Effects of Evaporator Frosting

on the Performance of an
J. Martinez-Frias
Centro de Ingenieria y Desarrollo
Industrial,
Queretaro, Mexico,
jmartlnez@cidesi.mx
S. M. Aceves
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
7000 East Avenue, L-640,
Livermore, CA 94551
saceves@llnl.gov
Air-to-Air Heat Pump
This paper shows the development and use of a transient model for evaluating frost
formation on a parallel-plate heat pump evaporator. A frost formation model is
derived by applying the equations of conservation of mass, momentum, and energy,
as well as empirical correlations, to calculate the growth and densification of the
frost layer. The frost formation model is validated by comparison with experimental
results. The frost formation model is then incorporated into the evaporator subroutine
of an existing heat pump model to calculate performance losses due to frosting as a
function of weather conditions and time of operation since the last evaporator defrost.
Performance loss calculation includes the effect of air pressure drop through the
evaporator and the reduction in evaporator temperature caused by the growth of the
frost layer. The results show frost formation parameters and heat pump COP as a
function of time and ambient conditions. It is determined that there is a range of
ambient temperatures and humidities in which frosting effects are most severe, and
this range is explored to calculate heat pump operating conditions. The heat pump
analysis results are expected to be useful in predicting optimum defrosting conditions,
and to evaluate alternative methods for defrosting.

Introduction Some research works on the performance of heat pumps with

Frost forms on evaporator surfaces when the surface tempera-
ture is below the freezing point and the ambient air humidity
is higher than the saturation humidity at the evaporator surface
temperature. Frosting is a major problem for air-source heat
pump evaporators because frost formation increases the air-
side pressure drop through the coil, increasing the fan power
requirements and/or decreasing the air flow rate. Frost forma-
tion also increases the resistance to heat transfer, decreasing the
ability of the evaporator to exchange heat.
The electric air-to-air heat pump often operates at ambient
conditions that result in substantial frost formation on the evapo-
rator during the heating season. Under these conditions, the
frost layer has to be melted away periodically to keep a high heat
pump coefficient ofperformance (COP). Defrosting reduces the
heat pump COP, because energy has to be spent in heating the
evaporator. The heat pump cycle has to be interrupted during
defrosting, resulting in cyclic losses, which can be substantial
(Baxter and Moyers, 1984). A number of defrosting methods
have been developed, including the use of electric resistance
heating, or the circulation of hot refrigerant, air, or water
through the evaporator surfaces.
It has been recognized in the literature that the analysis of
frost formation is substantially more difficult than the analysis
of freezing and melting problems, because the physical proper-
ties of frost are not known beforehand (Sherif, 1991). Frost
density and thermal conductivity are very sensitive to the condi-
tions under which the frost forms and they are also a function
of time during the frosting process. These conditions make it
difficult to generate and use a frosting model based purely on
first principles. Instead, most models use a combination of first
principles and empirical correlations (Yonko and Sepsy, 1967;
Brian et al, 1970; Sanders, 1974; Marinyuk, 1980).
Contributed by the Advanced Systems Energy Division and presented at the
International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, the Winter An-
nual Meeting, Dallas, Texas, November 16-21, 1997, of THE AMERICAN SOCIETY
OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS . Manuscript received by the AES Division, April 2,
1998; revised manuscript received September 19, 1998. Associate Technical Edi-
tor: F. Chen
the evaporator under frosting conditions have been reported
(Stoecker, 1957; Miller, 1982; Tantakitti and Howell, 1986;
Tassou and Marquand, 1987; Aoki et al., 1991; and Payne and
O'Neal, 1995). Tao et al. (1994) have analyzed frost formation
with high-temperature ambient air. The results apply to frost
formation in freezers. Review studies (O'Neal and Tree, 1985;
Kondepudi and O'Neal, 1987; and Sheriff, 1991) have dis-
cussed experimental and analytical studies on frost formation
on simple and complex geometries under natural and forced
convection.
This paper shows an analysis of the performance of a heat
pump with frost formation on the evaporator surfaces. A model
of frost formation is first developed. The frost formation model
is developed for a parallel-plate geometry. A parallel-plate ge-
ometry is analyzed because of its similarity to the plate-fin
evaporators used in many heat pumps. Typically, plate fins
comprise 80 to 90 percent of the surface area in a heat exchanger
(Kays and London, 1984). The analysis also takes into account
heat transfer and frost formation that occur directly on the evap-
orator tubes. The frost formation model is validated by compari-
son with experimental results.
The validated model is then incorporated into an existing heat
pump model (Rice, 1991). The heat pump model is modified by
including the additional resistance to air flow and heat transfer
caused by frost formation into the evaporator model. The heat
pump model is a steady-state model, but is expected to yield
accurate results for the transient frosting problem, due to the
long time required for significant frost buildup. The heat pump
model with frosting is applied for predicting frost formation
parameters and heat pump performance as a function of ambient
air humidity and temperature, and elapsed time since the last
defrost.
The Frost Formation Model
The frost formation model uses a set of conservation equa-
tions along with empirical correlations for frost thermal conduc-
tivity and tortuosity. The model assumes that the density of the
frost is uniform across the thickness of the frost layer. This
assumption has been shown to give good results in the past

