Experimental study on frosting/defrosting characteristics of microgrooved metal surfaces

Md Ashiqur Rahman, Anthony M. Jacobi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Effect of microgroove geometry on the frost formation and frost melt-water drainage is experimentally investigated on a number of aluminum surfaces. Condensation and frost formation processes are also examined on a set of microgrooved copper surfaces for which the dimensions of the microgroove geometry are varied in a cyclic manner. These metal surfaces are studied because of their technical importance as working materials and are fabricated by two different techniques, photolithography and wet etching, respectively. The morphology, distribution and growth pattern of the condensed and frozen water droplets are found to be considerably different on the microgrooved surfaces from that on the flat baseline surfaces. While the amount of frost melt-water retention on the flat surfaces is found to increase in the subsequent refrost cycles and is highest in the last frost cycle, the microgrooved aluminum surfaces consistently exhibit improved frost-water drainage in all frost cycles and under different operating conditions. Findings of this study will be useful in designing microgrooved metal surfaces operating under frosting/defrosting conditions to have improved frost-water drainage properties.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)44-56
Number of pages13
JournalInternational Journal of Refrigeration
Volume50
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2015

Keywords

  • Anisotropic wetting
  • Defrosting
  • Frost formation
  • Frost-water drainage
  • Frosting penalties
  • Microgrooved surface

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Building and Construction

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Experimental study on frosting/defrosting characteristics of microgrooved metal surfaces'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this