Multiphysics Approach of the Performance of a Domestic Oven

N. Garcia-Polanco[1], J. Capablo[1], J. Doyle[1]
[1]Whirlpool Corporation, Cassinetta di Biandronno (VA), Italy
Published in 2013

The heat and mass transfer processes occurring in a domestic oven is in detailed analyzed in this work, with the final objective of improving the global energy efficiency of the system. A 3D Finite Element model developed with a Multi-physics approach is validated with the experimental data from the standard test for energy consumption of the European Union (EN 50304:2001). In this test a brick is heated till it reaches a determined temperature jump. The evolution of the experimental temperature distribution inside the brick is found to correlate well with the theoretical transient predictions. The prediction of the quantity of evaporated water is also found to be similar to the experimental value. The COMSOL Multiphysics® model created allows us to analyze the effect of innovative strategies to reduce the energy consumption and increase the energy efficiency on the oven behavior.