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 (Brian et al., 1970). The model treats the frost layer as a porous
^-<:r-
substance. The water vapor transported to the frost surface is Re =9800 ^ ^ '
divided into two parts: a part that diffuses into the existing frost = 0.00398 /<^'
layer and another part that increases the thickness of the frost 4 ~
layer.
The following equations describe the processes of densiflca- T« = -12 " C , ^ ^ " \ = -8 K . . ^
3 -
tion and thickening of the frost layer, as originally demonstrated
by Jones and Parker (1975):
2 -
M„DA 1 - - ^
V Pice 'X^--'-''^^^^^^^,.':::::^^ -5.2 °c
hkliPm - Pm)
RT,T,, dTjXdx Z^^;:::;:::^--'''''^ —- O'Neal and Tree
dXs .^^^^ — Present Model
(1)
dt Pf
1 1 1 1 1

M„D, 1 £L
Pice
dP^ dT
dt RT.T.X, dT dx
The frost surface temperature T, and the temperature gradient
at the surface (dT/dx), are found from an energy balance in
the frost layer. The equation for 7^ is implicit, and it is solved
numerically. The derivative (dPJdT) is obtained by assuming
that the water vapor is in thermodynamic equilibrium with the
frost.
The equations of conservation of mass and energy for the air
stream are
dthi,
= -hupaiuj,, - u}„)r
~dr
dia
ma\-r] = [hnlT, - To) + hMpaLioJ, - i^a)]r
In addition to these equations, this model uses a correlation
for frost thermal conductivity (Sanders, 1974). The Dittus-
Boelter correlation is used for evaluating the heat transfer coef-
ficient for turbulent flow. The mass transfer coefficient is ob-
tained from the Colbum equation. The molecular diffusion coef-
ficient is calculated from an empirical correlation (Eckert and
Drake, 1972), The frost layer tortuosity is determined from the
data obtained by Satterfleld (1970). The surface roughness of
the frost layer is calculated as a function of thickness from the
experimental data of Chen and Rohsenow (1964).
The resulting system of equations is solved numerically, by
iteration in every point and a marching procedure in position
along the evaporator plates and in time. The system of equations
is singular at the frost-free condition (zero frost layer thick-
ness), so a small initial thickness (0.02 mm), and an initial
frost density (40 kg/m-*) are assumed. The growth rate of the
frost layer is almost independent of the assumed initial thick-
ness, so that the results are insensitive to the initial values
selected. Discretization of the evaporator plates considers 10
subintervals in the direction of air flow. It was verified that the
Time, hr.
(2)
Fig. 1 Frost thickness as a function of time for tliree different values of
Vns wall surface temperature. The figure shows the experimental results
of O'Neal and Tree (dashed lines) and the results obtained with the
present model (continuous lines).
solution is not sensitive to the number of subintervals by running
the model with 20 subintervals. This change resulted in a negli-
gible (less than 1 percent) variation in the calculated frost layer
thickness.
The frost formation model is limited to conditions in which
the frost surface temperature remains below 0°C. Considering
(3) that the maximum rates of frost formation occur at low tempera-
tures (with air at 0°C), this limitation is not likely to interfere
with the analysis of the most severe frosting situations.
(4) The frost formation model has been validated by comparison
with the experimental results obtained by O'Neal and Tree
(1984). They studied frost formation on an aluminum plate
located parallel to an acrylic plate, with air flow between the
plates. The plates were 0.635 m long (in the direction of air
flow) and 0.152 m wide, and the distance between the plates
was 0.0127 m. A chilled water/ethylene glycol solution from
refrigerating system cooled the aluminum side wall of the test
section. The experimental ranges for the variables were: plate
temperatures from - 5 to -I2°C, air humidity ratios from
0.00382 to 0.00514 kg/kg„, Reynolds numbers from 4400 to
32000, and air temperatures from 5 to 12°C.
Figures 1 through 4 illustrate the comparison between experi-
mental and numerical results. Figures 1, 2, and 3 show frost
layer thickness as a function of time, and Fig. 4 shows frost
density as a function of time. Figure 1 illustrates the effect of
plate temperature on frost formation. Figure 2 shows the effect
of humidity ratio on average frost thickness. Figure 3 shows
the effect of Reynolds numbers on frost thickness. Figure 4
shows the effect of Reynolds number on frost density for the
front half and rear half of the plate.
Comparison of the model results with the experimental data
is very satisfactory. The figures show that the model predicts

