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Experimental investigation of frost formation on a parallel flow evaporator

Author

Listed:
  • Wu, Jianghong
  • Ouyang, Guang
  • Hou, Puxiu
  • Xiao, Haobin
Abstract
This paper experimentally studied the frosting process of a folded-louvered-fin, parallel flow microchannel evaporator in a heat pump central air-conditioning system under three conditions, in which three open states of two capillaries were adopted. Surface temperature distribution on evaporator was measured by 16 thermocouples buried on the leeward side. Mesoscale frost formation processes on its front view surface for three different test conditions were observed using a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) camera. The results showed that the surface temperature distribution on the parallel flow evaporator was uneven and initial frost formation generally started on some partial surface areas of the louvered fins whose surface temperature was lowest after the heat pump system running 6Â min later under conditions B and C, while the evaporator began to frost after 8Â min under condition A. The non-uniform surface temperature distribution caused by the unequal distribution of the refrigerant flux in the flat tubes' microchannels resulted in uneven distribution of frost. The ice crystals distribution and frost thickness in frost period could be obtained by the digital image processing method in which the initial pictures were converted into binary image. The results indicated that in a thin layer near fins' surface, ice crystals had relatively high occupancy rate in the frost growing period and full growth period; the occupancy rate of ice crystals decreased almost linearly with the increasing of the frost thickness (frost height), where the decreasing rate in the frost full grown period was less than that in the frost growing period (in 0.1Â mm frost thickness condition, the occupancy rate of ice crystals decreased to 58% in the frost growing period, while in the frost full grown period occupancy rate of ice crystals decreased to 90%; and in 0.25Â mm frost thickness, they were 0%, 45% respectively). Furthermore, it can be found that the frost thickness increased as the time increasing and then finally reached maximum values of 0.3Â mm, 0.35Â mm, and 0.32Â mm respectively at three conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Wu, Jianghong & Ouyang, Guang & Hou, Puxiu & Xiao, Haobin, 2011. "Experimental investigation of frost formation on a parallel flow evaporator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(5), pages 1549-1556, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:88:y:2011:i:5:p:1549-1556
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Shao, Liang-Liang & Yang, Liang & Zhang, Chun-Lu, 2010. "Comparison of heat pump performance using fin-and-tube and microchannel heat exchangers under frost conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(4), pages 1187-1197, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Xu, Bo & Han, Qing & Chen, Jiangping & Li, Feng & Wang, Nianjie & Li, Dong & Pan, Xiaoyong, 2013. "Experimental investigation of frost and defrost performance of microchannel heat exchangers for heat pump systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 180-188.
    2. Yin, Hai-Jiao & Yang, Zhao & Chen, Ai-Qiang & Zhang, Na, 2012. "Experimental research on a novel cold storage defrost method based on air bypass circulation and electric heater," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 623-631.
    3. Wang, Fenghao & Wang, Zhihua & Zheng, Yuxin & Lin, Zhang & Hao, Pengfei & Huan, Chao & Wang, Tian, 2015. "Performance investigation of a novel frost-free air-source heat pump water heater combined with energy storage and dehumidification," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 212-219.
    4. Xu, Wei & Liu, Changping & Li, Angui & Li, Ji & Qiao, Biao, 2020. "Feasibility and performance study on hybrid air source heat pump system for ultra-low energy building in severe cold region of China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 2124-2133.
    5. Christian J. L. Hermes & Joel Boeng & Diogo L. da Silva & Fernando T. Knabben & Andrew D. Sommers, 2021. "Evaporator Frosting in Refrigerating Appliances: Fundamentals and Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-23, September.
    6. Rafati Nasr, Mohammad & Kassai, Miklos & Ge, Gaoming & Simonson, Carey J., 2015. "Evaluation of defrosting methods for air-to-air heat/energy exchangers on energy consumption of ventilation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 32-40.
    7. Huang, Wenzhu & Ji, Jie & Xu, Ning & Li, Guiqiang, 2016. "Frosting characteristics and heating performance of a direct-expansion solar-assisted heat pump for space heating under frosting conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 656-666.

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