Thesis Defense – Alper Saygın (MSME)

Alper Saygın – M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering

Assist. Prof. Altuğ Melik Başol – Advisor

Prof. Mehmet Arık – Co-Advisor

Date: 07.06.2023

Time: 16.00

Location: AB1 509

“EFFECT OF FROST FORMATION ON HEAT TRANSFER: EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION AND NUMERICAL MODEL DEVELOPMENT”

Assist. Prof. Altuğ Melik Başol, Özyeğin University

Prof. Mehmet Arık, Özyeğin University

Assist. Prof. Özgür Ertunç, Özyeğin University

Assist. Prof. Hande Öztürk, Özyeğin University

Prof. Lorenzo Cremaschi, Auburn University

Abstract:

Water molecules freeze when the temperature drops below the triple point. This phase change process results in the formation of ice crystals. With air filling the gaps between the growing ice columns together, this porous medium is known as "frost." The accumulation of frost on cooled surfaces creates a thermal barrier across a surface due to the low thermal conductivity of the frost layer. This phenomenon is commonly observed in heating, ventilation, and air-cooling applications, such as evaporators in household refrigerators, air source heat pumps, and aircraft precoolers. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the dynamic heat transfer rates across surfaces operating under frosting conditions to assess their performance and develop defrosting strategies. In this thesis study, the effect of frosting on heat transfer is investigated experimentally, and the gathered data is utilized in a numerical frosting model development. A large number of experiments are performed by altering the parameters of free stream air velocity, relative humidity, and cold plate temperature. The gathered empirical data is utilized to establish a robust numerical model.

Bio:

Alper Saygin is a researcher and engineer specializing in the field of thermal sciences. He graduated from Ozyegin University in 2021, where he earned his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. His research interests are numerical modeling and phase change heat transfer.