13. Air-Condition and Refrigeration

The growth of the frost crystals and frost layers on the surface of the heat exchanger fins caused serious problems, such as affecting the heat transfer efficiency and increasing energy consumption. Generally, the thickness of the frost layer on a superhydrophobic surface was thinner than the thickness on a bare surface. To find this characteristic on the flocked surface coated with the hydrophobic agent, we observed the frost formation by keeping the surface at the icing temperature. The ice-forming density of the former was less than that of the latter because the droplets on the tip of the fiber during the condensation process on the former’s surface were small and those shapes were spherical. In addition, we experimented with the defrosting process and found that the droplets easily slipped from the surface under the airflow condition after defrosting. Therefore, this surface was considered suitable for suppressing the frosting process. The dehydration behavior after defrosting was also observed.