Icephobic Performance of Multi-Scale Laser-Textured Aluminum Surfaces for Aeronautic Applications

Abstract

Ice-building up on the leading edge of wings and other surfaces exposed to icing atmospheric conditions can negatively influence the aerodynamic performances of aircrafts. In the past, research activities focused on understanding icing phenomena and finding effective countermeasures. Efforts have been dedicated to creating coatings capable of reducing the adhesion strength of ice to a surface. Nevertheless, coatings still lack functional stability, and their application can be harmful to health and the environment. Pulsed laser surface treatments have been proven as a viable technology to induce icephobicity on metallic surfaces. However, a study aimed to find the most effective microstructures for reducing ice adhesion still needs to be carried out. This study investigates the variation of the ice adhesion strength of micro-textured aluminum surfaces treated using laser-based methods. The icephobic performance is tested in an icing wind tunnel, simulating realistic icing conditions. Finally, it is shown that optimum surface textures lead to a reduction of the ice adhesion strength from originally 57 kPa down to 6 kPa, corresponding to a relative reduction of ~90%. Consequently, these new insights will be of great importance in the development of functionalized surfaces, permitting an innovative approach to prevent the icing of aluminum components.

Editorial: Special Issue “Laser-Generated Periodic Nanostructures”

“…We aimed to attract both academic and industrial researchers in order to collate the current knowledge of nanomaterials and to present new ideas for future applications and new technologies. By 8 August 2021, 22 scientific articles have been published in the Special Issue [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ], see .…”

“…Three “Feature Papers” [ 15 , 16 , 17 ] were invited by the Guest Editors for the adequate framing of this Special Issue. An additional 19 papers were published as regular contributions [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ].…”

“…An additional 19 papers were published as regular contributions [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. The publications in this Special Issue can generally be divided into three groups: (1) manuscripts related to self-organized laser-induced periodic surface structures [ 15 , 18 , 19 , 21 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ], (2) manuscripts related to interference-based periodic surface structuring [ 17 , 22 , 27 , 29 ], or (3) manuscripts combining both approaches [ 16 , 20 ].…”

“…Two articles investigate in vitro the growth of different types of biological cells (either scar-forming fibroblasts or bone-forming osteoblasts) on laser-generated micro- and nanostructures for medical applications [ 19 , 25 ]. Other applications qualify the real-life anti-icing properties of large-area laser-structured surfaces for aeronautic applications [ 17 ], and the alteration of surface superconductivity is demonstrated with a view toward future energy applications [ 24 ].…”

“…In another Feature Paper, Milles et al [ 17 ] studied the icephobic performance of hierarchical multiscale laser-textured aluminum alloy (AL2024) surfaces for aeronautic applications. Using ps- and ns-laser sources, the authors employed direct laser writing (DLW) and direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) to process different periodic surface topographies with feature sizes ranging between 2.6 and 50 µm.…”