Abstract
The ability of hydrophobic, organic–inorganic hybrid coatings to decelerate frost propagation was investigated. Compared to a bare aluminum surface, the coatings do not significantly reduce the freezing probability of supercooled water drops. On both surfaces, the probability for ice nucleation at temperatures just below 0°C, for example at −4°C, is low. Freezing of a single drop on aluminum leads, however, to instant freezing of the complete surface. On hydrophobic coatings, such a freezing drop is isolated; the frozen area grows slowly. At −4°C surface temperature in a +12°C/90% relative humidity environment, on surfaces providing a water contact angle hysteresis of about 10° and receding water contact angles higher than 90°, a rate for the growth of the average radius of the frozen area of about 2 µm/s was observed. Submitting the surface to an airflow of 1 m/s led to faster frost spreading in flow direction. Although the airflow compromised the anti-ice properties to some extent, the application of the hydrophobic coating in a heat recovery ventilation experiment extended the time interval between defrosting cycles by a factor of 2.3.
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The authors would like to thank the EU-commission for financial support through the EnE-HVAC Project.
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Losada, R., Holberg, S., Bennedsen, J.M.D. et al. Coatings to prevent frost. J Coat Technol Res 13, 645–653 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11998-016-9809-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11998-016-9809-1