Journal Pre-proofs

Dynamic modeling and experimental validation of household refrigerators/

freezers equipped with phase change materials towards improved energy effi‐
ciency

Iman Javeri-Shahreza, Leila Abdolmaleki, Seyed Mojtaba Sadrameli,

Mohammad Fakhroleslam

PII: S2451-9049(23)00580-2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsep.2023.102227
Reference: TSEP 102227

To appear in: Thermal Science and Engineering Progress

Received Date: 22 June 2023

Revised Date: 6 October 2023
Accepted Date: 19 October 2023

Please cite this article as: I. Javeri-Shahreza, L. Abdolmaleki, S. Mojtaba Sadrameli, M. Fakhroleslam, Dynamic
modeling and experimental validation of household refrigerators/freezers equipped with phase change materials
towards improved energy efficiency, Thermal Science and Engineering Progress (2023), doi: https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.tsep.2023.102227

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 1 Dynamic modeling and experimental validation of household
2 refrigerators/freezers equipped with phase change materials
3 towards improved energy efficiency
4

5 Iman Javeri-Shahrezaa, Leila Abdolmalekib, Seyed Mojtaba Sadramelic,

6 Mohammad Fakhroleslama,*

7 a Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

8 bDepartment of Architectural Science, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada

9 c Department of Engineering, German University of Technology in Oman, Muscat, Oman

10

11

12 Abstract

13 Phase change materials (PCMs) have significantly impacted domestic refrigeration systems'
14 energy efficiency. By reducing the compressor On/Off frequency and decreasing electricity
15 consumption, utilizing PCMs can substantially improve overall energy performance. This research
16 aimed to evaluate a household freezer equipped with PCM for its thermal behavior and energy
17 consumption. To achieve this, a dynamic model for household refrigerators and freezers with
18 PCMs was developed, incorporating thermodynamics, heat transfers, mass and heat balances, and
19 a control algorithm that specifically determined the PCM temperature and melted mass fraction
20 over time. The proposed model introduces a new approach to the refrigeration cycle simulation by
21 utilizing pressure-based hydraulic calculations, departing from the conventional method of relying
22 only on thermodynamics. Furthermore, the model incorporates a dynamic PCM component into
23 the refrigerator model. To validate the model, the simulator was compared to experimental data
24 with and without PCM in the freezer cabinet; the results showed relative errors of 5.5% and 5.1%
25 in power consumption, respectively. The developed model is fast enough to be used as an internal
26 model for dynamic simulation and analysis, optimization, and control problems.

27 Keywords: refrigerator, energy performance, dynamic model, simulation, PCM, validation.

* Corresponding author. E-mail: fakhroleslam@modares.ac.ir

1
Nomenclatures

𝐶𝑝 Specific heat capacity, [j/kgK] 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑡𝑠

𝑇 Temperature, [°C] 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 Goods

𝑡 Time, [s] 𝑎𝑖𝑟 Air curtain

𝑄 Heat transfer, [W] 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙 Evaporator wall

𝑀 Mass, [kg] 𝑟𝑒𝑓 Refrigerant

𝑈𝐴 Heat transfer coefficient times surface, [W/K] 𝑠𝑢𝑐 Suction

ℎ Enthalpy, [j/kg] 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 Compressor

𝑃 Pressure, [bar] 𝑜𝑐 Compressor output

𝑓 Mass flow rate, [kg/s] 𝑖𝑐 Compressor input

𝑉 Volume, [m3] 𝑖𝑠 Isentropic

E Energy consumption, [kWh] 𝑠 Solid

𝐹 Volumetric flow rate, [m3/s] 𝑙 Liquid

𝑉𝑠𝑙 Maximal displacement volume, [m3/s] 𝑡𝑜𝑡 Total

𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑘 𝑠𝑦𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑠 𝑙𝑔 Liquid to gas

𝜌 Mass density, [kg/m3] 𝑠𝑙 Solid to liquid

𝜂𝑣𝑜𝑙 Volumetric efficiency 𝑚𝑎𝑥 Maximum

𝜂𝑖𝑠 Isentropic efficiency 𝑚𝑖𝑛 Minimum

2
 𝑛 Time counter

𝑖 Number counter

28

3
29 1 Introduction
30 Recently, due to the growing population and rapidly developing technologies, energy demand, and
31 worldwide energy consumption have significantly increased. Fossil fuels are one of the prominent
32 sources of energy supply in electricity production worldwide [1] [2]. By expanding the use of fossil
33 fuels, the risks of global warming, the greenhouse effect, and ozone depletion have increased.
34 Based on the International Energy Agency's (IEA) reports, the use of primary energy sources has
35 shown an upward trend during the last two decades. As the world population continued to increase
36 by 27%, the energy consumption per person increased by 10%; thus, the consumption of primary
37 energy sources showed an increment of 49%, while CO2 emissions increased by 43% [3].

