Embedded Electrode Plasma De-icing for Aircraft Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aircraft de-icing systems are not durable, erosion-resistant, and often add weight to the aircraft, as they typically expose electrodes to the atmosphere, limiting their functionality to single functions such as de-icing or ice detection.
Innovation Solution
Embedding electrodes beneath the aerodynamic surface within insulating material, protected from the environment, allows for multiple functions like ice detection, anti-icing, and boundary layer separation delay, using a voltage generator to ionize air and create plasma for efficient de-icing and aerodynamic enhancement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electrodes are exposed to the atmosphere for de-icing, then de-icing function is achieved, but durability and erosion resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode is embedded within a cavity in the aircraft skin, nested inside the protective structure rather than exposed externally. This nesting approach allows the electrode to perform de-icing functions while being protected from atmospheric erosion, resolving the contradiction between functional effectiveness and durability.
Solution Approach 2:
An insulating material is introduced as an intermediary between the electrode and the external environment. This mediator allows electrical discharge to occur through it for de-icing while protecting the electrode from direct exposure to atmospheric conditions, thereby maintaining both functionality and durability.
2Weight of moving object
If multiple functions are integrated into one system, then weight reduction is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The same embedded electrode structure performs multiple functions: de-icing through electrical discharge, ice detection through permittivity measurement, and boundary layer control. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate systems, reducing overall weight while the integrated design manages complexity through unified architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple functional capabilities (de-icing, detection, boundary layer control) are merged into a single electrode system. By combining these functions in one integrated structure rather than using separate systems, the overall weight is reduced while complexity is managed through unified control mechanisms.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If electrodes are embedded beneath aerodynamic surface, then erosion resistance is improved, but ice detection precision may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces direct mechanical contact between electrodes and ice with electromagnetic field-based detection through the insulating material. This substitution allows ice detection to occur through permittivity measurements of the insulating layer itself, maintaining precision without requiring exposed electrodes that would compromise erosion resistance.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an aircraft (5) comprising an aerodynamic surface (6), an aerodynamics improvement device with a first electrode (27) embedded beneath and electrically isolated from the aerodynamic surface (6), a second electrode (28) electrically isolated from the first electrode (27), a voltage generator (30) adapted to apply a voltage between the first and the second electrode, further comprising a layer of electrically insulating material (26) between the second electrode (28) and the aerodynamic surface (6). The invention also relates to methods for detecting ice on and de-icing an aerodynamic surface (6), and for delaying a boundary layer transition and separation from the aerodynamic surface.