New Aircraft Anti/de-Icing Technologies

Abstract

The ice formation on the leading edge of aircraft wings is a crucial problem for aircraft flight. In this work, an efficient method for the anti/de-icing function based on the development of electro-conductive film heaters is prosed. A green solvent casting process is employed in the experimental procedure adopted for the film preparation. Two kinds of expanded graphite have been used. The different morphological feature of the two expanded graphites affects the heating performance of the films heaters. The film prepared using the nanoparticles with a higher aspect ratio manifests better electrical and heating performance, and therefore the de-icing activation at a lower applied voltage.