Experimental investigation of overload effects on frosting characteristics under different constant overload levels

Frosting often leads to unpredictable adverse effects, particularly in aircraft and other systems operating under variable overload (hypergravity) conditions. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms governing frosting characteristics under variable overload conditions and enable accurate prediction and control, a series of visual frosting experiments were conducted on cold surfaces under different overload levels in a controlled variable overload environment. The results indicate that higher overload affects certain frosting characteristics non-monotonically by enhancing both the surface heat and mass transfer coefficient and the densification of the frost layer. As the overload increased from 1G to 2G, the maximum frost thickness decreased by 8.26% and surface roughness by 40.25%. When overload further rose from 2G to 3G, the maximum frost thickness increased by 27.62% and surface roughness by 55.86%. Over the entire range from 1G to 3G, the frost collapse frequency and maximum collapse amplitude increased by 104.36% and 268.57%, respectively. This study highlights the need for improved frosting prediction and defrost management in variable overload environments and provides benchmark data and theoretical guidance for model validation and frost-control strategy development.