A comparative study of property-constant and property-variable icing models

Icing on cold surfaces is ubiquitous in many natural and engineering processes, and various icing models have been proposed with little advice given on model selection. Here, we calculate the ice accretion characteristics using property-constant and property-variable icing models under different airflow parameters. The ice thickness, water film thickness, temperature profile, critical ice thickness, and critical time are compared. The property-variable icing model yields a larger ice thickness at the early icing stage but a smaller one at the later stage. The water film appears earlier, and the water film thickness is larger in the property-variable model. The temperature profiles are a logarithmic curve and a straight line in the property-variable and property-constant models. The property-variable model yields a shorter critical time and a smaller critical ice thickness. A smaller liquid water content, airflow velocity, and collection efficiency or a lower airflow temperature enlarges the difference in the ice accretion characteristics between the property-variable and property-constant models. The property-variable icing model is recommended when the airflow coefficient is smaller than 50. The findings in this work provide guidance for the model selection in icing prediction.