Ultra-efficient and thermally-controlled atmospheric structure deicing strategy based on the Peltier effect

Abstract

Snow and ice coverage pose significant threats to the safe and stable operation of energy equipment. To address the challenges of high power consumption and thermal damage to materials resulting from prolonged use of thermal ice melting technology, this study developed and tested a low-power, thermally controlled de-icing system. The system employs thermoelectric material as the heating element to minimize power consumption and prevent thermal damage to the substrate material. Compared to traditional thermal elements, it offers advantages such as single-sided heat production, a high thermal performance coefficient, and a rapid temperature rise rate. Investigating the effects of temperature difference and current on the heat production coefficient of the system and conducts comparative experiments on the thermal response of different heating elements in low-temperature environments. Furthermore, to further reduce power consumption and minimize unnecessary sensible heat within the ice layer, the thermal control system is designed to maintain the interface temperature between 3 and 5 ℃. This approach selectively melts the interface ice layer to form a water film, facilitating ice layer removal through gravity and centrifugal force. The de-icing energy density achieved with this method is only 10.31 J/cm2, resulting in a 32.167 % reduction in power consumption compared to continuous heating. For the flat plate heating structure, the study explores the physical mechanism of interface temperature control by establishing the relationship between temperature and current through a thermal circuit model. The calculated results closely align with experimental findings, with the maximum error not exceeding 15 %.