38 It is a well-known fact that refrigerators and freezers play an essential role in keeping food at an
39 appropriate temperature and, due to their continuous operation, use the most energy among other
40 household devices, accounting for more than 15-20% of total domestic electric usage [4]. In today's
41 world, minimizing energy consumption by these essential home appliances is a matter of concern
42 to many manufacturers, and a variety of research have been done on performance improvement,
43 saving energy, and investigating the affecting factors on domestic refrigerators' energy
44 consumption [5] [6] [7]. Different factors affect the energy consumption of the refrigerator,
45 including component efficiency, ambient temperature, thermal load, frequency of door opening,
46 thermostat setting position, and type of refrigerant [8] [9] [10]. Performance improvement of
47 refrigeration has been extensively investigated, and a variety of methods, such as modifying the
48 compressor or thermal insulation or optimizing and improving the heat transfer from the condenser
49 and evaporator, have been proposed [11] [12] [13].

50 Implementation of thermal storage systems (TESs) based on phase change materials (PCMs) in
51 household refrigerators and freezers has been a matter of scientific analysis for many years and is
52 an effective solution to improve the efficiency of the refrigerator heat exchangers by increasing
53 heat transfer [13] [14]. PCMs are used for various purposes in different applications, and because
54 of their large latent heat, which provides much higher storage density in comparison with other
55 ways of storing thermal energy, and their ability to absorb and release a large amount of heat during
56 melting at a nearly constant temperature, they have attracted the widespread attention of
57 researchers and manufacturers [14] [15] [16]. Integrating PCM in refrigerators is studied with
58 different purposes. Minimizing temperature fluctuations and improving system performance are
59 the main reasons for using PCM in refrigeration systems [17]. In addition, temperature
60 fluctuations, which are caused by different issues, e.g., door opening, defrosting, and loss of
61 electrical power, have a destructive effect on the quality of frozen food and must be minimized
62 [18]. Much experimental and modeling research has been done on the application of PCM in
63 household refrigerators and freezers.

64 Gin et al. [19] investigated the effect of PCM components in the compartment walls on maintaining
65 temperature against heat loads on the freezer, such as opening the door, freezing, and power
66 cutting. The temperature response was studied during a power cut, a 30-minute defrosting cycle,
67 and 13 door openings over 11 hours. Gin and Farid [20] did another experiment in which aluminum
68 plates 10 mm thick were placed on the walls of the freezer cabinet section. In their experiment,
69 they compared the temperature deviation of stored products with and without PCMs and the effects
70 of PCMs during power outages. The desired storage temperature changed by 13℃ in the
71 experiment without phase change materials but only by 5℃ in the experiment with phase change

4
 72 materials. Elarem et al. [21] conducted an experiment to improve the energy efficiency of a
73 household refrigerator by using PCMs for thermal energy storage and cabinet temperature stability.
74 In this design, a laboratory test was created that included numerous laboratory tests in order to
75 reduce energy usage in the refrigerator. Under regular test settings, laboratory data revealed that
76 PCM reduced energy consumption by around 12% while increasing COP by 8%.

77 Li et al. [22] investigated the relationships between the charge water flow rate and the charging
78 completion time and total energy use when using an air-source heat pump to charge a PCM storage
79 tank. The study uses a simulation platform of the system constructed by TRNSYS and MATLAB.
80 The authors' simulation model required an initial estimation of the evaporator and condenser
81 pressures, which were subsequently adjusted before simulating the cycle. The results show that the
82 increase of the water mass flow rate leads to an increase in the inlet temperature of the PCM storage
83 tank but a decrease in the outlet temperature. The study also identifies the optimal water mass flow
84 rate for obtaining the minimum total energy use, providing a guideline for the optimal design of
85 the system integrating air-source heat pumps and PCM storage tanks. Gado and Hassan [23]
86 proposed a PCM-based heat pump system for cooling and heating applications in mild
87 meteorological conditions, specifically for Egypt and the Middle East regions. The use of PCM
88 RT 18 HC reduces electricity consumption and mitigates carbon dioxide emissions by leveraging
89 the temperature difference between daytime and nighttime. The study examines the system's
90 dynamic behavior, including room and PCM temperatures, cooling/heating capacity, COP, and
91 potential energy savings in summer and winter operating conditions. The results show that
92 incorporating PCM inside the conditioned space reduces power consumption and raises HP COP,
93 with natural convection over PCM plates being more effective than forced convection. The
94 maximum electricity saving during summer is 131 kWh, while in winter, it is 18 kWh. The
95 proposed system has a payback period of 7.9 years and mitigates carbon dioxide emissions by 113
96 kg during the system lifetime.

97 Cheng et al. [11] applied a shape-stabilized phase change material (SSPCM) in a novel household
98 refrigerator condenser to improve thermal conductivity and solve the problems of leakage and
99 deformation in conventional PCMs. Their results demonstrated that the novel refrigerator saved
100 energy by approximately 12%. They also established a dynamic simulation model to compare with
101 the experimental results. According to the results, energy consumption was reduced by 12%, and
102 the coefficient of performance (COP) increased by 19%, which was in agreement with the
103 experimental results [24]. The simultaneous application of the SSPCM in the condenser and
104 evaporator has been completed using dynamic simulation models to improve heat transfer in the
105 condenser and evaporator. In their model, compressor model and capillary model are the fastest
106 models. Condenser model and evaporator model are in the second place. The refrigerator
107 compartment model was the slowest model. At least 32% energy savings and an Off-time to an
108 On-time ratio of 4.3 were achieved [25]. Pavithran et al. [26] presented a computational fluid
109 dynamics (CFD) simulation of PCM-incorporated refrigerators in their research work. For the
110 study, different configuration arrangements of PCMs in refrigerators were taken to analyze the
111 effects of PCM incorporation in refrigerators. Based on the results of the numerical simulations,
112 putting PCM in refrigerators is a promising way to keep the temperature stable when the
113 compressor is turned off. Ben Taher et al. [27] used multiple phase change materials (water and
114 eutectic solution) in parallel at the evaporator in a refrigerator for the first time in order to study
115 various parameters of PCM thickness, external temperature, and internal load on energy efficiency
116 by presenting a physical model. Results showed that based on the refrigerator's estimated thermal

