Effect of Surface Modification on the Hybrid Ice Protection Systems Performances

The formation of ice can be very detrimental to flight safety, since the ice accumulated on the surfaces of the aircraft can alter both the aerodynamics and the weight, leading in some cases to catastrophic lift reductions. Traditional active Ice Protection Systems (IPS) require high energy to work, add on weight to the aircraft and complexity to the manufacturing. On the other hand, the use of passive IPS, such as superhydrophobic/icephobic coatings, cannot be successful in harsh environmental conditions or for prolongated icing expositions. So, a valuable solution could be the combination of active and passive IPS with the aim to combine the advantage of both of them and mitigate their drawbacks. In this context, the present work proposes two innovative Hybrid IPS, based on an ultrasound piezoelectric system and on a thermoelectric system manufactured using carbon fibers as heater elements, both combined with a superhydrophobic coating with the aim to study the effect of the surface wettability on their power consumption. Preliminary simulations and design calculations give evidence that the reduced surface wettability achieved through the application of a superhydrophobic coating can be highly helpful in the reduction of the power supply required from the two active IPS. The energy saving has been estimated as ranging from 96.5% at 250V to 91.2% at 1000V for the hybrid ultrasound piezoelectric-superhydrophobic coating system, and up to 53% depending to the water droplet volume and the surface temperature, for the hybrid thermoelectric-superhydrophobic coating system.