Gardenghi Et Al. (2021)

Journal Pre-proofs
Numerical and experimental study of the transient behavior of a domestic va-

por compression refrigeration system - influence of refrigerant charge and am-
bient temperature
Álvaro Roberto Gardenghi, Jônatas Ferreira Lacerda, Cristiano Bigonha

Tibiriç á, Luben Cabezas-Gómez
PII: S1359-4311(21)00183-6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2021.116728
Reference: ATE 116728
To appear in: Applied Thermal Engineering
Received Date: 18 November 2020

Revised Date: 15 January 2021
Accepted Date: 10 February 2021
Please cite this article as: A.R. Gardenghi, J.F. Lacerda, C.B. Tibiriç á, L. Cabezas-Gómez, Numerical and
experimental study of the transient behavior of a domestic vapor compression refrigeration system - influence of
refrigerant charge and ambient temperature, Applied Thermal Engineering (2021), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.applthermaleng.2021.116728
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Numerical and experimental study of the transient behavior of a
domestic vapor compression refrigeration system - influence of
refrigerant charge and ambient temperature
Álvaro Roberto Gardenghi∗,a , Jônatas Ferreira Lacerdab , Cristiano Bigonha Tibiriçáa and
Luben Cabezas-Gómez∗,a
a HeatTransfer Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, São Carlos School of Enginnering, University of São Paulo,
Trabalhador São-carlense Avenue, 400, 13566-970, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
b Tecumseh do Brasil LTDA., Cel. José Augusto de Oliveira Salles St., 478, 13565-900, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: In this work, two transient mathematical models are presented for simulating a vapor compres-
Vapor compression refrigeration sys- sion refrigeration system of domestic refrigerator using R134a. One, the thermal model, is based
tem modeling on the application of the first law of thermodynamics and the second, capacitive model, adds the
Transient numerical simulation evaluation of the refrigerant mass distribution in the system. An experimental procedure to
Experimental procedure calculate the thermal conductance and capacity of system components (compressor, condenser,
Refrigerant charge capillary tube, evaporator, cabinet) is presented. Experimental data describing the transient be-
Ambient temperature influence havior of the refrigeration system are also obtained to validate the simulation procedures. The
domestic refrigerator studied is a vertical two compartments refrigerator. The simulation results
follow the measured experimental trends and are very satisfactory when compared to the tran-
sient and time averaged experimental data. The maximum relative error obtained for simulated
temperatures was about 5.65%. Parametric analyses were conducted to identify the influence of
refrigerant charge and ambient temperature on the refrigeration system performance. The opti-
mum refrigerant charge has distinct values regarding the operational condition of the system. In
the pull-down operation the highest 𝐶𝑂𝑃 is attained for 105𝑔 and 140𝑔 of refrigerant for tran-
sient and the steady-state regimes, respectively. In the on-off operation the optimum refrigerant
charges are 105𝑔 for transient operation (placing goods inside the compartments) and around 70𝑔
to 95𝑔 for stationary condition (without goods). Excepting for small refrigerant charges ∼ 50𝑔,
the higher quantity of refrigerant during the entire system operation is in the evaporator. For low
refrigerant charges, 50 − 70𝑔, it is also shown a refrigerant migration between condenser and
evaporator under the effects of thermal loads when compressor is turned on. Ambient tempera-
ture augmentation by 18◦ 𝐶 decreases refrigerator 𝐶𝑂𝑃 without thermal load in 10% and 16%
for pull-down and on/off operations, respectively. The presented experimental results are new
and can be used by other researchers for validating their own simulation models. The developed
models can considerably improve the design of domestic refrigeration systems by manufacturers.
Nomenclature
𝑐𝑝 specific heat at constant pressure, [𝑘𝐽 𝑘𝑔 −1 𝐾 −1 ]
𝑚̇ mass flow rate, [𝑔𝑠−1 ] 𝑐𝑣 specific heat at constant volume, [𝑘𝐽 𝑘𝑔 −1 𝐾 −1 ]
𝑄̇ heat transfer rate, [𝑊 ] 𝑑 derivative
𝑆̇ entropy generation, [𝑊 𝐾 −1 ] 𝑓Δ𝑃 pressure loss factor
𝑉̇ Compressor displacement, [𝑚3 𝑠−1 ] 𝐺 mass flux, [𝑘𝑔𝑚−2 𝑠−1 ]
𝑊̇ electric power, [𝑊 ] ℎ specific enthalpy, [𝑘𝐽 𝑘𝑔 −1 ]
𝐴 Area, [𝑚2 ] ℎ𝑡𝑐 heat transfer coefficient, [𝑊 𝑚−2 𝐾 −1 ]
𝐶 thermal capacity, [𝑘𝐽 𝐾 −1 ] 𝑀 mass, [𝑔]
∗ Corresponding
author
alvarogardenghi@gmail.com, phone:+55-16-99308-1225, fax:+55-16-3373-9401 Alvaro (R. Gardenghi);
lubencg@sc.usp.br, phone:+55-16-3373-9531, fax:+55-16-3373-9401 (L. Cabezas-Gómez)
ORCID (s): 0000-0001-6009-385X Alvaro (R. Gardenghi); 0000-0002-9550-9453 (L. Cabezas-Gómez)
AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 1 of 36

Numerical and experimental study of the transient behavior of a domestic vapor compression refrigeration system
𝑁 Compressor speed, [𝑟𝑝𝑚] 𝑎 air

𝑃 pressure, [𝑘𝑃 𝑎] 𝑎𝑚𝑏 ambient
𝑅 gas constant, [𝐽 𝑘𝑔 −1 𝐾 −1 ] 𝑐 condenser
𝑆 total entropy, [𝐽 𝐾 −1 ] 𝑐𝑎𝑏 cabinet
𝑠 specific entropy, [𝑘𝐽 𝑘𝑔 −1 𝐾 −1 ] 𝑐𝑎𝑝 capillary tube
𝑇 temperature, [◦ 𝐶] 𝑐𝑜𝑚 compressor
𝑡 time, [𝑠] 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 condensation
𝑈 total internal energy, [𝐽 ] 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡 critical
𝑢 specific internal energy, [𝑘𝐽 𝑘𝑔 −1 ] 𝑑 discharge
𝑈𝐴 thermal conductance, [𝑊 𝐾 −1 ] 𝑑𝑖𝑠 dissolved
𝑉 volume, [𝑚3 ] 𝑒 evaporator
𝑣 specific volume, [𝑚3 𝑘𝑔 −1 ] 𝑒𝑞 equivalent
𝑥 quality 𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 evaporation
𝑍 compressibility factor 𝑓𝑓 fresh-food
Acronyms: 𝑓𝑟 freezer
𝐴𝑅𝑇 Advanced Refrigeration Technologies 𝑔 global
𝐶𝐹 𝐶 Chlorofluorocarbons 𝑔𝑑 goods
𝐶𝑂𝑃 Coefficient of Performance 𝑖 state point (1, 2, 3...)
𝐸𝐸𝑅 Energy Efficiency Ratio 𝑖ℎ𝑥 internal heat exchanger
𝐺𝑇 Gamma Technologies 𝑖𝑛 inlet
𝐺𝑊 𝑃 Global Warming Potentiall 𝑙 liquid
𝐻𝐶𝐹 𝐶 Hydrochlorofluorocarbons 𝑛 new
𝐻𝐹 𝐶 Hydrofluorocarbons 𝑜 oil
𝑂𝐷𝑃 Ozone Depletion Potential 𝑜𝑓 𝑓 off
Greek Symbols: 𝑜𝑛 on
𝛼 void fraction 𝑜𝑢𝑡 outlet
Δ variation 𝑠 shell
𝛿 uncertainty 𝑠𝑎𝑡 saturation
𝜂 efficiency 𝑠𝑐 sub-cooled
𝛾 second law efficiency 𝑠ℎ superheating
𝜌 density, [𝑘𝑔𝑚−3 ] 𝑡𝑜𝑡 total
𝜎 solubility 𝑣 vapor
𝜏 time constant, [𝑠] 𝑣𝑜𝑙 volumetric
Subscripts: 𝑤 wall
1. Introduction
Domestic vapor compression refrigeration systems are widely used, mainly guaranteeing food conservation and
thermal comfort. It is estimated that there are approximately 1.5 billion units of domestic refrigerators in operation
in the world. The refrigeration sector is responsible for about 17% of world electricity consumption, with 45% of this
amount attributed to residential demand [1]. These facts emphasize the importance of improvements in such systems.
Most of these systems are equipped with five main components: compressor (controlled by mechanical or electronic

thermostat), condenser, capillary tube and heat exchanger with suction line (internal heat exchanger), evaporator and
cabinet. A traditional control logic in domestic refrigerators is on/off, where two limit temperatures of the refrigerated
compartment are pre-defined. The optimization of such systems can be achieved through improvements in thermal
insulation, compressor efficiency and overall heat transfer coefficients of heat exchangers, and by the application of
variable speed compressors associated with control strategies and the adjustment of the correct refrigerant charge.
These improvements have significantly reduced energy consumption in recent years [2]. However, in the general
operation of the system, these improvements in each component separately cannot guarantee the expected effects in the
system [3], due to the complex interactions between them. To assess the behavior of the refrigerator with modifications
and even design parameters, experimental tests are usually carried out, often based on trial and error, making this
process expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, a well-validated mathematical model of domestic refrigerators is
very important, allowing engineers to obtain reliable analyzes faster and supporting experiments.
Ding [4] presented developments in simulation techniques for vapour-compression refrigeration systems. Accord-
ing to the author, a methodology for the design of refrigeration systems with simulation using numerical methods
consists in the prediction of system’s performance using the parameters of the system components and the operating
conditions as input data. If the results of the simulation do not correspond well to the requirements of the application,
the input parameters must be changed and the process repeated. As pointed out by [4], this process has great poten-
tial, especially when associated with optimization strategies and algorithms, resulting in a faster and less expensive
refrigerator design, compared to the traditional experimental prototype process.
Simulation models of vapor compression refrigeration systems are generally classified into types such as: stationary
or transient (I); continuous or discrete (II); lumped or distributed parameters (III); and theoretical, empirical or balanced
(semi-empirical) (IV) [5]. [5] presents an explanation of each type of classification and also resumes many research
papers in the literature for modeling refrigeration systems until the date of publication.
Many authors have published models that are a combination of the various types of modeling described in [5].
[6] presented a semi-empirical and stationary model with distributed parameters to simulate a household refrigerator.
Also other authors presented models with the same characteristics, but the heat exchangers were divided in regions
according to the thermodynamic state of the refrigerant: superheated, two-phase and sub-cooled for the condenser and
two-phase and superheated for the evaporator. Among them, [7] proposed a steady-state and discrete modeling of a
domestic refrigerator, where two types of a hermetic reciprocating compressor models were tested: an empirical one
and other considering polytropic compression (semi-empirical) and the evaporator was treated as an isothermal and
vertical plate, with the surface temperature equal to the evaporation one. [8] present a steady-state modeling of a frost-
free refrigerator with two compartments, hermetic reciprocating compressor, wire-and-tube condenser, finned tube
evaporator with forced ventilation and refrigerant R134a. To adjust the model, several tests were carried out varying
parameters as ambient temperature, compressor rotation, refrigerant charge, the restriction of an auxiliary expansion
device, fan speed and thermal load. [9] presented a steady-state semi-empirical model studying a walk-in freezer with
one compartment, a condensing unit (reciprocating compressor and finned tube condenser with forced convection), an
electronic expansion valve, a finned tube evaporator with forced convection and refrigerant R404A; and [10] presented
a mathematical model and a procedure to optimize the pressure ratio (𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 ∕𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 ) and the heat exchanger areas.
[11] presented a numerical model for a domestic refrigerator where the compressor and the compressor shell are
treated separately, with two control volumes. [12] developed a model able to simulate systems with natural or forced
convection outside the condenser and the heat transfer coefficients are evaluated at each time step for the internal
and external sides of heat exchangers. [13] presented a model to simulate two-compartment refrigerators with forced
convection on evaporator, natural convection on condenser, adiabatic capillary tube and considering isentropic com-
pression process. [14] developed two models for transient simulation of a household refrigerator: the first, consisted in
energy conservation analysis and the second included the simulation of fluid distribution inside the control volumes.
The refrigerator in this work has one compartment, hermetic reciprocating compressor and wire-and-tube condenser
with natural convection, capillary tube with internal heat exchanger, roll-bond evaporator and the R134a refrigerant.
[15] presented a transient model to simulate refrigerators and automotive climate control vapor compression refriger-
ation systems, able to simulate single or two parallel evaporator models. All of these works presented transient and
semi-empirical models for household vapor compression refrigerators, using a lumped approach for the heat exchangers
and cabinet modeling.
Transient and semi-empirical models that simulate heat exchangers with a distributed parameter approach were
also published. [16] proposed a simulation model for small-scale vapor compression refrigeration systems, present-
ing also an optimization strategy. [17] developed a model to simulate two-compartment refrigerators with adiabatic

