Design of quieter kitchen appliances: Sound pressure level modeling and validation of a household refrigerator using statistical energy analysis

Abstract

The design of efficient and quieter kitchen appliances represents a significant challenge for manufacturers. In domestic refrigerators, the compressor, condenser's fan, and evaporator's fan are important sources of noise. This paper presents the statistical energy analysis (SEA) carried out to estimate the sound pressure level generated in a domestic refrigerator's evaporator subsystem. The work focuses on the evaporator's fan and the subsystem's mechanical assembly; these constitute the main source of noise and path for vibration transmission. The results of the analysis for a frequency band noise between 100 Hz and 10 kHz are reported. A semi-anechoic chamber was used to validate the SEA analysis presented herein; the authors also set up an experiment using microphones and accelerometers complying with standard ISO-3745, achieving a correlation of up to 96%. The analysis and experimental data were then used to produce a set of design guidelines to help kitchen appliance designers in the configuration of innovative cabinet geometries and the implementation of noise reduction strategies in household refrigerators.