Applied Thermal Engineering 188 (2021) 116573

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Applied Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

An experimental study on a novel defrosting method for cold room

Mahade Omran Ali Abdulla a, Emrah Deniz a, Mustafa Karagöz b, Gürşah Gürüf a, *
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Karabük University, 78050 Karabük, Turkey
b
The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey Vocational School of Technical Sciences, Karabük University, 78050 Karabük, Turkey

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Refrigeration systems can be blocked by frost accumulating on the evaporator, when they operate at a tem­
Defrosting method perature below the dew point of air and the freezing point of water. Therefore, a defrost process that consumes
4E analysis, cooling-storage room extra energy needs to be started from time to time. Conventional defrosting methods require energy and time to
Evaporators
complete, which reduce the refrigeration efficiency and cause a temperature fluctuation in the storage room
Sub-cooling
Refrigeration efficiency
during the defrosting process. In this study, a new type of defrosting is used in order to reduce the energy needed
Liquid refrigerant for defrosting, improve refrigeration efficiency and decrease temperature fluctuations, which utilize the heat
from the liquid refrigerant to defrost the evaporator using two evaporators and a four-way valve. When one of
the evaporators cools the room, the other is used for sub-cooling the refrigerant before entering the cooler
evaporator. The sub-cooling process provides defrosting of the second evaporator. When the cooler evaporator
requires defrosting, the four-way valve reverses the cycle, and the second evaporator becomes cooler. The first
evaporator then becomes the sub-cooler to be defrosted. A cold room with this concept was built and tested
experimentally together with a conventional cooling system. Energy, exergy, economic and environmental (4E)
analyses of both systems were made and the results were compared. The results show that the new method can
perform the defrosting process using the energy dissipated from the sub-cooling refrigerant without using any
external power source and improve refrigeration efficiency by 12%. Moreover, this new system does not inter­
rupt the cooling process during defrosting process as the conventional systems do. Temperature fluctuations also
decrease by about 60% following this method.

1. Introduction
Frost formation on evaporators in refrigeration systems increases
heat transfer resistance and decreases system capacity and efficiency.
This problem has been investigated by many researchers and it has been
found that frost formation reduces the cooling capacity of refrigeration
systems by as much as 20% [1–4]. Hence, periodic defrosting is
important for an evaporator to recover to its original performance.
Normally, the defrost action is activated once the evaporator surface
temperature drops to a preset point or when the accumulative runtime of
the compressor reaches a certain value. Under normal conditions, the
frost growth rate is comparatively slow when RH is less than 40%.
However, when RH is high with high-temperature difference amid the
cold surface and the surrounding air, the growth rate increases appre­
ciably [5]. F. R. Ameen et al. [6] recorded that the frost accumulates
significantly when the air temperature falls between − 7 ◦ C to 5.5 ◦ C and
RH > 60%. Initially, the influence of frost on the performance is negli­
gible, but later the frost starts to accumulate more and more and reduces
the micro-gap between fins and tubes. As a result, this affects the whole
system due to the partial airflow blockage or full blockage. Notice that
further accumulation of the frost layers may jeopardize heat transfer
performance [7] and cause a much higher air-side pressure drop [8], and
increase the power consumption at the same time [9].
Currently, the electric-heater defrost method is the most widely used
in frost-free refrigerators. Usually, the heater is fixed at the bottom of the
evaporator and transfers heat to frost through the upward natural con­
vection of the heater. Warm air transfers heat to the frost mainly by
convection and radiation, while very little is transferred through con­
duction [10]. The electric-heater method is cheap and does not require
modifications in refrigeration systems. However, its power input is
usually so high that the energy consumption of the refrigeration system
increases greatly. Moreover, part of the defrost heat may leak into the
cabinet during defrost cycles, thus significantly raising its temperature
[4]. Both energy consumption and cabinet temperature are crucial pa­
rameters for refrigeration systems.
Some researchers have investigated the energy consumption during
the defrosting process for frost-free refrigerators and freezers [4]. When

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: gursahguruf@karabuk.edu.tr (G. Gürüf).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2021.116573
Received 2 July 2020; Received in revised form 30 November 2020; Accepted 6 January 2021
Available online 12 January 2021
1359-4311/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M.O.A. Abdulla et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 188 (2021) 116573

