Frost Formation Under Different Gaseous Atmospheres

Rates of water frost growth in a vessel with a cooled horizontal plate were experimentally determined under reduced pressure atmospheres of hydrogen, helium, methane and nitrogen. The mass deposited on the cooled surface under each of the atmospheres was almost in proportion to time. The Sherwood number under the condition of no mist formation, Sh₀, in the atmospheres of methane and nitrogen was in good agreement with Catton’s equation for natural convection between horizontal parallel plates. Sh₀in a hydrogen atmosphere was unity, which corresponds to control by molecular diffusion in the stagnant gas. The tendency of the decrease in Sh due to mist formation could be evaluated well by multiplying Sh₀by a factor ζ_CSM.The ζ_CSMvalue was calculated based on the critical supersaturation model as a function of the two interface temperatures and the total pressure. Frost growth rates under each atmosphere were in proportion to. The proportional constant for hydrogen was greater than that for any other tested gas. Agreement and disagreement of the frost effective thermal conductivity with previous models were discussed.