A study of frost build-up on parallel plate channels

The present study is aimed at investigating, by means of a theoretical-experimental approach, the frost growth and densification processes on parallel plate channels. A purpose-built closed-loop wind-tunnel facility was especially designed and constructed to provide a strict control of the psychrometric conditions at the entrance of the test section, and also of the channel surface temperatures. An image acquisition system was used to measure the thickness of the frost layer over time. In addition, a high-precision scale was employed to measure the frost mass collected at the end of the test. A dataset composed of 13 experimental data points was gathered to investigate both the individual and the simultaneous effects of key heat and mass transfer parameters on the frost density and thickness. A theoretical scale analysis was also performed to assess the physical meaning of the experimental results. A semi-empirical correlation for the frost density was additionally put forward, being able to predict the experimental data with errors within +/- 15% bounds. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.