5
117 load, the melting temperature of PCM should be selected. Furthermore, PCM thickness affects the
118 autonomy and performance of the system. Mastrullo et al. [28] presented a transient model of a
119 vertical freezer to evaluate cabinet temperature and energy consumption in the presence of heat
120 loads, e.g., door openings, air leakage, and defrosting effects. In their model, first, an initial guess
121 is made for the volumetric flow rate of the fan. Then an initial guess is made for the by-pass
122 coefficient and the pressure drop is calculated. This work continues until the pressure drop inside
123 the rows and the bypass channel is the same. Once the value of the bypass coefficient is found, the
124 convergence of the evaporator pressure drop with the fan pressure head is checked to find the
125 matching point. So the convergence speed of their work depends on the initial guess.

126 This research presents a dynamic model for the numerical simulation of a household
127 refrigerator/freezer cabinet equipped with PCM. Unlike the abovementioned research that modeled
128 the refrigeration cycle power calculation thermodynamically, the proposed model is based on
129 pressure calculations (fluid mechanics). The suction pressure is calculated in each time step given
130 that the evaporator outlet is saturated vapour and the the energy consumption is determined. Also,
131 the presented model provides a dynamic platform for analyzing energy consumption and
132 temperature fluctuations reduced by using PCM. The model is developed considering refrigerant
133 thermodynamics, heat transfers, PCM behavior, mass and heat balances, and control algorithm.
134 The simulation model was validated compared to experimental data from our previous works [4]
135 [27], both with and without PCM inside the fridge cabinet. The presented model can be used in
136 long-term simulations due to the high simulation speed and hence, helps solve model-based
137 optimization and control problems.

138 The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, the dynamics of the refrigerator, PCM,
139 and the refrigerator equipped with PCM in the cabinet were described. Then the experimental
140 procedure of the test of the freezer equipped with PCM in the cabinet was explained. In Section 3,
141 the dynamic model of the refrigerator/freezer equipped with PCM was developed, and the
142 numerical simulation method was introduced. The simulation results were analyzed and compared
143 with laboratory data in Section 4, and finally, the paper is concluded in Section 5.

144 2 Process description and experimental method

145 2.1 Household refrigerator/freezer

146 Household refrigerators and freezers use a vapour compression cycle with four main components:
147 a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator. The goods and foods are
148 placed inside the cabinet, and their heat is taken by the cool air inside the cabinet, which causes
149 the temperature of the air in the cabinet to rise and transfers its heat to the wall of the evaporator
150 and cools itself down. The heat is transferred from the evaporator wall to the refrigerant inside the
151 evaporator, and the refrigerant begins to evaporate and flows to the compressor. When the cabinet's
152 air temperature exceeds the setpoint, the compressor starts working, compresses the refrigerant
153 vapor (temperature and pressure increase), and sends it to the condenser. The refrigerant loses its
154 heat at high pressure and becomes liquid in the condenser. The liquefied refrigerant passes through
155 the expansion device (in household refrigerators is a capillary tube) and, due to the Joule-Thomson
156 phenomenon, reaches a temperature lower than the ambient temperature before entering the
157 evaporator, completing the refrigeration cycle. When the air temperature of the cabinet reaches the
158 desired set temperature, the compressor turns off.

6
159 2.2 Household refrigerator/freezer equipped with PCM

160 Phase change materials, which are categorized as latent heat thermal energy storage, store the
161 latent heat of fusion at nearly constant temperatures, also known as phase change temperature
162 [29][30]. Phase change materials can be placed in the cabinet, evaporator, or condenser of
163 household refrigerators. It reduces energy consumption by absorbing the heat in each place. For
164 example, when the PCM is placed inside the cabinet, it prevents the air temperature from rising by
165 absorbing heat, reducing the number of times the compressor is turned on and off. This, in turn,
166 leads to a reduction in energy consumption. A general schematic of a household freezer that
167 incorporates standard M-packs and PCM in the cabinet is depicted in Fig. 1. The current study
168 used a eutectic mixture of two polyethylene glycols (PEGs) as PCM with phase change
169 temperatures of −20.0˚C. Compositions of PEG200 and PEG300 were used to achieve the
170 mentioned temperature.