Nomenclature
D - molecular diffusivity R.H. = relative humidity Subscripts
hn = heat transfer coefficient t = time a = air
hu = mass transfer coefficient T = temperature / = frost
i ~ enthalpy X = distance from wall ice = solid ice
m = mass flow rate z = axial direction in heat exchanger .s = frost surface
M = molecular weight w = specific humidity sv = sublimation
P = partial pressure p = density V = water vapor
r = plate width T = tortuosity w = wall
R = universal gas constant

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 JDO-
Re = 9800 X X w = 0.00398 O'Neal and Tree

T. -- -5,2 °C / Xy 450- T, = - 5.2 °C Present Model

_ -^go^ / Xy^= 0'00453 T„ = 5.9 °C

T.
t 400.
/•/ y ^ ' ' - ; ; ^
(J =
0.00514,// y ^^.-^-^"^
0)
350-
jt:

o Re = 32400 Rear half

// /</ , , . ' < > ^ = 0.00397 300-
^ 1 /// -''^^"^^ Front half
o / ''''' x"^^ 250-
/ y'^''^

- ^ —- O'Neal and Tree

— Present Model 200- Re = 4400
Rear half
Q
1 1 1 1 1 150- ~l r
2 3 4 5 2 3

Time, hr. Time, hr.

Fig. 2 Frost thlcl<ness as a function of time for three different values of Fig. 4 Frost average density for the front a n d rear halves of t h e plate
air humidity ratio. The figure shows the experimental results of O'Neal as a function of time for three different values of the Reynolds number.
and Tree (dashed lines) and the results obtained with the present model The figure shows the experimental results of O'Neal and Tree (dashed
(continuous lines). lines) and the results obtained with the present model (continuous lines).

0) = 0.00395
maps to predict heat pump COP and operating conditions in
each of the heat pump components. The model is written as a
- T„ = - 5.2 °C combination of modules, each representing a heat pump compo-
^--''' ^^--'^^ nent, to allow for the easy modification of the code for specific
To = 6.7 °C
design or research conditions. The heat pump model has been
E 2
E extensively validated.
The present work uses a steady-state heat pump model to
- estimate time-dependent performance, and this may introduce
significant errors when the heat pump conditions change rapidly.
Use of the steady-state model is equivalent to assuming that
^^^^^^^ynolds = 4400 the heat pump can react very rapidly to the changes in conditions
caused by frost growth (the heat pump is under quasi steady-
- /. y.^^^^ -— O'Neol and Tree state conditions). Frost takes up to a few hours to build on the
evaporator surfaces, and it has been calculated that the time for
— Present Model
a heat pump to reach steady state from start-up is of the order
i 1 1 1 1 of 100 s (MacArthur and Grald, 1987). Since frost growth
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
occurs slowly compared to the response time of the heat pump,
it is considered that the use of the steady-state heat pump model
Tinne. hr.
yields accurate results for the conditions analyzed in this paper.
Fig. 3 Frost thicl<ness as a function of time for three different values of The heat pump model is modified by incorporating the frost
the Reynolds number. The figure shows the experimental results of formation model into the evaporator module. 'The iteration pro-
O'Neal and Tree (dashed lines) and the results obtained with the present
model (continuous lines).
cedures used in the heat pump model, as well as the other
component modules in the heat pump model, are not modified.
The integration of the two models is done by introducing the
air-side evaporator parameters calculated by the frost formation
the correct trends as well as the absolute values of density and
model (pressure drop, resistance to heat transfer, inlet and outlet
frost thickness, for the very broad range of conditions studied
air temperature and humidity, rate of frost formation) into the
by O'Neal and Tree. The maximum difference between the
evaporator module of the heat pump. The evaporator module
experimental and the model results for frost thickness is of
then uses these values to calculate refrigerant-side conditions
the order of 0.2 mm, with better agreement obtained for most
circumstances. The maximum difference for density is about (mass flow rate, temperatures, enthalpies) and overall evapora-
15 kg/m^, which is less than 10 percent of the measured density. tor performance parameters (NTU, effectiveness, fan efficiency
While a comparison with additional experimental data is still and power). The process is iterative, because frost formation
desirable, the very good agreement obtained over a wide range is affected by the refrigerant-side conditions, and refrigerant-
of conditions shows that it should be possible to obtain accurate side conditions are also sensitive to frost formation. Once the
results from the frost formation model. iteration converges, the heat pump model adjusts the heat pump
operating conditions (evaporator refrigerant temperature and
flow rate, compressor power, etc.) to take into account the
The Heat Pump Model changes in evaporator conditions due to frost buildup. This
The heat pump model used in this analysis (Rice, 1991) procedure guarantees that all the transient effects due to frost
predicts the steady-state heating and cooling performance of formation are captured in the heat pump simulation. These ef-
variable-speed, electric-driven, vapor-compression, air-to-air fects include the change in evaporator fan power, as well as the
heat pumps for a wide range of system configurations and opera- changes in refrigerant temperature and mass flow rate through
tional variables. The model uses first principles and performance the evaporator.

