There is a significant interest in improving the performance of rotors under adverse operating conditions. However, there is a very limited understanding of the performance implications on 2D airfoils and rotor blades under adverse effects of rainfall. Furthermore, the fundamental physical phenomena causing the loss in performance are not clearly understood. In this study, low fidelity models are first developed to rapidly estimate the water layer formation on 2D airfoils and assess the resulting impact on lift and drag characteristics. The low fidelity simulations are also useful to obtain quick estimates of water layer thickness as a function of liquid water content and droplet diameter. Subsequently, computational fluid dynamics studies for 2D airfoils and a small-scale rotor in hover are done to obtain more accurate estimates of the effects of rain on airfoil performance and match test data where available. Higher-fidelity parametric studies for various airfoils were conducted by varying angles of attack, the liquid water content in the rain droplets, and the droplet diameters to capture trends in performance degradation. The resulting trends match the trends from the test data reasonably well. The higher fidelity airfoil loads are subsequently used within a classical combined blade element-momentum model (BEM) to assess the loss of performance attributable to rain for a small-scale rotor.

This paper provides a description of a recent comprehensive Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) for icing research. A team of NASA icing subject matter experts (SMEs) was assembled from NASA’s Glenn and Langley Research Centers, which began by gathering inputs from icing stakeholders in industry, Government, and academia. Those inputs, which were grouped into a number of themes, were used by the SMEs to identify needed icing technical elements. Each of these high-level technical elements included the icing physics, modeling capabilities, and experimental capabilities needed to address a particular element. A multivariable analysis technique called TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solutions) was then applied to prioritize the technical elements for several potential future realities. A large number of icing research needs were identified and analyzed to determine the highest priorities for NASA key focus areas and those that will endure into the future. The primary outcome of the AoA is the identification of legacy and newly identified capability areas in priority order to guide future investment.

This work addresses the ice prediction cases studies for the 1st AIAA Ice Prediction Workshop generated using a mix of commercial and in-house tools. All predictions are compared with those by LEWICE. Results from both 2D NACA 23012 airfoil cases and 3D NACA 0012 swept wing cases have been included. It is observed that the computational tools have a much better correlation with experimental data for rime icing conditions. For glaze icing conditions, the ice horns are not accurately predicted. The impact of parameters such as surface temperature, heat transfer coefficient, and time-step for flow and droplet field re-computation is explored.

Super-cooled large droplets (SLDs) present a unique experimental challenge for conventional horizontal spray icing wind tunnels due to gravity effects on the droplets and coalescence between the particles. Limited ice accretion shapes in this regime exist, making the verification of modeling tools and the validation of the applicability of scaling methods difficult. Furthermore, SLD accretions often occur in nature in a bimodal icing cloud, providing an additional facility challenge related to the reproduction of such clouds. The objective of this research effort is to expand the available SLD dataset to assess the capability of an existent ice accretion tool (LEWICE 2D) to predict such ice shapes. The effort also attempts to further verify the applicability of ice shape scaling methods in the SLD regime. Finally, bimodal SLD cloud reproduction and ice shape prediction is investigated. The Adverse Environment Rotor Test Stand (AERTS) at Penn State was assessed as an alternative facility to icing wind tunnels for ice accretion testing in the SLD regime. Laser diffraction measurement data analysis demonstrated that the icing nozzles used in the facility can produce an SLD within +/- 11.9% of requested values. Techniques to measure liquid water content (LWC) in the facility are also presented. LWC was controllable within +/- 16%. LEWICE ice shapes predicted were obtained using legacy empirical heat transfer models as well as an updated empirical heat transfer function developed at Penn State. When comparing modeling results to experimental shapes from the literature and the AERTS, LEWICE with the updated heat transfer function provided stagnation thicknesses within 5.6% of experimental values and horn protrusion within 16%. The modified Ruff scaling ice shape method was effective in the SLD regime, providing a mean deviations of 2.5% between reference and scaled ice shape characteristics. Finally, characteristics of a bimodal ice shapes were predicted by LEWICE. When comparing modeling results to experimental shapes, LEWICE with the updated heat transfer function provided predictions within 10.3% of the experimental stagnation thickness measured. It also provided horn angles with discrepancies of less than 12%. Icing limits of a bimodal icing cloud were observed to be that of a single mode SLD cloud of the same MVD, with an overall deviation of +/- 12.1% when comparing the experimental database to LEWICE.

Since, ice accretion can significantly degrade the performance and the stability of an airborne vehicle, it is imperative to be able to model it accurately. While ice accretion studies have been performed on airplane wings and helicopter blades in abundance, there are few that attempt to model the process on more complex geometries such as fuselages. This paper proposes a methodology that extends an existing in-house Extended Messinger solver to complex geometries by introducing the capability to work with unstructured grids and carry out spatial surface streamwise marching. For the work presented here commercial solvers such as STAR-CCM+ and ANSYS Fluent are used for the flow field and droplet dispersed phase computations. The ice accretion is carried out using an in-house icing solver called GT-ICE. The predictions by GT-ICE are compared to available experimental data, or to predictions by other solvers such as LEWICE and STAR-CCM+. Three different cases with varying levels of complexity are presented. The first case considered is a commercial transport airfoil, followed by a three-dimensional MS(1)-317 swept wing. Finally, ice accretion calculations performed on a Robin fuselage have been discussed. Good agreement with experimental data, where applicable, is observed. Differences between the ice accretion predictions by different solvers have been discussed.

