Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

PHOBIC2ICE will develop technologies and predictive simulation tools to avoid or mitigate the accretion of ice on aircraft, a significant problem for aircraft. Accretion of ice on aerostructures poses challenges for both aircraft security (as flying is restricted to only certain atmospheric conditions or to aircraft equipped with certified anti-icing technologies) and sustainability (by increasing the aerodynamic drag and thus increasing fuel burn). Several ice protection technologies are presently in use, however most of them have inherent negative effects such as high energy consumption, weight, environmental impact, high costs, and frequent reapplication need among others. PHOBIC2ICE will create a suite of innovative surface engineering solutions to reduce or eliminate ice accretion, including the development and evaluation of ice accretion simulation tools; novel protective coatings using green manufacturing processes; and sensors to detect the onset of ice formation on aircraft. PHOBIC2ICE brings together world-class expertise in developing high-performance, resource-efficient solutions to ice accretion that improve sustainable. Prevention or mitigation of ice formation using passive approaches like coatings will increase safety, reduce the energy of active de-icing and anti-icing technologies, and will reduce or even eliminate the need to use de-icing fluids on ground operations, which are environmentally unfriendly and incur flight delays. Innovative advanced materials and surface treatments will be developed and produced employing green processes and materials according to model predictions, and validated in lab-scale icing wind tunnel tests.