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 Table 1 Heat pump and evaporator characteristics 0,8

Compressor type Electric-driven, variable-speed 0.7

reciprocating compressor
R.H. = 90%
Condenser type Smooth fin-circular tube E
E 0,fi 2.75 hr Ta=0°C
Flow control device Thermostatic expansion valve
(TXV) if> OS
Refrigerant R22 if)

Evaporator characteristics: c 04
Type Smooth fin-circular tube
Frontal area 0.655 m' (7.05 ft") '_c: 0.3
No. of tubes in airflow direction 3 H-
No. of parallel circuits 3 ni
Horizontal tube spacing 0.0274 m (1.08 in.) O
Vertical tube spacing 0.0318 m (1.25 in.) L_
0 1
Fin thickness 0.152 mm (0.006 in.)
Fin pitch 512 fin/m (13 fin/in.)
Outside diameter of tubes 0.0100 m (0.395 in.) 1 I \ i I I I r~
Inside diameter of tubes 0.0094 ra (0.371 in.)
Fan Variable speed driver, 350 W 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
maximum power
Longitudinal Position, mnn
Fig. 5 Frost thickness as a function of longitudinal position for four
values of time, for a 90-percent relative humidity and a 0°C ambient
Results temperature
The heat pump model with frosting is applied to calculate
frost thickness and heat pump COP as a function of ambient
temperature and relative humidity. Ambient conditions are as-
sumed constant during the frost formation process, but variable
ambient conditions can be readily analyzed if weather informa-
tion is provided. The results are presented for evaporator inlet
air temperatures in the range of —5 to 2°C and a range of
relative humidity from 85 to 100 percent. These ranges are
determined to be the conditions under which frost formation
has the greatest effect on heat pump COP, for the heat pump
and evaporator designs analyzed in this paper. This temperature
range is also low enough that the frost surface temperature is
unlikely to increase to 0°C, for the conditions analyzed in this
paper. As previously established, the current model cannot pre-
dict the partial melting and refreezing that occurs when the
surface reaches 0°C.
The main characteristics of the heat pump and evaporator
being analyzed are listed in Table 1. The analysis assumes an
evaporator fan with a variable speed drive, which can keep a
constant air flow rate as long as the power required is less
than the maximum driver power. When the maximum power is
reached, further increases in pressure drop result in a reduction Fig. 6 Average frost thickness on the evaporator plates as a function
in the air flow rate through the evaporator. A reduction in the of time, for four values of the evaporator inlet air temperature between
- 4 and 2°C, and a 90-percent relative humidity
air flow rate results in a rapid drop in the heat pump COP
due to the reduced heat transfer to the evaporator. Evaporator
defrosting is clearly desirable before or at this moment. For this
reason, the results presented in this paper assume that the heat
pump operating cycle is interrupted when the evaporator fan 0.5
reaches maximum power (350 W).
Figure 5 shows profiles of frost thickness as a function of
longitudinal position along the evaporator fins, with longitudinal
R.H. Line
position = 0, corresponding to the leading edge (front), for
three different values of time, for a 90-percent relative humidity
and a 0°C ambient temperature. Two competing effects deter-
mine the shape of the frost profiles: the air cools down as it
flows between the fins, favoring frost formation in the rear of
the plate; and the air humidity drops as part of the water vapor
condenses and freezes, favoring frost formation in the front.
The shape of the frost profiles shown in the figure indicates
that, for the conditions used in generating the figure, the second
effect dominates.
Figures 6 and 7 show average frost thickness as a function
of time since the last evaporator defrost. Figure 6 shows frost
thickness for evaporator inlet air temperatures between - 4 and
2°C, for a 90-percent relative humidity. The figure shows that
the maximum frost thickness is obtained for 0°C, in agreement Fig. 7 Average frost thickness on the evaporator plates as a function
with the results of Tantakitti and Howell (1986). This tempera- of time for four values of relative humidity between 85 and 100 percent,
ture represents the optimum balance between the two factors for a 0°C ambient temperature

