4.6 Article

Study on Frost-Suppression Characteristics of Superhydrophobic Aluminum Surface Heat Exchanger Applied in Air Source Heat Pump

Journal

SUSTAINABILITY
Volume 14, Issue 4, Pages -

Publisher

MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/su14041954

Keywords

air source heat pump; superhydrophobic; antifrosting; defrosting; frost-suppression mechanism

Funding

  1. Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi Province of China [2018JM5084]
  2. Shaanxi Province Housing and Urban Rural Construction Science and Technology Project [2015-K14]
  3. Fundamental Research Funds for The Central Universities [300102289203]

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This study prepared a superhydrophobic aluminum surface with a contact angle of 158.3 degrees to solve the frosting problem of air source heat pump outdoor heat exchange under low-temperature and low-humidity conditions. The characteristics of droplet condensation and freezing process on the superhydrophobic surface were revealed through experiments and analysis. Additionally, the frost-suppression effect of the superhydrophobic aluminum-based surface was explored, showing that the condensed droplets appeared late and their quantity was low, resulting in a lower freezing rate and frosting amount compared to the bare aluminum-based surface.
In order to solve the frosting problem of air source heat pump (ASHP) outdoor heat exchange under low-temperature and low-humidity conditions, a superhydrophobic aluminum (Al) surface with a contact angle (CA) of 158.3 degrees was prepared by chemical etching. The microscopic characteristics of droplet condensation and the freezing process of a superhydrophobic surface were revealed through visual experiments and theoretical analysis. On this basis, the frost-suppression effect of a superhydrophobic Al-based surface simulating the distribution of actual heat exchanger fins was preliminarily explored. The results demonstrated that, due to the large nucleation energy barrier and the coalescence-bounce behavior of droplets, the condensed droplets on the superhydrophobic surface appeared late and their quantity was low. The thermal conductivity of the droplets on a superhydrophobic surface was large, so their freezing rate was low. The frosting amount on the superhydrophobic Al-based surface was 69.79% of that of the bare Al-based surface. In turn, the time required for melting the frost layer on the superhydrophobic Al-based surface was 64% of that on the bare Al-based surface. The results of this study lay an experimental and theoretical foundation for the application of superhydrophobic technology on the scale of heat exchangers.

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