Cyclic Voltammetry for Accurate Icing Detection on Simulated Aircraft Surfaces

Abstract

Icephobic coatings are considered sustainable and cost-efficient technologies for preventing hazardous ice buildup in the aerospace industry. However, icing behaviour during initial ice formation on coated surfaces is not well understood. This icing period was characterised using cyclic voltammetry to determine the exact temperature of ice formation on simulated aircraft surfaces with or without icephobic coatings. The temperature of a water droplet on the material surface was slowly lowered while continuously monitoring cyclic voltammograms as it froze to form ice. The resulting voltammograms exhibited increased faradaic current peaks during this phase change suggesting a switch from diffusion to a surface-confined mass transfer mechanism. This method was then extended to surfaces of different roughness as well as coatings doped with zinc oxide and neodymium oxide nanoparticles. These modifications lowered the surface freezing point, which provided further insight into the mechanism governing surface temperature shifts at freezing. Given its wide-spread applicability, this analytical method could facilitate icephobic coating development and ice monitoring, thereby reducing icing risks in aerospace and related industries.