Open Access

ARTICLE

Coupled Modeling of CO₂ Frosting, Fluid Flow, and Heat Transfer under Cryogenic Conditions Using a Nucleation-Based CFD Framework

Xuewen Cao^*, Zhe Chen, Gaoya Ding, Wei You

College of Pipeline and Civil Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, China

* Corresponding Author: Xuewen Cao. Email:

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2026, 22(7), 8 https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2026.080209

Received 04 February 2026; Accepted 12 May 2026; Issue published 31 July 2026

Abstract

A two-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model, grounded in classical nucleation theory, is developed to investigate CO₂ frosting and the associated heat transfer under cryogenic conditions. The model integrates gas–solid phase-change kinetics with multiphysics transport equations to capture the coupled phenomena governing frost formation. The Peng–Robinson equation of state is employed to predict CO₂ frost points in binary mixtures, with model predictions validated against experimental data, yielding errors in frost thickness and thermal conductivity below 15%. The results demonstrate that decreasing the cryogenic wall temperature from 160 K to 150 K increases the average frost thickness and density by 57% and 78%, respectively, while advancing the peak in thermal resistance by approximately 5 min. A reduction in CO₂ mol fraction from 10% to 6% leads to an 82% decrease in average frost density. Although inlet velocity exerts a limited influence on frost density, excessively high velocities increase porosity and inhibit densification. Flow field analysis reveals that progressive frost growth constricts the effective channel area, resulting in a local velocity increase of approximately 23%. Moreover, the spatial distributions of supersaturation and nucleation rate exhibit strong consistency. These findings elucidate the complex coupling between CO₂ frosting, fluid flow, and heat transfer in Pressurized Liquefied Natural Gas (PLNG) systems, offering theoretical insights for optimizing low-energy CO₂ cryogenic capture and enhancing natural gas liquefaction processes.

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Keywords

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