Numerical analysis of a commercial display cabinet with air curtain

Abstract

Maintaining food temperatures below critical values is the important maximising the high quality display life of chilled foods. Air curtains are especially used in stores and retailer supermarkets as barrier systems to seperate inner and outer spaces from each other. For both air quality and energy saving, it is crucial that the air transfer between these two spaces are at minimum. Minimization of air transfer between inner and outer spaces, not only decreases heat transfer but also stabilizes the humidity balance. In this study, numerical analysis of a commercial display cabinet has been carried out. For this purpose PHOENICS, a computational fluid dynamics code, is utilized. Optimum jet system conditions for each of the one jet, two jet and there jet systems has been modified according to temperature change of the air, and comparisons among them have been made. The results indicate that, the results the both CFD analysis and experimental results are almost equal and refrigeration systems with three jets is required to obtain the necessary temperature values to keep products fresh in display cabinets, especially because they can distribute temperature in a homogeneous way, meaning that the temperature value is the best ideal system at every point in the cabinet with three jets.