An Experimental Study on a Hot-Air-Based Anti-/De-Icing System for the Icing Protection of Aero-Engine Inlet Guide Vanes 2019-01-2039

In the present study, an experimental investigation was conducted to characterize a hot-air-based anti-/de-icing system for the icing protection of aero-engine inlet guide vanes(IGVs). The experimental study was conducted in a unique icing research tunnel available at Iowa State University (i.e., ISU-IRT). A hollowed IGV model embedded with U-shaped hot-air flowing conduit was designed and manufactured for the experimental investigations. During the experiments, while a high-speed imaging system was used to record the dynamic ice accretion or anti-/de-icing process over the surface of the IGV model for the test cases without and with the hot-air supply system being turned on, the corresponding surface temperature distributions on the IGV model were measured quantitatively by using a row of embedded thermocouples. In addition to investigating the characteristics of the convective heat transfer over the surface of the heated IGV model, a comprehensive parametric study was also conducted to evaluate the effects of the operation parameters of the hot-air-based anti-/de-icing system on its performance for IGV icing protection. The acquired ice accretion or anti-de-icing images were coordinated with the quantitative surface temperature measurements to elucidate the underlying physics. It was demonstrated clearly that, with proper operation parameters (i.e., by selecting proper heater temperature and mass flowrate of the hot-air stream), the hot-air-based anti-/de-icing system would be able to effectively prevent ice formation/accretion over the entire surface the IGV model.