Numerical and experimental investigation of liquid blowing agent and pentane blowing agent effects on the insulation of a household refrigerator

Abstract

Refrigerators are the most energy demanding household devices since they are working 7/24. Improving insulation material is crucial for reducing this demand. One of the promising ways to improve insulation materials is to develop better-blowing agents. In this study, the effects of Liquid Blowing Agent (LBA) and Pentane Blowing Agent (PBA) on whole refrigerator insulation were investigated by experimental and numerical methods. The thermal conductivities of the insulation materials were measured by the hot-wire method. The experimental results show that LBA has a 32.08% lower thermal conductivity regarding conventional polyurethane with PBA. These experimental results utilized as boundary conditions for CFD model of the refrigerator. The numerical analysis suggests that LBA can decrease the refrigerators' heat loss between 5.52% and 19.34%.