1
Nomenclature ΨCO2 CO2 emissions, kgCO2 kWh−

A surface area (m2) Subscripts

COP coefficient of performance a ambient
V volume (m3) c consumption
Q load (J) con condenser
comp compressor
Q̇ heat (W)
def defrost
P power (W)
el electrical
p pressure (bar)
exp expansion device
S entropy (kJ kg− 1 K− 1)
ev evaporator
T temperature (◦ C)
hex heat exchanger
t time (s)
in inlet
I current (A)
is isentropic
h enthalpy (kJ kg− 1 K− 1)
mec mechanical
Sc subcooling (K)
r refrigerant
Sh superheat (K)
R storage room
Ẇ work (W)
o dead state
Ėx exergy (W) out outlet
ṁ mass flow rate (g s− 1) ASV annual salvage value
Lp low pressure (bar) SFF sinking fund factor
Hp high pressure (bar) AMC annual maintenance cost
mf heat of fusion (kg) CRF capital recovery factor
fi latent heat of liquefaction (kJ kg− 1) AEC annual electric cost
i Annual interest rate (%) FAC fixed annual cost
n life in years of the system APC annual power consumption
P capital cost ($) AC annual cost
S salvage value ($) CPC cost of 1 kW of cooling
Zco2 environmental cost ($) losses energy losses of system
zco2 International carbon price ($ tonCO-1 2) gen general
Greek letters dest destroy
ɳ efficiency (%) Li cold fluid inlet
ε effectiveness (%) Lo cold fluid outlet
1 So hot fluid inlet
ɸCO2 CO2 emissions, kg year−

a tubular metal-sheathed heater and a novel ceramic plate heater were
compared experimentally, the results showed that the latter had an
overall better performance because more electricity was used for frost
removal, but less for heating the plastic material behind the evaporator.
P. Bansal et al. [11] analyzed the heat transfer pattern of a tubular metal-
sheathed heater experimentally and numerically. The results showed
that most of the energy from the electricity was converted to radiation
and the remaining to convection. Meanwhile, the defrost efficiency,
which was defined as the ratio between the ideal energy required to melt
the frost and the energy actually released by the heater, was 30.3%.
Moreover, the energy consumption of the refrigerator and freezer was
found to increase by 17.7% due to the automatic defrost. C. Melo et al.
[12] compared three types of electrical heaters (distributed, calrod, and
glass tube) and three actuation modes (integral power, power steps, and
pulsating power). The results showed that the highest efficiency of
approximately 48% was obtained with the glass tube heater operating in
power steps. R. Mastrullo et al. [13] proposed a novel model to predict
cabinet temperature and energy consumption of a vertical freezer and
considering the frosting/defrosting effects, it was found that frost
deposition on the evaporator might cause such great thermal resistance
that the freezer would never reach the set temperature, thereby forcing
the compressor to run ceaselessly. However, the following defrost cycle
could recover evaporator performance and the ON/OFF cyclic regime of
the freezer, thus reducing the overall energy consumption.
Some researchers have also proposed technical methods to improve
the defrost efficiency of electric heater defrost cycles. J. Xiao et al. [14]
adopted innovative photoelectric technology to detect frost thickness on
the evaporator surface. This technology could provide an accurate and
effective judgment for defrost control, thus enhancing the defrost effi­
ciency. F. T. Knabben et al. [15] reported that a higher defrost efficiency
can be achieved when the defrost process is performed with two
simultaneous heaters, one for the top rows and the other for bottom
rows. H. J. Yin et al. [16] proposed a novel defrost method which
combines a tubular metal-sheathed heater and an air bypass channel in a
cold storage room. They found that a gradual decrease in power input
could enhance the defrost efficiency of a defrost heater. The results
showed that the duration of defrosting decreased by 62.1%, while the
defrost efficiency increased by 19.3% compared to the conventional
defrost method using only an embedded heater. R. Zhao et al. [10]
proposed a method of reducing freezing cabinet temperature rise during
defrost cycles for frost-free refrigerators. Based on the idea of better
matching defrost heat dissipation and frost coverage, distributed defrost
heaters (DDHs) were utilized by adding an extra heater to the middle of
the evaporator besides the original bottom one. Then, defrost perfor­
mance of BDH and DDHs cycles were compared to each other experi­
mentally. Results showed that DDHs resulted in 1.1℃ decline in freezing
cabinet temperature rise with 3.3 min reduction in defrost duration.
Moreover, the extra heater power hardly raised the overall energy
consumption of the refrigerator. Z. Li et al. [17] improved defrosting
performance by controlling the airflow distribution on the evaporator in
order to control frost and also increased the distribution to match
defrosting heat distribution in frost-free household refrigerators. Results
showed that the defrosting efficiency was improved by 29.8%. The use
of a new type of thermal storage defrosting system combined with the
bypass cycle showed that the best defrosting mode increases the
defrosting speed by about 50% as compared to the original electric

