Assessment of thermal uniformity in bottom freezer refrigerators through combined experimental measurements and transient CFD simulations

This study presents a comprehensive investigation aimed at improving thermal uniformity within the freezer compartment of a bottom-freezer domestic refrigerator by achieving a more homogeneous temperature distribution and reducing temperature variations among stored packaged items. Two different design configurations were developed and comparatively analyzed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations conducted in STAR-CCM+, under identical boundary conditions derived from experimental test data to ensure a reliable comparison, with the initial design serving as the reference case. The numerical results were validated through experimental measurements, showing a strong agreement between simulated and measured package temperatures, which confirms the accuracy of the simulation methodology. The optimized design demonstrated a significant enhancement in thermal uniformity, reducing the maximum temperature difference among the packages from 3.7 °C to 1.6 °C, thereby substantially improving the overall thermal performance and storage efficiency of the freezer compartment.