1.) Research proposal and motivation behind the idea. There are several studies (Chakraborty S. et al.

) which shown that energy efficiency of refrigerator directly depends on temperature and air distribution inside the storage chambers. The side view of a typical frost-free refrigerator (including the airflow path), mentioned as above, is schematically shown in Fig. 1. As shown in the figure, the cold air first flows inside the refrigerating (fresh food) and freezer chambers, and extracts heat from the refrigerated items kept at those locations. Exit air streams from these chambers eventually mix just beneath the evaporator. The air stream then flows over the evaporator (placed at the back of the freezer), where it is cooled and dehumidified. Subsequently, the fan blows the cold air into the freezer inlet, from which a portion flows into the freezer, while the rest enters the refrigerating compartment.

Fig.1. Heat transfer and airflow in a refrigerator In a study by (Chakraborty S. et al.) Thermo-fluidic model for a domestic frost-free refrigerator is developed, and is simulated by employing a finite volume method, with an unstructured meshing. Experiments on temperature measurement are also conducted, in order to assess the pertinent predictions from the numerical model. On the basis of the results obtained, a few modifications may be suggested to improve the performance of the refrigerator. In case of the freezer compartment, the gap between the back wall and main shelf may be increased, so as to enhance the airflow rates. In case of the refrigerating compartment, the average temperature in

the chiller zone happens to be slightly higher than the desirable standards, which can be lowered by increasing the mass flow rate of air from the front inlet. (Chakraborty S. et al.).

Fig : 2 Comparison between experimental and computational results at the symmetry plane of refrigerating compartment

In their work, (Lacerda V. T. et al.) a basic prototype was built from transparent (acrylic) plates with dimensions approximately equal to those of the frozen food compartment of a commercial no-frost refrigerator. The prototype did not contain shelves or compartment partitions and all measurements within it were carried out at ambient temperature. They used a PIV system measure average velocity fields in several sections within the prototype. They obtained satisfactory agreement with a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of the flow. It has been demonstrated that a quantitative analysis of the development of the flow field in several regions of the refrigerator under real operating conditions represents a powerful tool for future optimization plans and energy consumption reduction strategies in refrigeration systems. 1.1 Goals of PHD work would be: The aim of the present work is to develop a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model for domestic frost free refrigerators, for prediction of temperature and velocity fields in the freezer and refrigerating compartments. The effects of various operating and design parameters on the refrigerator performance can be studied, leading to an optimal design and less energy consumption of the refrigerator. Objective could be to quantify the air temperature and velocity distribution in the refrigerating compartment in the presence of obstacles (shelves and product). Temperature distribution also very important to keep food quality control. Experiments can also be performed to obtain the temperature variations inside the compartments, and the computational results will be subsequently compared with experimental findings, in order to

quantitatively assess various features of the computational model adopted. Furthermore this work can be extended for CFD simulation of thermoacoustic cooling ( Zink F et al). The study done by (Elbel et al) shown that main advantages of refrigeration cycle using a twophase ejector is first, the cooling capacity increases, second the COP of the ejector system is improved, primarily because the compressor work is reduced. The suction pressure of the compressor is increased due to the compression effect provided by the ejector. The compressor work is further reduced by higher compressor efficiencies as a result of reduced compression ratios. Kornhauser (1990) presented a one-dimensional iterative model for an R12 system with two-phase ejector. He showed a theoretical COP improvement of up to 21% over the conventional cycle with expansion valve.

Fig 3: Conventional refrigeration and Ejector cycle Significantly less literature is available on the topic of two phase ejectors which can be used instead of an expansion valve to recover expansion work. Some numerical (CFD) work on twophase ejectors has been published in the open literature, but the availability of experimental ejector data appears to be extremely limited (Elbel et al). Research can be done on flow theories and design guidelines developed for single-phase ejectors which can transferable to two-phase ejectors. 2. Motivation: CFD is faster and definitely cheaper. A considerable reduction of time and costs for solving the problems is offered compared to the traditional approaches. A conscious assessment of different solutions is available in the early phase of the design process, in order to fit with the requested

tasks. Thus, experimental tests would be done just on few models, resulted from the CFD analysis. Analysis of such complex flow fields requires a more physics-based approach, such as that provided by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). I have been associated with the Consumer electronics Industry for almost 3 years in the area of refrigerator cycle balancing, heat load calculation, energy consumption and computational science for analysis and development. Knowledge of Hypermesh-8.0 and Ansys-CFX for designing and analyzing Air flow, Heat load, thermal simulation using CFD techniques. Good knowledge UG NX-7.5, for part modeling and design optimization. Knowledge of DOE and Six sigma techniques. Three international publication based on computational science.

3. Refrence:
1. The European Institute for Policy Research in Entrepreneurship and Growth (IPREG), Stockholm 14 pages, July 6 (2005). http://www.ipreg.org/ ConsultationDocument.pdf. 2. CTI - 1998, Enhancing Markets for Climate Friendly Technologies: Leadership through Government Purchasing Strategies, Vol.1, Climate technology initiative (CTI), international energy Agency, Paris, Available at http://www.climatetech.net/pdf/procure.pdf. Chakraborty S, Gupta J.K, Ram Gopal M, 2007, Modeling of a domestic frost-free refrigerator, International Journal of Refrigeration 30, 311-322 Elbel S, 2008 Ejector Refrigeration: An Overview of Historical and Present Developments with an Emphasis on Air-Conditioning Applications, International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference, Purdue University. Kornhauser A.A., 1990, The use of an ejector as a refrigerant expander, Proceedings of the 1990 USNC/IIR-Purdue Refrigeration Conference, West Lafayette, IN, USA Lacerdaa V.T., Meloa C., Barbosa Jra J.R., Duarteb P.O.O., (2005) Measurements of the air flow field in the freezer compartment of a top-mount no-frost refrigerator: the effect of temperature International Journal of Refrigeration 28, 774783. Waide P, 2009, The role of energy efficiency in domestic appliances and lighting, 5th International conference on Energy Efficiency in Domestic Appliances and Lighting (EEDAL09), http://www.eedal.eu/index.php? id11575, Berlin, June 16-18 Zink F, Jeffrey Vipperman , Laura Schaefer. CFD simulation of thermoacoustic cooling International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 53 (2010) 39403946.