capillary tube, working with R12 and R134a. [18] simulated a vertical freezer considering adiabatic capillary tube
and polytropic compression process. [19–21] developed models to simulate two-compartment refrigerators, with nat-
ural convection on both condenser and evaporator, with non-adiabatic capillary tube, the first operating with R134a
or R152a, the second, considering polytropic compression process and the Zivi’s void fraction model for the heat ex-
changers modeling and the last, assuming isentropic compression. [22], with his model, analyzed topics such as start
up transient behavior, based on the monitoring of temperatures and pressures since the start to the steady-state and
periodic transient operation, evaluating the energy consumption, the transient operation and the refrigerator controller
limits. [23] developed a semi-empirical model to simulate the start and the cyclical transient of a frost-free refrigerator
with two compartments. [24] developed a transient model using the GT®, focusing on the distributed heat exchangers
description, while [25] proposed a methodology to simulate and optimize, using the volume element method, proposed
by [26] and experimentally validated by [27], the performance of vapor compression refrigeration systems, seeking
the best combination of evaporator and condenser sizes.
A further modeling strategy is the use of a quasi-stationary model, where the transient processes are modeled as a
series of stationary states [28]. In these models, it is assumed that the refrigeration system does not need a transient
description, as it takes considerably less time to reach the steady state compared to the cabinet. Therefore, only the
cabinet temperature is simulated as a function of time. Models using this strategy were also presented in the liter-
ature. [29], for a frost-free refrigerator with two compartments, reciprocating compressor, wire-and-tube condenser
and finned tube evaporator (both with forced ventilation), capillary tube with internal heat exchanger and R245fa re-
frigerant. [3] proposed a model focused in optimize the operation of the domestic refrigeration system, based on heat
transfer area and the cabinet insulation thickness, to reduce the energetic consumption and costs related to refrigerators.
[30] divided the simulation in two sub-models: cabinets and refrigeration loop, using the ART simulation tool [31];
and [32] developed a semi-empirical model for a frost-free refrigerator considering the effects of door openings, frost
formation on evaporator and the humidity on the refrigerated ambient. The method to capture the dynamic variations
in phase transition points, preserving the simplicity of lumped parameter models and having the ability of predicting
the position of the phase change front in the heat exchangers is called the moving boundary method [5, 33–35]. Tran-
sient models using this method for domestic refrigeration system are also presented. [33, 34], worked with vertical
freezers operating with R12, natural convection on both condenser and evaporator, adiabatic capillary tube empirical
correlations for the compression modeling, Premoli’s and modified Premoli’s void fraction models, respectively, on the
heat exchangers calculations. [35] proposed a very complete physics-based approach to simulate vapor compression
systems.
Another topic that concentrates a great amount of research efforts in refrigeration is the issue of the choice of the
better group of refrigerant. As presented by [36], the first generation was about to define whatever fluid that worked
in refrigeration systems, such as natural refrigerants CO2 (R744), NH3 (R717), SO2 (R732), HCOOCH3 (R611) and
others. However, as several of the fluids applied were toxic or flammable, the next step was to solve this problem,
ensuring safety and durability and the choice was mainly the CFC’s and the HCFC’s, which are not toxic or flammable
and have good thermodynamic, transport and chemical properties. But, the researchers and engineers had to deal
with another issue, the ozone layer depletion (indicated by the ozone depletion potential - ODP). Thus, the HFC’s
were adopted presenting low ODP. The study presented by [37] presents a review of the refrigerant groups along
time and indicates that the refrigerants are always susceptible to change when restrictive actions are validated and
approved [38]. Thus, in recent years another transition has been conducted, in order to eliminate the greenhouse
effect contribution, characteristic of several HFC’s (indicated by the global warming potential - GWP), maintaining
low ODP and high efficiency. Several refrigerant are being tested and applied to this aim: R1234yf, R1234ze(E),
R1234ze(Z), R717 and the group of hydrocarbons, such as R290. About the performance, some refrigerants of the
new generation are presenting good results, compared to older ones: [37] and [39] compared several refrigerants from
different generations, studying an air conditioner system with forced convection, air-to-refrigerant heat exchangers and
the new ones are competitive: for example, R1234yf presented 95% of the COP of R410A; R290, 101%; and R717,
more than 105%.
The study of refrigerant charge influence on system’s performance also calls the attention of manufacturers and
researchers as summarized in [40]. The authors presented a thorough review on refrigerant charges in refrigeration sys-
tems and the strategies of charge reduction. The majority of cited works leading with the study of refrigerant charge
influence on refrigerating, air conditioning and heat pump system’s parameters are experimental [41–46], with few
works using steady-state models [47, 48]. Recent works continue to address the same problematic through the devel-
opment of experimental and numerical studies. [49] experimentally studied how the proper selection of refrigeration

cycle components optimize the energy consumption of the household refrigerators using R134a refrigerant, address-
ing how the components selection affects the system’s refrigerant charge amount while tried to decrease the energy
consumption of the system. [50] studied the optimal refrigerant charge and energy efficiency of an oil-free refrig-
eration system using R134a in a dedicated oil-free experimental workbench. They found specific parameters values
providing a maximum EER of the system for a particular refrigerant charge. [51] performed a mixed experimental and
numerical research about the performance of split packaged air conditioner using refrigerant R290 as a substitute for
R22. The authors studied the split air conditioner for finding the desired cooling capacity for a maximum EER. They
obtained these results as a function of the refrigerant charge, trying to minimize its amount due to flammability issues.
[52] simulated in details the dynamic refrigerant migration characteristics in room air-conditioner with R290 due to
flammability of this refrigerant. They found that their results on refrigerant migration can be used for future charge
analysis and model-based control design. The above findings indicate the necessity of addressing the refrigerant charge
influence over the transient behavior of domestic’s refrigerators by numerical simulation.
In the present paper it is studied, numerically and experimentally, a vertical refrigerator operating with R134a.
This refrigeration system still finds application in the domestic refrigerator market and the obtained results can be
extrapolated to similar refrigeration systems. In addition due its wide adoption around the world R134a serves as a
more reliable fluid reference for comparing models and experiments in refrigeration systems. In the paper two lumped,
discrete, semi-empirical and transient mathematical models based on the work presented by [14] are developed. The
first, called thermal model, mainly considers the energetic aspects of the system, with the application of the First Law of
Thermodynamics, and can provide important parameters such as COP, energy consumption, temperature of the internal
air of the compartments and of surfaces of the components, compressor power, refrigeration capacity, duration of on and
off periods, condensing and evaporating temperatures and an analysis of stationary entropy generation. The second
model, called capacitive, provides these same results, but also provides results for: condensation and evaporation
pressures, degrees of sub-cooling and superheating, mass of refrigerant in the heat exchangers and compressor, and
mass flow rate of the compressor and capillary tube.
An experimental procedure is applied to determine model input parameters such as thermal conductance (𝑈 𝐴) and
capacity (𝐶) for each component of the system. Experimental measurements are also developed to acquire experimen-
tal data that describe the transient behavior of the refrigeration system. These data are used to compare the numerical
results and to validate the models. Several simulations of pull-down and cycling tests were carried out. Simulation
parametric analyzes are conducted to identify the influence of refrigerant charge and ambient temperature on the per-
formance of the refrigeration system. An study considering how a thermal load influences the system’s performance
is also presented.
The proposed models presents some advances in relation to those presented in [14]: (1) the use of the Fauske
criterion [53] to determine the correct outlet condition at the capillary tube exit for the capacitive model; (2) the
computation of oil, refrigerant and refrigerant dissolved in oil; and (3) the simulation of a two-compartment household
refrigerator. Even if the models developed by [14] date from 1995, they allow the simulation and obtainment of very
useful results on the performance of vapor compression refrigeration systems, shown in the paper.
The main contributions of the paper are: (i) Two mathematical models are presented and used for simulating the
transient behavior of a two-compartment household refrigerator, providing new insights of the thermal performance
of these appliances. The novelty is mainly related to the detailed simulation of refrigerant charge influence on system
performance, considering two system’s operations, pull-down and on-off, and two regimes, transient and stationary,
for each operation. It is worth to mention that the influence of thermal load in the transient on/off operation and the
transient refrigerant migration for various refrigerant charges are simulated with the capacitive model; (ii) Moreover, it
is quantitatively shown in simulations and experiments how the increase of ambient temperature degrades the thermal
performance of the system, providing the refrigerant mass distribution in system components as a function of ambient
temperature; (iii) The simulated transient and time averaged results are compared with the measured experimental
data in the pull-down and on/off operations. The model’s results are also extensively compared between it, providing
insights into best model’s use; (iv) New experimental results (transient and time averaged) are presented. These data are
new to the open literature and can be very useful to validate other simulation models and experimental measurements
and studies.
2. Experimental Methodology
This section presents all the details of the applied experimental procedures.

2.1. Experimental facility

The studied appliance is a vertical refrigerator with two compartments (207 𝐿 in the fresh-food compartment and
53 𝐿 in the freezer) operating with R134a. The refrigeration system consists of a hermetic reciprocating compressor
(with 163𝑔 of POE10 oil) and a wire-and-tube condenser, both cooled by natural convection; a capillary tube and a
heat exchanger with the suction line (internal heat exchanger); and roll-bond evaporators (“box” type in the freezer and
“plate” in the fresh-food compartment). The system is supplied with 105𝑔 of refrigerant. The control is assigned to a
mechanical on/off thermostat. Table 1 shows the dimensions of the system’s components.
Table 1
Dimensions of the refrigeration system’s components.
Condenser internal volume (𝑉𝑐 ) (10−5 𝑚3 ) 7.91

Condenser external surface area (𝐴𝑐 ) (𝑚2 ) 0.404
Condenser internal surface area (𝐴𝑖,𝑐 ) (𝑚2 ) 0.095
Capillary tube inner diameter (𝑑𝑐𝑎𝑝 ) (10−4 𝑚) 6.5
Evaporator internal volume (𝑉𝑒 ) (10−5 𝑚3 ) 12.9
Evaporator external surface area - fresh-food (𝐴𝑒,𝑓 𝑓 ) (𝑚2 ) 0.17
Evaporator external surface area - freezer (𝐴𝑒,𝑓 𝑟 ) (𝑚2 ) 0.52
Evaporator internal surface area (𝐴𝑖,𝑒 ) (𝑚2 ) 0.07
Compressor displacement (𝑉̇ ) (16−6 𝑚3 ) 5.54
Compressor shell (suction) volume (𝑉𝑠 ) (10−3 𝑚3 ) 1.34
Compressor discharge line volume (𝑉𝑑 ) (10−5 𝑚3 ) 3.77
Figure 1: Diagram of the experimental installation and measured experimental data and points in the refrigeration system.
The experiments were developed in a climate chamber at Tecumseh do Brasil LTDA. The diagram of the exper-
imental installation with an indication of the experimental measurement locations is shown in Fig. 1. The locations

for evaluating the thermodynamic states of the refrigeration cycle are also presented: 1 corresponds to the compressor
inlet and suction line outlet; 2, for compressor outlet and condenser inlet; 3, for the condenser outlet and capillary
tube inlet; 3i, for the initial part of the capillary tube that is connected to the suction line for heat exchange; 4, for the
capillary tube outlet and evaporator inlet; and 5, for the evaporator outlet and the initial part of the suction line that is
connected to the capillary tube for heat exchange.
Type T thermocouples were used to measure the temperatures in the compressor housing (top and bottom); con-
denser wall inlet, middle and outlet sections; inlet, middle and outlet sections of the fresh-food roll-bond evaporator
wall; internal heat exchanger outlet on the suction line side; inlet of the internal heat exchanger on the side of the cap-
illary tube. The thermocouples were thermally insulated with insulation tape and fixed with aluminum on the external
surfaces of the components. In addition, there were 5 thermocouples distributed in the fresh-food compartment and 3
in the freezer to measure the air temperature inside these two compartments. The pressure measurements were made
by absolute pressure transducers in the suction and discharge sections of the compressor. The power consumption
of the compressor was acquired through an electric power transducer. For the characterization test of the cabinet, 3
electric resistors were positioned inside the compartments (1 in the freezer and 2 in fresh-food) and their power was
measured by electric transducers.
The uncertainties of the temperatures, pressures and electrical power measured are obtained directly from the in-
struments’ manufacturers and are presented in Table 2. The mass flow rate uncertainty is obtained from the compressor
calorimetric test data provided by the manufacturer with an average error of 7%. The uncertainties for the thermody-
namic and thermal properties are calculated according to the method presented by [54] (see appendix A).
Table 2
Uncertainty of instruments.
Instrument Uncertainty Operating range

◦
Type T thermocouples ±0.34 𝐶 −250 to 350◦ 𝐶
Suction line pressure transducer ±0.2% full scale 0 to 1034.2 𝑘𝑃 𝑎
Discharge line pressure transducer ±0.2% full scale 0 to 3447.4 𝑘𝑃 𝑎
Electric power transducer ±1.5% measurement 0 to 10𝐴 (input limits)
2.2. Pull-down tests for thermal conductance and capacity determination

The tests are carried out according to the standards [55] NTB00048. In these tests ([55]), the refrigerator is first
placed in thermal equilibrium with the external environment. Then, with the thermostat by-passed, the compressor is
turned on and remains running without cycling, lowering the temperatures inside the refrigerator until it is reached a
steady state. This operation takes about 8 hours. Three experiments were carried out at a constant rotation speed of
3600 𝑟𝑝𝑚 and with the external ambient temperatures of 25, 32 and 43◦ 𝐶, allowing the assessment of the influence
of the ambient temperature and a more complete mapping of some characteristics, such as degrees of sub-cooling
and superheating. Fig. 2 shows the locations where the instrumentation was placed to measure the desired thermal
conductance on the device. These locations are those schematically shown in Fig. 1.
The methodology for calculating thermal conductance consists in applying an energy balance to each component
of the refrigerator according to the next steps. First, in the stationary operating condition, with pressure and temper-
ature measurements, the refrigerant properties at each point of the refrigeration cycle shown in fig. 1 are calculated
(neglecting pressure losses in the condenser and evaporator). Second, an energy balance is conducted in each compo-
nent of the refrigeration system, where the heat transfer between the refrigerant and the component itself (internal heat
transfer), defined as the product between the mass flow rate and the enthalpy variation, is equal to the one between the
component and the external ambient air (external heat transfer). The mass flow rate is calculated using the compressor
efficiency settings (obtained from data provided by the manufacturer), shown in sec. 2.4. At this point, it is possible to
determine the cooling capacity, the heat rejection in the condenser and compressor and, with the measured electrical
power, the COP and the energy consumption. Therefore, using the Eq. 1, the conductance (𝑈 𝐴) can be calculated.
𝑄̇
𝑈𝐴 = (1)
Δ𝑇

Figure 2: Instrumentation of the refrigerator for the pull-down test: thermocouples in the (a) freezer, (b) fresh-food
compartment and evaporator, (c) condenser; (d) thermocouples and pressure transducers in the compressor and suction
and discharge lines; (e) thermocouples in the suction line and capillary tube.
The thermal capacities (𝐶) are also needed to provide sufficient input data for mathematical models. Thermal
capacities are calculated from conductance values and time constants (𝜏, in 𝑠) for each component. The time constant,
𝜏, is defined as the time necessary to reach 63.2% of the steady-state. However a common approximation is the
calculation of the time constant equal to one fifth of the time required to reach 99.3% of steady-state [56]. It can be
determined through the graphs obtained in the pull-down tests that show the temperature distribution until obtaining
the stationary regime. The thermal capacity is calculated by the product of the conductance, 𝑈 𝐴, by the time constant,
𝜏, as shown in Eq. 2.
𝐶 = 𝑈 𝐴𝜏 (2)
The Table 3 presents the numerical values of the experimental parameters and their uncertainties obtained in the
stationary regime with pull-down tests for the components of the refrigerator (compressor, condenser and evaporator)
at the three ambient temperatures evaluated, respectively. In Table 3 𝐶𝑒𝑞 is the equivalent thermal capacity considering
both parts of the evaporator (fresh-food and freezer compartments), calculated by the average of the mass of each, and
𝑓Δ𝑃 represents the pressure loss in the adiabatic portion of the capillary tube. This is determined by measuring the
inlet temperature of the internal heat exchanger on the side of the capillary tube.

