PROBLEM 1.

50
KNOWN: Frost formation of 2-mm thickness on a freezer compartment. Surface exposed to
convection process with ambient air.
FIND: Time required for the frost to melt, tm.
SCHEMATIC:

Ambient air

Frost

T = 20C
h = 2 W/mK

Est
Ein

m
out

Frost layer

Freezer compartment wall

Adiabatic
surface

Melt

Eout

ASSUMPTIONS: (1) Frost is isothermal at the fusion temperature, Tf, (2) The water melt falls away
from the exposed surface, (3) Frost exchanges radiation with surrounding frost, so net radiation
exchange is negligible, and (4) Backside surface of frost formation is adiabatic.
PROPERTIES: Frost, f = 770 kg / m 3 , h sf = 334 kJ / kg.
ANALYSIS: The time tm required to melt a 2-mm thick frost layer may be determined by applying a
mass balance and an energy balance (Eq 1.11b) over the differential time interval dt to a control
volume around the frost layer.
 out dt
(1a,b)
dmst = m
dE st = E in E out dt

With hf as the enthalpy of the melt and hs as the enthalpy of frost, we have
 out h f dt
dEst = dmst h s E out dt = m

(2a,b)

Combining Eqs. (1a) and (2a,b), Eq. (1b) becomes (with hsf = hf hS)
 out h sf dt = E in dt = qconv As dt
m
Integrating both sides of the equation with respect to time, find
f As h sf x o = h As ( T Tf ) t m

tm =
tm =

f h sf x o

h ( T Tf )
700 kg / m3 334 103 J / kg 0.002m
2 W / m 2 K ( 20 0 ) K

= 11,690 s = 3.2 hour

<

COMMENTS: (1) The energy balance could be formulated intuitively by recognizing that the total
heat in by convection during the time interval t m ( q conv t m ) must be equal to the total latent energy

for melting the frost layer ( x o h sf ) . This equality is directly comparable to the derived expression
above for tm.

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