Experimental Investigation of Low Power Electro-Thermal Ice Protection System

A wing model equipped with an electro-thermal ice protection system was tested at the FL-61 icing wind tunnel for a condition representative of in-flight icing. Three ice protection methods of the electro-thermal system were: (1) steady-state heating power, (2) superhydrophobic surface, and (3) cyclic de-icing method. The electro-thermal system in steady-state heating power was designed as running-wet, therefore incoming droplets were prevented from freezing but not fully evaporated. When combined with the superhydrophobic surface, the electro-thermal system diminished the power needed for anti-icing, reducing the energy consumption of 60% at the static air temperature of -7℃, what’s more no significant runback ice could be observed beyond protected region. When operating in de-icing mode, an electro-thermal ice protection system consumed less energy, but provided less protection when than in anti-icing mode. The de-icing mode consumed almost half the energy which anti-icing mode required, but residual and inter-cycle ice were observed during de-icing cycle. This test provided excellent documentation of electro-thermal ice protection system with three icing protection modes for UAV. The energy consumption reduced about 60%for the superhydrophobic surface combined electro-thermal system, and less runback ice forming compared with cyclic de-icing.