Ice Adhesion Testing

Icing is a common phenomenon in many industries, including aviation, wind energy, solar energy, and other industrial applications. In case of aviation industry, for example, it can occur on the fuselage, pitot tubes, air inlets, leading edges but also on surfaces in the air condition of the aircraft or in the ground unit.

At AAC, an in-house ice adhesion test setup has been developed, which allows the rapid determination of static ice adhesion shear forces. In this test, water freezes on the surface (in form of cube) and subsequently pushed parallel to the surface until the ice breaks away.

• Sample size: up to (10 x 20) cm
• Sample substrate: Metal, 1mm thickness
• Measurement temperature: -35°C variable +/- 5°C
• Conditions: Test rig is open to the ambient.
• Ice volume: 0.5 mL
• Ice placement: 0.5mL are filled into an open bottom cuvette on the sample surface
• Data recording: Force over time, maximum force, surface and ambient temperature
• Up to six cuvettes can be placed in one test

The test is fast and is especially suitable for rapid screening of different materials or to evaluate the impact of environmental tests.

Additional surface analyses of the anti-icing surfaces can be performed with the available characterization and testing toolbox of AAC.