Table 3
Thermal conductance and capacity and pressure loss factor calculated values in the pull-down tests (compressor, condenser
and evaporator)
Experimental parameter (𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 25◦ 𝐶) (𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 32◦ 𝐶) (𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 43◦ 𝐶)

𝑈 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑚 (𝑊 𝐾 −1 ) 1.29 ± 0.03 1.23 ± 0.03 1.25 ± 0.04
𝑈 𝐴𝑐 (𝑊 𝐾 −1 ) 5.91 ± 0.45 5.45 ± 0.41 5.08 ± 0.34
𝑈 𝐴𝑒,𝑓 𝑓 (𝑊 𝐾 −1 ) 1.15 ± 0.04 1.16 ± 0.04 1.20 ± 0.04
𝑈 𝐴𝑒,𝑓 𝑟 (𝑊 𝐾 −1 ) 3.84 ± 0.46 3.76 ± 0.42 4.25 ± 0.48
𝐶𝑐𝑜𝑚 (𝑘𝐽 𝐾 −1 ) 6.64 ± 0.16 6.36 ± 0.16 6.46 ± 0.19
𝐶𝑐 (𝑘𝐽 𝐾 −1 ) 21.88 ± 1.67 20.18 ± 1.51 18.78 ± 1.38
𝐶𝑒,𝑓 𝑓 (𝑘𝐽 𝐾 −1 ) 0.97 ± 0.03 0.98 ± 0.03 1.01 ± 0.03
𝐶𝑒,𝑓 𝑟 (𝑘𝐽 𝐾 −1 ) 9.22 ± 1.09 9.03 ± 1.01 10.20 ± 1.16
𝐶𝑒𝑞 (𝑘𝐽 𝐾 −1 ) 8.76 ± 0.94 8.59 ± 0.87 9.63 ± 1.01
𝑓Δ𝑃 0.13 ± 0.01 0.14 ± 0.01 0.13 ± 0.01
2.3. Thermal conductance determination of cabinet compartments

To characterize the cabinet compartments of the refrigerator a reverse measurement of the heat loss rate test was
carried out, in accordance with the standards [57] NTB00119. [58] also used this experimental method to determine
the thermal conductance of a cabinet compartment. In this test, the refrigerator, in a climate chamber, is kept off and
electrical heaters are conveniently placed inside the compartments, heating them as shown in Fig. 3. The difference
between the average temperature of the compartments should be about 25◦ 𝐶 higher than the ambient and the maximum
power dissipated in the resistors, 50𝑊 . The electrical resistors were fixed in aluminium plates, to facilitate natural
convection and obtain a more uniform temperature distribution.
Figure 3: Instrumentation of the refrigerator for the cabinet characterization test.
The compartments are closed and the electrical resistors are turned on, raising the temperature of the compartments
until a stationary condition is established. At this time, the electrical power in the resistors is equal to the heat transfer
from them to the internal air of the compartments, which is equivalent to the heat transfer from the walls to the external
air. Another heat flow is that which occurs from one compartment to another, through the wall between them. Thus, by
measuring electrical power and temperatures, energy balances can be established according to Eq. 3, for the fresh-food
compartment and 4, for the freezer.
𝑊̇ 𝑓 𝑓 = 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑓 (𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓 − 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 ) − 𝑈 𝐴𝑤 (𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟 − 𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓 ) (3)

𝑊̇ 𝑓 𝑟 = 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑟 (𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟 − 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 ) + 𝑈 𝐴𝑤 (𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟 − 𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓 ) (4)
In Eqs. 3 and 4 𝑊𝑓 𝑓 and 𝑊𝑓 𝑟 (𝑊 ) are the power dissipated inside the fresh-food and freezer compartments, 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑓
and 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑟 , are the thermal conductance of these compartments, 𝑈 𝐴𝑤 , the conductance of the wall between them and
𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 , 𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓 , 𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟 (ºC) are the ambient temperature and the air temperature in fresh-food and freezer compartments,
respectively. Therefore, adding the equations above Eq. 5 is obtained.
𝑊̇ 𝑓 𝑓 + 𝑊̇ 𝑓 𝑟 = 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑓 (𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓 − 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 ) + 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑟 (𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟 − 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 ) (5)
where the unknown variables are 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑓 and 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑟 . Therefore, with at least two tests, varying the power dissipated
in each compartment, a system of equations is obtained and these variables are determined. Five tests were performed
and, combining the equations in pairs, ten values were calculated for each variable. Finally, taking the averages, the
process was completed (observe the raw values for the calculations on the supplementary material). Now, using Eq. 3
or 4, 𝑈 𝐴𝑤 is determined. The Table 4 presents the results of the cabinet characterization test. The raw experimental
data used to determine the thermal conductances are presented in section S2 of supplementary material.
Table 4
Refrigerator compartments thermal conductance and capacity values and their uncertainties ob-
tained by the cabinet characterization test.
𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑓 (𝑊 𝐾 −1 ) 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑟 (𝑊 𝐾 −1 ) 𝑈 𝐴𝑤 (𝑊 𝐾 −1 ) 𝐶𝑓 𝑓 (𝑘𝐽 𝐾 −1 ) 𝐶𝑓 𝑟 (𝑘𝐽 𝐾 −1 )
1.14 ± 0.02 0.32 ± 0.02 0.07 ± 0.004 6.854 ± 0.131 1.363 ± 0.086
2.4. Compressor efficiencies measurements

The compressor efficiencies (volumetric, 𝜂𝑣𝑜𝑙 , and global, 𝜂𝑔 ) were obtained through experimental data from calori-
metric tests provided by the manufacturer. These data are for compressor the mass flow rate, 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 , compressor electric
power consumption, 𝑊̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 , and refrigeration capacity, 𝑄̇ 𝑒 , in steady state. Using these experimental data the effi-
ciencies are determined according to Eqs. 6 and 7, expressed through polynomials as a function of the ratio between
condensation (𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 ) and evaporation (𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 ) pressures (in 𝑃 𝑎).
( )2 ( )
𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑
𝜂𝑣𝑜𝑙 = −0.0013 + 0.0118 + 0.6798 (6)
𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝
( )2 ( )
𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑
𝜂𝑔 = −0.0007 + 0.0109 + 0.58 (7)
𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝
It should be noted that the global efficiency is calculated using an isentropic compression process as a reference.
This procedure allows to incorporate the thermodynamic, mechanical and electric efficiencies of the compressor in
only one global parameter using data from the calorimeter. This method facilitates the modeling of the compressor,
being a conventional procedure used in industry and literature [29, 59, 60].
3. Mathematical models
In this section, the developed mathematical models, which are based on the models by [14] are described. The
main purpose of the models is the construction of a mathematical system of ordinary differential algebraic equation
(DAEs) to perform numerical simulations of the transient behavior of refrigeration systems. Both models are made up
of “sub-models” for each component of the system (compressor, condenser, capillary tube and internal heat exchanger,
evaporator and cabinet compartments), where the input variables for each one are the outputs provided by the previous

Figure 4: Control volumes and the interaction between the components of the refrigeration system.
one, following the direction of the refrigerant flow. Fig. 4 shows the control volumes that are considered in the
simulation of the refrigeration system. It should be noted that the thermodynamic states shown in this figure are those
represented in fig. 1, respectively.
The first model denominated as the “thermal” model consists on the application of the first law of thermodynamics
and heat transfer rate equations to each control volume representing each component of the refrigeration system. The
second model is denominated as a “capacitive” model because this model also simulates the refrigerant mass distribu-
tion in the refrigeration system. This model uses the same tools of the thermal model, with additional expressions to
compute the transient refrigerant mass distribution in the refrigeration system and the condensation and evaporation
pressures.
Results such as refrigeration capacity, electrical power consumption, condenser heat rejection, COP, monthly en-
ergy consumption, component surfaces and internal air temperature on the compartments can be obtained with both
models. Entropy generation of each component and of the whole system are also calculated when the steady state is nu-
merically established. However, only the capacitive model is capable of reproducing the behavior of system pressures
when the compressor shuts down, pressure peaks when the compressor is started, dynamic behavior of the degrees of
sub-cooling and superheating, and any influence of the geometric characteristics of the capillary tube and refrigerant
charge.
The following simplifying assumptions were adopted in the development of both mathematical models:
• Assumptions for physical and mathematical description: The control volumes around the system components
have only one inlet and one outlet; Variation in kinetic and potential energy within and at the open boundaries
are neglected; The thermodynamic and transport properties are uniform in each control volume; and force fields
are neglected.
• Assumptions for modeling the components: Delays in transport, pressure losses and accumulation of refrigerant
in the connecting tubes; Pressure losses in the condenser and evaporator; Spatial temperature variations on the
surfaces of the condenser, evaporator and compressor and within the cabinet compartments are all neglected.
The simulations do not consider the opening of doors, following the conditions of the experimental tests. Air
infiltration is not taken into account. Temperatures are expressed in ◦ 𝐶; pressure in 𝑃 𝑎; density in 𝑘𝑔𝑚−3 ; volume in
𝑚3 ; mass flow in 𝑔𝑠−1 ; enthalpies in 𝑘𝐽 𝑘𝑔 −1 ; entropies in 𝑘𝐽 𝑘𝑔 −1 𝐾 −1 ; and heat transfer rates and power consumption
in 𝑊 .

3.1. Thermal model

Compressor model: The control volume used to simulate the compressor is shown in Fig. 4. In the compressor
sub-model the inputs are: inlet temperature, enthalpy, and pressure, 𝑇1 , ℎ1 and 𝑃1 (considered equal to the evapora-
tion, 𝑃1 = 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 ); outlet pressure 𝑃2 (equals to the condensation, 𝑃2 = 𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 ); external ambient temperature, 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 ;
compressor speed and displacement, 𝑁 and 𝑉̇ ; and 𝑈 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑚 , and 𝐶𝑐𝑜𝑚 . The outputs are: 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 , 𝑊̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 , 𝑄̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 , 𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑚 , and
outlet temperature and enthalpy 𝑇2 , and ℎ2 .
As presented in section 4, in the first stage, the state 1, the condensation (𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 ) and evaporation (𝑇𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 ) temper-
atures (and consequently, the pressures), and the initial temperatures of the indoor air in the compartments and of
the components (surfaces) are estimated, so that it is possible to start the calculations. Usually, after one simulation
cycle, the variables begin to show the correct behavior, therefore the influence of the estimates is small. For pull-down
simulations, the initial condition of the system is known and the influence of the estimates is zero.
The Table 5 presents the main equations of the compressor sub-model. 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 is determined using Eqs. 8 and 6,
where 𝜌1 is the fluid density at the compressor inlet. 𝑊̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 is calculated by Eq. 9, after computing ℎ2 by determining
ℎ2𝑠 for an isentropic compression process using Eq. 7. 𝑄̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 is calculated by Eq. 10. Then, the compressor housing
temperature, 𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑚 , is calculated through an energy balance in the compressor control volume, Eq. 11.
For computing 𝑇2 two approaches were evaluated: the polytropic compression model and the approximation of
this temperature by 𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑚 , commonly used in the literature, see [3]. For the simulated system the second method was
applied, using Eq. 12, due to the external natural convection on the compressor.
Table 5
Equations for the compressor sub-model.
Mass flow rate 𝑁

𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 = 𝜂𝑣𝑜𝑙 𝜌1 𝑉̇ (8)
60
Electric power consumption (ℎ2𝑠 − ℎ1 )

𝑊̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 = 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 (9)
𝜂𝑔
Heat transfer rate through the housing
𝑄̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 = 𝑈 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑚 (𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑚 − 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 ) (10)
Compressor housing temperature 𝑑𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑚

𝐶𝑐𝑜𝑚 = 𝑊̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 − 𝑄̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 − 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 (ℎ2 − ℎ1 ) (11)
𝑑𝑡
Discharge temperature (housing approach)
𝑇2 ≈ 𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑚 (12)
Condenser model: The control volume to model this component is shown in Fig. 4. The inputs in this sub-model
are: 𝑇2 , ℎ2 , 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 , 𝑈 𝐴𝑐 , 𝐶𝑐 and the degree of sub-cooling, Δ𝑇𝑠𝑐 . The outputs are: 𝑄̇ 𝑐 and 𝑇𝑐 , and condenser outlet
temperature and enthalpy 𝑇3 and ℎ3 . This last property is easily calculated as a function of the condensation pressure,
𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 = 𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑡 (𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 ) and the condenser outlet temperature, 𝑇3 = 𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 − Δ𝑇𝑠𝑐 .
The Table 6 presents the main equations for the condenser sub-model. The condenser external heat transfer rate
𝑄̇ 𝑐 is calculated by Eq. 13. The condenser surface temperature, 𝑇𝑐 , is calculated through an energy balance by Eq.
14, and, using Eq.15, the new condensation temperature, for the next step. Note that in the first stage the condensation
temperature, 𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 is estimated.
In Eq. 15, ℎ𝑡𝑐𝑐 means the average internal heat transfer coefficient in the condenser, which is the area average value
of the mean heat transfer coefficients for each region. They are calculated using the Shah [61] correlation for two-phase
flow, and the Gnielinski [62] correlation for superheated and subcooled regions, using the pull-down experimental tests.
In Eq. 15, 𝐴𝑖,𝑐 is the condenser’s internal surface area, see Table 1.
Capillary tube model: The capillary tube is divided into two portions (one adiabatic and one non-adiabatic, with
the internal heat exchanger) and is considered thermally insulated from the outside. In the sub-model of capillary
tube/internal heat exchanger sub-model the inputs are: 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 , 𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 , 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 , ℎ3 , the enthalpy at the evaporator outlet, ℎ5 ,
the thermal conductance of the internal heat exchanger, 𝑈 𝐴𝑖ℎ𝑥 , and the parameter 𝑓Δ𝑃 . The outputs are: 𝑇1 and the
enthalpy at the evaporator inlet, ℎ4 .
State 3i is located in the inlet section of the internal heat exchanger on the side of the capillary tube (see Fig. 1).
The temperature of this state needs to be found to compute the compressor’s thermodynamic state 1. The pressure at

Table 6
Equations for the condenser sub-model.
Condenser external heat transfer rate

𝑄̇ 𝑐 = 𝑈 𝐴𝑐 (𝑇𝑐 − 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 ) (13)
Condenser wall temperature 𝑑𝑇𝑐

𝐶𝑐 = 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 (ℎ2 − ℎ3 ) − 𝑄̇ 𝑐 (14)
𝑑𝑡
New condensing temperature 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 (ℎ2 − ℎ3 )

𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑,𝑛 = 𝑇𝑐 + (15)
ℎ𝑡𝑐𝑐 𝐴𝑖,𝑐
this point is calculated using Eq. 16, shown in Table 7.

