Numerical simulation of the process of airfoil icing in the presence of large supercooled water drops

Abstract

We have developed a software package and related methodology that can be used to simulate the process of airfoil icing during flight in the presence of large supercooled liquid water drops in the oncoming airflow. The motion of a carrier medium is described using the Navier-Stokes equations for a compressible gas. The motion of water drops is described using an inertial model. The process of water deposition and its subsequent freezing on an airfoil surface are described by the method of control volumes based on the equations of conservation of mass, momentum, and energy for each element of the surface. The main results of simulations are presented for the icing of an NACA 0012 airfoil profile with “barrier” ice formation in the absence and presence of heating of the leading edge. The influence of the ice-growth thickness and position on the airfoil chord on the pattern of airflow and aerodynamic characteristics of airfoil is analyzed.