Self‐Repairing Performance of Slippery Liquid Infused Porous Surfaces for Durable Anti‐Icing

Abstract

AbstractIcing accretion on aircraft surfaces has threatened the flight safety so far. Slippery liquid infused porous surface (SLIPS) is an emerging anti‐icing method. Many studies have found that SLIPS has self‐repairing phenomena. However, there is almost no systematic research on the number of self‐repairs in service, which determines the durability of anti‐icing. Herein, the self‐repairing performance of SLIPS is studied through icing‐repairing and abrasion‐repairing cycles. A stable and smooth lubricating layer of SLIPS is obtained by infiltrating a silanized porous surface with silicone oil, and the porous surface is constructed by anodization. The SLIPS exhibits low ice‐adhesion strength even after frosting and the ice accumulation on the SLIPS can slide off under gravity. The self‐repairing properties are evaluated under the condition that the ice‐adhesion strength does not exceed 100 kPa. The SLIPS can withstand ≈150 icing/deicing cycles via 5 times of 1 h self‐repair and 100 abrasion cycles via 4 times of 1 h self‐repair. The results show that the SLIPS has durable anti‐icing properties. Therefore, the prepared SLIPS are promising in the field of durable aircraft anti‐icing materials.