In-flight icing simulation with supercooled large droplet effects

Abstract

Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Turkey, 19-21 July, 2010.

In the current study, continued efforts to improve a computational in-flight icing prediction tool are introduced together with the obtained results. The computational method involves flow-field calculation around the wing section using Hess-Smith panel method, droplet trajectory determination and calculation of droplet collection efficiencies using the velocity field thus obtained. Next step is to compute convective heat transfer coefficient distribution over the section using an integral boundary-layer method. Computation of the ice accretion rates by establishing a thermodynamical balance and utilization of the Extended Messinger Method forms the focus of the developed computational tool. Finally, integration of ice accretion rates over time yields the ice shapes and the final geometry. Droplet breakup and droplet splash are accounted for, which are important phenomena for large droplets.