• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.155-165
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• 1994

In this study, the following factors are investigated from experiments for a vertical parallel plate heat exchanger under the frosting condition ; the growth of frost layer, the characteristics of heat and mass transfer, the change of mass flow rate of the air passing through the heat exchanger, and the pressure drop of the air in the heat exchanger. The amount of heat and mass flux of water vapor transferred from the air stream to the heat exchanger surface is large at the early stage of frosting and then decreases dramatically, and the extent of decreasing rate becomes moderate with time. The frost layer formed near the inlet of the heat exchanger is thicker and denser than that formed near the outlet. It is found that the gradient of the amount of frost along the flow direction increases with time. In the early period of frost formation, the thermal resistance between the air and the cooling plate increases dramatically and then the extent of change decreases with time. Initially the convective thermal resistance is dominant. Then, while the convective thermal resistance decreases with time, the conductive thermal resistance continues to increase with time and finally the conductive thermal resistance becomes dominant.