MODELING ICE FORMATION ON HEAT EXCHANGERS FINS

Ice formation on heat exchangers and de-icing are both a design and control constraints for many industrial systems. Dynamic modeling of the ice formation process allows to propose an optimized design for such heat exchangers and to predict the best time to start the de-icing process. This paper presents a dynamic model of the icing process based on the energy and mass conservation equations. The ice layer is modeled as a 1 dimension porous medium subject to heat and mass transfer. Mass transfer occurs on the surface and inside the mass layer causing the increase of its thickness and its densification. The thermal conductivity of the ice layer is modeled as a function of its density. The best available correlations in the literature, of convective heat and mass transfer, are selected and the model results are discussed.