• International Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration
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• v.7
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• pp.101-111
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• 1999

The effect of various conditions of frosting and defrosting on the defrosting behavior of a fin-tube heat exchanger has been examined experimentally. An electric heater is used for defrosting in a fin-tube heat exchanger. There are several local maxima in the water draining rate. The amount of residual water on the heat exchanger after completion of defrosting is kept constant due to surface tension on the heat exchanger. Without considering degradation of the thermal performance due to the frosting, the defrosting efficiency is improved with increasing amount of frost irrespective of the frosting condition. The defrosting behavior is affected by frosting density as well as frost accumulation, both of which vary with the experimental operating conditions. The heat loss to the surrounding air decreases, and melting and defrosting efficiencies show high values with decreasing heat input.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.667-672
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• 2004

An experimental study has been carried out to investigate the frosting behavior on the plate of thermally conductive plastic (PBT based resin) by comparing it with those of aluminum and some plastic test specimens (PTFE based resin). It is found that the frosting behavior of plastic specimens with 1 mm thickness shows similar trend to that of aluminum except PTFE. The properties of frost formed on the specimens are found to be affected by both thermal conductivity and surface characteristics of the materials. The results indicate that the heat and mass transfer rates of PBT resin are almost equivalent to those of aluminum.

• Transactions of the KSME C: Technology and Education
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2015

In this study, a new dynamic VRF-type heat pump simulation model is proposed which incorporates frosting and defrosting models. Toward this end, a simple frosting model based on the perfect analogy, and lumped system based defrost model, are proposed. Then, frosting and defrosting models are incorporated into a dynamic heat pump model which adopts segment-by-segment local heat exchanger model and map-based variable speed compressor model. Thus, the model can naturally represent locally uneven frosting and defrosting on the heat exchanger surface. Developed simulation model is validated against available experimental data to show good agreement within 10% error for capacity and COP. Finally, developed dynamic heat pump model is applied to annual heating season simulation to show that seasonal COP of heat pump is degraded by 7% due to frosting and defrosting.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2008

The present study has been conducted to understand the heat and mass transfer characteristics of humid airflow in frosting conditions. A flat plate of aluminum was used for the simulation of flat surface part of the fin of the heat exchanger. The aluminum surface temperatures were measured and analyzed to clarify the heat and mass transfer characteristics under frosting conditions. Also, the pressure drops were measured to clarify the air-blocking effect of frost in the mini channel of the air-side hoot exchangers. A data reduction method was developed far the analysis of local characteristics of humid air under frosting conditions.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.974-980
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• 2005

The optimization of design factors on the frosting performance of a fin-tube heat exchanger is carried out using Taguchi method. The fin spacings of the heat exchanger are selected as design factors. Optimum values of the design factors under operating conditions of a household refrigerator/freezer are proposed. The average heat transfer rate and operating time of the optimum models, compared to those of a reference model, are increased at most by $6.5\%$ and $12.9\%$, respectively.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.28 no.8 s.227
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• pp.989-995
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• 2004

This paper presents a semi-empirical model to predict the frost growth formed on the cold cylinder surface. The model is composed of the correlations for frost properties including the various frosting parameters and local heat transfer coefficient. The effects of varying the correlations for local heat transfer coefficient on the frost growth are examined to establish the model. The numerical results are compared with experimental data obtained by the previous researchers. The results agree well with the experimental data within a maximum error of $13\%$. As the results, the frost thickness decreases with changing angular position from front stagnation to separation point. Also, the effects of air velocity on the frost growth are negligible, as compared to the other frosting parameters.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.440-447
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• 1999

The frosting characteristics on the vertical parallel plates with three cooling plates were experimentally investigated. The experimental parameters were the cooling plate temperature, the air humidity, the air temperature, the air Reynolds number, and the location. The frosting conditions were limited to air temperatures from 10 to $15^{\circ}C$ , air Reynolds numbers from 1600 to 2270, air humidity ratios from 0.00275 to 0.0037kgw/kga and cooling plate temperatures from -10 to $-20^{\circ}C$. Frost growth and density toward the front of the plate were more thick and dense than toward the rear. Frost growth increased with decreasing plate temperature and increasing humidity. In the conditions of the laminar flow, dew point below $0^{\circ}C$and non-cyclic frosting period, frost thickness increased with increasing air temperature. The reason of increasing frost thickness with increasing air temperature was sublimation-ablimation process. The average growth thickness along the locations showed little dependence on the Reynolds numbers.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.493-502
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• 2002

During the defrosting process, the temperature in the cabinet of a showcase becomes high as compared to the setting point, which is not desirable for stored foods or materials. It is necessary to develop a more efficient defrosting method to prevent large temperature fluctuation. In this study, the performance of a showcase refrigeration system with three evaporators is investigated by employing a hot-gas bypass defrosting technology in the system under frosting and defrosting conditions. The operating characteristics are compared with those for the on-off defrosting method that has been widely used in current products. As a result, the hot-gas bypass defrosting method shows higher refrigerating capacity and less temperature fluctuation than the on-off method under frosting/defrosting conditions, while the power input is relatively high for the hot-gas bypass method.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.781-785
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• 2002

The effects of different surfaces on dry and wet frosting test were experimentally investigated. The results of experiment were compared by the performance evaluation coefficient (PEC). Results showed that the air-side pressure drop of lacquer coated evaporator increased by 5% as compared to the plasma treated one. It was also found that the Plasma coated evaporator is lower than lacquer coated one in the PEC ratio.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.122-128
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• 2006

In this paper, frosting experiments were conducted with variations of frosting parameters in order to obtain the correlations of frost properties. As a result, the local thickness, density, and surface temperature of the frost layer were presented. The dimensionless correlations for the frost thickness, frost density, frost surface temperature and heat transfer coefficient were derived as functions of dimensionless frosting parameters by using a dimensional analysis.