The effect of stationary and sweeping frequency AC electric fields on frost crystal removal on a cold plate

The effect of stationary and sweeping frequency AC electric fields on frost crystals growth and frost control/removal on a cold plate was studied for the first time in this paper. The main results of this study showed that the presence of AC electric fields can greatly affect both the frost crystals growth pattern and mass accumulation on cold surfaces. The ice surface electrical properties and basic electrostatics were used to explain the main findings in this paper. Up to 46% frost reduction was obtained when the electric field frequency spanned 370 Hz to 7.5 kHz while the applied voltage was 14.5 kV. Two different sets of environmental conditions were tested, which showed that the plate temperature placed an important effect on frost crystals growth under electric fields. An optimum application time of the AC electric fields was found based on least frost mass accumulation on the cold plate.