Smart low interfacial toughness coatings for on-demand de-icing without melting

Abstract

Ice accretion causes problems in vital industries and has been addressed over the past decades with either passive or active de-icing systems. This work presents a smart, hybrid (passive and active) de-icing system through the combination of a low interfacial toughness coating, printed circuit board heaters, and an ice-detecting microwave sensor. The coating’s interfacial toughness with ice is found to be temperature dependent and can be modulated using the embedded heaters. Accordingly, de-icing is realized without melting the interface. The synergistic combination of the low interfacial toughness coating and periodic heaters results in a greater de-icing power density than a full-coverage heater system. The hybrid de-icing system also shows durability towards repeated icing/de-icing, mechanical abrasion, outdoor exposure, and chemical contamination. A non-contact planar microwave resonator sensor is additionally designed and implemented to precisely detect the presence or absence of water or ice on the surface while operating beneath the coating, further enhancing the system’s energy efficiency. Scalability of the smart coating is demonstrated using large (up to 1 m) iced interfaces. Overall, the smart hybrid system designed here offers a paradigm shift in de-icing that can efficiently render a surface ice-free without the need for energetically expensive interface melting.

Erosion-resistant materials demonstrate low interfacial toughness with ice and superior durability

“…where E Ã is the effective modulus of the interface. As shown previously by the authors 9,10 and others, 11…”

“…Recent work has reported that Γ is temperature dependent, at least for UHMWPE. 10 As shown in Fig. 4a, no significant difference was found for Γ measured at −5, −10, and 20 °C for the ceramic erosion-resistant materials.…”

“…Whether the interface's strength or toughness controls the fracture of ice from the surface depends on the physical dimension of the interface, and how it compares to a cohesive length defined as:where is the effective modulus of the interface. As shown previously by the authors 9,10 and others, 11 the interfacial strength is the correct material design parameter only when the dimension of the iced interface is < ξ . For longer interfaces, Γ should be the focus of passive de-icing surface design because less energy will be expended during de-icing by minimizing Γ rather than τ ice .…”

Robust All-Waterborne Superhydrophobic Coating with Photothermal Deicing and Passive Anti-icing Properties

“…Deicing methods that rely on human intervention could be inefficient and outdated . Consequently, researchers have been exploring new passive anti-icing/deicing solutions predicated on the intrinsic properties of materials. , However, achieving both passive anti-icing/deicing functions on the same surface remains challenging.…”

MXene Free Standing Films: Unlocking the Impact of Flake Sizes in Microwave Resonant Structures in Humid Environments

“…[7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Microwave structures have been investigated in various geometries, such as planar antennas and resonators mounted on substrates, flexible resonant surfaces, and waveguiding channels. [13][14][15] The planar structures have demonstrated outstanding utility for applications demanding smaller form factors and reduced weights. Planar microwave structures, such as resonators and filters, have been investigated in passive and active configurations.…”