Prediction of Growth Parameters of Frost Deposits in Forced Convection

Experimental investigations of frost deposition under forced convection conditions have shown that in most cases heat and mass transfer rates become constant after an initial transient period. It is shown that, in such cases, approximately half of the mass transfer from a humid air stream to a frost layer diffuses inward, condenses and increases the density of the frost. The other half is deposited at the surface and increases the thickness of the layer. Approximate expressions for density and thickness of the frost layer are derived and compared with data from the literature and also with experimental work reported in this paper. The correlations are shown to work well for a broad range of experimental conditions.