7
 Fig. 1. General schematic of a household freezer equipped with standard M-packs and PCM in
the cabinet

171 2.3 Experimental methods

172 Based on our previous work [4], a vertical freezer (TUP 310 N PHILVER) had been used. Table
173 1 shows characteristics of the freezer used.
174 Table 1. Characteristics of the freezer modeled ans simulated as the case study (Model: TUP 310 N
175 PHILVER)

Characteristics Unit Value

Capacity l 262

Trays # 6

Refrigerant (R134a) g 100

Energy kWh/year 402

176

177 Table 2 shows the characteristics of the desired PCM. Three-layer aluminium was used for the
178 containers of the PCMs, and they were located in each tray. For simulating frozen food in the
179 freezer, measurement packages (M-packs) with properties similar to meat were used. In Fig. 1, a
180 schematic of a freezer is illustrated with the locations of the M-packs and PCMs. Some M-packs
181 were equipped with temperature sensors to measure their temperature. The freezer was tested in a
182 controlled test room, simulating kitchen environmental conditions in which the temperature was
183 maintained between 16°C and 43°C and the relative humidity between 45% and 75%. Temperature
184 measurements for the condenser, compressor, M-packs, each freezer tray, the air temperature
185 inside the freezer, and ambient temperatures were monitored using T-type thermocouples with an
186 accuracy of 0.1°C, following the ISIRI 13700 standard [30].

187 To examine the impact of PCMs and M-packs on the freezer's performance, a series of tests were
188 conducted under controlled temperature and humidity conditions in a designated test room. The
189 tests were conducted with and without PCMs, both with and without M-packs. The testing
190 procedure consisted of three main stages. In the first stage, the freezer was tested after inserting
191 temperature sensors into the empty unit. Once the freezer reached a stable temperature, the
192 temperatures inside the device were continuously monitored for 24 hours using monitoring
193 software. In the second stage, the experiments were repeated with the inclusion of M-packs to
194 simulate the behavior of the freezer when fully loaded with frozen food. Finally, the novel freezer
8
195 was tested, equipped with both PCM and M-packs. The testing process provided information on
196 the energy consumption during the tests. All the freezer tests were conducted based on the ISIRI
197 13700 standard for measuring energy consumption and temperature behavior.
198 Table 2. Characteristics of PCM used in the simulation case study

Characteristics Unit Value

𝑇𝑠𝑙 ℃ -20.0

ℎ𝑠𝑙 kj/kg 150

𝐶𝑝𝑠 kj/kg.K 0.2

𝐶𝑝𝑙 kj/kg.K 0.2

199

200 Various experiments were conducted to determine the optimum amount of PCM that could
201 decrease energy consumption. As a result, it was concluded that using approximately 1.5 kg of
202 PCM resulted in the greatest reduction in energy consumption.

203 3 Dynamic model of the PCM-equipped refrigerator

204 As mentioned earlier, a household refrigerator/freezer is composed of consists of a cabinet, a
205 compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, an evaporator, and a controller. Following in this
206 section, the mathematical model of each constitutive part is explained. The equations used in
207 different parts of the model have been obtained based on energy and mass balance, although
208 several different references have also developed such these equations, that are cited beside the
209 equations. However, the equaltions developed or modified is this research lack any accompanying
210 references or citations.

211 3.1 Cabinet model

212 Heat is transferred from the goods in the cabinet to the air inside the cabinet. The heat of the air is
213 transferred to the wall of the evaporator, which is in contact with the cabinet and is cooled. This
214 heat is transferred through the wall of the evaporator to the refrigerant inside the evaporator. The
215 refrigerant evaporates by absorbing heat and flows to the compressor in the vapour phase. By
216 writing the energy balance for the goods, the air inside the cabinet, and the walls of the evaporator,
217 the temperature changes are obtained according to Eqs. (1), (2), and (3), respectively [31].

9
 𝑑𝑇𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑄𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 ― 𝑎𝑖𝑟
𝑑𝑡 = ― 𝑀𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠𝐶𝑝𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 (1)

𝑑𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑄𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 ― 𝑎𝑖𝑟 + 𝑄𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 ― 𝑄𝑎𝑖𝑟 ― 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙

𝑑𝑡 = 𝑀𝑎𝑖𝑟𝐶𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑟
(2)

𝑑𝑇𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑄𝑎𝑖𝑟 ― 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙 ― 𝑄𝑒

𝑑𝑡 = 𝑀𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙𝐶𝑝𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙
(3)

218 where 𝑄𝑒 is the cooling capacity of the system, also the value of 𝑄𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 ― 𝑎𝑖𝑟, 𝑄𝑎𝑖𝑟 ― 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙, and 𝑄𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑
219 are obtained by Eqs. (4)-(7) [31] .