The initial portion of the capillary tube is considered adiabatic and the enthalpy at the inlet of the heat exchanger
is equals to ℎ3 . Then, a check of the condition of the fluid at the inlet of the heat exchanger is performed to identify
whether it is sub-cooled liquid or two-phase fluid. For this, a saturation curve for R134a was adjusted. Thus, it is
possible to obtain the saturation temperature (𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 ), in K, as a function of the enthalpy by Eq. 17. This expression is
valid for pressures between 50 and 2500 𝑘𝑃 𝑎. Next, the saturation temperature of state 3i can be found as a function
of pressure such as 𝑇3𝑖,𝑠𝑎𝑡 = 𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 (𝑃3𝑖 ). If 𝑇3𝑖,𝑠𝑎𝑡 is greater than 𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡,𝑙𝑖𝑞 , the temperature of state 3i is 𝑇3𝑖 = 𝑇 (𝑃3𝑖 , ℎ3𝑖 ),
otherwise, 𝑇3𝑖 = 𝑇3𝑖,𝑠𝑎𝑡 .
Table 7
Equations for the capillary tube sub-model.
Pressure at the internal heat exchanger inlet

𝑃3𝑖 = 𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 − 𝑓Δ𝑃 (𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 − 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 ) (16)
Saturated liquid curve for R134a, 𝑇 (ℎ)
𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 (ℎ) = −7 ⋅ 10−10 ℎ2 + 0.001ℎ + 102.91 (17)
[ ( )]
(𝑇 − 𝑇 ) 𝑈 𝐴𝑖ℎ𝑥
Temperature at the compressor inlet 𝑇1 = 𝑇3𝑖 − 3𝑖𝑈 𝐴 5 1 − 𝑒𝑥𝑝 − (18)
𝑖ℎ𝑥 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 𝑐𝑝,𝑣
𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 𝑐𝑝,𝑣
Enthalpy at the evaporator inlet

ℎ4 = ℎ3𝑖 + ℎ5 − ℎ1 (19)
The compressor inlet temperature can be obtained by means of a differential energy balance in the heat exchanger
and some algebraic steps, as [14], Eq. 18 of Table 7. In addition, the internal heat exchanger is considered to be of the
counterflow type, so there is only vapor in the suction line and the temperature of the fluid in the capillary tube varies
linearly from 𝑇3𝑖 to 𝑇5 . In the case of the presence of liquid in the suction line, an experimental expression for the
heat transferred in the internal heat exchanger, 𝑄̇ 𝑖ℎ𝑥 , in 𝑊 was applied. Finally, with an energy balance in the internal
heat exchanger, it is possible to determine the enthalpy at the evaporator inlet, ℎ4 (Eq. 19). The estimated evaporation
temperature leads to the evaporator outlet temperature, 𝑇5 , and therefore the enthalpy at its outlet, ℎ5 is defined.
Evaporator model: The evaporator sub-model is similar to the condenser sub-model, but it is divided into two
parts: one is the fresh-food compartment and the other is the freezer. Its inputs are: 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 , 𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓 , 𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟 , ℎ4 , evaporator
parameters 𝑈 𝐴𝑒,𝑓 𝑓 , 𝑈 𝐴𝑒,𝑓 𝑟 , 𝐶𝑒,𝑓 𝑓 , 𝐶𝑒,𝑓 𝑟 and 𝐶𝑒𝑞 , and the degree of superheating, Δ𝑇𝑠ℎ . The outputs are: the evapo-
rator heat transfer rate, 𝑄̇ 𝑒 , the evaporator surface temperature, 𝑇𝑒 , and the evaporator outlet temperature and enthalpy,
𝑇5 and ℎ5 . This last property is calculated analogous to the condenser case, being a function of the evaporator pressure,
𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 = 𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑡 (𝑇𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 ) and the evaporator outlet temperature, 𝑇5 = 𝑇𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 + Δ𝑇𝑠ℎ .
The calculation procedure of this sub-model is almost the same as that used for the condenser one. The area average
internal heat transfer coefficient of the evaporator is calculated using the Liu and Winterton [63] correlation for the
two-phase region and the Gnielinski [62] correlation for the superheated region. Other correlations for the two-phase
regions in condenser and evaporator where tested, but did not produce better results for mean values of heat transfer
coefficients in each region and in the entire device (in relation to the experimental values).
Cabinet model: The cabinet is divided into two compartments. The inputs for this sub-model are: the heat transfer
rates removed by the evaporator in each 𝑄̇ 𝑒,𝑓 𝑓 and 𝑄̇ 𝑒,𝑓 𝑟 , and the compartment’s parameters 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑓 , 𝐶𝑓 𝑓 , 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑟 , 𝐶𝑓 𝑟

and 𝑈 𝐴𝑤 . The outputs are: 𝑄̇ 𝑓 𝑓 , 𝑄̇ 𝑓 𝑟 , 𝑄̇ 𝑤 and the indoor air temperatures 𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓 and 𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟 .
The heat transfer rates from the external ambient to the fresh-food compartment, 𝑄̇ 𝑓 𝑓 , to the freezer, 𝑄̇ 𝑓 𝑟 , and
between compartments, 𝑄̇ 𝑤 , are calculated by Eq. 20, using the respective thermal conductances and temperature
differences. Finally, applying energy balances in the compartments, their indoor air temperatures can be calculated
with Eqs. 21 and 22 shown in Table 8.
Table 8
Equations for the cabinet sub-model.
Heat transfer rate

𝑄̇ = 𝑈 𝐴Δ𝑇 (20)
Air temperature inside fresh-food compartment 𝑑𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓

𝐶𝑓 𝑓 = 𝑄̇ 𝑓 𝑓 − 𝑄̇ 𝑒,𝑓 𝑓 − 𝑄̇ 𝑤 (21)
𝑑𝑡
Air temperature inside freezer compartment 𝑑𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟
𝐶𝑓 𝑟 = 𝑄̇ 𝑓 𝑟 − 𝑄̇ 𝑒,𝑓 𝑟 + 𝑄̇ 𝑤 (22)
𝑑𝑡
3.2. Capacitive model

In the capacitive model the sub-models for the condenser, capillary tube and evaporator change, in order to take into
account effects of the fluid distribution in each component. In this model the transient version of the mass conservation
equation is applied. The previous energy conservation equations applied to each of these three components also change
to incorporate the effect of fluid mass distribution. The condensation and evaporation pressures are calculated directly
by the model, as well as the degrees of sub-cooling and superheating.
Condenser model: The new input is the mass flow through capillary tube, 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑎𝑝 , and the new outputs are the mass
of the refrigerant inside the condenser, 𝑀𝑐 , the quality at the outlet (if two-phase), 𝑥3 , Δ𝑇𝑠𝑐 , and both 𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 and 𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 .
𝑀𝑐 , is determined by integrating the mass conservation equation, Eq. 23, shown in Table 9, first knowing the
thermodynamic state at the condenser outlet. This state strongly depends on the working regime of the condenser, that
is, a condenser filled with superheated vapor; a condenser with superheated vapor and a two-phase fluid; or a condenser
with three regions, superheated vapor, two-phase fluid and single-phase sub-cooled liquid.
Two parameters can be defined by analyzing only the condenser, considering different amounts of fluid, starting
from zero. With very little refrigerant mass, the condenser will be completely filled with superheated vapor, therefore
at its outlet (state 3), there will be only vapor. By increasing the mass of the refrigerant to a value denoted by 𝑀𝑣,𝑐 , the
outlet state will be saturated vapor, with quality 𝑥3 = 1. By increasing the mass of the refrigerant again, the pressure
will increase and a two-phase region will appear, that is, 0 < 𝑥3 < 1. When the outlet of the condenser becomes
saturated liquid (𝑥3 = 0), the mass of the refrigerant will be denoted by 𝑀𝑣𝑙,𝑐 .
[ ]
These masses are calculated as: 𝑀𝑣,𝑐 = 𝜌𝑣,𝑐 𝑉𝑐 and 𝑀𝑣𝑙,𝑐 = 𝑉𝑐 𝛼𝑐 𝜌𝑣,𝑐,𝑠𝑎𝑡 + (1 − 𝛼𝑐 )𝜌𝑙,𝑐,𝑠𝑎𝑡 . In these relationships
𝜌𝑣,𝑐 is the average density when the quality at the condenser outlet is 1, 𝜌𝑣,𝑐,𝑠𝑎𝑡 , represents the density of the saturated
vapor at the condensation temperature, 𝜌𝑙,𝑐,𝑠𝑎𝑡 , is the density of the saturated liquid at the same condition and 𝛼𝑐 , is the
average void fraction when the appearance of sub-cooled liquid is imminent. Still increasing the mass of the refrigerant
inside the condenser above 𝑀𝑣𝑙,𝑐 , the value denoted as 𝑀𝑙,𝑐 , is reached and the condenser will be filled with liquid,
with its inlet section with saturated liquid. This mass is calculated as 𝑀𝑙,𝑐 = 𝜌𝑙,𝑐 𝑉𝑐 , where 𝜌𝑙,𝑐 is the liquid density.
Now, considering that the quality at the condenser outlet varies linearly with the mass of the refrigerant, it can
be determined by Eq. 24, see Table 9. Thus, according to Eq. 24, if the quality is “negative”, it corresponds to
sub-cooled state at the outlet. In this case, there is a part of the condenser filled with sub-cooled fluid. The external
area of this portion, 𝐴𝑠𝑐 , can be calculated based on 𝐴𝑐 , considering that it varies linearly with the mass of refrigerant
inside the condenser, see Eq. 25. In the case of sub-cooled outlet, the outlet temperature can be determined by means
of an energy balance in a differential element in this region. After some algebraic steps, Eq. 26 is obtained, where
𝑈 𝐴𝑠𝑐 is the thermal conductance in the sub-cooled region, calculated by Eq. 27. If the outlet state of the condenser is
two-phase, this temperature will be 𝑇3 = 𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 , where 𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 = 𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 (𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 ).
The condensation pressure, mentioned above, is determined by Eq. 28, obtained by [14], while the variation of the
absolute internal energy in the condenser is calculated through the energy balance, with Eq. 29 of Table 9. Following
𝑢 −𝑢 𝑣 𝑢 −𝑣 𝑢
[14], 𝑓1 = 𝑣𝑣,𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑣𝑙,𝑠𝑎𝑡 and 𝑓2 = 𝑣,𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑣 𝑙,𝑠𝑎𝑡 −𝑣𝑙,𝑠𝑎𝑡 𝑣,𝑠𝑎𝑡 . When the system is turned off, after a period of time, the condenser
𝑣,𝑠𝑎𝑡 𝑙,𝑠𝑎𝑡 𝑣,𝑠𝑎𝑡 𝑙,𝑠𝑎𝑡

Table 9
Equations for the condenser capacitive sub-model.
Mass conservation equation 𝑑𝑀𝑐

= 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 − 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑎𝑝 (23)
𝑑𝑡
Refrigerant quality at oulet 𝑀𝑣𝑙,𝑐 − 𝑀𝑐

𝑥3 = (24)
𝑀𝑣𝑙,𝑐 − 𝑀𝑣,𝑐
( )
External area of sub-cooled region 𝑀𝑐 − 𝑀𝑣𝑙,𝑐
𝐴𝑠𝑐 = 𝐴𝑐 (25)
𝑀𝑙,𝑐 − 𝑀𝑣𝑙,𝑐
( )
Refrigerant outlet temperature (if sub-cooled) 𝑈 𝐴𝑠𝑐
𝑇3 = 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 + (𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 − 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 )𝑒𝑥𝑝 − (26)
𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑎𝑝 𝑐𝑝,𝑙
( )
Thermal conductance in the sub-cooled region 𝑈 𝐴𝑐
𝑈 𝐴𝑠𝑐 = 𝐴𝑠𝑐 (27)
𝐴𝑐
𝑑𝑈𝑐 𝑑𝑀𝑐
𝑑𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 − 𝑓2 𝑑𝑡
Condensation pressure = 𝑑𝑡
(28)
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑓 𝑑𝑓
𝑀𝑐 𝑑𝑃 2 + 𝑉𝑐 𝑑𝑃 1
𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑
Energy balance in the condenser 𝑑𝑈𝑐

