High Frequency Microwave Anti-/De-Icing System for Carbon Reinforced Airfoil Structures

摘要

An aircraft may be subjected to icing for a variety of meteorological reasons during the flight. Ice formation on the plane and in particular on the aerodynamically carrying structures adversely affects the flight behaviour. Conventional de-icing methods for aluminum wings are characterised by a high energy consumption during the flight and slow ice melting due to thermal diffusion of the heat in the wing material. In addition to advanced turbines, novel materials and composites have to be used in order to reduce the weight and, hence, the fuel consumption. These composite materials have a far worse thermal conductivity than metals and undergo delamination when hot air systems, resistance or ohmic heating mats are used. In the paper, the unique advantages of a novel High Frequency Microwave Anti-/De-icing System for large future aircraft with carbon reinforced leading edge structures are presented.