Frost Formation in Evaporator Fins with Embedded Negative Stiffness Structures (original) (raw)

• Aman Thakkar, Purdue University, United States of AmericaFollow
• Jiacheng Ma
• Jim Braun
• Travis Horton
• Andres F. Arrieta

Abstract

Frosting in the evaporator leads to an increase in thermal resistance and reduced airflow, resulting in decreased performance. Traditional thermal defrosting strategies lead to significant energy penalties. Novel shape morphing evaporator fins embedded with multistable structures offer the opportunity for faster defrosting and large energy savings while keeping the capital cost low. This type of morphing fins enables a mechanical defrosting approach that is more effective for higher densities and thicknesses of frost. However, there is a need to better understand frost formation in these structures. In this study, we use a modeling and experimental approach to understand frosting on shape morphing fins. An experimental setup was developed that is capable of frost formation at different conditions and testing various defrosting strategies. Leveraging this, we formed frost at various conditions on both an angled shape morphing fin and a flat fin and performed comparisons between model predictions and measurements.

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