NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF ICE ACCRETION ON AIRFOILS

Abstract

Summary An approach to numerically simulate ice accretion on airfoils has been developed and used to characterize ice accretion on a NACA0012 airfoil. In this paper we present the background and motivation for the investigation, the techniques used, and then the main results are presented. The validation of the simulation approach developed in this paper is also discussed. Finally, the conclusions are presented based on our analysis of the results presented. Ice accretion on airplane wings can be a hazard to flight safety. The cause of the accretion is due to supercooled water droplets impinging to the windward face of the wings. Ice accretion can modify the designed aerodynamic shape of airfoils and considerably degrade their aerodynamic performance. Thus, being able to evaluate the mechanisms and consequences of ice accretion is of great importance to anti-icing and de-icing.