𝑄𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 ― 𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 𝑈𝐴𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 ― 𝑎𝑖𝑟(𝑇𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 ― 𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟) (4)

𝑄𝑎𝑖𝑟 ― 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙 = 𝑈𝐴𝑎𝑖𝑟 ― 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙(𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟 ― 𝑇𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙) (5)

𝑄𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 = 𝑈𝐴𝑎𝑚𝑏(𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 ― 𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟) (6)

𝑄𝑒 = 𝑈𝐴𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙 ― 𝑟𝑒𝑓(𝑇𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙 ― 𝑇𝑒) (7)

220 Aiming at the tuning of the model parameters, UA, an extensive study was conducted to collect
221 data from different articles with R134a as refrigerant and an applicable range was obtained for
222 each UA parameter. Given the ranges of variations, the UA parameters were first estimated and
223 then, calibrated to minimize simulation error. The airload, 𝑄𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑, is the amount of heat entering
224 the refrigerator cabinet from the environment. It is obvious that 𝑈𝐴𝑎𝑚𝑏 varies in cases which the
225 freezer/refrigerator door is opened or closed; however, this was not incorporated in our model
226 since the test room experiments are conducted with closed door following test standards. The term
227 𝑈𝐴𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙 ― 𝑟𝑒𝑓 depends on the amount of refrigerant mass in the evaporator; considering it as a linear
𝑀𝑟𝑒𝑓
228 function of the mass in the evaporator, it is modeled as 𝑈𝐴𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙,𝑟𝑒𝑓 = 𝑈𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑓,𝑟𝑒𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑀𝑟𝑒𝑓, 𝑚𝑎𝑥.

229 When the PCM is placed inside the household refrigerator/freezer cabinet, it absorbs the heat inside
230 the cabinet and starts to melt. Therefore, the changes in the air temperature of the cabinet equipped
231 with PCM are modelled as follows.

𝑑𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑄𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 ― 𝑎𝑖𝑟 + 𝑄𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 ― 𝑄𝑎𝑖𝑟 ― 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙 ― 𝑄𝑃𝐶𝑀

= (8)
𝑑𝑡 𝑀𝑎𝑖𝑟𝐶𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑟

232 where 𝑄𝑃𝐶𝑀 is the thermal load that PCM absorbed and can be calculated as

10
 𝑄𝑃𝐶𝑀 = 𝑈𝐴𝑎𝑖𝑟 ― 𝑃𝐶𝑀(𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟 ― 𝑇𝑃𝐶𝑀) (9)

233 While the air temperature inside the cabinet exceeds the setpoint "𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥" the compressor starts
234 working, and when it drops below the setpoint "𝑇𝑚𝑖𝑛" the compressor is turned off. Based on this,
235 the household refrigerator controller can be expressed by Eq. (10).

{
0, 𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟 < 𝑇𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝(𝑡𝑘 + 1) = 1, 𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟 > 𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 (10)
𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝(𝑡𝑘),𝑇𝑚𝑖𝑛 < 𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟 < 𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥

236 where 𝑡𝑘 represents the time and the control law 𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 (𝑡𝑘 +1) = 𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 (𝑡𝑘) indicates that the
237 compressor's state remains constant in the condition that the temperature is ranged between 𝑇𝑚𝑖𝑛
238 and 𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 temperatures.

239 3.2 Compressor model

240 After the cabinet air temperature exceeds the specified value, the compressor is turned on,
241 increases the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant, and sends it to the condenser. The
242 volumetric flow rate output from the compressor (𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝) and its power consumption (𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝)
243 are obtained by Eqs. (11) and (12), respectively.

𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = 𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝜂𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑉𝑠𝑙 (11)

𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝜌𝑠𝑢𝑐(ℎ𝑜𝑐 ― ℎ𝑖𝑐) (12)

244 The isentropic efficiency (𝜂𝑖𝑠) is also calculated with Eq. (13). It calculates the isentropic work
245 efficiency compared to the actual work of the compressor.
𝑊𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑠 ― ℎ𝑖𝑐
𝜂𝑖𝑠 = 𝑊𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 = ℎ𝑜𝑐 ― ℎ𝑖𝑐 (13)

246 where 𝑤𝑖𝑠 the amount of work required to perform the isentropic process and 𝑤𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 is the amount
247 of work required for the real process. By integrating Eqs. (12) and (13), the amount of energy
248 consumption can be calculated through Eq. (14).

ℎ𝑖𝑠 ― ℎ𝑖𝑐 (14)

𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝜌𝑠𝑢𝑐 𝜂𝑖𝑠

11
249

250 3.3 Condenser model

251 The compressed refrigerant in the compressor loses its heat in the condenser and becomes liquid.
252 The condenser is divided into superheated, two-phase, and subcooled areas. The refrigerant leaves
253 the compressor as superheated vapour and enters the condenser. By transferring heat to the
254 environment and reducing the temperature, the refrigerant liquefied in the saturation state and
255 entered the two-phase region. Finally, the entire refrigerant turns into a saturated liquid, and
256 moving along, the condenser loses its heat and becomes a subcooled liquid. The total amount of
257 heat released from the condenser to the environment is calculated by Eq. (15),

𝑄 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 = 𝑄𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 + 𝑄𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 + 𝑄𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑 (15)

258 where

𝑄𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 = 𝑈𝐴𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡(𝑇𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 ― 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏),

𝑄𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 = 𝑈𝐴𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑(𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 ― 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏),

𝑄𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑 = 𝑈𝐴𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑(𝑇𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑 ― 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏).