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M.O.A. Abdulla et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 188 (2021) 116573

Table 1
Characteristics of the main components of the system.
Components Characteristics Value

Compressor Embraco NEU6215GK. 0.5 Hp

High starting torque HBP
Displacement 12.11 cm2
Full load current 4.48 A
Condenser ELCO Fan motors 65 W
(HTS forced air condenser) Current 0.45 A
Evaporators Type Fin-tube
KARYER (EL-115AE5-C22) Fin spacing 5.5 mm
Max/min temp − 45/50
Capacity 355 W
Volume 0.2 dm3
Air flow 205 m3/h
Total surface 1.2 m2
Energy efficiency class C
Pipe material Copper
Fin material Aluminum
One fan 23 W-0.1 A
Fig. 1. Photo of the system illustrating the basic parts of the cooling storage Electric heater 0.32 kW
room and data equation system connected to the experimental points. Refrigerant 404A 170 g
Expansion device Capillary tube
Length 2m
heating model and reduces the defrosting electric power consumption Inside diameter 0.14 mm
by approximately 71% [18]. M. Wang et al. [19] used the liquid Four-way valve DHF–5 4 kW
refrigerant to defrost the evaporators by using eight solenoid valves and Power supply For all components 220 V/50 Hz
two evaporators. The energy consumption was decreased by approxi­
mately 60% during defrosting with the liquid refrigerant being sub-
• To improve refrigeration efficiency and COP.
cooled by the melted frosting layer. Therefore, the efficiency of the
• To decrease temperature fluctuations in the cooling room during the
refrigeration system can be improved.
defrosting process.
K. G. Mofrad vd. [20] used the 4E analysis for comparing the cascade
refrigeration and recovery cascade refrigeration cycles. As a result of this
2. Experimental setup and theoretical analysis of the system
comparison, they found that the heat recovery cascade refrigeration was
more efficient. M. Moghimi vd. [21] examined performance of the
2.1. Experimental setup and procedure
combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) cycles and domestic water
heater using 4E analysis. Unlike others, E. Bellos [22] examined the
The experiments were performed in an assembled cold storage room
annual performance of an absorption-compression cascade cooling sys­
of 120 × 60 × 80 cm (length, width, and height respectively). The
tem powered by solar energy using 4E analysis. This study provides a
material of the walls, ceiling, floor, and door were all constructed from
comprehensive 4E analysis in order to thoroughly and accurately
the same material, 80-millimetre polyurethane foam (sandwich panel).
examine the novel defrost system in various aspects and to compare it
The crevices between the walls, floor, and ceiling panels were sealed
with electric heater method.
with a white silicone sealer to minimize water seepage into the panels. It
In this article, the defrosting process was carried out simultaneously
was installed in the Karabük University workshop and it was constructed
with the cooling process unlike the literature review above. At the same
on a mobile steel support frame to facilitate its movement in the
time, since no additional energy is required for defrosting process, this
workshop. The photos of the system illustrating the basic parts of the
method was found to be more economical as compared to other tradi­
cooling storage room, and the evaporators in the room and the four-way
tional methods. In addition, Exergy, Energy, Environmental and Eco­
valve and capillary tube on the backside of the room are shown in Figs. 1
nomic (4E) Analyses of the novel defrosting method were performed
and 2.
with the results obtained from the experiment in this study. Therefore,
A refrigeration system suitable for this cold storage room value was
the main objectives of this study are as follows:
designed. The system consists of compressor Embraco NEU6215GK with
R404a refrigerant fluid. The evaporators used were KARYER model EL-
• To reduce the energy needed for the defrosting process.
15AE5-C22 and its specifications are shown in Table 1. A four-way valve

Fig. 2. The evaporators inside the room and the four-way valve and capillary tube in the back of the room.

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M.O.A. Abdulla et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 188 (2021) 116573