= 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 ℎ2 − 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑎𝑝 ℎ3 − ℎ𝑡𝑐𝑐 𝐴𝑖,𝑐 (𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 − 𝑇𝑐 ) (29)
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑈
Condenser pressure if only gas 𝑑𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑍𝑅 𝑑𝑡𝑐
= (30)
𝑑𝑡 𝑐𝑣 𝑉𝑐
is filled with only superheated vapor. In this case, an approximation using the ideal gases law is performed, using the
compressibility factor, 𝑍, to make the correction, because the gas is not ideal (Eq. 30, Table 9 ).
Evaporator model: The capacitive sub-model of the evaporator is analogous to the condenser. For a detailed
explanation of this model see [14] and [64].
Capillary tube model: The mass flow rate of the capillary tube can be modeled following the Eq. 31, according
to [65]. The new inputs are: 𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 and 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 , 𝑣3 , and Δ𝑇𝑠𝑐 . The new output is the mass flow rate, 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑎𝑝 .
√
(𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 − 𝑃𝑐𝑎𝑝,𝑜𝑢𝑡 )
𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑎𝑝 = 𝑎 + 𝑏Δ𝑇𝑠𝑐 + 𝑐 (31)
𝑣3
The coefficients 𝑎, 𝑏 and 𝑐 are determined through experimental results. In the pull-down tests, the mass flow
rate in the capillary tube was evaluated using the mass flow rate of the compressor at steady state, where both mass
flow rate rates are equal. Through the polynomial provided by the manufacturer described in the experimental section,
the compressor mass flow rate was obtained, therefore, the coefficients of Eq. 31 were adjusted as: 𝑎 = 0.004384,
𝑏 = 0.300938, and 𝑐 = 0.
At the outlet of the capillary tube, a critical flow is possible due to the high acceleration of the fluid in the device.
Thus, the Fauske [53, 66] criterion was implemented to determine the critical pressure, 𝑃𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡 . The effective pressure at
the outlet of the tube is calculated as 𝑃𝑐𝑎𝑝,𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥(𝑃𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡 , 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 ).
Compressor model: The compressor model is the same used in the thermal model. However, the capacitive model
allows the calculation of the refrigerant mass distribution inside the compressor. Thus, in this case, new additional
calculations were added, to evaluate the mass of refrigerant in the shell, in the discharge line, and the mass dissolved
in oil. The inputs are: 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 , the properties at states 1 and 2, and 𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑚 . The output is the total amount of refrigerant
inside the compressor, 𝑀𝑐𝑜𝑚 .
The total mass of refrigerant inside compressor is calculated as 𝑀𝑐𝑜𝑚 = 𝑀𝑠 + 𝑀𝑑 + 𝑀𝑑𝑖𝑠 . The mass in the
compressor housing (𝑀𝑠 ) is calculated using the average density (𝜌𝑠 ), considering an average temperature between
the inlet (state 1) and the housing temperatures, thus 𝑀𝑠 = 𝜌𝑠 𝑉𝑠 , where 𝑉𝑠 is the volume of shell, suction muffler and

suction chamber together (suction side). The calculation on the discharge line is analogous, based on state 2, that is,
𝑀𝑑 = 𝜌𝑑 𝑉𝑑 , being 𝑉𝑑 the volume of the discharge chamber, mufflers and line together (discharge side).
The mas of refrigerant dissolved in oil (𝑀𝑑𝑖𝑠 ) is calculated using the work of [22]. The expression for this calcu-
𝜎𝑀
lation, derived from the definition of solubility is, 𝑀𝑑𝑖𝑠 = 1−𝜎𝑜 . In this relationship 𝑀𝑜 is the mass of oil and 𝜎, the
solubility of the HFC-R134a refrigerant in the oil (poliolester – POE 10), as presented by [22].
Cabinet model: In order to identify the effects of an extra thermal load inside the cabinet compartments, the
presence of goods was also considered. The presence of goods with the same properties of meat in packages of 1 𝑘𝑔
was considered. Each package has a thermal conductance (𝑈 𝐴𝑔𝑑 ) of 0.416 𝑊 ∕𝐾 (calculated using the correlation
for natural convection in spheres [67] and a thermal capacity (𝐶𝑔𝑑 ) of 3400.0 𝐽 ∕𝐾. In this way, the heat transferred
from the food to the air inside the cabinet (𝑄𝑔𝑑,𝑓 𝑓 , in the fresh-food compartment and 𝑄𝑔𝑑,𝑓 𝑟 , in the freezer) and the
temperature of the food (𝑇𝑔𝑑,𝑓 𝑓 and 𝑇𝑔𝑑,𝑓 𝑟 , respectively) can be determined analogously using an Eq.20 type with the
respective energy balances.
4. Numerical description
A Python code was developed to solve the mathematical models. The models equations are solved using an explicit
time integration method, until the desired predefined operating time is reached. The problem is to solve a set of ordinary
differential algebraic equations (DAEs). The 4𝑡ℎ order Runge-Kutta algorithm, available in the Python numerical
libraries, is applied to resolve the DAEs at each time step. Refrigerant properties are calculated with the CoolProp
fluid property library [68]. The developed algorithms are shown in Figs. 5 and 6 for thermal and capacitive models,
respectively.
Some parameters must be provided by the user, such as: which compressor is considered, the control strategy to be
applied, the presence or absence of goods inside the cabinet, the ambient temperature, the compressor speed (whether
on/off or pull-down tests), operating time and the desired integration time step. In the first stage, some parameters are
estimated as initial conditions. These are state 1, condensation and evaporation temperatures and temperatures of the
refrigeration system components for the thermal model. In addition, initial mass of refrigerant in the heat exchangers
and the mass flow rate of the capillary tube are estimated for the capacitive model.
In the thermal model, the calculations start with the compressor sub-model, thus, the mass flow rate, electric power,
heat rejection by the housing and state 2, are determined. Then the sequence of calculations is: in the condenser sub-
model the heat transfer rate and state 3 (condenser outlet); in the capillary tube sub-model state 3i, where the adiabatic
portion of the tube is finished, state 4 (evaporator inlet) and the new temperature in state 1; in the evaporator sub-model
cooling capacity and state 5; and, finally, in the cabinet sub-model heat transfer rates are calculated on the walls of the
compartments and in the goods (if considered).
Then, the 4𝑡ℎ order Runge-Kutta method is applied to determine the surface temperatures of components and of
indoor air in compartments. Then, from these last calculations, the new condensation and evaporation temperatures
are determined, and thus pressures, as well as the complete definition of the new state 1. Then, the thermostat assesses
whether the compressor should be turned off or kept on and the controller calculates the new rotation. When the logic
is on/off operation, the controller block in the algorithm assigns only a constant value for the speed of rotation. Finally,
if the operating time is less than that established by the user, the process is restarted, otherwise, the calculations are
made.
In the capacitive model, the calculations are the same for the compressor, capillary tube and cabinet sub-models.
For the condenser and evaporator sub-models, only the heat rejection of the condenser and the cooling capacity are
determined. Then, DAEs are solved to calculate the temperatures on the components surfaces and of air inside the
compartments. After that, the new mass flow rate of capillary tube, state 3 (condenser outlet) and state 5 (evaporator
𝑑𝑈 𝑑𝑈
outlet) are calculated. In addition, 𝑑𝑡𝑐 , 𝑑𝑡𝑒 and the mass of the refrigerant in the compressor are determined. Then,
the DAEs for the refrigerant mass in the condenser and evaporator are solved, being possible to determine the new
pressures in the condenser and evaporator, using the Runge-Kutta 4𝑡ℎ order method. Therefore, the new condensation
and evaporation temperatures and the new state 1 can be calculated, thus the thermostat, the controller and the operating
time are evaluated deciding whether the process is restarted or ended.
An important difference between the solution structure of the models can be seen. In the thermal model, using
the condenser and evaporator surface temperatures, condensation and evaporation temperatures and, finally, pressures,
are determined. In the capacitive model, the quality and states of the refrigerant at the outlets are calculated, the mass
of the refrigerant and the internal energy in both, condenser and evaporator, and the mass of the refrigerant in the

Figure 5: Algorithm of the thermal model.
compressor. Then, the 4𝑡ℎ order Runge-Kutta method is applied again to determine the condensation and evaporation
pressures and, finally, the corresponding temperatures. It should be noted, as stated before, that both models allow to
use a compressor speed control strategy. In the present work, results are presented considering that the compressors
operate at a constant speed.
5. Results
In this section, the simulation results obtained for the refrigerator are presented. Results for pull-down and on-off
simulations are compared to experimental data to shown the models correctness. These results are presented for three
ambient temperatures considering both models. Then, are presented results related to the study of the refrigerant charge
influence on system performance in the pull-down operation. Finally, simulation results considering the influence of
goods and refrigerant charge on system performance in the on/off operation are discussed at the end of sec. 5.
The experimental temperatures data were measured in different regions in the same system component. This is
the case for condenser, evaporator, compressor and refrigerated compartments, see Fig. 1. As expected the measured
temperatures are different in each local measurement point. For example the condenser can have three different regions
(superheated vapor, two-phase mixture and subcooled liquid) when the compressor is on, causing differences of the
measured temperature values among the measured points. This fact affects the comparison between the experimental
data and numerical results, because the presented experimental temperature values in the results section are their mean

Figure 6: Algorithm of the capacitive model.
arithmetic values for each component. A presentation of the local measured temperatures is done in the supplementary
material (section S1), providing a brief physical explanation, for the on/off operation.
5.1. Pull-down simulations considering influence of ambient temperature

The pull-down experimental tests were performed for an ambient temperatures of 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 25◦ 𝐶, 32◦ 𝐶 and 43◦ 𝐶
and 𝑁 = 3600 𝑟𝑝𝑚. These conditions are used in the numerical simulations. The simulation of the refrigeration
system for pull-down operation presented coherent results in relation to the experimental data. In the pull-down tests
all variables are initialized considering that all components of the system are initially at ambient temperature. The
same conditions are applied in the simulations.
In figs. 7a and 7b the results for component temperatures and compressor electrical power consumption for the pull-
down operation are shown at 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 32◦ 𝐶 and 105𝑔 of refrigerant, with the thermal model. It can be observed that the
values of simulated temperatures in transient and stationary regimes are close to those of experimental measurements.
The system takes almost 8 hours to reach the steady state. At steady state, the results of simulation correspond very
well to the experimental data. The highest relative difference is 5.65% for the condenser wall temperature at steady-

state, which is quite reasonable. The results for the other two ambient temperature values show the same behavior,
maintaining the largest differences for the condenser wall temperature values.
In Fig. 7a is shown that the condenser surface temperature has a fast increase in the first moments. Since the system
turns on, the mass flow rate through compressor is much higher than the one in the capillary tube, thus, there is a peak
in the condenser pressure. As a consequence, the fluid in condenser is warmer in this initial period, leading to higher
values of the condenser surface temperature. After this more unstable period, as the mass flow rate on capillary tube
rises, the pressure in the condenser is smoothly reduced, as well as its temperature. This same behavior is described
with more details in the supplementary material for the on/off operation, but in a less extension, see section S1.
(a) (b)
Figure 7: Simulation and experimental results in the pull-down operation under 32◦ 𝐶: (a) temperatures; (b) compressor
electrical power.
In Fig. 8 a comparison is presented between the results obtained in a diagram 𝑃 xℎ for the three ambient temper-
atures tested, considering the results in the steady state, and the thermal model. A consequence of the rise in ambient
temperatures is the increase in the system pressure difference between condensation and evaporation, leading to a cor-
responding decrease in the system’s 𝐶𝑂𝑃 . A proof of this behavior is shown in the Tables 10 and 11. In the first Table
simulated entropy generation values are presented for the entire system and its components. As expected, the increase
in ambient temperature leads to greater irreversibility in general. The entropy generation in the compressor is more
intense, due the greater amount of irreversibilities occurring in this component, which is followed by the capillary
tube. The major error’s values between the experimental and simulation results are: for 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 25◦ 𝐶, 1.99% in ℎ4
and 11.06% in 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 ; for 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 32◦ 𝐶, 1.42% in ℎ4 and 9.60% in 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 ; and for 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 43◦ 𝐶, 1.75% in ℎ4 and 2.82%
in 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 .
Table 10
Entropy generation of entire system and its components in the pull-down steady state
for three ambient temperatures.
𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 (◦ 𝐶) 𝑆̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 (𝑊 ∕𝐾) 𝑆̇ 𝑐 (𝑊 ∕𝐾) 𝑆̇ 𝑐𝑎𝑝 (𝑊 ∕𝐾) 𝑆̇ 𝑒 (𝑊 ∕𝐾) 𝑆̇ 𝑡𝑜𝑡 (𝑊 ∕𝐾)

25 0.0867 0.0095 0.0267 0.0207 0.1436
32 0.1014 0.0113 0.0313 0.0222 0.1663
43 0.1273 0.0155 0.0397 0.0245 0.2071
The simulated and experimental average performance parameters are shown in the Table 11 for both models. The
measurements and simulations results clearly shown a decrease of the system’s 𝐶𝑂𝑃 with the rise in ambient temper-
atures. The 𝐶𝑂𝑃 diminution is largest (about 8%) for ambient temperature variation from 32 to 43◦ 𝐶. The fresh-food
and freezer temperatures increase with the rise in ambient temperatures, indicating that the refrigeration system perfor-
mance decreased. This behavior is caught by the experimental data and the simulation results. The capacitive model

Figure 8: Refrigeration cycle in the pull-down steady state for ambient temperatures of 25, 32 and 43◦ 𝐶.
produced the best results in relation to the experimental data with the exception of freezer temperature that was better
simulated with the thermal model.
Table 11
Simulated and experimental average performance parameters in the pull-down operation with the three ambient tempera-
tures tested.
𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 (◦ 𝐶) 𝐶𝑂𝑃 (−) 𝑄̇ 𝑒 (𝑊 ) 𝑊̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 (𝑊 ) 𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓 ◦ 𝐶 𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟 ◦ 𝐶
25 (thermal) 0.78 59.21 75.55 −8.17 −34.08
25 (capacitive) 0.76 55.26 73.02 −7.09 −32.15
25 (experimental) 0.75 ± 0.03 55.57 ± 1.6 74.01 ± 1.11 −6.56 ± 0.34 −34.13 ± 0.34
32 (thermal) 0.76 62.20 81.57 −3.06 −30.27
32 (capacitive) 0.74 58.22 78.63 −1.84 −28.08
32 (experimental) 0.74 ± 0.02 57.10 ± 1.6 77.20 ± 1.22 −0.64 ± 0.34 −30.17 ± 0.34
43 (thermal) 0.70 66.15 94.48 5.69 −22.93
43 (capacitive) 0.68 61.81 90.91 7.01 −21.58
43 (experimental) 0.68 ± 0.02 63.68 ± 1.7 93.70 ± 1.41 7.78 ± 0.34 −24.43 ± 0.34
5.2. On/off operation considering influence of ambient temperature

The experimental results with the refrigeration system in the on/off operation were obtained for the following
operational conditions corresponding to the baseline configuration: 𝑁 = 3600 𝑟𝑝𝑚, ambient temperature equal to
𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 32◦ 𝐶, refrigerant charge of 105𝑔 and thermostat limits from 7 to 8.5◦ 𝐶 on fresh-food compartment. The
simulations were performed for these conditions and for another two values of ambient temperature: 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 25◦ 𝐶
and 43◦ 𝐶. In figs. 9a, 9b component temperatures are shown (simulated with both models and measured) for the high
and low temperature regions, respectively. In Fig. 10 electrical power consumption (simulated with both models and
measured) is shown.
The capacitive model shows the best results, especially for the condenser surface temperature and for the consump-
tion of electrical power from the compressor. Comparing the results of Fig. 9a the simulated average temperature of
the compressor housing with both models fits well the experimental data. However, the simulated condenser surface
temperatures with the capacitive model are more accurate compared to experimental data. In fact, the capacitive model
describes well the influence of mass distribution dynamics in the most unstable periods, that is, when the system starts
and shuts down the compressor. This model calculates the transient variation of the fluid charge in the system, being
able to calculate the condensation and evaporation temperatures as a function of the corresponding pressures. This
allows the calculation of the rapid changes in temperature of the condenser walls, producing more correct simulation

(a) (b)
Figure 9: Simulation (capacitive model, solid symbols; thermal model, hollow symbols) and experimental (discontinuous
lines) results for the temperatures in the on/off operation: (a) region of high temperature; (b) region of low temperature.
Figure 10: Simulation (capacitive and thermal models) and experimental results for the electrical power in the on/off
operation.
results. The biggest errors (maximum relative error equal to 4.19%) in relation to experimental data are calculated for
the condenser wall temperature by the thermal model.
The simulation results for low temperature regions are presented in Fig. 9b. The evaporator does not present a
fast temperature variation when the compressor turns on and off, due to the constant presence of liquid inside it. In
this case the results of both models are very close and present a similar behavior when compared to the experimental
data. The same behavior is observed for the freezer, also presenting some differences with the acquired experimental
data. The temperature in the freezer is maintained about −20◦ 𝐶 with the assumed preset of thermostat. The transient
behavior of fresh-food compartment temperature is very well simulated and is in accordance with the experimental
data for both models.
The simulated and experimental values of the electrical power of the compressor are shown in Fig. 10. The
characteristic compressor activation peak, during which an auxiliary coil of the electric motor is activated to increase
the torque, is well simulated by both models. After this period, the auxiliary coil is deactivated and the electrical power
consumption decreases until the compressor turns off. The capacitive model was able to slightly better represent the
three peaks at compressor start up, as shown in the experimental data. In this figure it is also seen that the duration of
the on and off periods are more adjusted to the experimental data when using the capacitive model.

