Numerical Optimization of Electrothermal Ice Protection Systems

In-flight icing presents a severe hazard to flying vehicles. Nowadays, aircraft and rotorcraft are usually equipped with ice protection systems to prevent or delay ice accretion. This chapter presents a framework for optimizing a modular electro-thermal ice protection system working in anti-icing mode (AI-ETIPS). The main goal is to maximize evaporation efficiency by minimizing the required power and runback ice formations. The heat flux distribution on the protected part of the leading edge is modified to determine the optimal configuration to reach this objective. The methodology presented can help design safe, reliable, and more efficient ice protection systems. The framework comprises a gradient-free optimization algorithm: Mesh Adaptive Direct Search (MADS), and an ice accretion simulation framework to assess the ice protection system performances: the in-house developed numerical code PoliMIce. Optimization can be performed by considering nominal flight and cloud parameters or uncertain cloud conditions. An application example of this optimization framework is presented as a reference test case.