Experimental Study of a Piezoelectric De-Icing System Implemented to Rotorcraft Blades

Abstract

A four-year project investigating the use of piezoelectric actuators as a vibration-based low power de-icing system has been initiated at the Anti-Icing Materials Laboratory. The work done preceding this investigation consisted of studying, numerically and experimentally, the system integration to a flat plate structure, the optimal excitation of the system, the resonant structural modes and the shear stress amplitudes to achieve de-icing for that structure. In this new investigation, the concepts and conclusions obtained on the flat plate structure were used to design and integrate the system into a rotating blade structure. An experimental setup was built for de-icing tests in rotation within an icing wind tunnel, and a finite-element numerical model adapted to the new geometry of the blade was developed based on the expertise accumulated using previous flat plate structure analysis. Complete de-icing of the structure was obtained in the wind tunnel using the developed de-icing system, and its power consumption was estimated. The power consumption was observed to be lower than the currently used electrothermal systems. The finite-elements numerical model was therefore used to study the case of a full-scale tail rotor blade and showed that the power reduction of the system could be significantly higher for a longer blade, confirming, therefore, the relevance of further de-icing investigations on a full-scale tail rotor.

Cohesive Strength and Fracture Toughness of Atmospheric Ice

“…The configuration used in this study (described in Fig. 1) has been studied in previous works (Villeneuve et al, 2020c;Villeneuve et al, 2021c;Palanque et al, 2021;Gastaldo et al, 2022). The ice is accumulated on the sample covering the whole surface of the substrate.…”

“…In many industrial fields, such threats are not acceptable and therefore need to be resolved. Embedded mechanical de-icing systems are designed in order to remove the accreted ice (Laforte et al, 1998;Villeneuve et al, 2015;Villeneuve et al, 2020a;Villeneuve et al, 2020b;Villeneuve et al, 2020c;Ramanathan et al, 2000;Lin and Venna, 2002;Pommier-Budinger et al, 2018;Labeas et al, 2006;Endres et al, 2017;Villeneuve et al, 2021b;Villeneuve et al, 2021c). The design of efficient mechanical de-icing systems is however conditioned by the knowledge of the ice mechanical properties.…”

Numerical Analysis of the Wing Leading Edge Electro-Impulse De-Icing Process Based on Cohesive Zone Model

“…As a result, research into active de-icing equipment remains the primary focus of the present aircraft icing problem. Thermal [10][11][12], chemical [13,14], and mechanical de-icing [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] are examples of active de-icing technologies that can eliminate ice formation before it has visible harmful consequences. Thermal de-icing affects engine efficiency and heat utilization when the engine generates heat [24].…”

Electromechanical ice protection system: de-icing capability prediction considering impedance matching effect

“…Budinger et al [33] analysed the fracture propagation mechanisms of the ice layer under the excitation of an electromechanical resonant de-icing system with different resonant vibration mode types (flexural modes and extensional modes). Villeneuve et al designed the piezoelectric de-icing system according to some typical natural vibration modes and achieved ice delamination on flat plate and wing structures [34]. Apart from this research on impedance considerations, only Leandro et al introduced an adaptive impedance matching network into EDS to improve the output power [35].…”