Ice
accumulation on aircraft is known to negatively impact the
aerodynamic and mechanical operation, sometimes resulting in catastrophic
failure. Recently, microwave resonators have gained interest as durable
and reliable frost and ice detectors. Here, a microwave resonator
sensor with built-in heating capability patterned into the ground
plane was designed, fabricated, and tested to investigate real-time
ice and frost growth. Sensing was performed on surfaces with anti-icing
coatings to quantitatively analyze the effectiveness of these materials.
The sensor was also tested to determine its ability to evaluate different
deicing methods. The sensor itself was a split-ring resonator (SRR)
operating at 5.82 GHz, which could effectively distinguish between
water and ice by detecting changes in the dielectric properties on
or around its surface. This application was particularly suited for
an SRR due to the extreme difference between the relative permittivity
of water (ε = 90) and ice (ε = 3.2) at 5 GHz and 0 °C.
The results from this sensor can be used to determine the holdover
time of various coatings to resist ice formation. This study validates
the use of SRRs as ice detection sensors for applications where ice
and frost are of great interest, such as on aircraft, roads, or walkways.