Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SURFICE (Smart surface design for efficient ice protection and control)
Reporting period: 2021-01-01 to 2022-12-31
applied to a rational design of anti-icing surfaces and systems. Furthermore, the arrival of hybrid or fully-electric engines, requires that new technologies also be developed for ice protection purposes suited to these new aircraft types. Already today, all new electric urban air mobility and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) developers and start-ups are experiencing difficulties in finding icing and inclement weather specialists. This is because such training is very specialized and the required skills take years to develop. SURFICE will address both aspects. 13 talented early stage researchers will be trained by an international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral consortium of experts in materials and surface science, physics and engineering.
The project will address three major research objectives: (i) investigate icing physics on complex surfaces to understand and model ice formation, accretion and adhesion; (ii) achieve rational design for anti-icing materials and coatings based on a novel concept of discontinuity-enhanced icephobicity; and (iii) develop new technologies for efficient ice prevention and control. The proposed anti-icing solutions will be directly applied in aeronautics, energy systems and sensor technologies, as well as glass manufacturing and automotive industry through industrial partners. Intertwining surface science and engineering will benefit icing research, but also other innovative emerging
technologies, where surface phenomena play a crucial role.
- WP1, Requirement definition: ATX has formulated, together with ESRs, the requirement to develop design rules to model and predict ice adhesion from material properties, to enable the design and optimization of mechanical de-icing systems for aerospace applications. KUL and ROLD helped defining the requirements for controlled refrigeration systems. FTT defined the ice accretion mechanism in metallic porous media and requirement to define design rules for antiicing coatings for wind sensors operating in cold climates.
- WP2, Physics of icing: measurements of the most relevant properties of complex substrates have been performed, experimental characterization of the main micro-physical processes involved in the discontinuous icing, and development of the mathematical models of these processes. The phenomena include voids formation on heterogeneous surfaces, ice nucleation and dendrite growth, ice fracture and its separation from the solid surface.
- WP3, Icephobic materials and coatings: fabrication of materials and coatings with icephobic properties, which incorporate the discontinuous icing mechanisms, is proceedng. The basic surfaces include soft materials, multi-scale nanoengineered materials, complex multicomponent polymer coatings.
- WP4, Integration of icephobic materials and ice protection systems: two different ice adhesion test rigs for ice adhesion in tension and shear mode, have been tested. For each test rig, the measurement concept is given and the choice of components involved in the set-up is justified. The influence of the characteristics of the surface and of icing parameters on the mechanical properties of ice have been evaluated.
- WP5, Scientific and Technical Training: two Training Schools and one Symposium were completed according to the schedule.
- WP6, Transferable Skills and Entrepreneurial Training: one Entrepreneurial Training was completed according to the schedule.
- WP7, Exploitation, dissemination and outreach activities: all activities are ongoing as planned.
- WP8, SURFICE coordination and project management: committees and boards have ben defined and carry on the coordination of th project.
- WP 9, Ethics requirements: ethics have been addressed.