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Results from a three-dimensional computer model of a Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) based de-icing system are compared to experimental data obtained at COLLINS-Ohio Icing Wind Tunnel (IWT). The experiments were performed using a prototype of a CNT based de-icing system installed in a section of a business jet horizontal tail. The 3D numerical analysis tools used in the comparisons are AIPAC [1] and CFD++. The former was derived from HASPAC, an anti-icing computer model developed at Wichita State University in 2010 [3, 9, 10]. AIPAC uses the finite volumes method for the solution of the icing problem on an airfoil leading edge (or other 3D surfaces) and relies on any CFD solver to obtain the external flow properties used as boundary conditions. AIPAC is capable of predicting 3D multi-step ice shapes under rime, glaze and mixed regimes, and can also deal with the complex dynamics of cyclic ice accretion, melting, and shedding present in the realm of aircraft electrothermal de-icing systems.

A 3D computer model named AIPAC (Aircraft Ice Protection Analysis Code) suitable for thermal ice protection system parametric studies has been developed. It was derived from HASPAC, which is a 2D anti-icing model developed at Wichita State University in 2010. AIPAC is based on the finite volumes method and, similarly to HASPAC, combines a commercial Navier-Stokes flow solver with a Messinger model based thermodynamic analysis that applies internal and external flow heat transfer coefficients, pressure distribution, wall shear stress and water catch to compute wing leading edge skin temperatures, thin water flow distribution, and the location, extent and rate of icing. In addition, AIPAC was built using a transient formulation for the airfoil wall and with the capability of extruding a 3D surface grid into a volumetric grid so that a layer of ice can be added to the computational domain.

Results from a two-dimensional computer model developed at Wichita State University (WSU) for bleed air system analysis are compared with experimental data from icing tunnel tests performed with a wing model equipped with a hot air ice protection system. The computer model combines a commercial Navier-Stokes flow solver with a steady-state thermodynamic analysis model that applies internal flow heat transfer correlations to compute wing leading edge skin temperatures and the location and extent of the runback ice. The icing tunnel data used in the validation of the computer model were obtained at the NASA Icing Research Tunnel using representative in-flight icing conditions and a range of bleed air system mass flows and hot air temperatures. Correlation between experiment and analysis was good for most of the test cases used to assess the performance of the simulation model.