Abstract In recent years the study of frost formation has gained renewed emphasis. Crucial to the development of the frost formation model has been the derivation of the frost thermal conductivity, which is the subject of this paper. The thermal conductivity of the frost layer plays an important part in its structure and rate of formation. A number of published papers have addressed the problem of computing the frost thermal conductivity. In this paper, the various approaches used in these published papers are examined by analyzing the underlying assumptions of each treatment. Full understanding of these assumptions begins with a discussion of all possible heat transfer processes within the frost layer, to determine which processes are significant and which can be safely neglected. From this perspective, the different approaches taken in the published papers can be evaluated and the results can be compared with experimental data. Furthermore, the range of environmental conditions can be determined for which a particular approach is realistic and the limitations of each approach can then be deduced. It will be shown that none of the approaches are sufficient for a general frost model. As a result, a new, more comprehensive method of calculating the frost thermal conductivity based on both theory and experimental data has been developed.
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