Session: SYMP 4-3: Adaptive Aerospace Systems

Paper Number: 140207

140207 - Piezoelectric Transducers, Coating and Ice Accretion Geometry: A Study on Their Influence on the Effectiveness of an Ultrasonic Ice Protection System 

The present work focuses on the impact of some design parameters on an ice protection system based on piezoelectric and super-hydrophobic coating technology. The system foresees the detachment of ice accretions on aerodynamic surfaces by means of mechanical waves generated by piezoelectric transducers, facilitated by the reduced adhesion strength of the ice due to the coating. The advantages offered by this system are essentially: the low power consumption (even one order lower than conventional systems), the small invasiveness (the piezoelectric transducers represent a solid and compact solution that takes up little space), the possibility of driving the system by electrical signals (making it particularly prone to full-electric aircraft configurations). However, many aspects can influence the performance of this system. Among the others one recalls: the features of the piezoelectric transducers, as their size and material, the type of bonding, the mechanical aspects relevant to the substrate, the coating adhesion properties, the distribution of the ice.

In this work, attention is paid on abovementioned aspects, assuming as reference a wing demonstrator currently investigated within the Up-Wing (Clean Aviation) Project. The leading edge of this model will be, in fact, integrated with piezoelectric transducers and with a super-icephobic coating to investigate, within the wind tunnel test facility, the capability of these two systems to protect the wing from the ice. At first, the problem and the model itself was presented, critically discussing its main features against the possibility of integrating it by the protection systems. At second, the modelling/simulation approach was illustrated with particular attention to aspects as the connection of rigid or flexible piezoelectrics through an adhesion process. Another critical aspect faced is represented by the meshing strategy, compliant with the type of waves driven within the skin and their specific wavelength. Then the impact of the super-icephobic coating was also considered, here considered through a lower ice adhesion threshold. Then also the impact of the geometry of the ice was considered, tracking its effect on the dynamic response of the system. The effectiveness of the ice protection system was expressed as percentage of skin-ice interface on which the adhesion threshold was crossed. The work ends with a synoptic table that gives evidence of the influence of the just mentioned parameters on the detachment capability.

Acknowledgement

The project Ultra Performance Wing (UP Wing, project number: 101101974) is supported by the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking and its members.

 

Disclaimer

Co-Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Presenting Author: Salvatore Ameduri Italian Aerospace Research Centre

Presenting Author Biography: Salvatore Ameduri graduated in Aeronautic Engineering at the Univ. of Naples “Federico II” in 1998. In 2002, he defended a Ph.D. thesis in Aerospace Engineering, funded by EREA Organization, developing a smart system for normal shock wave mitigation in transonic. Hired in 2002 at CIRA, he is now senior researcher and responsible for the “Sensors and Actuators for Adaptive Structures” research unit. Author and co-author of 2 patents at European and worldwide level and of more than 100 indexed publications on scientific journals edited by AIAA, ASME, Elsevier, MDPI, SAGE, SPIE, Techno-Press, reviewer for these associations, winner of awards for project competitions, as invited speaker and best presentations, scientific reviewer for financing proposals, S. Ameduri has an H-index of 13 and plays the role of manager, technical coordinator and concept developer in National and International programs focusing on morphing, noise and vibration control, structural health monitoring.

Authors:

Salvatore Ameduri
Luigi Mangiacrapa
Filomena Piscitelli
Nadine Rehfeld
Denis Becker
Giuseppe Mingione
Antonio Concilio