259 3.4 Expansion device model

260 The expansion device is a mechanical controller that regulates the amount of fluid entering the
261 evaporator. This equipment is usually modelled as an orifice, capillary tube, or thermostatic
262 expansion valve. In this article, the expansion valve is modelled as an orifice. We assumed that
263 the flow is one-dimensional, the effect of gravity and refrigerant load is considered negligible, the
264 flow coefficient (𝐶𝑒) is constant, and the expansion process is considered constant [32]. The output
265 mass flow rate from the expansion device is calculated by equation (16):

𝑓𝑒𝑣 = 𝐶𝑒𝑑2𝑒 𝜌𝑖𝑛(𝑃𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 ― 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑎) (16)

266 3.5 Evaporator model

267 The refrigerant in the evaporator takes the heat of the wall and evaporates. If we assume that all
268 the steam coming out of the evaporator is saturated steam, the output mass flow rate from the
269 evaporator is obtained by equation (17):

12
 𝑄𝑒
𝑓𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝,𝑜𝑢𝑡 = ∆ℎ𝑙𝑔 (17)

270 The amount of changes in the mass of the liquid refrigerant inside the evaporator is modelled as

{
𝑓𝑒𝑣 ― 𝑓𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝,𝑜𝑢𝑡, 𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = 1
𝑑𝑀𝑟𝑒𝑓 0, 𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = 0 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀𝑟𝑒𝑓 = 0
𝑑𝑡 = 𝑄𝑒 (18)
― Δℎ𝑙𝑔, 𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝 = 0 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀𝑟𝑒𝑓 > 0

271 If the entire space after the evaporator and before the compressor is considered as a space for the
272 accumulation of vapors coming out of the evaporator, the number of pressure changes in this space
273 can be calculated with the mass balance by equation (19):

𝑑𝑃𝑠𝑢𝑐 𝑓𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑝,𝑜𝑢𝑡 ― 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝜌𝑠𝑢𝑐 (19)

𝑑𝑡 =
𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑐( )𝑑𝜌
𝑑𝑃

274 where 𝑑𝜌𝑠𝑢𝑐/𝑑𝑃𝑠𝑢𝑐 represent the change in the mass density of the suction manifold relative to the
275 change in pressure.

276 3.6 Phase change material model

277 The dynamical behavior of PCM can be obtained by balancing mass and energy to capture mass
278 and temperature dynamics by Eqs. (20) and (21), respectively.

{
𝑄𝑝𝑐𝑚
, 𝑇 < 𝑇𝑠𝑙
𝑑𝑇𝑝𝑐𝑚𝑀𝑝𝑐𝑚𝐶𝑝,𝑠 𝑝𝑐𝑚
= 𝑄𝑝𝑐𝑚 (20)
𝑑𝑡 , 𝑇 > 𝑇𝑠𝑙
𝑀𝑝𝑐𝑚𝐶𝑝,𝑙 𝑝𝑐𝑚
0, 0 ≤ 𝑀𝑝𝑐𝑚 ≤ 𝑀𝑡𝑜𝑡

{
0, 𝑇𝑝𝑐𝑚 < 𝑇𝑠𝑙
𝑑𝑀𝑝𝑐𝑚 0, 𝑇𝑝𝑐𝑚 > 𝑇𝑠𝑙
= 𝑄𝑝𝑐𝑚 (21)
𝑑𝑡
, 0 ≤ 𝑀𝑝𝑐𝑚 ≤ 𝑀𝑡𝑜𝑡
ℎ𝑠𝑙

13
279 where 𝑇𝑠𝑙 is solid-liquid phase change temperature, ℎ𝑠𝑙 is PCM enthalpy of fusion, 𝑀𝑠𝑜𝑙 is solid
280 mass of PCM that is an indicate of PCM charging state, and 𝑀𝑡𝑜𝑡is the total mass of PCM; 𝐶𝑝,𝑠 and
281 𝐶𝑝,𝑙 are specific heat capacities of the PCM in solid and liquid phases, respectively.

282 3.7 Refrigerant properties

283 Refrigerant is used as a heat transfer agent from the cabinet to the outside environment. A
284 refrigerant can be a pure substance or a mixture of several pure substances. The refrigerant absorbs
285 the heat transferred from the air inside the cabinet to the evaporator wall and evaporates and
286 transfers this heat to the outside environment in the condenser. Various types of fluorocarbons or
287 natural hydrocarbons can serve as refrigerants in the refrigeration cycle based on their
288 thermodynamic characteristics. Fluorocarbon refrigerants possess high GWP. While the Montreal
289 Protocol advocates for the discontinuation of refrigerants with high GWP, these refrigerants are
290 still prevalent in developing countries. Refrigerant R134a, for instance, is widely utilized in
291 household refrigerators and freezers, boasting zero ozone depletion potential and a 1430 global
292 warming potential. The tested Philver freezer utilized R134a as its refrigerant

293 3.8 Model parameters and numerical simulation

294 All parameters required for Freezer simulation are given in Table 3, and all initial conditions are
295 shown in Table 4. A three-hour simulation has been performed according to the characteristics of
296 the case study freezer and the corresponding experimental data. Due to the fact that we did not
297 open and close the door in the laboratory tests, the amount of the 𝑈𝐴𝑎𝑚𝑏 parameter was considered
298 constant. The volumetric and isentropic efficiency for the compressor were also considered to be
299 constant as 𝜂𝑣𝑜𝑙 = 0.7 and 𝜂𝑖𝑠 = 0.6, respectively

