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Experimental study of frost growth on a horizontal cold surface under forced convection

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Abstract

Frost formation on a horizontal copper surface under low air temperature and forced convection conditions is investigated experimentally. Both the frost crystals pattern and the frost layer thickness formed on the cold plate are compared under different experimental conditions. The environmental variables considered in this study include the ambient temperature (T ∞ ), air relative humidity (φ), and velocity (v), as well as the cold surface temperature (Tw). The tested ranges are −5≤T ∞ ≤5 °C, 50%≤ φ≤80%, 2.2≤v≤8.0 m/s, −16.8≤T w ≤−25.5 °C. The experimental results show the cold surface temperature and the air relative humidity have obvious effects on the frost growth: the frost layer thickness increases strongly with the decreasing cold surface temperature and increasing air relative humidity. The air temperature and air velocity or Reynolds number are also important factors affecting the frost crystals’ growth and thickness. With the increase of the air temperature and velocity, the frost crystals become denser, and the frost layer thickness become thicker, but this trend becomes weaker under higher air temperature and velocity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Enhanced Heat Transfer and Energy Conservation, Ministry of Education and Key Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Energy Conversion, Beijing Education Commission, College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China

    Lingyan Huang, Zhongliang Liu, Yaomin Liu & Yujun Gou

Authors
  1. Lingyan Huang
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  2. Zhongliang Liu
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  3. Yaomin Liu
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  4. Yujun Gou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhongliang Liu.

Additional information

This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Kwang-Hyun Bang

Zhongliang Liu received his B.S. degree from Huadong Petroleum Institute, China, in 1982. He then received his M.S. degree from Dalian Marine College, China, in 1984. From 1987 to 1988, he worked in the Mechanical Engineering Department of Birmingham University as a visiting scholar. In 1996, he received his Ph.D. degree from the Power Engineering Department of Southeast University, China. He is currently a Professor and the dean of Environmental and Energy Engineering College of Beijing University of Technology, China. His research interests include numerical methods in heat and fluid flow, thermal energy storage theory and technology.

Lingyan Huang received her B.S. in Architectural Environment and Equipment Engineering from Shandong Agriculture University, China, in 2006. She is currently studying for her M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental and Energy Engineering College of Beijing University of Technology. Her research interests include phase transition, heat and mass transfer and frost formation on low-energy surfaces.

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Huang, L., Liu, Z., Liu, Y. et al. Experimental study of frost growth on a horizontal cold surface under forced convection. J Mech Sci Technol 24, 1523–1529 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-010-0410-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-010-0410-8

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