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Imagine being able to stop things from frosting up ? This a potential new use for graphene.
Summary: In a new study, researchers discovered that tweaking the texture of any surface and adding a thin layer of graphene oxide prevents 100% of frost from forming on surfaces for one week or potentially even longer. This is 1,000 times longer than current, state-of-the-art anti-frosting surfaces. Share:
Someday, people might finally say goodbye to defrosting the freezer or scraping frost off slippery surfaces. Northwestern University engineers have developed a new strategy that prevents frost formation before it begins.
In a new study, the researchers discovered that tweaking the texture of any surface and adding a thin layer of graphene oxide prevents 100% of frost from forming on surfaces for one week or potentially even longer. This is 1,000 times longer than current, state-of-the-art anti-frosting surfaces.
As an added bonus, the new scalable surface design also is resistant to cracks, scratches and contamination.
By incorporating the textured surface into infrastructure, the researchers imagine companies and government agencies could save billions of dollars per year in averted maintenance costs and energy inefficiencies.
The research will be published on Wednesday (Oct. 30) in the journal Science Advances.
"Unwanted frost accumulation is a major concern across industrial, residential and government sectors," said Northwestern's Kyoo-Chul Kenneth Park, who led the study. "For example, the 2021 power crisis in Texas cost $195 billion in damages, resulting directly from frost, ice and extreme cold conditions for more than 160 hours. Thus, it is critical to develop anti-frosting techniques, which are robust for long periods of time in extreme environmental conditions. It is also necessary to develop anti-frosting methods which are easy to fabricate and implement. We designed our hybrid anti-frosting technique with all of these needs in mind. It can prevent frosting for potentially weeks at a time and is scalable, durable and easily fabricated through 3D printing."
Farewell frost! New surface prevents frost without heat
Optimized surface prevents 100% of frost formation on flat areas for a week
Date: October 30, 2024 Source: Northwestern UniversitySummary: In a new study, researchers discovered that tweaking the texture of any surface and adding a thin layer of graphene oxide prevents 100% of frost from forming on surfaces for one week or potentially even longer. This is 1,000 times longer than current, state-of-the-art anti-frosting surfaces. Share:
Someday, people might finally say goodbye to defrosting the freezer or scraping frost off slippery surfaces. Northwestern University engineers have developed a new strategy that prevents frost formation before it begins.
In a new study, the researchers discovered that tweaking the texture of any surface and adding a thin layer of graphene oxide prevents 100% of frost from forming on surfaces for one week or potentially even longer. This is 1,000 times longer than current, state-of-the-art anti-frosting surfaces.
As an added bonus, the new scalable surface design also is resistant to cracks, scratches and contamination.
By incorporating the textured surface into infrastructure, the researchers imagine companies and government agencies could save billions of dollars per year in averted maintenance costs and energy inefficiencies.
The research will be published on Wednesday (Oct. 30) in the journal Science Advances.
"Unwanted frost accumulation is a major concern across industrial, residential and government sectors," said Northwestern's Kyoo-Chul Kenneth Park, who led the study. "For example, the 2021 power crisis in Texas cost $195 billion in damages, resulting directly from frost, ice and extreme cold conditions for more than 160 hours. Thus, it is critical to develop anti-frosting techniques, which are robust for long periods of time in extreme environmental conditions. It is also necessary to develop anti-frosting methods which are easy to fabricate and implement. We designed our hybrid anti-frosting technique with all of these needs in mind. It can prevent frosting for potentially weeks at a time and is scalable, durable and easily fabricated through 3D printing."
Farewell frost! New surface prevents frost without heat
In a new study, researchers discovered that tweaking the texture of any surface and adding a thin layer of graphene oxide prevents 100% of frost from forming on surfaces for one week or potentially even longer. This is 1,000 times longer than current, state-of-the-art anti-frosting surfaces.
www.sciencedaily.com
