal theory. New York: Wiley; 2008.
Shiba T, Bejan A. Thermodynamic optimization of geometric structure in the counterflow heat exchanger for an environmental control system. Energy. 2001;26:493–511.
Vargas JVC, Bejan A. Integrative thermodynamic optimization of the environmental control system of an aircraft. Int J Heat Mass Tran. 2001;44:3907–17.
Bejan A, Siems DL. The need exergy analysis and thermodynamic optimization in aircraft development. Exergy Int J. 2001;1:14–24.
Zamfirescu C, Bejan A. Constructal tree-shaped two-phase flow for cooling a surface. Int J Heat Mass Tran. 2003;46:2785–97.
Zamfirescu C, Bejan A. Tree-shaped structures for cold storage. Int J Refrig. 2005;28:231–41.
Reis AH, Miguel AF, Bejan A. Constructal theory of particle agglomeration and design of air-cleaning devices. J Phys D: Appl Phys. 2006;39:2311–8.
Bi Y, Guo T, Zhang L, Chen L, Sun F. Entropy generation minimization for charging and discharging processes in a gas-hydrate cool storage system. Appl Energ. 2010;87:1149–57.
Revellin R, Bonjour J. Entropy generation during flow boiling of pure refrigerant and refrigerant-oil mixture. Int J Refrig. 2011;34:1040–7.
Launder BE, Spalding DB. Lectures in mathematical models of turbulence. London: Academic; 1972.
Launder BE, Spalding DB. The numerical computation of turbulent flows. Comput Method Appl M. 1974;3:269–89.
Tao WQ. Numerical heat transfer. 2nd ed. Xi’an: Xi’an Jiao Tong University Press; 2001. Ch. 9.
ANSYS FLUENT (Version 12.0) User’s Manual. Fluent Inc
Ma H. Numerical simulations for the laminar and the turbulent natural convection of high Rayleigh number (Ra) in an enclosure (in Chinese). Master Thesis. Wuhan: Huazhong University of Science and Technology; 2004
Zhang H, Liu X, Xiong R, Zhu S. Constructal optimization in refrigeration devices: case studies. Constructal Law Conference; 2011 Dec 1–2; Porto Alegre, Brazil
China Light Industry Association. Household refrigerating appliances – refrigerators (GB/T 8059.1-1995). Beijing: Standard Press of China; 1995.
Laguerre O, Flick D. Heat transfer by natural convection in domestic refrigerators. J Food Eng. 2004;62:79–88.
Laguerre O, Amara SB, Moureh J, Flick D. Numerical simulation of air flow and heat transfer in domestic refrigerators. J Food Eng. 2007;81:144–56.
Hermes CJL, Melo C, Knabben FT, Gonclaves JM. Prediction of the energy consumption of household refrigerators and freezers via steady-state simulation. Appl Energ. 2009;86:1311–9.
Borges BN, Hermes CJL, Goncalves JM, Melo C. Transient simulation of household refrigerators: a semi-empirical quasi-steady approach. Appl Energ. 2011;88:748–54.
Yoon WJ, Jung HW, Chung HJ, Kim Y. Performance optimization of a two-cycle with parallel evaporators for a domestic refrigerator-freezer. Int J Refrig. 2011;34:216–24.
Hepbasli A, Kalinci Y. A review of heat pump water heating systems. Renew Sust Energ Rev. 2009;13:1211–29.
Lohani SP, Schmidt D. Comparison of energy and exergy analysis of fossil plant, ground and air source heat pump building heating system. Renew Energ. 2010;35:1275–82.
Stene J. A method for increasing the energy efficiency of residential CO2 heat pump water heater systems. Preliminary Proc of the 5th IIR-Gustav Lorentzen Conference on Natural Working Fluids; 2002, Guangzhou; p. 276–83
Cavallini A. Working fluids for mechanical refrigeration. Int J Refrig. 1996;19:485–96.
Chen J, Zhu FQ, Xu SQ. Lorenz cycle and non-azeotropic refrigerants- Investigation on refrigeration cycles with variable temperature heat source (in Chinese). Refrigeration Technology. 1999;4:33–6.
Zhang H, Liu X, Chen S, Xiong R. Experimental investigation on air source heat pump water heater with two water tanks based on reciprocating flow heating (in Chinese). Fluid Machinery. 2010;38:61–66, 71.
Chen S. Theoretical analysis and experimental investigation on dual-tank heat pump water heater based on reciprocating heating process (in Chinese). Master Thesis. Nanjing: Nanjing University of Science and Technology; 2008
Chen S, Zhang H, Liu X. Design of a water tank with floating plate and furl-canister and research on its internal moving, heating and mass transfer performance (in Chinese). Refrigeration Air Conditioning and Electric Power Machinery. 2009;30:20–4.
Bejan A. Entropy generation through heat and fluid flow. New York: Wiley; 1982.
Bejan A. Entropy generation minimization. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 1996.
Pan Q, editor. The history of refrigeration in China (ch. 1). Beijing: Sci and Tech Press of China; 2008
Li X. Listen to the ancient footsteps (ch. 2). Chongqing: Chongqing Publishing Group; 2006
IIR. IIR listings of refrigeration research priorities. International Institute of Refrigeration; Paris; 2005
Lu X. My old home (in Chinese). New Youth.1921;9. Translated into English by Yang X, Yang G. In: Lu Xun: selected works. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press; 2003
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Zhang, H., Liu, X., Xiong, R., Zhu, S. (2013). Constructal Design of Refrigeration Devices. In: Rocha, L., Lorente, S., Bejan, A. (eds) Constructal Law and the Unifying Principle of Design. Understanding Complex Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5049-8_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5049-8_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5048-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-5049-8
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)