Numerical and experimental study on heat transfer characteristic and thermal load of the freezer gasket in frost-free refrigerators

•Heat transfer characteristics and thermal load of freezer gasket are studied.•Different numerical models for various gasket sections are developed.•The calculated temperatures show acceptable agreement with experimental data.•Cold-bridge has a great effect on thermal load near freezer gasket region.•Gasket thermal load is an important component of freezer cabinet thermal load.

The present study has been carried out to analyze the heat transfer characteristics and thermal load near the freezer gasket region of a 649 L domestic frost-free refrigerator/freezer. Both 3D numerical simulations and experimental test were performed. The numerical models for different freezer gasket sections were developed, while considering the non-uniform distribution of temperature inside the freezer cabinet. The calculated temperatures showed acceptable agreement with the measured temperatures. The total thermal load of gasket region is 10.57/6.68 W, in the status of compressor on/off. Thermal load of cold-bridge accounts for 23.8%/25.8% of the total thermal load, and thermal load of gasket bulk holds 76.2%/74.2%, respectively. When the compressor on–off time ratio is 7:3, total thermal load near the freezer gasket region is 9.40 W during an on–off cycling operation of compressor, accounting for 17.1% of the total thermal load in the freezer cabinet.