300 Table 3. Parameters values for dynamic model of the simulation case study

Parameter Value Unit Parameter Value Unit

𝑉𝑠𝑙 4.004*10-4 m3/s 𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑐 1.16*10-3 m3

𝑈𝐴𝑎𝑖𝑟 ― 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙 11 W/K 𝑈𝐴𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙 ― 𝑟𝑒𝑓,𝑚𝑎𝑥 30 W/K

𝑈𝐴𝑎𝑚𝑏 1.7 W/K 𝑈𝐴𝑎𝑖𝑟 ― 𝑃𝐶𝑀 124 W/K

𝑇𝑚𝑖𝑛 -21 °C 𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 -20 °C

𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 32 °C 𝐶𝑎𝑖𝑟 10830 j/K

𝐶𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙 10000 j/K 𝑀𝑃𝐶𝑀 1.5 kg

14
301 Table 4. Initial values of dynamic model of the simulation case study

Parameter Value Unit

𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟(1) -20.5 [°c]

𝑇𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙(1) -23 [°c]

𝑀𝑟𝑒𝑓(1) 0.02 [kg]

𝑃𝑠𝑢𝑐(1) 1 [bar]

𝑀𝑃𝐶𝑀(1) 1.5 [kg]

302

303 In numerical solutions, Euler's method was used to solve algebraic-differential equations with a
304 time step of one second. The differential-algebraic equations were coded in MATLAB software
305 version R2018a. All thermodynamic properties of the refrigerant (ℎ𝑓𝑔, 𝜌𝑠𝑢𝑐, 𝑑𝜌𝑠𝑢𝑐/𝑑𝑃) were
306 obtained through the regressed models adopted from [33].

307 4 Results and discussion

308 4.1 Dynamic simulation of household freezer without PCM

309 According to the characteristics of the real household freezer made by Philver and the experimental
310 time-series, a three-hour simulation was performed. Fig. 2 shows the simulation results and
311 laboratory data of energy consumption of the household freezer. As seen in Fig. 2, the simulation
312 results agree with the experimental data obtained from the household freezer. When the
313 compressor starts working, the highest amount of energy consumption occurs because the suction
314 pressure has reached its maximum value (Fig.3b). As a result, the refrigerant density is also at the
315 maximum possible value (mass flow rate is maximum). After the compressor starts working, the
316 amount of energy consumed decreases by reducing the suction pressure.

15
 Fig. 2. Energy consumption of household freezer: comparison of the experimental data and
simulation results

317

318 Fig. 3 shows some simulation results (the air temperature, suction pressure, and compressor control
319 signal). The relative error to measure the error between experimental and simulation data is
320 calculated through Eq. (22).

𝑁𝑡 (𝑃𝑒𝑥𝑝,𝑖 ― 𝑃𝑠𝑖𝑚,𝑖)
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = ∑𝑖 = 1 𝑃𝑒𝑥𝑝,𝑖 × 100 (22)

321 where 𝑃𝑒𝑥𝑝,𝑖 and 𝑃𝑠𝑖𝑚,𝑖 denote experimental data and simulation results, respectively, at time step
322 𝑖 that ranges from 𝑖 = 1 to the end of simulation time 𝑖 = 𝑁𝑡.

323

16
 a

Fig. 3. Simulation resluts of the case study freezer: a) Air temperature fluctuation inside the household
freezer; b) Pressure variations in the suction manifold; c) Compressor control signal (0: compressor is
Off; 1: compressor is On)

324

17
325 As can be seen in Fig. 3a, when the compressor is turned off, the air temperature of the cabinet
326 continues to decrease. This happens for two reasons: firstly, there is still some non-evaporated
327 refrigerant inside the evaporator, and secondly, the heat capacity of the evaporator wall gives
328 additional capacity for cooling the system.

329 4.2 Dynamic simulation of PCM-equipped household freezer

330 A 3-hour simulation of the freezer equipped with PCM was performed, and the simulation results
331 were validated in comparison to experimental data. Fig. 4 shows the results of the simulation and
332 experimental data. As can be seen, the simulation results show a good agreement with the
333 experimental data.

Fig. 4. Energy consumption of PCM-equipped in cabinet of the case study household freezer:
comparison of the experimental data and simulation results

334

335 As can be seen, by using PCM in the cabinet, the number of times the compressor is turned on and
336 off has decreased, as well as the amount of energy consumed, but the duration of the compressor
337 being on in each cycle has been increased because the PCM starts to solidify and release the heat
338 that absorbed. When using PCM in the cabinet, heat is absorbed by the PCM, preventing the
339 cabinet temperature from rising. Consequently, the refrigerant evaporation rate in the evaporator
340 decreases, leading to a reduction in the number of times the compressor turns on and off. However,
341 the amount of total energy consumption decreases since the amount of energy consumption
342 reduction obtained by reducing the number of compressor On/Off is greater than the amount of
343 energy consumed due to the increased compressor On time [34] [35] [36].

344 Fig. 5 shows the temperature fluctuations inside the household freezer equipped with PCM. As
345 can be seen, by using PCM, the number of temperature fluctuations is reduced, which can increase
346 the shelf life of the goods stored in the cabinet. The presence of PCM in the cabinet reduces
347 temperature fluctuations, thus slowing down the rate of temperature variations. This, in turn,
348 enhances the refrigerator's performance as also has been discussed in [31].

