Numerical modeling of rrost formation over cold suraces

The subject of this paper is a theoretical study of frost formation on cooled parallel plates in laminar forced convection. The parameters affecting frost growth rate are air velocity (Reynolds number), air humidity ratio, and plate temperature. The process was simulated numerically using two-dimensional transient model based on the conservation equations of mass, momentum, energy and species. The physical domain of interest was divided into two subdomains, one for the moist air stream between the plates (gaseous phase), and one for the frost layer (solid phase). The two sets of governing equations were coupled by boundary conditions at the moving interface which required an iterative solution strategy. With this approach, the local distribution of porosity in the frost layer, which is nearly impossible to obtain in any experiments, could be predicted, and also the average thickness of frost versus time are developed.