Optimization of air supply deflectors structure for refrigerated storage-collaborative analysis of heat mass transfer coupling mechanism and energy utilization coefficient

Abstract This study employed numerical simulations and experimental validation based on the coupling mechanism of turbulence and heat-mass transfer to investigate the impact of air supply deflector angle and dimensionless distance of side air duct structures on the thermal environment within shelf-type tea cold storage. The results revealed that the distribution characteristics of relative humidity exhibited a similar pattern to those of the temperature field. Specifically, when the deflector angle was set at 45°, the relative humidity fluctuated between 40.5% and 45.0%, demonstrating a minimal fluctuation gradient and more uniform and reasonable temperature and humidity fields. Additionally, the form of step increase from bottom to top of the dimensionless distance ensured better cooling of tea in all regions of the storage, eliminated higher temperature issues, and achieved a uniform and reasonable temperature distribution. The relative humidity fluctuated within the range of 41.0% to 45.0%, satisfying the optimal conditions for tea storage. The energy utilization coefficient achieved a high value of 1.83, leading to a substantial enhancement in energy efficiency.