Frost formation on two-dimensional fins with non-uniform temperature distributions

Abstract

Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Turkey, 19-21 July, 2010.

In this study, experiments were conducted to analyze the characteristics of frost formation on a heat exchanger fin with a non-uniform temperature distribution. The local fin temperature, frost thickness and frost surface temperature were analyzed for various frosting parameters and fin thickness. As a result, the difference of frost properties is more significant in perpendicular to airflow due to the fin thermal conductivity than in parallel to airflow due to tho leading edge effect. Moreover, based on the characteristics of heat exchanger fin, thermal conductivity of fin and fin thickness affect the characteristics of frosting with a reciprocity relation. Correlations of local frost thickness and frost surface temperature were proposed. When tho correlations were compared with the measured local frost properties, tho maximum error was 14% for frost thickness and the maximum difference in the frost surface temperature was 1.1°C.