Evaluation of Ice Adhesion Strength on Erosion Resistant Materials

Abstract

Ice-adhesion properties were evaluated for coating systems based on titanium nitride applied via cathodic-arc physical vapor deposition developed for rotorcraft erosion caps. The ice-adhesion strength of titanium nitride and titanium aluminum nitride was determined experimentally and compared to the ice-adhesion strength of uncoated metallic materials currently used on rotor-blade leading-edge caps: stainless steel 430, Inconel 625, and titanium grade 2. Environmental and material parameters were investigated to identify which were most influential on impact ice-adhesion strength. The effects of median volumetric diameter of the cloud droplets, liquid water content of the cloud, ambient temperature, surface roughness, and material grain direction were tested on stainless steel 430. Tests revealed that surface roughness and temperature have the greatest effect on ice-adhesion strength. There was an increase in adhesion strength of 670% from −8 to −16 °C and 250% increase from 0.61 to 2.67Ra μm. An increas...