The formation of ice on aircraft is a highly dynamic process during which ice will expand and contract upon freezing and undergoing changes in temperature. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulations were performed investigating the stress build up in a simplified case with uniform temperature changes between an idealized ice sample and acrylic substrate. These results were used to place strain gages on custom-built acrylic and aluminum specimens; these specimens were then placed in icing conditions such that ice was grown on top of the specimen. Tee rosettes were placed in two configurations adjacent to thermocouple sensors. It was hypothesized that the ice would expand on freezing and contract as the temperature of the interface returned to the equilibrium conditions. While results from the aluminum specimens matched this hypothesis, results from the acrylic specimens show a short period of contraction followed by a much larger expansion at the interface, indicating more complex ice growth thermodynamics than anticipated. Samples were observed to delaminate, and the data suggests that the residual strain is significant to the shedding of ice for in-flight applications.

Ice accretion for the NACA 0012 and the SC 2110 airfoils was modeled for different steady and unsteady flow conditions and compared with available experimental data. A previously developed spatially marching scheme for ice accretion was recast as a time-marching algorithm, allowing reversed flow and radial flow to be readily handled. The simulation was carried out as a multi-step process where the flow field around the iced airfoil was recomputed periodically. A two-dimensional compressible Navier Stokes solver was used to obtain the flow field, followed by an Eulerian droplet model and an icing model based on the extended-Messinger model. The results show reasonable agreement with experimental data for most of the conditions tested. Iced airfoil results for the steady and the oscillating SC 2110 airfoil cases were compared and it was determined that the differences in the two cases are small. A short simulation for 120 seconds for the oscillating case was carried out which confirmed that the differences between the final ice shape for a steady and an oscillating case are negligible.

To design effective anti-icing and de-icing technology for aircraft, scientists and engineers must obtain a fundamental understanding of the microstructural characteristics of impact ice. This study investigates the effects of icing parameters, such as airspeed and liquid water content (LWC), on impact ice microstructure near the interface to a metal substrate. Ice samples were accreted in the NASA Glenn Icing Research Tunnel and tested in the NASA Revolutionary Icing Materials Evaluation Laboratory. A microtome was used to shave down the ice to a thickness of < 1 mm for examination under a microscope. Samples were imaged at multiple magnifications using bright field imaging. The average grain size was determined for each sample in accordance with ASTM standard methods, and relationships between airspeed, LWC, and grain size were identified. It was observed that the average grain area in a given cross-section was linearly related to the distance of the cross-section from the metal surface. Finally, the effects of annealing and sublimation on the microstructure were also explored. Results show significant variation in the grain structure, suggesting a means by which icing condition influences adhesion strength.

The formation of ice over lifting surfaces can affect aerodynamic performance. The ability to predict ice accumulation and the resulting degradation in vehicle performance is essential to determine the limitations of aircraft in icing encounters. The consequences of underestimating performance degradation can be serious and so it is important to produce accurate predictions, particularly for severe icing conditions. The simulation of ice accretion is a challenging multidisciplinary problem that requires close collaboration between the computational and ground test communities. This paper describes three recent case studies and the lessons learned through collaborative experiments and computations in aircraft icing- one for large commercial transports, one for rotorcraft, and one dealing with icing on regional jets.

Calculations for ice accretion and shedding are presented for a model scale rotor in hover. The aerodynamic characteristics of the rotor are first computed using a combined blade element-momentum theory. The effective angles of attack, and the local flow velocity are used within the NASA Glenn solver LEWICE to estimate the collection efficiency. The computed convection efficiency and the surface pressure distribution from a panel method within LEWICE are used to estimate the ice accretion over the rotor blades over an elapsed time interval. Finally, a force balance approach is used to establish shedding events where the centrifugal force over the ice mass exceeds the adhesive forces at the rotor surface and the cohesive forces between adjacent masses of ice. Preliminary comparisons with test data acquired at the Pennsylvania State Icing Research Tunnel are presented. Sensitivity of the ice shedding events to surface roughness, adhesive strength, cohesive strength, and ambient conditions is discussed.

