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

Abstract The present work focuses on a trade-off on piezoelectric transducers, used for an ice protection system. The system is conceived for an airfoil segment that will be tested in the wind tunnel facility of IFAM. The scope of the abovementioned actuators is to drive ultrasound waves within the skin of the model and produce de-icing actions at the interface with accretions located on the leading-edge zone. A superhydrophobic coating is also used to vividly reduce the adhesion strength of the ice on the skin and, thus, increase the effectiveness of the system. The performance of the actuators was estimated considering their capability of producing shear actions at the interface with the ice and a potential crossing of the adhesion threshold. Different types of piezoelectric patches were evaluated on the basis of the thickness, the mechanical features of the material and the bonding layer. A finite element model was used to this scope, implementing a transient analysis and simulating the effect of a wavelet waveform excitation within the frequency bandwidth of interest. The results quantified the capability of the transducers to detach the ice, crossing its adhesion strength at specific frequency peaks, also highlighting the impact of certain design parameters.