Numerical Simulation of an Airfoil Electrothermal-Deicing-System in the Framework of a Coupled Moving-Boundary Method

Abstract

A numerical method for the analysis of the electrothermal deicing system for an airfoil is developed taking into account mass and heat exchange at the moving boundary that separates the water film created due to droplet impingement and the ice accretion region. The method relies on a Eulerian approach (used to capture droplet dynamics) and an unsteady heat transfer model (specifically conceived for a multilayer electrothermal problem on the basis of the enthalpy theory and a phase-change correction approach). Through application of the continuous boundary condition for temperature and heat flux at the coupled movingboundary, several simulations of ice accretion, melting and shedding, runback water flow and refreezing phenomena during the electrothermal deicing process are conducted. Finally, the results are verified via comparison with experimental data. A rich set of data concerning the dynamic evolution of the distribution of surfacetemperature, water film height and ice shape is presented and critically discussed.