Determination of Optimum Insulation Thickness Distribution for Refrigerators

Year 2018, Volume: 22 Issue: 1, 126 - 133, 29.03.2018

Hakan Demir

Abstract

Most of electricity is consumed in either commercial or domestic refrigeration systems. Since the outer volume is determined, inner volume of a refrigeration system is important for a specified energy consumption. Therefore, the optimum distribution of insulation material according to inside and outside conditions for on and off time of a refrigerator is very important. Uniform distribution of insulation material is useful only convection and conduction resistances are the same for all sides and also on and off periods. In this study, a general solution of the optimum distribution of thermal insulation material for a given insulation material volume or given inner volume is suggested for refrigeration systems and also explained by a case study.

Keywords

Insulation thickness, Refrigerator; Heat transfer; Confined volume

References

• [1] Christensen, L. B. 1981. The insulation of freezers and refrigerators - how thick it should be? International Journal of Refrigeration, 4 (1981), 73-76.
• [2] Dimitriyev, V. I., 1984. Optimum insulation thicknesses for domestic refrigerators and freezers. International Journal of Refrigeration, 7(1984), 72-73.
• [3] Lee,T., Lee, W., Lee, Y., 2006. Optimization of the Insulation Wall Thickness of Refrigerator. International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference, Paper 837.
• [4] Yoon, W., Seo, K., Kim, Y., 2013. Development of an optimization strategy for insulation thickness of a domestic refrigerator-freezer. International Journal of Refrigeration, 36(2013), 1162–1172.
• [5] Söylemez, M., Ünsal, M., 1999. Optimum insulation thickness for refrigeration applications, Energy Conversion and Management, 40(1999), 13-21.
• [6] Daouas, N., Hassen, Z., Aissia, H. B., 2010. Analytical periodic solution for the study of thermal performance and optimum insulation thickness of building walls in Tunisia. Applied Thermal Engineering, 30(2010), 319-326.
• [7] Kaynakli, O., 2011. Parametric investigation of optimum thermal insulation thickness for external walls, Energies, 4(2011), 913-927.
• [8] Özel, M., Pihtili, K., 2007. Optimum location and distribution of insulation layers on building walls with various orientations. Building and Environment, 42(2007), 3051-3059.
• [9] Al-Sanea, S. A., Zedan, M. F., 2011. Improving thermal performance of building walls by optimizing insulation layer distribution and thickness for same thermal mass. Applied Energy, 88(2011), 3113-3124.
• [10] Ekici ,B. B., Gulten, A. A., Aksoy, U. T., 2012. A study on the optimum insulation thicknesses of various types of external walls with respect to different materials, fuels and climate zones in Turkey. Applied Energy, 92(2012),211-217.
• [11] Axaopoulos, I., Axaopoulos, P., Gelegenis, J., 2014. Optimum insulation thickness for external walls on different orientations considering the speed and direction of the wind. Applied Energy, 117(2014), 167-175.
• [12] Ozel, M., 2011. Effect of wall orientation on the optimum insulation thickness by using a dynamic method. Applied Energy, 88(2011), 2429-2435.
• [13] Jinghua Yu, Liwei Tian, Changzhi Yang, Xinhua Xu, Jinbo Wang, 2011. Optimum insulation thickness of residential roof with respect to solar-air degree-hours in hot summer and cold winter zone of china. Energy and Buildings, 43(2011), 2304–2313.
• [14] Y.F. Li, W.K. Chow, 2005. Optimum insulation-thickness for thermal and freezing protection. Applied Energy, 80(2005), 23-33.
• [15] Sami A. Al-Sanea, M.F. Zedan, Saleh A. Al-Ajlan, 2005. Effect of electricity tariff on the optimum insulation-thickness in building walls as determined by a dynamic heat-transfer model. Applied Energy, 82(2005), 313-330.
• [16] Alireza Bahadori, Hari B. Vuthaluru, 2010. A simple method for the estimation of thermal insulation thickness. Applied Energy, 87(2010), 613-619.
• [17] Naouel Daouas, 2011. A study on optimum insulation thickness in walls and energy savings in Tunisian buildings based on analytical calculation of cooling and heating transmission loads. Applied Energy, 88(2011), 156-164.
• [18] Pan Dongmei, Chan Mingyin, Deng Shiming, Lin Zhongping, 2012. The effects of external wall insulation thickness on annual cooling and heating energy uses under different climates. Applied Energy, 97(2012), 313-318.
• [19] Afif Hasan, 1999. Optimizing insulation thickness for buildings using life cycle cost. Applied Energy, 63(1999), 115-124.
• [20] Jérôme Barrau, Manel Ibanez, Ferran Badia, 2014. Impact of the optimization criteria on the determination of the insulation thickness. Energy and Buildings, 76(2014), 459-469.
• [21] H. Asan, 1998. Effects of Wall’s insulation thickness and position on time lag and decrement factor. Energy and Buildings, 28(1998), 299-305.
• [22] Muhammet Kayfeci, Ali Keçebaş¸ Engin Gedik, 2013. Determination of optimum insulation thickness of external walls with two different methods in cooling applications. Applied Thermal Engineering, 50(2013), 217-224.
• [23] Muhammet Kayfeci, İsmail Yabanova, Ali Keçebaş, 2014. The use of artificial neural network to evaluate insulation thickness and life cycle costs: Pipe insulation application. Applied Thermal Engineering, 63(2014), 370-378.
• [24] Ömer Kaynaklı, 2014. Economic thermal insulation thickness for pipes and ducts: A review study. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 30(2014), 184-194.
• [25] King-Leung Wong, Huann-Ming Chou, Bing-Shyan Her, Huang-Ching Yeh, 2004. Complete heat transfer solutions of an insulated regular cubic tank with an SSWT model. Energy Conversion and Management, 45(2004), 2813-2831.
• [26] N. Usta, A. Ileri, 1999. Computerized economic optimization of refrigeration system design. Energy Conversion and Management, 40(1999), 1089-1109.
• [27] King-Leung Wong, Huann-Ming Chou, 2003. Heat transfer characteristics of an insulated regular polyhedron by using a regular polygon top solid wedge thermal resistance model. Energy Conversion and Management, 44(2003), 3015-3036.
• [28] H. Sofrata and B. Salmeen, 1993. Optimization of insulation thicknesses using micros. Energy Conversion and Management, 34(1993), 471-479.
• [29] H. Demir, M. K. Sevindir, Ö. Ağra, Ş. Ö. Atayılmaz, İ. Teke, 2015. Optimum distribution of thermal insulation material for constant insulation material volume or a given investment cost. J. of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, 7(2015), 063122.
• [30] M. K. Sevindir, H. Demir, Ö. Ağra, Ş. Ö. Atayılmaz, İ. Teke, 2017. Modelling the optimum distribution of insulation material. Renewable Energy, 113 (2017), 74-84.
• [31] A.K. Pramancik, P.K. Das, 2005. Heuristics as an alternative to variational calculus for optimization of a class of thermal insulation systems. Int. Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 48(2005), 1851-1857.
• [32] A. Bejan, 2000. Shape and Structure, from Engineering to Nature. Cambridge University Press, UK, 2000.
• [33] J. Lewins, 2002. Bejan’s constructal theory of equal potential distribution. Int. Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 46(2002), 1541-1543.