Operations in ice crystals conditions are a threat to commercial aviation. The ingestion of ice crystals can affect different aircraft probes but can also affect jet engines. As fully frozen ice crystals enter an engine, partial melting occurs on the low-pressure compressor region of the engine, and ice accretion could occur on warm surfaces due to the presence of water coupled with the cooling capacity of the unfrozen portion found on the particles. Understanding the fundamental fracture dynamics that occur when partially melted ice crystals impact a surface is needed for model development and verification. To experimentally measure such fracture/splashing dynamics, a test rig was designed and fabricated to observe the impacts of partially melted ice particles. Ice particles ranging from 403 gm to 1028 gm were suspended on an ultrasonic levitator and were allowed to melt under natural convection. A fluorescence-based technique was used to quantify the water content of the melting ice particle in real time. A pneumatic launcher was automatically triggered at a requested water content to ice ratio, and a stainless steel impactor was launched at speeds ranging from 2.8 ms(-1) to 65.5 ms(-1). The impacts were recorded with a high-speed camera at 75,000 frames per second. The qualitative behavior of these impacts was observed, and an empirical model to determine the threshold velocity for an ice particle to fracture for varying water contents to ice ratios was proposed. From this empirical model, when the water content ratio was 79%, the impact velocity required to fracture a particle increased by 81% from the value obtained for fully frozen cases. Moreover, a new technique to measure the water content of a melting ice particle based on the diameter of the ice core observed post impact was conducted. The post-impact direct measurement technique was compared to the real-time fluorescence-based water content quantification technique to asses its accuracy and to understand partial melting quantification uncertainties.

This paper describes the development and testing of Metal Rubber sensors for the nondestructive, normal force detection of ice accretion on aerospace structures. The buildup of ice on aircraft engine components, wings and rotorblades is a problem for both civilian and military aircraft that must operate under all weather conditions. Ice adds mass to moving components, thus changing the equations of motion that control the operation of the system as well as increasing drag and torque requirements. Ice also alters the surface geometry of leading edges, altering the airflow transition from laminar to turbulent, generating turbulence and again increasing drag. Metal Rubber is a piezoresistive material that exhibits a change in electrical resistance in response to physical deformation. It is produced as a freestanding sheet that is assembled at the molecular level using alternating layers of conductive metal nanoparticles and polymers. As the volume percentage of the conductive nanoparticle clusters within the material is increased from zero, the onset of electrical conduction occurs abruptly at the percolation threshold. Electrical conduction occurs due to electron hopping between the clusters. If a length of the material is strained, the clusters move apart so the efficiency of electron hopping decreases and electrical resistance increases. The resulting change in resistance as a function of the change in strain in the material, at a specific volume percentage of conductive clusters, can be interpreted as the transduction response of the material. We describe how sensors fabricated from these materials can be used to measure ice buildup.

Advanced tools for modeling ice accretion based on LEWICE and an Extended Messinger Model are being coupled to the DoD HPCMP CREATETM HELIOS code, and in particular the OVERFLOW 2.2k option within HELIOS. Tools for deicing and ice shedding, using the ice shape computed from the OVERFLOW flow field, are integrated into the HELIOS infrastructure through a set of python-based interfaces. The integrated icing analysis tools are then applied to rotorcraft icing problems. A series of progressively challenging simulations have been carried out. The numerical results are validated against a set of test data for ice shapes and associated measurements. Selected results are presented that demonstrate and validate these methods.

In nature, anti-freeze proteins present in fish utilize specific organic functionalities to disrupt ice crystal formation and propagation. Based on these structures, surfaces with controlled chemical functionality and chain length were evaluated both experimentally and computationally to assess the effect of both parameters in mitigating ice formation. Linear aliphatic dimethylethoxysilanes terminated with methyl or hydroxyl groups were prepared, characterized, and used to coat aluminum. The effect upon icing using a microdroplet freezing apparatus and the Adverse Environment Rotor Test Stand found hydroxyl-terminated materials exhibited a greater propensity for ice formation and adhesion. Molecular dynamics simulations of a silica substrate bearing functionalized species of similar composition were brought into contact with a pre-equilibrated ice crystal. Several parameters including chain mobility were monitored to ascertain the size of a quasi-liquid layer. The studies suggested that chain mobility affected the interface between ice and the surface more than terminal group chemical composition.

When helicopters are to fly in icing conditions, it is necessary to consider the possibility of ice shed from the rotor blades. In 2013, a series of tests were conducted on a heated tail rotor at NASA Glenn's Icing Research Tunnel (IRT). The tests produced several shed events that were captured on camera. Three of these shed events were captured at a sufficiently high frame rate to obtain multiple images of the shed ice in flight that had a sufficiently long section of shed ice for analysis. Analysis of these shed events is presented and compared to an analytical Shedding Trajectory Model (STM). The STM is developed and assumes that the ice breaks off instantly as it reaches the end of the blade, while frictional and viscous forces are used as parameters to fit the STM. The trajectory of each shed is compared to that predicted by the STM, where the STM provides information of the shed group of ice as a whole. The limitations of the model's underlying assumptions are discussed in comparison to experimental shed events.

With support from and collaboration with NASA and the DoD's Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence, research at Georgia Institute of Technology and The Pennsylvania State University are conducting computational and experimental studies on ice accretion for representative 2-D and 3-D configurations. A wealth of data including ice shapes, surface pressure data, and 3-D performance data (such as sectional lift, drag, thrust, torque) are being acquired. Details of the ice modelling tools are presented along with selected validation studies. Advantages and shortcomings of the methods are discussed as are our teams prospects for the future.