18
 Fig. 5. The simulated temperature fluctuation of freezer air

349

350 The mass fraction of liquefied PCM is illustrated in Fig. 6. It can be observed that when the
351 compressor is turned off, the PCM initiates the melting process and manages to prevent the
352 temperature inside the cabinet from elevating through heat absorption. Once the compressor turns
353 back on, the heat that the PCM absorbed is transferred back to the environment (the cabinet),
354 causing the PCM to solidify again.

355

Fig. 6. The simulated solid mass fraction of PCM that indicates the charging state of the PCM

356 A comparison between different performance indicators of the experimental data from real freezer
357 and the simulation results is reported in Table 5. As can be seen, the presented model has been
358 able to simulate different indicator of the refrigerator with relative errors below 5.5%. It is possible

19
359 to increase the accuracy of simulation for energy consumption by non-linear estimation of
360 parameters such 𝜂𝑖𝑠 and 𝜂𝑣𝑜𝑙.

361 Table 5. Comparison of different performance indicators of the experimental data and the simulation results

Experimental Simulation
Performance indicator Relative error
value result

Energy consumption without PCM |𝐸𝑒𝑥𝑝 ― 𝐸𝑠𝑖𝑚|

402 423.7 × 100 = 5.48
[kWh/year] 𝐸𝑒𝑥𝑝

Energy consumption with PCM |𝐸𝑒𝑥𝑝 ― 𝐸𝑠𝑖𝑚|

369 388 × 100 = 5.01
[kWh/year] 𝐸𝑒𝑥𝑝

|std(𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑒𝑥𝑝) ― std(𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑠𝑖𝑚)|
Standard deviation of cabinet air
0.6160 0.61 std(𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑒𝑥𝑝)
temperature without PCM
× 100 = 0.97

|std(𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑒𝑥𝑝) ― std(𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑠𝑖𝑚)|
Standard deviation of cabinet air
0.342 0.3462 std(𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑒𝑥𝑝)
Temperature with PCM
× 100 = 1.22

𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑛

𝑡𝑜𝑛
|( 𝑡𝑜𝑛 + 𝑡𝑜𝑓𝑓 ) ―(
𝑒𝑥𝑝
𝑡𝑜𝑛 + 𝑡𝑜𝑓𝑓 ) |
𝑠𝑖𝑚

without PCM 0.43 0.45 𝑡𝑜𝑛

𝑡𝑜𝑛 + 𝑡𝑜𝑓𝑓
(𝑡𝑜𝑛 + 𝑡𝑜𝑓𝑓) 𝑒𝑥𝑝

× 100 = 4.65

𝑡𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑛

𝑡𝑜𝑛
|( 𝑡𝑜𝑛 + 𝑡𝑜𝑓𝑓 ) ―(
𝑒𝑥𝑝
𝑡𝑜𝑛 + 𝑡𝑜𝑓𝑓 ) |
𝑠𝑖𝑚

with PCM 0.379 0.377 𝑡𝑜𝑛

𝑡𝑜𝑛 + 𝑡𝑜𝑓𝑓
(𝑡𝑜𝑛 + 𝑡𝑜𝑓𝑓) 𝑒𝑥𝑝

× 100 = 0.52

362

363 5 Conclusion
364 In this research, a dynamic model of a household refrigerator/freezer equipped with PCM has been
365 presented, and the results of the research were validated in comparison to experimental data. The
366 presented model estimates the temperature dynamics of goods, cabinet air, and evaporator wall
367 and provides energy consumption and PCM state of charge incorporating refrigerator, controller,
368 and PCM models and thermodynamic properties of the refrigerant. The refrigerator model is

20
369 developed based on heat and material balance equations incorporating pressure-based calculations
370 around compressor in the refrigeration cycle. The presented model showed good agreement with
371 experimental data. The relative error of the simulated energy consumption of a household freezer
372 without PCM compared with experimental data is 5.5%, and the relative error of the freezer's
373 energy consumption with PCM is 5.1%. The simulation results proves that PCM reduces energy
374 consumption, temperature fluctuations, and compressor On/Off frequency in household
375 refrigeration equipment. The presented model showed a high speed in simulating the refrigerator
376 or freezer's dynamic behavior, making it useful in dynamic optimization and control problems.

21
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493

494 Highlights

495  A dynamic model was developed for refrigerators and freezers equipped with PCM
496  The model uses pressure-based calculations and incorporates a dynamic PCM component
497  The dynamic model was validated with experimental data with the relative error of 5%
498  PCM reduces energy consumption, temperature fluctuations, and compressor on/off
499 frequency
500  This model can be used for dynamic simulation, analysis, optimization, and control

501

502 Iman Javeri-Shahreza: Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Resources,
503 Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft.

504 Leila Abdolmaleki: Data curation, Methodology, Writing - original draft

505 Seyed Mojtaba Sadrameli: Conceptualization; Funding acquisition

506 Mohammad Fakhroleslam: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Project administration,

507 Supervision, Visualization, Methodology, Writing - review & editing.

508

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