The Table 12 presents important averaged performance parameters obtained in the simulations and experimental
tests. Comparing the simulated results with the experimental data, it can be said that both models produce very goods
results in relation to the experimental data. However, the simulation results obtained with the capacitive model are
very close to the experimental data, and this model better estimates the performance of the refrigerator. However, each
model has its own advantages.
The thermal model simulates the refrigeration system in few seconds, producing simulation results reasonably good
for the average performance parameters of the refrigeration system, see Table 12, as well as, for the detailed results,
see figs. 9 and 10, for example. For this reason, the thermal model is very suitable for manufacturer’s application
engineering section and also for use in the first phase of a refrigerator design. In this case, the results obtained can be
used as input data for other modeling approaches, such as the capacitive model.
Table 12
Average performance parameters obtained by simulations and experimental tests.
COP Consumption 𝑄̇ 𝑒,𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑊̇ 𝑎𝑣𝑔

[𝑘𝑊 ℎ∕𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ] [𝑊 ] [𝑊 ]
Thermal 0.87 36.98 45.09 51.36
Capacitive 0.89 36.18 45.06 50.25
Experimental 0.88 ± 0.04 36.22 ± 0.53 44.31 ± 1.6 50.30 ± 0.74
On the other hand, while the capacitive model takes much longer to perform the refrigeration system simulations
(9.6 𝑚𝑖𝑛 to simulate 100 𝑚𝑖𝑛 of operation, where the thermal model takes about 3𝑠), it produces results related to the
distribution of the refrigerant mass within the system components. This information is very valuable for a complete
analysis of the system and of the heat exchangers, as well. This allows you to use this model for a more refined
refrigerator design step. To explore the capacity of this model, the results provided only by the capacitive model for
the on/off operation of the system are shown in Fig. 11a to 11d. Experimental results are also shown for comparison
purposes.
Fig. 11a and 11b show the transient behavior of the mass flow rate in the compressor and capillary tube, and the
transient behavior of the fluid pressures, respectively. There is a higher mass flow rate in the compressor when the
system starts, filling the condenser and increasing its pressure (the opposite happens in the evaporator). This occurs
in the first seconds or the first minute. With the rapid increase in the pressure difference of the system, the mass flow
rate of the capillary tube increases and reaches the compressor mass flow rate values after this first small period of
time. When this occurs, the pressures in the condenser and in the evaporator become more stable, coinciding with the
experimental measured values. In fact, simulated and measured condensation and evaporation pressures show small
relative differences, see Fig. 11b. When the compressor turns off, the mass flow through compressor stops, causing
the refrigerant to migrate to the evaporator, which is at a lower pressure, through the capillary tube until the pressure
equalization of the system. As a consequence, the mass of refrigerant in the heat exchangers varies according to Fig.
11c. When the system starts operating again (compressor turns on), at approximately 53 minutes, the commented
behavior is repeated.
Finally Fig. 11d shows the behavior of the degrees of sub-cooling and superheating in the heat exchangers. These
results are compared with the experimental ones, showing a reasonable agreement. The behavior of these parameters
depends on the refrigerant content in the heat exchangers: when the condenser is filled and, as a consequence, the
evaporator is emptied, the degrees of sub-cooling and superheating increase. When the compressor shuts down, both
parameters go to zero. The experimental data show almost constant values of the sub-cooling and superheating degrees,
while the simulation results show an increase of the superheating degree and a decrease of the sub-cooling degree until
attaining the experimental values at the end of the on period. But, overall, the differences are very small. From
these results it is possible to establish that the condenser has three zones in relation to the thermodynamic states of the
refrigerant (superheated gas, two-phase mixture and sub-cooled fluid) and that the evaporator has two zones (two-phase
mixture and superheated gas).
The on/off operation of the refrigeration system also presented similar behavior regarding the influence of the am-
bient temperature. In Fig. 12 and 13 are presented the simulated high and low temperature regions of the components
and the compressor electrical power consumed, respectively, for the capacitive model.
The temperatures on compressor housing and in the condenser wall increase with ambient temperature, Fig. 12a.

(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Figure 11: Results for pressures and mass distribution obtained with capacitive model and experimental tests: (a) mass
flow rate; (b) pressures; (c) mass of refrigerant in the heat exchangers and (d) degrees of sub-cooling and superheating.
Due to the higher thermal load promoted by higher ambient temperatures, the operating time in each cycle increases
and the off period decreases. Therefore, the evaporator and the air inside the freezer reach lower temperatures (Fig.
12b), unlike the case if the steady state case, where the temperature inside the compartments increases with the highest
ambient temperature. In Fig. 13a, electrical power consumption is shown. The longer duration of the on period
with the increase in ambient temperature is evident. The condensation pressure (Fig. 13b) also increases significantly
with increasing ambient temperature. The increase in the condenser and evaporator temperature difference, and the
compressor operating time, should lead to a decrease in the system’s 𝐶𝑂𝑃 .
In the Table 13 the average parameters are presented according to the ambient temperature. Cooling capacity and
electrical power consumption increase with ambient temperature, but the increase in the second exceeds the first and
the 𝐶𝑂𝑃 decreases. As mentioned, the average time of operation increases, unlike the average period of inactivity.
The average pressure in the condenser increases and in the evaporator decreases, due to the longer operating period in
each cycle. In addition, the mass flow rate and the mass in the condenser increased and the mass in the evaporator and
compressor decreased due to this longer operating time. The behavior of all these averaged variables clearly indicates
the reduction of 𝐶𝑂𝑃 of the system, previously commented based on the results of the components shown in figs. 12
and 13. Analyzing the results shown in Tables 11 and 13 with the capacitive model it is noted that the increase of the
ambient temperature by 18◦ 𝐶 decreases the refrigerator 𝐶𝑂𝑃 without thermal load in 10% and 16% for pull-down and
on/off operations, respectively.

(a) (b)
Figure 12: Simulation results (capacitive model) at the on/off operation for ambient temperatures 25, 32 and 43◦ 𝐶: (a)
higher temperatures; (b) lower temperatures.
(a) (b)
Figure 13: Simulation results (capacitive model) at the on/off operation for ambient temperatures 25, 32 and 43◦ 𝐶: (a)
compressor electrical power; (b) pressure in the condenser.
5.3. Refrigerant charge analysis in the pull-down operation

To further explore the capacities of the capacitive model, this section investigates how the refrigerant charge influ-
ences the performance of the refrigeration system in the pull-down operation. This is an important assessment of the
robustness and accuracy of the capacitive model. This analysis is performed for a compressor with fixed speed equal to
𝑁 = 3600 𝑟𝑝𝑚 and 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 32◦ 𝐶. The refrigeration system was simulated for eight refrigerant charge values, namely:
50, 70, 95, 105, 115, 130, 140 and 160𝑔. The time averaged results for the transient regime and the last simulation
values for the steady state regime are shown, represented by solid and hollow symbols, respectively.
First, the system’s 𝐶𝑂𝑃 is shown in Fig. 14a. In the stationary regime, the 𝐶𝑂𝑃 presents high values for charges
between 105𝑔 and 140𝑔, reaching a maximum value at 140𝑔. In the transient regime, the 𝐶𝑂𝑃 is maximum at 105𝑔,
which is the experimental charge for the baseline configuration. This result is interesting and physically consistent,
since this amount of refrigerant was chosen by the manufacturer after several pull-down tests to optimize it. The
system’s 𝐶𝑂𝑃 varies by 12% between its maximum and minimum value for 110𝑔 variation of the refrigerating charge
in the stationary regime. In the transient regime it presents a variation of 18.5% for the same charge variation of
110𝑔. These different values of the optimum system’s refrigerant charge behavior indicate the need to map the various
operating conditions of the system when the manufacturer is looking for a system design with the highest possible
thermal performance.

Table 13
Average performance parameters related to the on/off operation at the three ambient
temperatures tested.
Ambient temperature [◦ 𝐶] 25 32 43
𝐶𝑂𝑃 [−] 0.99 0.89 0.83
𝑄̇ 𝑒 [𝑊 ] 33.84 45.06 60.77
𝑊̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 [𝑊 ] 33.89 50.25 73.64
𝑡𝑜𝑛 [𝑚𝑖𝑛] 15.68 22.63 89.10
𝑡𝑜𝑓 𝑓 [𝑚𝑖𝑛] 33.70 23.59 14.05
𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 [𝑘𝑃 𝑎] 537.22 782.67 1475.79
𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 [𝑘𝑃 𝑎] 146.04 125.45 99.20
𝑚̇ [𝑔𝑠−1 ] 0.345 0.438 0.503
Δ𝑇𝑠𝑐 [◦ 𝐶] 0.66 0.65 0.16
Δ𝑇𝑠ℎ [◦ 𝐶] 1.01 1.80 1.43
𝑀𝑐 [𝑔] 9.91 14.06 21.25
𝑀𝑒 [𝑔] 63.60 59.45 52.26
𝑀𝑐𝑜𝑚 [𝑔] 16.92 13.81 10.99
The results of 𝐶𝑂𝑃 in steady state are consistent with the 𝐶𝑂𝑃 behavior obtained in other experimental studies,
such as those of [69] and [70]. In [69], it was presented an experimental study of a household vertical freezer with
𝑅600𝑎 refrigerant running in a steady-state. Their results show the same trends shown in Fig. 14. In Fig. 14a, a
comparison between the simulated 𝐶𝑂𝑃 and the one calculated by two analytical expressions from literature [14]
(𝐶𝑂𝑃𝐽 𝑎𝑘 ) and [71] (𝐶𝑂𝑃𝑆ℎ ) is also presented for the stationary regime. The first relationship produced very good
results compared to the simulated ones. The second relationship showed the opposite behavior of the simulated sys-
tem’s 𝐶𝑂𝑃 with the refrigerant charge. Another tested relationship [72] does not fit well and is not shown for this
reason. This analysis indicates that theoretical performance relationships should be used with care in the analysis of
refrigeration systems.
The denominated second law efficiency, 𝛾, and the total entropy generation, 𝑆,
̇ at steady-state are shown in Fig. 14b.
As expected, the best efficiency value is obtained for 140𝑔 of refrigerant according to the simulated results of 𝐶𝑂𝑃 .
The minimum entropy generation is also found at 140𝑔 of refrigerant, which is the refrigerant charge corresponding to
the maximum value of 𝐶𝑂𝑃 at steady-state. In fact, the entropy generation behavior should be opposite to that of the
system’s 𝐶𝑂𝑃 , because higher 𝐶𝑂𝑃 means less thermodynamic irreversibilities of the system.
(a) (b)
Figure 14: System’s COP for steady state (solid symbols) and transient (hollow symbols) regimes (a) and 2𝑛𝑑 law efficiency
and total entropy generation for steady state (b).

The highest values of 𝐶𝑂𝑃 shown for both operating regimes in Fig. 14a coincide with the highest cooling capacity
values presented in Fig. 15a. This quantity also shows a behavior with the refrigerant charge very similar to that
presented by 𝐶𝑂𝑃 . In Fig. 15b are shown the compressor consumed electrical power and heat rejection through the
compressor housing. In this case, more refrigerant in the system causes greater consumption of the electrical power
from the compressor. Combining the variations of the cooling capacity and compressor electric power the 𝐶𝑂𝑃
curves are obtained. As can be seen (see Fig. 15), the cooling capacity changes much more than the electrical power
consumption of the compressor for both operating conditions.
(a) (b)
Figure 15: Cooling capacity (a), compressor electrical power and heat rejection through the housing (b).
The cooling capacity (Fig. 15a) with a low amount of refrigerant is less because, despite the high variation of
enthalpy, in general, between the evaporator inlet and outlet (dashed line, for steady-state as an example), the mass
flow rate is insufficient to use this potential. The mass flow rate of the system is presented in Table 14 . As can be seen,
for small amounts of refrigerant, the mass flow rate of the system is low. When the mass of refrigerant in the system
increases, its mass flow rate also increases, as expected, but the variation in the enthalpy of the evaporator decreases.
These facts promote a gain in the cooling capacity up to a maximum value, where the decrease in the variation of the
enthalpy exceeds the increase in the mass flow rate of the system.
The mass flow rate of the system has the same behavior as the fluid density at the compressor inlet. High values
of fluid density at the compressor inlet provide a high mass flow rate of the system, because it allows more mass to
enter the compressor and, even if the volumetric efficiency of the compressor changes, increasing the fluid density
at the inlet is a preponderant fact. The variation in fluid density at the compressor inlet changes under the influence
of the superheating degree in the suction line. If this parameter decreases, the density of the fluid at the compressor
inlet increases, causing the mass flow rate of the system to increase, as explained. The degrees of superheating at the
outlet of the evaporator and suction line, as well as the degree of sub-cooling presented in Table 14 depending on the
system’s refrigerant charge.
Heat rejection through the compressor housing, shown in Fig. 15b, follows the behavior of the combined degree
of superheating in the evaporator and the internal heat exchanger (see Table 14). Thus, high refrigerant charge values
cause a reduction in the degree of superheating, the temperature of the compressor housing and the heat rejection
from the compressor. As the amount of refrigerant is increased, the condenser becomes fuller and its pressure raises,
therefore, the degree of sub-cooling is increased. On the other hand, with low refrigerant charges, the evaporator
is emptier, so there is a large superheated area and then a high degree of superheating. With more refrigerant, the
evaporator is full and the degree of superheating decreases, see values in Table 14.
The Table 14 also shows the degree of superheating in the suction line. Note that this parameter gets higher values
when there is vapor (or more vapor, if two-phase) in the tube. The high values of this parameter with low refrigerant
charges are due the internal heat exchanger between the suction line and the capillary tube. Note that with the highest
refrigerant charges, there is two-phase fluid in the suction line. The internal heat exchanger, in these cases, raises the
quality.