Table 2 conducted following the new defrost method with two evaporators and a
Characteristics and accuracies of the instruments used for the measurement. four-way valve as shown in Fig. 4. Eight temperature points and four
Instrument Name Range Accuracy pressure points were measured, as shown in Fig. 5. The tests were
conducted at an ambient temperature of 19.3 ◦ C.
Temperature K-type Thermocouple − 40 to 375 C
◦
±1.5
Pressure sensor Testo 549i − 1 to 60 bar ±0.5% The process of changing the refrigerant flow direction between the
Wattmeter Köhler 0.1 to 10 A ±1.0% evaporators was manually achieved by switching on the four-way valve.
When the four-way valve is OFF, the refrigerant passes through the
evaporator (B), then to the capillary tube as shown in Fig. 5(a). When the
was used to change the refrigerant flow direction between the evapo­ four-way valve is ON, the refrigerant passes through the evaporator (A),
rators. The system used a HTS forced air condenser with ELCO fan. then to the capillary tube as shown in Fig. 5(b). The system was operated
Table 1 shows the refrigeration system component in more detail. when the four-way valve and evaporator B fan were off and the evap­
The control of the defrosting process between the evaporators is orator A fan was on. After two hours, the four-way valve and evaporator
manually achieved by switching on and off the four-way valve and the B fan were switched on, and the evaporator A fan was switched off to
evaporator fans. Eight temperature points were measured using a K-type start the evaporator A defrosting process and evaporator B cooling
thermocouple connected with a 4019 ADAM, and four pressure points process. Fig. 5 shows the refrigeration cycle when evaporators A and B
were measured using TESTO 549i pressure sensors. Measurement of the were in the defrosting process and Fig. 6 shows the actual condition of
energy consumption was determined using a Köhler wattmeter. Table 2 the evaporators before and after defrosting, and the measurements that
shows the details of the components. were taken when the system was stabilized following both methods are
The system, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, consists of two evaporators, a shown in Table 3.
four-way valve, a compressor, a condenser, a capillary tube as an
expansion device, and some auxiliary equipments. Two experiments 2.2. Theoretical analysis of the defrost system
were conducted on the system. In the first experiment, the system
operated in the normal condition with one evaporator and electric 2.2.1. Energy analysis
heater defrost method as shown in Fig. 3. The second experiment was The performance analysis of the system was carried out according to

Fig. 3. Refrigeration cycle on the P–h diagram following the electric heater defrosting method.

Fig. 4. Refrigeration cycle on the P–h diagram following the new defrost method.

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M.O.A. Abdulla et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 188 (2021) 116573

Fig. 5. Schematic diagram of the system when (a) evaporator B is defrosting, and (b), evaporator A is defrosting.

Fig. 6. Evaporator (a) before defrosting and (b) after defrosting.

The amount of heat transferred from the storage room to the evap­
Table 3 orator per unit time can be calculated as:
Parameters were measured from the system following both methods.
Qev = mr (h7 − h6 ) (3)
Item Parameters (Unit) New method E.H. method
The amount of heat transferred from the condenser to the environ­
Lp Low pressure (bar) 2.26 2.41
Hp High pressure (bar) 11.15 12.70 ment per unit time was calculated as:
T1 Suction line temperature (◦ C) − 12.8 − 11.5
Qcon = mr (h2 − h3 ) (4)
T2 Discharge line temperature (◦ C) 51.1 57.5
T3 Condenser outlet temperature (◦ C) 20.5 25.1 The coefficient of performance (COP) of the refrigeration system
T4 Heat exchanger outlet (sub-cooling) 19.2 23.5
T5 Expansion device inlet temperature (◦ C) 12.5 23.5
represents the electrical power consumed by the compressor corre­
T6 Expansion device outlet temperature (◦ C) − 28.5 − 27.3 sponding to the heat transferred from the evaporator per unit time. The
T7 Evaporator outlet temperature (◦ C) − 28.7 − 27.5 (COP) can be calculated as:
TR Storage room temperature (◦ C) − 20 − 20
Ta Ambient temperature (◦ C) 19.3 19.3 Qev
COP = (5)
Pcomp

the first and second laws of thermodynamics, depending on the me­
chanical and electrical efficiency. The energy and exergy analyses were
used to determine the maximum performance of the system and identify
the sites of exergy destruction [23].
The refrigerant mass flow rate (mr) was calculated from the enthalpy
at points h1, h2 and the power of the compressor (Pcomp) using Equations
(1) and (2).
The amount of heat transferred from the liquid refrigerant to defrost
the evaporator per unit time can be calculated as:
Qdef = mr (h4 − h5 ) (6)
Heat exchanger effectiveness, which is the ratio of the actual heat
transfer amount to the maximum heat transfer amount in the system,
was obtained as:

Wcomp TLi − TLo

mr = (1) εhex = (7)
h2 − h1 TLi − TSo

Wcomp = Pcomp ηmec ηel (2)

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M.O.A. Abdulla et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 188 (2021) 116573

