Abstract
An experimental study has been conducted to investigate the effects of surface energy on frost formation. Test samples with three different surfaces of which Dynamic Contact Angles (DCA) are 23, 55 and 88 degrees are installed in a wind tunnel and exposed to a humid airflow. The thickness and the mass of frost layer are measured and used to calculate frost density while frost formation is visualized simultaneously with their measurements. Results show that frost density increases as time increases at specific test conditions. The air Reynolds number, the airflow humidity and the cold plate temperature are maintained at 12,000, 0.0042 kg/kg and −20 degrees Celsius, respectively. The surface with a lower DCA shows a higher frost density for a two-hour test, but no differences in frost density have been found after two hours of frost generation. Empirical correlations for thickness, mass and density are proposed as the functions of test time and surface energy. Visualization of frost generation was in good agreements with test results.
Frost Formation: Optimizing solutions under a finite volume approach
