Effect Of Ice And Heated-Air Deicing On The Aerodynamic Performance Of Propellers

A review is made of several wind-tunnel investigations dealing with the effect of ice on the aerodynamic efficiency of a propeller, as compared to the efficiency loss associated with a heated-air anti-icing system. The propeller aerodynamic characteristics, thrust coefficient, and efficiency with and without the simulated ice are presented. A heated-air thermal anti-icing system for propellers is discussed and the results of an analysis of the losses inherent in such a system for an idealized case is presented. Two wind-tunnel investigations of propellers incorporating internal-flow systems are described: for one investigation the system was simplified almost to the ideal case, in the other investigation a propeller with a complete heated-air anti-icing system was used. The measured losses of efficiency are shown to be in good agreement with those predicted by theory.