2.2.2. Exergy analysis of the system Table 4

It is also important to determine the availability of energy in cooling Results of the electric heater defrost method.
systems. Therefore, Exergy analysis was performed in this paper. The Parameters Name Value
exergy destruction for a continuous flow control volume is expressed as
Pdef Power consumed by the defrosting device 0.350 kW
[24]: fi Latent heat of frost liquefaction 334 kJ/kg
∑ ∑ ∑[ ( )] ∑[ ( )] mf Mass of melting the frost 0.089 kg
To To
Ėx,dest = Ėx,in − Ėx,out + Q̇ 1 − − Q̇ 1 − tdef Defrost process duration 10 min
T in T out Ƞdef Defrosting efficiency 15.5%
∑ ∑
+ Ẇ in − Ẇout (8)

Equation (8) represents the exergy destruction in the system. The

Ėx,6 − Ėx,7
first two terms on the right side of the equation are the flow exergy. The ηgen = (21)
Pcomp
next two terms are the heat transfer exergy and the last two terms are
work exergy. In every equation in this paper, sub-indexes ‘in’ and ‘out’
2.2.3. Defrost efficiency
denote the inlet and outlet conditions. The ambient temperature was
The defrosting efficiency is defined as the ratio of the required
measured as a reference temperature (To).
defrosting heat to the heat released by the defrosting method [11] as
The flow exergy for each cycle point in the system can be calculated
shown in the following Equations (22), (23) and (24):
as:
Qmelt
Ėx = ṁr [h − ho − To (S − So ) ] (9) È def = x100% (22)
Qdef
The analyzed system consisted of a compressor, condenser, evapo­
rator, capillary tube and heat exchanger. The exergy destruction of each Qmelt = mf × f i (23)
element was calculated for exergy analysis of the system using Equations
(10) and (11): Qdef = Qmelt + Qlosses = Pdef × tdef (24)

Ėx,dest,comp = Ėx,1 − Ėx,2 + Pcomp (10) where Ƞdef is the defrosting efficiency. Qmelt is the heat absorbed by
frost. Qdef is the heat released by the defrosting device. Qlosses is the heat
Ėx,dest,comp = ṁr [(h1 − To S1 ) − (h2 − To S2 ) ] + Pc (11) losses from the defrosting device into the refrigerator. mf is the mass of
the frost melted during the defrosting process (kg). fi is the latent heat of
The general expression of exergy destruction for the condenser was
frost liquefaction (334 kJ/kg). Pdef is the power consumed by the
calculated using Equations (12) and (13):
defrosting device denoted by (W), and tdef is the defrost processing time
[ ( )]
To (seconds).
Ėx,dest,con = Ėx,2 − Ėx,3 − Q̇con 1 − (12)
Tcon In this new method, all the defrosting heat comes from the sub-
[ ( )] cooling heat in the liquid line. Qdef = mr (h4 − h5) and the defrosting
To process occurs at the same time as the cooling process. There is no
Ėx,dest,con = ṁr [(h2 − To S2 ) − (h3 − To S3 ) ] − Q̇con 1 − (13)
Tcon additional energy or time consumed in the defrosting process. In addi­
tion, the part of the heat that is dissipated to the cold room, is used to
The exergy destruction for the evaporator of the system was calcu­
increase the sub-cooling of the liquid refrigerant, which in turn increases
lated using Equations (14) and (15):
the refrigeration system efficiency. Since there is no additional energy
[ ( )]
To needed for defrosting, we can consider defrosting efficiency to be 100%,
Ėx,dest,ev = Ėx,6 − Ėx,7 + Q̇ev 1 − (14)
Tev whereas defrosting efficiency of the same system with the electric heater
[ ( )] defrost method was 15.5%, as shown in Table 4.
To
Ėx,dest,ev = ṁr [(h6 − To S6 ) − (h7 − To S7 ) ] + Q̇ev 1 − (15)
Tev 2.2.4. Thermodynamic analysis of the defrost process in the new method
The system was started with evaporator A in cooling mode and
The exergy destruction for the capillary tube was calculated using
evaporator B in defrosting mode. After some time, the four-way valve
Equations (16) and (17):
was energized to defrost evaporator A. Its temperature was about
Ėx,dest,cap = Ėx,5 − Ėx,6 (16) − 28 ◦ C, and it became a liquid refrigerant line. As the frost and evap­
orator A tracked heat from the liquid refrigerant, the liquid refrigerant
Ėx,dest,cap = ṁr To (S5 − S6 ) (17) sub-cooling started at approximately 48 ◦ C and decreased gradually
until all the frost melted. Fig. 7 shows the sub-cooling during the
The exergy destruction of the heat exchanger in the system was defrosting stage. Liquid refrigerant sub-cooling in the system is divided
calculated using Equations (18) and (19): into two parts; namely Heat Exchanger Sub-cooling (SCexh) that occurs
( ) ( ) at the heat exchanger as a result of superheat in the suction line, and
Ėx,dest,hex = Ėx,3 − Ėx,4 + Ėx,7 − Ėx,1 (18) defrosting Sub-cooling (SCdef) that occurs at the defrosted evaporator as
a result of melting frost and heat losses into the storage room, as shown
Ėx,dest,hex = ṁr [{(h3 − To S3 ) − (h4 − To S4 ) } + {(h7 − To S7 ) − (h1 in Fig. 8.
− To S1 ) } ] (19) Qdef = mr (h4 − h5 ) = Qmelt + Qlosses = SCdef (25)