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 <t,z
/''" R,H,=85%
4.0- ./'
R.H =90% ,/ 3-
3.8- ,/'
R,H. = 100% R.H,=95% R. H, = 90%
„•''
Q_ y

O 3,6-
O o ^
/-• o
3.4-
X
3,2-

3,0- 1 1 1 1 1 1
-5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4
Air Temperature, °C. Time, hr.
Fig, 8 Heat pump COP as a function of evaporator iniet air temperature, Fig. 10 Heat pump COP as a function of time for four values of relative
for a frost-free evaporator humidity between 85 and 100 percent, for a 0°C ambient temperature

that determine frost formation; air humidity and temperature.
Increasing the temperature from 0°C increases the evaporator
wall temperature, resulting in a reduced amount of frost. Reduc-
ing the air temperature from 0°C reduces the air humidity for
a given air relative humidity, reducing the amount of frost.
Figure 7 shows frost thickness lines for relative humidities be-
tween 85 and 100 percent, for an ambient temperature of 0°C.
This figure shows that frost thickness increases rapidly as air
humidity increases.
Figure 8 shows heat pump COP as a function of evaporator
inlet air temperature, for a frost-free evaporator, with a 90-
percent relative humidity. Heat pump operation with a frost-
free evaporator is very insensitive to the relative humidity. The
heat pump COP is a linearly decreasing function of air tempera-
ture.
Figures 9 and 10 show heat pump COP as a function of
time. Figure 9 shows COP for evaporator inlet air temperatures
between - 4 and 2°C, for a 90-percent relative humidity. The
initial COP is an increasing function of air temperature, as
previously indicated in Fig. 8. The COP drops slowly as a
function of time for the initial period of operation, and then
more rapidly when approaching the time when the cycle is
interrupted for defrosting (when the evaporator fan power
reaches 350 W). The figure shows that the rate of change in
COP correlates well with the frost layer growth (Fig. 6). The
maximum rate of frost formation is obtained for 0°C, and this
ambient temperature also results in the fastest drop in COP and
the shortest operating cycle before defrosting.
Figure 10 shows heat pump COP for relative humidities be-
tween 85 and 100 percent, for an ambient temperature of 0°C.
The initial COP is slightly higher for higher humidity. From
this point, higher humidity results in faster frost formation, and,
therefore, the high-humidity COP lines fall earlier than the low-
humidity lines, resulting in shorter operating cycles.
Conclusions
This paper describes the development of a frost formation
model, and its integration to an existing heat pump model for
predicting heat pump operating conditions and COP as a func-
tion of environmental conditions and time since the last defrost
cycle. The frost formation model is developed by using a combi-
nation of first principles and empirical correlations. The frost
formation model has been validated by comparison with experi-
mental data, and good agreement was obtained for frost thick-
ness as well as frost density. The heat pump model predicts
steady-state heat pump performance, and is written as a combi-
nation of modules, each representing a heat pump component,
to allow for the easy modification of the code for specific design
or research conditions. The heat pump model has been exten-
sively validated. A steady-state heat pump model can be applied
to predict transient heat pump performance because the heat
pump reacts rapidly to changes in conditions due to evaporator
frosting. Therefore, the heat pump is under quasi-steady condi-
tions throughout the cycle. The iteration procedure used for
integrating the heat pump with the evaporator guarantees that
all transient effects are taken into account in the analysis.
The heat pump model with frosting is applied to evaluate
frost formation profiles along the evaporator fins, and average
frost thickness and heat pump COP as a function of time and
ambient conditions. Results for COP are presented as a function
of ambient temperature, relative humidity, and time. It is consid-
ered that the heat pump model with frost formation is a valuable
tool in evaluating defrosting schedules and methods.

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