Aircraft Icing Severity Evaluation

Abstract

Aircraft icing refers to the ice buildup on the surface of an aircraft flying in icing conditions. The ice accretion on the aircraft alters the original aerodynamic configuration and degrades the aerodynamic performances and may lead to unsafe flight conditions. Evaluating the flow structure, icing mechanism and consequences is of great importance to the development of an anti/deicing technique. Studies have shown computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and machine learning (ML) to be effective in predicting the ice shape and icing severity under different flight conditions. CFD solves a set of partial differential equations to obtain the air flow fields, water droplets trajectories and ice shape. ML is a branch of artificial intelligence and, based on the data, the self-improved computer algorithms can be effective in finding the nonlinear mapping relationship between the input flight conditions and the output aircraft icing severity features.

Modeling of Strain Actuation on Relatively Soft Curved Beams by Piezoelectric Ceramics for De-Icing Systems

“…The corresponding transmission factor was computed by dividing the ratio of the radial displacement, i.e., the k factor defined in (11), by the tangential force generated by the solving code. This parameter, equal to 2.89 × 10 −3 , was compared in Table 8 with the corresponding ones computed for flat beams with a piezo device of the same dimensions, using the transmission model reported above in Equation (9). The prediction given by the transmission model on the curved beam was satisfactory.…”

“…The formation of ice on aircraft structures has been considered a dangerous phenomenon posing a significant risk to the safety of the flight. Wings, blades, and aerodynamic surfaces in general suffer from this issue, which leads to losses in performance and safety for the aircraft [7][8][9].…”

“…Furthermore, the icing on the horizontal tail seriously damages the stability and manipulation of airplanes. Several accidents had occurred before authorities figured out the importance of icing formation as a main cause of them [9].…”

Early-Stage Ice Detection Utilizing High-Order Ultrasonic Guided Waves

“…Wing icing diminishes the stall angle of attack, while tail-plane icing can lead to tail-plane stalling and an increase in stick force, complicating aircraft control. Additionally, asymmetric ice formation can introduce additional rolling moments, limiting lateral control [7]. For wind turbine blades, icing can lead to a reduction in power production by up to 50% of the annual output [8].…”

“…Icing detection systems can be based on computational fluid dynamics, which predict the shape and severity of the ice under various flight conditions. Alternatively, they can rely on direct measurements of ice accretion on the body or parts of the wind turbine blades [7,9]. Among the direct ice accretion detection techniques, impedance and capacitance, vibration, fiber optic, and ultrasonic sensors are most widely adopted.…”