The total exergy destruction caused by the system elements can be SCexh = mr (h3 − h4 ) and SCdef = h4 − h5 (26)
calculated by adding every element, as in Equation (20):

Ėx,dest,all = Ėx,dest,comp + Ėx,dest,con + Ėx,dest,ev + Ėx,dest,cap + Ėx,dest,hex
The general exergy efficiency of the system was calculated as:
(20) 2.2.5. Enviro-economic analysis of the system
The new defrost method has improved the refrigeration system ef­
ficiency by 12%, which is better than the electric heater defrost method.
The system is in the process of continuous cooling because it does not
stop for defrosting. Since there is no additional time or energy consumed

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M.O.A. Abdulla et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 188 (2021) 116573

Fig. 7. Sub-cooling (Tc–T6) during the defrosting process.

panels, evaporators, condensers, fans, compressors, and other compo­

nents.
Salvage value (S) is taken as 20% of P [25,26]:
S = 0.2P (29)

SFF and ASV can be expressed as:

i
SFF = (30)
(1 + i)n − 1

ASV = (SFF)S (31)

The AMC of the system includes annual maintenance that may be
needed. It is assumed to be 15% of the FAC:
AMC = 0.15(FAC) (32)
Annual power consumption (APC) and annual electric cost (AEC) are
calculated as follows:
Annual power consumption for refrigeration system by electric
heater defrost method,
APCE.H = Pc tc + Pd td (33)
Annual power consumption for the refrigeration system by the new
Fig. 8. Inlet and outlet energy in the defrosting process for the new method. defrost method,

for defrosting, we can use a shorter interval between defrost cycles and APCnew = Pc tc (34
use evaporators with a small gap between the fins. This will decrease the
where, APCE.H and APCnew are the annual power consumptions for the
volume of the evaporator of the same capacity, thus reducing the cost of
refrigeration system by the electric heater method and the new defrost
the evaporator.
method, respectively. Pc is the compressor power, tc is the annual use
The cost of 1 kW of the cooling capacity (QE) is calculated using
time, Pd and td are the heater power and heater annual use time,
economic analysis for both methods in this study.
respectively.
The annual salvage value (ASV), sinking fund factor (SFF), annual
maintenance cost (AMC), capital recovery factor (CRF), and annual AEC = (APC)Ω (35)
electric cost (AEC) must be taken into account as parameters in addition
to capital cost (P). Here, the CRF is defined as a function of the annual where Ω is the price of 1 kWh of electricity. The annual cost (AC) is:
interest rate (i) and life of the system (n) [25,26]:
AC = FAC + AEC + AMC − ASV (36)
i(1 + i)n
CRF = (27) Therefore, the annual cost of 1 kW of cooling capacity can be
(1 + i)n − 1
calculated as:
The annual interest rate (i) and the life span of the system (n) are AC
assumed to be 12% and 20 years, respectively [25,26]. CPC = 37
COP
Then, the fixed annual cost (FAC) is calculated as:
where COP is the coefficient of performance of the refrigeration system.
FAC = P(CRF) (28)
The enviro-economic analysis is performed by taking the cost of
P can be calculated as the costs of used materials, such as sandwich carbon emissions which is approximately 2 kg per kWh of energy as

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M.O.A. Abdulla et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 188 (2021) 116573