Table 14
Performance parameters for various refrigerant charges at pull-down operation.
Ref. charge [𝑔] 50 70 95 105 115 130 140 160

Stationary regime
𝑚̇ [𝑔𝑠−1 ] 0.387 0.399 0.417 0.429 0.441 0.460 0.473 0.608
Δ𝑇𝑠𝑐 [◦ 𝐶] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.39
Δ𝑇𝑠ℎ [◦ 𝐶] 37.41 30.33 11.28 0 0 0 0 0
Δ𝑇𝑠ℎ,𝑖ℎ𝑥 [◦ 𝐶] 37.00 42.99 60.12 62.11 51.35 34.79 23.42 0
𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 [𝑘𝑃 𝑎] 1071.11 1090.51 1119.91 1136.21 1152.12 1177.11 1194.44 1285.03
𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 [𝑘𝑃 𝑎] 60.56 61.96 63.99 64.41 64.61 64.81 64.87 70.31
𝑀𝑐 [𝑔] 19.25 20.04 21.19 22.00 22.83 24.11 24.99 25.94
𝑀𝑒 [𝑔] 15.75 29.96 45.31 51.50 57.67 66.89 73.01 86.06
𝑀𝑑𝑖𝑠 [𝑔] 2.73 2.79 2.89 3.12 3.44 4.16 4.92 10.56
𝑀𝑐𝑜𝑚 [𝑔] 7.46 7.62 7.87 8.23 8.69 9.62 10.54 17.10
𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓 [◦ 𝐶] 3.17 1.19 −1.69 −2.02 −2.03 −2.04 −2.04 −1.13
𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟 [◦ 𝐶] −19.25 −22.75 −27.84 −28.41 −28.43 −28.46 −28.47 −27.01
Average values of transient regime
𝑚̇ [𝑔𝑠−1 ] 0.436 0.464 0.510 0.525 0.555 0.603 0.649 0.900
Δ𝑇𝑠𝑐 [◦ 𝐶] 0.07 0.13 0.24 0.26 0.32 0.42 0.54 1.31
Δ𝑇𝑠ℎ [◦ 𝐶] 40.15 32.00 12.43 1.04 0.13 0.06 0.03 0.01
Δ𝑇𝑠ℎ,𝑖ℎ𝑥 [◦ 𝐶] 34.28 41.09 58.37 63.15 50.71 31.67 18.59 0.14
𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 [𝑘𝑃 𝑎] 1119.04 1149.63 1198.26 1212.94 1238.93 1277.60 1311.71 1475.67
𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 [𝑘𝑃 𝑎] 65.78 68.85 74.07 47.89 75.93 77.40 78.99 90.48
𝑀𝑐 [𝑔] 21.02 21.70 22.76 23.40 24.23 25.47 26.27 27.34
𝑀𝑒 [𝑔] 13.98 27.30 43.74 50.10 56.29 65.53 71.73 84.66
𝑀𝑑𝑖𝑠 [𝑔] 2.97 3.09 3.35 3.54 4.07 5.32 6.73 16.54
𝑀𝑐𝑜𝑚 [𝑔] 8.06 8.39 9.00 9.31 10.09 11.73 13.45 24.07
As expected, parameters such as condensation and evaporation pressures, and mass in the heat exchangers and the
compressor (see Table 14) tend to increase with increasing refrigerant charge in the system. The condensation pressure
shows a greater increase because the condenser receives a high pressure fluid from the compressor. As the pumped
mass increases with the refrigerant charge and the density of superheated vapor is low, the pressure also increases to
accommodate more fluid in the same volume. The increase of the evaporation pressure is much less, mainly because
the superheated vapor at the evaporator outlet is aspirated in by the compressor, creating a low pressure region. The
increase in the rate of augmentation of condensation pressure causes an increase in electrical power consumption.
As the sub-cooling (if any) increases or the quality at the condenser outlet decreases, the presence of liquid in
the condenser is greater, therefore, the mass of refrigerant in the condenser increases. The mass in the evaporator is
also increased as superheating (if any) or the quality at the evaporator outlet decreases, also due to the higher liquid
content. This behavior can be seen in Table 14 for stationary and transient regimes, respectively. Table 14 also shows
the evaluation of the total refrigerant mass in the compressor and the portion dissolved in the oil (POE10).
The distribution of the refrigerant mass at steady state is shown in Fig. 16 for the entire refrigeration system. The
behavior obtained is consistent with that presented by [69], who studied a similar system experimentally. The difference
in mass of the refrigerant between that provided by the sum of masses in the compressor, condenser and evaporator and
the total mass of the system is located in the other system’s components such as suction line, discharge line, connecting
tubes and filters. Except for the lowest refrigerant charge of 50𝑔, the evaporator always contains the largest mass of
refrigerant in the entire operating period. This is a feature of the studied domestic vapor compression refrigeration
system, slightly different in relation to air conditioning and heat pump systems, where the higher refrigerant quantity
in the on phase is distributed in the condenser under the steady-state regime, [40].
In the steady state, the temperature established inside the compartments must be lower when the refrigerator oper-
ates with more efficient refrigerant charges. These simulation results are shown in Table 14. This is the same behavior
obtained for the generation of total entropy and the opposite behavior of the system’s 𝐶𝑂𝑃 , meaning that the system

Figure 16: Refrigerant mass distribution in the components of the system.
performs better for these refrigerant charges, which are charges between 105 and 140 grams of refrigerant. However, it
should be noted that the temperatures inside the compartments are almost the same in the analyzed refrigerant charge
range. This is a reasonable behavior, because the 𝐶𝑂𝑃 differences are small in the charge range considered.
5.4. Refrigerant charge analysis with extra thermal load effects - on/off operation
In this section, the capacitive model is used to study the behavior of the refrigeration system under the influence
of refrigerant charge and an additional thermal load promoted by the presence of goods inside the compartments in
the on/off operation. The simulations consider the presence of 6𝑘𝑔 of meat in the fresh-food compartment and 3𝑘𝑔
in the freezer. Numerical results are obtained for various refrigerant charges: 50𝑔, 70𝑔, 95𝑔, 105𝑔, 115𝑔 and 130𝑔 of
R134a refrigerant. In the simulations, the goods, with an initial temperature of 30◦ 𝐶, are placed in the refrigerator
compartments in the minute 200. In the analysis it is considered that the temperature of the loads constantly decreases
until it stabilizes at the internal air temperature in each compartment. First, the transient behavior of the refrigeration
system for two different refrigerant charges, 70 and 130𝑔 are shown to discuss how local variables, such as components
temperature, degrees of sub-cooling and superheating and mass distribution behave over time under the influence of
extra thermal load for two specific refrigerant charges. Then, the average values of these same and other variables are
presented, as well as the average performance variables, depending on the refrigeration charge. All of these variables
are calculated for the first on/off cycle of the system after goods are introduced into the compartments.
As soon as the goods are distributed inside the refrigeration compartments, the temperatures inside them increase
and a longer period of operation of the system begins. This behavior is shown in Fig. 17a for 70𝑔 and 17b for 130𝑔,
respectively. This on period is longer for the case with 70𝑔 due to its lower cooling capacity. After this on period,
when the compressor turns off, the operating time of each cycle is reduced more and more, as the temperature of the
goods decreases, until it stabilizes. At this very moment, the temperature of the goods remains close to the average
temperature of indoor air in the compartments. The higher temperature of the condenser wall with 130𝑔, indicates that
the condensation temperature and pressure are higher, as expected, when the refrigerant charge is increased. For this
refrigerant charge, the goods reach the desired temperature in less time, mainly due to the greater cooling capacity of
the system. However, due to this faster goods refrigeration process, the system cycles more. This can lead to higher
compressor power consumption for a given time interval and, consequently, can result in a lower 𝐶𝑂𝑃 . All of these
comments can be confirmed by looking at the results displayed in Table 15.
In Fig. 18a and 18b, the masses of the refrigerant in the heat exchangers and the compressor are shown as a
function of time. As expected, the mass in the evaporator is considerably higher for 130𝑔. In this case, the mass of
the refrigerant in the condenser and the compressor oscillates in the same mass range. For 70𝑔 of refrigerant, the mass
in the evaporator is less than in the condenser, when the degree of superheating is greater. As the temperatures of the
goods and the indoor air in the cabinet decrease and the system becomes more stable, superheating decreases and the
refrigerant mass in evaporator exceeds that of the condenser. This cross-over of the refrigerant mass quantity between
condenser and evaporator is perceived during the entire on state operation of the system, always having more mass in

(a) (b)
Figure 17: Temperatures of components surfaces, compartments air and goods for the operation with (a) 70g and (b)
130g of R134a.
the condenser after turning on the compressor. In fact, when the on-off operation is stabilized the mass in the condenser
is higher during almost all the on operating time, see Fig. 18a. In addition, the mass in the compressor sometimes
reaches the maximum mass value of the evaporator. In the compressor off phase the higher quantity of refrigerant is
always in the evaporator. However, as shown in Fig. 16 for steady-state pull-down operation, for refrigerant charges
higher than 50𝑔 its mass in the evaporator is always higher considering either on and off periods, see Table 15.
The results displayed in Fig. 18 show the refrigerant migration for two refrigerant charges. A cross-over in the
refrigerant distribution between condenser and evaporator clearly represents a refrigerant migration for the charge
equals to 70𝑔 in the on period. Some migration from the compressor is also noted. The cross-over effect do not takes
place for the charge of 130𝑔. This is a very interesting effect captured by the capacitive model. The behavior of the
temporal refrigerant mass variation shown in Fig. 18 is consistent with the behavior shown in Figs. 19a and 19b for
the degrees of sub-cooling and superheating. As the degree of superheating is much higher for the 70𝑔 charge, there
is more gas, thus the average density of the fluid in the evaporator in this case is lower and, therefore, its total mass.
Likewise, as the sub-cooling is slightly higher for the case with 130𝑔 of charge, there is more presence of liquid, so
the mass is slightly greater in the condenser in this case. The Fig. 20 shows the behavior of the cooling capacity for
the two refrigerant charges. The higher values of 𝑄̇ 𝑒 with 130𝑔, explain the shorter operating periods in the cycles.
The Table 15 shows the average performance parameters related to the operation of the first on/off cycle where the
goods are inserted in the compartments. The highest value of 𝐶𝑂𝑃 is obtained for the system with 105𝑔 of refrigerant.
In this case, the cooling capacity is greatest, while the electrical power is not. This provides the best 𝐶𝑂𝑃 rated, but
the 𝐶𝑂𝑃 value for 95𝑔 of refrigerant is almost the same. As previously mentioned, the 𝐶𝑂𝑃 for the system with 130𝑔
is less than that obtained with 70𝑔. This is a consequence of the variation in cooling capacity and consumed electrical
power by the compressor. The system with 130𝑔 have a high value for cooling capacity, but a much higher value for
the consumed electrical power by the compressor, resulting in a less value of 𝐶𝑂𝑃 for this refrigerant charge.
The commented behavior of 𝑄̇ 𝑒 and 𝑊̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 for these two charges is clearly shown in Table 15. Note that the cooling
capacity of the system increases up to 105𝑔 decreasing after this amount, being however, still higher for 130𝑔 than for
70𝑔 of refrigerant. This behavior is similar to that shown in the section 5.3 for the results of the stationary regime.
This is a consequence of the increase in mass flow rate and the variation of the difference in enthalpy in the evaporator
with the refrigerant charge.
As expected, with larger quantities of refrigerant, the mass flow rate (𝑚)̇ and 𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 and 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 , Table 15, increase.
Note that the previous explanation for the stationary regime (section 5.3) applies to explain the changes in 𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑
and 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 with increasing refrigerant charge. As the condensation pressure increases more than the evaporation one,
the pressure difference of the system (condensation minus evaporation) increases monotonically with the refrigerant
charge. Then, as a consequence, 𝑊̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 increases, presenting the highest value for the 130𝑔 of refrigerant, leading to
the lowest commented 𝐶𝑂𝑃 .

(a) (b)
Figure 18: Mass of refrigerant in the heat exchangers and compressor for the operation with (a) 70g and (b) 130g of
R134a.
(a) (b)
Figure 19: Sub-cooling and superheating degrees for the operation with (a) 70g and (b) 130g of R134a.
𝑄̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 peaks at 105𝑔 and then decreases with lowest values of Δ𝑇𝑠ℎ . With more refrigerant and fuller heat exchang-
ers, Δ𝑇𝑠𝑐 increases and Δ𝑇𝑠ℎ decreases, as can be seen in the Table 15. The mass of refrigerant in the condenser, 𝑀𝑐 ,
evaporator, 𝑀𝑒 , and compressor, 𝑀𝑐𝑜𝑚 , also increases with the refrigerant charge. However, the greatest increase in
mass is observed in the evaporator, as a consequence of the great reduction in the degree of superheating, leading to
more quantity of the two-phase mixture, instead of superheated vapor. In fact for charges higher than 50𝑔 the evapora-
tor is the component of the system with the higher quantity of refrigerant. This is an interesting characteristics of the
system’s operation simulated with the capacitive model.
The Table 15 also shows the operating time of the first on/off cycle (𝑡𝑜𝑛 ). Just as the cooling capacity increases
with the refrigerant charge up to a value of 105𝑔, the operating time decreases. This means that goods are cooled
more quickly. In fact, the operating time has, strictly, the opposite behavior of the cooling capacity depending on
the refrigerant charge. Higher cooling capacities mean less time to cool products in the refrigerator compartments.
Remembering the comparison of the results for charges of 70𝑔 and 130𝑔, it is noted in Table 15 that the largest
refrigerant charge is characterized by shorter operating time and, consequently, greater cooling capacity. However, for
this charge, the compressor’s electrical power is also the highest, leading to a small 𝐶𝑂𝑃 compared to that obtained
for the 70𝑔 of refrigerant.

