Study on the Dependence between Surface Topography and Icephobic Behavior of Ni–Cu–P Ternary Coatings

Abstract

Unpredictable ice accretion and accumulation phenomena could lead to serious problems and even disastrous accidents. Applying icephobic coatings onto the engineering surfaces could be an effective ice protection method. The icephobicity could be mainly affected by several material strategies, such as wettability, surface topography and surface toughness, etc. In this work, several topographical surfaces (Ni‐Cu‐P coatings prepared on 304 stainless steel (SS) using electroless deposition) were critically investigated to understand the role of surface topography in affecting icephobic performances, including anti‐icing and de‐icing aspects. The freezing delay tests showed that rougher surfaces contribute to longer icing delay in anti‐icing. The ice adhesion strength results indicated that rougher surfaces led to more mechanical interlock ice and increased the ice adhesion strength between the ice‐solid interfaces. The electro‐thermal de‐icing tests indicated that the rough voids introduce large thermal resistance and impede the heat conduction, resulting in the increase in detachment duration and energy input in de‐icing. The rough asperity could introduce air pockets at the surface interfaces, which led to the difficulty of droplet phase transition. The rough structure also increased the mechanical interlock as well as the thermal resistance and impeded the heat conduction, which deteriorated the de‐icing ability.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.