Table 5 method was found to be higher than the system that used the new
Details of the thermodynamic analysis of the system in both methods. method. Therefore, the new method is concluded to be more efficient as
Symbol Parameters (unit) Electric heater New compared to the system that uses electric heater method. The exergy
Method Method destruction ratio in the refrigeration system using the new defrost
QC Condenser load (W) 1169.1 1256 method is shown in Fig. 9.
QE Evaporator load (W) 764.6 849.9 The initial time of the defrosting was recorded as 0 s. The frost
COP Coefficient of performance 1.94 2.23 accumulated on the evaporator increased the heat resistance and
PComp. Compressor power (W) 394 380 reduced the evaporator efficiency [28]. On the other hand, since the
mr Mass flow rate (g/s) 6.62 7.03
εhex Heat exchanger effectiveness (%) 18.5 18.5
defrosting with the new defrost method occurs during the cooling pro­
ηis Isentropic efficiency (%) 75 79 cess, it does not require additional energy or time for defrosting, and
ηel Electrical efficiency (%) 98 98 there is a short interval between defrost cycles which provides a high
ηmec Mechanical efficiency of the 85 85 evaporator efficiency. The experiment was conducted on the system
compressor (%)
using the new defrosting method for 10 h with 2 h interval between
defrost cycles. Then, the electric heater defrosting method was per­
formed under same conditions. Fig. 10 shows the difference between the
Table 6 electric heater method and the new method. During the cooling and
Details of exergy destruction analysis for both methods. defrosting processes in the electric heater method, the compressor stops
Parameters (Unit) Electric heater Method New Method the defrosting cycle and starts it again for cooling, but in the new method
Compressor exergy destruction (W) 139.1 123.2
the compressor continues working until the system reaches the setpoint.
Condenser exergy destruction (W) 12.4 12.7 The pressures in the system when using the new defrost method are
Heat exchanger exergy destruction (W) 13.4 14.27 more regular and stable as compared to the electric heater method.
Capillary tube exergy destruction (W) 59.7 41.1 Fig. 11 shows the power consumption in both methods during the
Evaporator exergy destruction (W) 21.6 16.2
cooling and defrosting processes. The system in the new method con­
Total exergy destruction (W) 246.2 207.5
Exergy efficiency (%) 36.1 47.9 sumes less power and has a higher capacity, that means higher
efficiency.
The experimental results of the new defrost method show that the
defrosting role of evaporator A is the same as evaporator B. Therefore,
Evaporator (%8)
the defrosting of evaporator A and the cooling of evaporator B, have
been analyzed in this study. When the four-way valve is switched to
change the flow direction of the refrigerant between the evaporators in
Capillary tube (%20) order to start defrosting evaporator A, the frost absorbs heat from the
refrigerant liquid line.
A high-pressure reduction and increase in liquid refrigerant sub-
cooling occur for some time (this depends on the amount of frost on
the evaporator) and then return to the normal state gradually. Fig. 12
Compressor (%59) shows the changes in high-pressure and low-pressure when the cooling
Heat exch (%7)
process is switched between the evaporators. When the four-way valve is
opened to change the cooling process between the evaporators, initially,
Condenser (%6) the low pressure rises sharply for about ten seconds, and then it returns
to the normal state, and the high pressure increases for about two mi­
Fig. 9. Exergy destruction ratio in the system with the new defrost method. nutes then returns to the normal state gradually.
The storage room temperature in the middle of the evaporators at 15
given by [27]. cm over the floor was measured. The fluctuations during the defrost
The CO2 emissions per year from the system (ɸCO2 ) can be calculated process were found to be about 14.5 ◦ C in the Electric Heater Defrost
using the equation: Method and about 4.5 ◦ C in the New Defrost Method, respectively, as
shown in Fig. 13. The environmental-economic effect of the system has
ɸCO2 = ΨCO2 × (APC) (38) been analyzed and the result is shown in Table 7. The difference between
the methods is shown in Table 8. As seen in Table 8, although the initial
where ΨCO2 is the mean CO2 emission (2 kgCO2/kWh) when coal is used
installation cost of the new method is 55$ more than the electric heater
for electricity generation. The international carbon price (zCO2 ) is $14.5/ method, the annual power consumption is lower. This shows that the
tonCO2. The environmental cost (ZCO2 ) is obtained by using the equation new method can recover its cost in a short time. In addition, the new
given by Eq.(39): method seems to be more environmentally friendly than the electric
ZCO2 = zCO2 × É¸CO2 (39) heater method, as the annual CO2 emission amount is lower. This sit­
uation is also seen in Table 7. Two infrared images showing the tem­
perature gradients in the evaporator and cold storage room during the
3. Results and discussion
defrosting process are given in Fig. 14.
When the experiments were carried out, the ambient temperature
3.1. Error analysis
was found to be 19.3 ◦ C and the cold storage room temperature was
about − 20 ◦ C ± 2 ◦ C. The system was operated for about ten hours for
In this study, the effect of the uncertainties of the devices used in the
every method and the temperature, pressure, and power consumption
experimental process on exergy and energy analysis was investigated by
values of the system for both methods were recorded. The thermody­
means of the following equation. This equation is known as the Gaussian
namic and exergy destruction parameter analyses were performed for
error propagation law. According to this law, R is a function as R = f (x1,
both methods, and the results of the thermodynamic analysis are shown
x2,… xn) and the error analysis of R is as follows:
in Table 5 below. The exergy analysis in Table 6 showed that the exergy
destruction in the refrigeration system which used the electric heater

8
M.O.A. Abdulla et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 188 (2021) 116573

Fig. 10. Changes in high and low pressures, and pressure ratios for both methods.

