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Ice adhesion on lubricant-impregnated textured surfaces
Srinivas Bengaluru Subramanyam1, Konrad Rykaczewski, Kripa K Varanasi
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering and ‡Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|September 28, 2013
Summary
Researchers investigated ice adhesion on textured surfaces with lubricants. Optimizing lubricant-impregnated surfaces is key to improving icephobic treatments for critical infrastructure like aircraft and wind turbines.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Surface Engineering
- Tribology
Background:
- Ice accretion poses significant risks to aircraft, power lines, wind turbines, and oil platforms.
- Passive ice-repellent (icephobic) surface treatments are crucial for enhancing operational safety and efficiency.
- Understanding ice adhesion mechanisms is vital for developing advanced anti-icing solutions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the ice adhesion properties of lubricant-impregnated textured surfaces.
- To determine the influence of lubricant stability and surface texture on ice adhesion strength.
- To identify mechanisms governing ice detachment from these novel surfaces.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of textured surfaces impregnated with lubricant films.
- Quantification of ice adhesion strength using force measurements.
- Cryogenic Scanning Electron Microscopy (Cryo-SEM) to analyze ice-surface interfaces and fracture patterns.
Main Results:
- Ice adhesion strength was higher on surfaces with stable lubricant films compared to those with excess lubricant.
- Ice adhesion strength decreased with increasing texture density on the surfaces.
- Cryo-SEM revealed that increased texture density promoted stress concentrators and crack initiation sites, reducing adhesion.
Conclusions:
- Lubricant-impregnated textured surfaces show potential for ice adhesion reduction.
- Surface texture and lubricant stability critically influence ice adhesion strength.
- Optimization is required to surpass current state-of-the-art icephobic treatments for practical applications.
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