Hydrophobic Coating Study for Anti-icing Aircraft

Anti- or de-icing of an aircraft is necessary for a safe flight operation. Mechanical processes, such as heating and deicer boot, are widely used. Deicing fluids, such as ethylene glycol, are used to coat the aircraft. However, these should be coated every time before the take-off, since the fluids come off from the aircraft while cruising. We study a hydrophobic coating as an anti-icer for an aircraft. It is designed to coat on the aircraft without removal. Since a hydrophobic coating prevents water by reducing the surface energy, it would be an alternative to prevent ice on the aircraft. We provide a temperature-controlled room, which can control its temperature under icing conditions (-10 to 0 °C). The contact angle and the sliding angle are tested for various hydrophobic coatings. Candidate coatings are tested under super-cooled water spraying and under the representative in-flight icing conditions. Qualitative comparison among various hydrophobic coatings as an antiicer is discussed.