900
Electric Heater Method New Method
16
800
6
14
700
12 5
Pressure Ratio (%)
Power (W)

600
Pressure (Bar)

10 4

500 8
3
6 High Pressure
400
Low Pressure 2
4 Pressure Ratio (%)
300
1
2
200 0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320
Time (min) Time (s)

Fig. 11. System power consumption for both methods. Fig. 12. Pressure and compression ratio changes when switching defrost pro­
cesses between evaporators.

9
M.O.A. Abdulla et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 188 (2021) 116573

20 Table 7
Electric Heater Method Results of enviro-economic analysis of the study.
15 New Method Parameter Value Unit Parameter Value Unit
10 N 15 $ AMC 12.412 $
I 12 % APCE.H 2496.6 kWh
Temperature (°C)

5 tC 6570 h APCnew 2496.6 kWh

td 547.5 h AECE.H 259.7 $
0 Pd 320 W AECnew 234.6 $
P 740 $ CPCE.H 182.4 $
-5
PC 394 W CPCnew 147.1 $
Ω 0.094 $/kWh ΨCO2 2 kgCO2/kWh
-10
CRF 0.1339 ɸCO2 new 4.993 tonCO2/annum
-15 FAC 82.75 $ ɸCO2 E.H 5.527 tonCO2/annum

-20 S 123.6 $ zCO2 14.5 $/tonCO2

SFF 0.0139 ZCO2 E.H 80.14 $/annum
-25 ASV 1.718 $ ZCO2 new 72.4 $/annum
10 60 110 160 210 260 310 360 410 460 510
Time (min)
3. The pressure variation during the four-way valve turn on is smoother
Fig. 13. Storage room temperature changes during cooling and defrosting for
compared to the bypass method and reverse cycle method in other
both methods.
references [29].
[( 4. The thermodynamic analysis shows that the heat gained from the
)2 ( )2 ( )2 ]12
∂R ∂R ∂R defrosting evaporator in the new method increases the cooling load
wR = w + w + ⋯⋯⋯ + w (40)
∂x1 1 ∂x2 2 ∂xn n by 8%. This ratio can be reduced by installing clips in front of the
evaporators which open during cooling and close during defrosting.
where, wn is uncertainty in the nth independent variable. 5. Economic analysis of the system for both methods shows that the
The accuracy of the devices used in experiment are given in Table 2. new method reduces the annual cost of 1 kW of the cooling capacity
Using Equation (40), COP and ηgen errors were found to be 1.2% and (QE) from 182$ to 147.1$.
1.6%, respectively. 6. Enviro-economic analysis of the system for both methods shows that
the new method reduces the annual power consumption (APC) from
4. Conclusion 2783.7 kWh to 2496.6 kWh, and reduces CO2 emissions reductions

A cold storage room was designed to operate as a conventional cold

room, in which the defrosting process was performed by using temper­ Table 8
ature of an – electric heater, and in the new method, using two evapo­ Comparison of the two methods.
rators. Both systems were tested in the cold room at 20℃ and 19.3 ◦ C
Parameters Electric heater New method
ambient temperatures. The parameters, pressure, temperature, and method
power consumption data for each method were recorded and used for
Defrost Energy Source Electric heater Heat in the liquid line (Sub-
energy, exergy, economic and environmental analysis. According to the
cooling)
results, the following conclusions can be made: Defrost efficiency 15.5% 100%
Temperature fluctuation 15 ◦ C 4.5 ◦ C
1. The defrosting process in the new method was performed using the COP 1.94 2.23
heat from liquid line refrigerant without adding additional energy to Costs of the system 563$ 618$
Annual power 2763.7 kW/h 2496.6 kW/h
the system. Increased sub-cooling improved system performance by consumption 182.0$ 147.1$
12% and reduced temperature fluctuations by 60%. Annual cost of 1 kW of 5.527 ton/year 4.993 ton/year
2. Uninterrupted defrosting and cooling processes accelerate the cool­ QE
ing process and decrease the time required to reach the desired The CO2 emissions/
year
temperature.

Fig. 14. Infrared images showing the temperature distribution in the heater, evaporator and cold storage room during the defrosting process.

10
M.O.A. Abdulla et al.
per year (ɸCO2 ) from 5.527 tonCO2/annum to 4.993 tonCO2/
annum.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
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