Figure 20: Cooling capacity for the operation with 70g and 130g of R134a.
Table 15
Average performance parameters related to the first cycle with the goods in the compartments (transient regime).
Refrigerant charge [𝑔] 50 70 95 105 115 130

𝐶𝑂𝑃 [−] 1.01 1.09 1.14 1.14 1.08 0.99
𝑄̇ 𝑒 [𝑊 ] 61.40 70.17 84.14 85.66 84.54 82.34
𝑊̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 [𝑊 ] 60.58 64.64 73.75 75.12 78.53 82.66
𝑄̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 [𝑊 ] 53.07 55.51 60.29 60.75 53.69 44.18
𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 [𝑘𝑃 𝑎] 1127.54 1180.44 1272.07 1287.63 1344.80 1421.74
𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 [𝑘𝑃 𝑎] 69.87 75.46 84.88 85.84 89.50 94.18
𝑚̇ [𝑔𝑠−1 ] 0.422 0.457 0.544 0.558 0.639 0.761
Δ𝑇𝑠𝑐 [◦ 𝐶] 0 0.03 0.24 0.28 0.52 0.91
Δ𝑇𝑠ℎ [◦ 𝐶] 41.76 34.68 15.77 5.11 0.02 0
𝑀𝑐 [𝑔] 21.71 23.26 24.51 24.60 24.86 25.22
𝑀𝑒 [𝑔] 13.29 25.74 41.99 48.90 55.64 65.78
𝑀𝑐𝑜𝑚 [𝑔] 8.34 8.87 9.80 9.93 11.46 14.64
𝑡𝑜𝑛 [𝑚𝑖𝑛] 607.69 435.34 290.68 280.65 286.37 303.19
The average performance parameters depending on the refrigerant charge are shown in the Table 16. These values
are calculated for the on/off operation without any thermal load, characterized by a periodic cycling working operation
that determines a stationary regime. In this case, the highest values of 𝐶𝑂𝑃 are obtained with refrigerant charges
between 70 and 95𝑔. As mentioned for the case with thermal load, 𝑄̇ 𝑒 is increased up to certain values (105𝑔) and
then decreases.
The results displayed in the Tables 15 and 16 allow a comparison between the behavior of the system for the
pull-down and on/off operations, tracing a similarity of the behavior of 𝐶𝑂𝑃 depending on the refrigerant charge.
In the transient regimes, the optimum charge is the same 105𝑔 for both operations. In the stationary regimes the
optimum charge is different, being around 70 to 95𝑔 for on-off operation against 140𝑔 for the pull-down operation. The
similarity of the 𝐶𝑂𝑃 results for the two transient regimes explain why manufacturers perform the pull-down tests
to experimentally find the system’s refrigerant charge. In the on-off operation the system’s 𝐶𝑂𝑃 presents a variation
of approximately 13% between its maximum and minimum value for 80𝑔 variation of the refrigerating charge in the
stationary and transient regimes. This variation is equal to that found in the pull-down operation stationary regime,
but for 110𝑔 of mass variation. In the pull-down transient regime the variation was equal to 18.5%. These findings are
important results obtained with the capacitive model.

Table 16
Average performance parameters related to the on/off operation in steady state.
Refrigerant charge [𝑔] 50 70 95 105 115 130

𝐶𝑂𝑃 [−] 0.87 0.91 0.90 0.89 0.84 0.79
𝑄̇ 𝑒 [𝑊 ] 42.44 43.16 44.37 45.06 44.38 44.20
𝑊̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 [𝑊 ] 47.74 47.44 49.14 50.25 52.64 56.13
𝑡𝑜𝑛 [𝑚𝑖𝑛] 62.53 41.49 24.23 22.64 23.74 25.13
𝑡𝑜𝑓 𝑓 [𝑚𝑖𝑛] 19.43 20.84 23.23 23.58 23.22 22.82
6. Conclusions
Two approaches for modeling and simulating vapor compression refrigeration system were developed using the
Python language. An experimental procedure with post-processing of data was presented to provide some impor-
tant input parameters to the models and to compare the results of the simulation with the experimental ones, and to
experimentally characterize the system’s behavior. The following main conclusions are provided.
(I) A refrigeration system with two compartments and the R134a working fluid was tested and simulated. The
comparison of the experimental data with the simulation results showed that the developed models are capable of
providing important performance parameters and detailed transient simulation results which are consistent, coherent
and physically correct. The models are useful for the design of domestic refrigeration systems.
(II) It was performed a comprehensive study on the influence of the refrigerant charge over the system’s perfor-
mance for pull-down and on-off operations, considering the transient an stationary regimes. It is clearly shown that
the optimal refrigerant charge is different for the transient and stationary regimes. The highest 𝐶𝑂𝑃 in the stationary
regime is for 140𝑔 and around 70 to 95𝑔 of refrigerant, for pull-down and on/off operations, respectively. But, under
the transient regime, the largest 𝐶𝑂𝑃 was found for 105𝑔 of refrigerant, in both operations. The equality of optimal
𝐶𝑂𝑃 values in the transient regime explains why manufacturers perform pull-down measurements to experimentally
find the system’s refrigerant charge. However, in the on/off operation the system works well with refrigerant charges
between of 70𝑔 to 105𝑔. The different values of the optimum refrigerant charge indicate the need to map the various
operating conditions when it is desired a system’s design with the highest possible thermal performance.
(III) The influence of goods insertion into the refrigerator compartments on system’s performance is well simulated
for several refrigerant charges showing the refrigerant migration between system components. In fact a cross-over of the
refrigerant distribution between condenser and evaporator is shown for the charge equals to 70𝑔, clearly representing a
refrigerant migration in the on period. However, considering the entire on/off period, the higher quantity of refrigerant
is always in the evaporator for all refrigerant charges bigger than ∼ 50𝑔. The same behavior was found in the pull-down
operation. These kind of numerical results are not frequently presented for domestic’s refrigerators.
(IV) It is qualitatively shown that the increase in ambient temperature from 25 to 43◦ 𝐶 caused a 10% and 16%
reduction in the system’s 𝐶𝑂𝑃 in pull-down and on/off operations without thermal loads, respectively. The greatest
degradation of the thermal performance of the system was found for the on/off operation by increasing the ambient
temperature by 7◦ 𝐶 from 25 to 32◦ 𝐶, leading to 10% of 𝐶𝑂𝑃 decrease.
(V) New detailed experimental results (transient and time averaged) for a refrigerator with two compartments are
presented. These data are used to present the measured behavior of the systems, to validate the simulation models and
for use by other researchers to validate their own models. In this sense, these data are new to the open literature and
should be very valuable.
7. Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the support received from Tecumseh do Brasil LTDA in terms of scholarship for the
first author and a full support for the experimental and numerical simulations; also FIPAI (Research and Industrial
Improvement Foundation). The support received from FAPESP (São Paulo Foundation for Research Support, process
2016/09509-1) for running numerical simulations is also acknowledged. The last author thanks the support received
from CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, process 304972/2017-7).

A. Experimental uncertainties calculation procedure

Uncertainties are calculated using the procedure [54]. The uncertainties of the heat transfer rates are calculated by
A.1, as they depend on the mass flow rate, the enthalpy values in the inlet and outlet sections and the electrical power
consumption of the compressor:
√
( )2 ( )2 ( )2 ( )2
𝑑 𝑄̇ 𝑑 𝑄̇ 𝑑 𝑄̇ 𝑑 𝑄̇
𝛿𝑄̇ = 𝛿𝑚2̇ + 𝛿ℎ2 + 𝛿ℎ2 + 𝛿 2̇ (A.1)
𝑑 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 𝑐𝑜𝑚 𝑑ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑑ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑑 𝑊̇ 𝑊
In Eq. A.1 𝛿𝑄̇ , 𝛿𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 , 𝛿ℎ𝑖𝑛 , 𝛿ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 and 𝛿𝑊̇ are the uncertainties of heat transfer, mass flow rates, enthalpies int the
inlet and outlet sections and electrical power, respectively.
The uncertainties for thermal conductances and thermal capacity are calculated by Eqs. A.2 and A.3, respectively:
√
( )2 ( )2 ( )2
𝑑(𝑈 𝐴) 𝑑(𝑈 𝐴) 𝑑(𝑈 𝐴)
𝛿𝑈 𝐴 = 𝛿 2̇ + 𝛿𝑇2 + 𝛿𝑇2 (A.2)
𝑑 𝑄̇ 𝑄 𝑑𝑇𝑠 𝑠 𝑑𝑇𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑟
√
( )2 ( )2
𝑑𝐶 𝑑𝐶
𝛿𝐶 = 𝛿𝑈2 𝐴 + 𝛿𝜏2 (A.3)
𝑑(𝑈 𝐴) 𝑑𝜏
In Eqs. A.2 and A.3, 𝛿𝑈 𝐴 and 𝛿𝐶 represent the conductance and capacity uncertainties. The symbols 𝛿𝑇𝑠 , 𝛿𝑇𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑟 , and
𝛿𝜏 represent the uncertainties for the component’s surface temperature, 𝑇𝑠 , the component’s surrounding air temperature
(which can be the external ambient, the fresh food compartment and the freezer compartment), 𝑇𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑟 , and its time
constant, 𝜏, respectively.
The parameter 𝑓Δ𝑃 is the fraction of the pressure loss that occurs in the adiabatic part of the capillary tube (before
the heat exchanger with the suction line component) and is determined as follows:
𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 − 𝑃3𝑖
𝑓Δ𝑃 = (A.4)
𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 − 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝
So, the uncertainty is:
√( )2 ( )2 ( )2
𝑑𝑓Δ𝑃 𝑑𝑓Δ𝑃 𝑑𝑓Δ𝑃
𝛿𝑓Δ𝑃 = 𝛿𝑃2 + 𝛿𝑃2 + 𝛿𝑃2 (A.5)
𝑑𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝 𝑑𝑃3𝑖 3𝑖
The pressure 𝑃3𝑖 is calculated using the temperature measured at the inlet of the internal heat exchanger on the
capillary tube side (𝑇3𝑖 ). With 𝑇3𝑖 and the enthalpy at this point, ℎ3𝑖 , which is equals to the enthalpy at the condenser
outlet/capillary tube inlet, you can check whether there is two-phase fluid or not and calculate that pressure. The
uncertainty for this pressure is calculated by Eq. A.6:
√
( )2 ( )2
𝑑𝑃3𝑖 𝑑𝑃3𝑖
𝛿𝑃3𝑖 = 𝛿𝑇2 + 𝛿ℎ2 (A.6)
𝑑𝑇3𝑖 3𝑖 𝑑ℎ3𝑖 3𝑖
In Eq. A.6 𝛿𝑃3𝑖 , 𝛿𝑇3𝑖 and 𝛿ℎ3𝑖 are the uncertainties of 𝑃3𝑖 , 𝑇3𝑖 and ℎ3𝑖 , respectively. Finally the uncertainties for
enthalpies are calculated by Eq. A.7:
√
( )2 ( )2
𝑑ℎ 𝑑ℎ
𝛿ℎ = 𝛿𝑇2 + 𝛿𝑃2 (A.7)
𝑑𝑇 𝑑𝑃
where 𝛿ℎ , 𝛿𝑇 and 𝛿𝑃 are the uncertainties of enthalpy, temperature and pressure.

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- Simulation models of refrigerator's transient operation are developed.
- New experimental results of refrigerator's transient operation are presented.
- Refrigerant charge influence is studied for transient and stationary regimes.
- Influence of ambient temperature is studied by simulations and measurements.

Conflict of Interest
Declaration of interests
☒ 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.
☐The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered
as potential competing interests:

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Journal Pre-proofs

Numerical and experimental study of the transient behavior of a domestic va-

Álvaro Roberto Gardenghi, Jônatas Ferreira Lacerda, Cristiano Bigonha

To appear in: Applied Thermal Engineering

Received Date: 18 November 2020

© 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 1 of 36

𝑁 Compressor speed, [𝑟𝑝𝑚] 𝑎 air

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 2 of 36

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 3 of 36

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 4 of 36

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 5 of 36

2.1. Experimental facility

Condenser internal volume (𝑉𝑐 ) (10−5 𝑚3 ) 7.91

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 6 of 36

Instrument Uncertainty Operating range

2.2. Pull-down tests for thermal conductance and capacity determination

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 7 of 36

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 8 of 36

Experimental parameter (𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 25◦ 𝐶) (𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 32◦ 𝐶) (𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 = 43◦ 𝐶)

2.3. Thermal conductance determination of cabinet compartments

Figure 3: Instrumentation of the refrigerator for the cabinet characterization test.

𝑊̇ 𝑓 𝑓 = 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑓 (𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓 − 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 ) − 𝑈 𝐴𝑤 (𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟 − 𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓 ) (3)

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 9 of 36

𝑊̇ 𝑓 𝑟 = 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑟 (𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟 − 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 ) + 𝑈 𝐴𝑤 (𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟 − 𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓 ) (4)

𝑊̇ 𝑓 𝑓 + 𝑊̇ 𝑓 𝑟 = 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑓 (𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓 − 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 ) + 𝑈 𝐴𝑓 𝑟 (𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑟 − 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 ) (5)

2.4. Compressor efficiencies measurements

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 10 of 36

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 11 of 36

3.1. Thermal model

Mass flow rate 𝑁

Electric power consumption (ℎ2𝑠 − ℎ1 )

Compressor housing temperature 𝑑𝑇𝑐𝑜𝑚

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 12 of 36

Condenser external heat transfer rate

Condenser wall temperature 𝑑𝑇𝑐

New condensing temperature 𝑚̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 (ℎ2 − ℎ3 )

this point is calculated using Eq. 16, shown in Table 7.

Pressure at the internal heat exchanger inlet

Enthalpy at the evaporator inlet

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 13 of 36

Heat transfer rate

Air temperature inside fresh-food compartment 𝑑𝑇𝑎,𝑓 𝑓

3.2. Capacitive model

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 14 of 36

Mass conservation equation 𝑑𝑀𝑐

Refrigerant quality at oulet 𝑀𝑣𝑙,𝑐 − 𝑀𝑐

Energy balance in the condenser 𝑑𝑈𝑐

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 15 of 36

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 16 of 36

Figure 5: Algorithm of the thermal model.

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 17 of 36

Figure 6: Algorithm of the capacitive model.

5.1. Pull-down simulations considering influence of ambient temperature

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 18 of 36

𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 (◦ 𝐶) 𝑆̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑚 (𝑊 ∕𝐾) 𝑆̇ 𝑐 (𝑊 ∕𝐾) 𝑆̇ 𝑐𝑎𝑝 (𝑊 ∕𝐾) 𝑆̇ 𝑒 (𝑊 ∕𝐾) 𝑆̇ 𝑡𝑜𝑡 (𝑊 ∕𝐾)

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 19 of 36

5.2. On/off operation considering influence of ambient temperature

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 20 of 36

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 21 of 36

COP Consumption 𝑄̇ 𝑒,𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝑊̇ 𝑎𝑣𝑔

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 22 of 36

AR Gardenghi et al.: Preprint submitted to Elsevier Page 23 of 36