Icing Condition Predictions Using FBGS

Abstract

Icing is a hazard which is important for the aerospace industry and which has grown over the last few years. Developing sensors that can detect the existence not only of standard icing conditions with typically small droplet size, but also of Supercooled Large Droplet (SLD) conditions is one of the most important aims in order to minimize icing hazards in the near future. In the present paper a study of the Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors’ (FBGSs) performance as a flight icing detection system that predicts the conditions of an icing cloud is carried out. The test matrix was performed in the INTA Icing Wind Tunnel (IWT) with several icing conditions including SLD. Two optic fibers with 16 FBGS in total were integrated in the lower and upper surface of an airfoil to measure the temperature all over the chord. The results are compared with a Messinger heat and mass balance model and the measurements of the FBGS are used to predict the Liquid Water Content (LWC) and Ice Accretion Rate (IAR). Finally, the results are evaluated and a sensor assessment is made. A good correlation was observed between theoretical calculations and test results obtained with the FBGS in the IWT tests. FBGS proved to detect the beginning and end of ice accretion, LWC and IAR quickly and with good precision.

A Capacitive Ice-Sensor Based on Graphene Nano-Platelets Strips

“…However, each of the proposed technologies has advantages and drawbacks, and thus research is still needed both to optimize existing solutions and to find novel ones. Sensors based on physical contact are based on the influence of the ice on the surface acoustic waves [ 11 ], on the electrical parameters [ 3 ], on the latent energy [ 5 ], on the heat transfer on temperature sensors made by thermocouples [ 12 ], or by fiber Bragg gratings [ 9 , 13 ]. These sensors have the advantage of easier embedding but can lead to an underestimation or overestimation of the actual ice accumulation, being most highly sensitive to surface or near-surface contact.…”