Parameter Study for the Ice Adhesion Centrifuge Test

Abstract

In this study, we assessed the effects of ice types, test parameters, and surface properties on measurement data of the ice adhesion centrifuge test. This method is often used for the evaluation of low ice adhesion surfaces, although no test standard has been defined yet. The aim of this paper is to improve the understanding of the relevant test parameter and identify crucial criteria to be considered in harmonization and standardization efforts. Results clearly indicate that the ice type (static vs. impact ice) has the greatest impact on the test results, with static ice delivering higher values in a broader data span. This is beneficial for material developers as it eases the evaluation process, but it contradicts the technical efforts to design tests that are as close as possible to realistic technical environments. Additionally, the selected ice type has a significant impact on the relevance of the surface properties (roughness, wettability). Despite the complexity of interactions, a trend was observed that the roughness is the determining surface parameter for high impact velocity ice (95 m/s). In contrast, for tests with static ice, the wettability of the test surface is of higher relevance, leading to the risk of overestimating the icephobic performance of structured surfaces. The results of this paper contribute to the demanding future tasks of defining well-founded test standards and support the development of icephobic surfaces.

Passive Anti-Icing Performances of the Same Superhydrophobic Surfaces under Static Freezing, Dynamic Supercooled-Droplet Impinging, and Icing Wind Tunnel Tests

“…(e) SEM images of the SS1 structures after icing wind tunnel tests. (f) Summarization of the relationships between the size of the droplets/particles and the impacting velocity from four types of impacting experiments: water-jet impacting, solid-particle impacting, supercooled-droplet impinging, and icing wind tunnel tests. − (g) Calculated dynamic pressure P D when the droplets/particles contact the target surfaces. (h) Conceptual description diagram of pressure P versus time t according to the four impacting experiments.…”

“…Both supercooled-droplet impinging and icing wind tunnel test results demonstrate that droplet impacting is a significant factor that determines the ice-adhesion and structural damage on the substrate. To clarify how the droplet or solid-particle impacting influences and interacts with the target surfaces, we summarized the relationships between the size of the droplets/particles and the impacting velocity and illustrated the main parametric ranges from four typical experiments: water-jet impacting, solid-particle impacting, supercooled-droplet impinging, and icing wind tunnel tests (Figure f). − Water-jet impacting tests own a wide parametric range, with impacting velocities from several meters per second to tens of meters per second and droplet sizes of ∼500 to ∼3500 μm. Solid-particle impacting and supercooled-droplet impinging tests have the similar impacting velocities of several meters per second; the latter always adopts larger sizes of ∼2500 to ∼3000 μm, while the former mostly use particle sizes of less than 500 μm.…”

Icephobic Coating Based on Novel SLIPS Made of Infused PTFE Fibers for Aerospace Application

“…Ice adhesion tests were conducted using two distinct custom-made centrifuges, each equipped with a modified rotor designed to place and fasten the prepared test samples at INTA and IFAM. Both systems were described in detail in previous studies [ 44 , 45 ].…”

“…Ice adhesion tests were conducted using two distinct custom-made centrifuges, each equipped with a modified rotor designed to place and fasten the prepared test samples at INTA and IFAM. Both systems were described in detail in previous studies [44,45]. According to the equation presented in [46], the ice adhesion or shear stress needed to detach the ice from the surface was correlated to the rotational speed of the centrifuge rotor when the ice hit the centrifuge wall.…”

Special Issue “Superhydrophobic and Icephobic Coatings as Passive Ice Protection Systems for Aeronautical Applications”

“…The lack of a standard for the ice adhesion measurements offers many opportunities and opens new routes in this area. The effects of ice types, test parameters, and surface properties on the measurement data of ice adhesion centrifuge tests have been studied elsewhere [15]. Surfaces with low ice adhesion strength, achieved through the application of coatings [16] or through laser texturing [17], might also be highly useful in facilitating or assisting the manual de-icing process performed by the crew members [18].…”