A Non-thermal De-icing Technique Using Ultrasonic Guided Waves

Abstract

A non-thermal and low-cost ultrasonic de-icing method was applied in this study to solve the problem of ice accumulation on the surface of the structure. Numerical simulation analysis and an experimental test were conducted to confirm the feasibility of non-thermal de-icing. The shear stresses generated by a transducer at different installation locations were calculated in ANASYS simulation software to determine the optimal installation location and excitation frequency of the transducer. The de-icing experiment shows that the ice patch (60mm × 60mm × 4mm) was removed in less than ten seconds notwithstanding in a freezer at - 25 °C. The thermocouple temperature curve shows that the surface temperature of the plate is always below 0 °C. In other words, the icing is removed by force rather than thermal effects. The results of the ANSYS numerical simulation are consistent with those of the experiment, which indicates that the ANSYS numerical simulation provides a good reference for the de-icing experiment. Both the numerical simulation and the experiment confirm that non-thermal de-icing can be realized using a sandwich ultrasonic transducer.