Suppression of Frost Formation on a Cryogenically Cooled Cylinder Using V-Shaped Obstacle

Abstract

A new method to suppress frost formation on a cylinder with a cryogenically cooled surface using a v-shaped obstacle was proposed and verified in this study. The v-shaped obstacle protects the cylinder from the main flow and reduces frost formation. We conducted experiments under refrigerant temperature conditions of -20 °C and -196 °C. When the refrigerant temperature was -20 °C, the effect of the obstacle was insufficient to eliminate frost formation. Although we succeeded in reducing the frost thickness in front of the cylinder, the pressure drop and heat transfer rate were not sufficiently improved. On the other hand, when the refrigerant temperature was -196 °C, the frost formation in front of the cylinder was completely suppressed. Further, the pressure drop and heat transfer rate were obviously improved. We concluded that this frost suppression method is effective when the surface temperature is low.