During Unmanned Canada 2017, Nov. 1 to 3, the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada is featuring a new testing method aiming to find a solution to an unsafe icing issue encountered with drones. This unique testing rig measures the effectiveness of a new type of ice repellent: icephobic coatings.
Flying an aircraft in icy conditions is a challenge at the best of times, but imagine the difficulties that are compounded when the vehicle is unmanned and weighs less than 25 kilograms, like a drone.
Icephobic coatings are ice-resistant materials applied on the surface of a structure like paints. With the field of ice-resistant coatings still in its nascent phase, there is no standardized method to test how well such materials repel ice particles. The NRC looked to bridge this testing gap, and it developed a unique-in-the-world ice adhesion spin rig, where researchers are able to determine the shear force required to remove ice from these coatings.
Material scientists creating these veneers see their potential application on drones, as their limited onboard power means a passive ice prevention method — one that does not use any energy — is preferable.
As of yet, there are no commercially available drone icephobic coatings on the market. Using its unique rig, the NRC has tested 12 coatings from Canadian small- and medium-sized businesses, three of which show great potential for passive protection of drones against in-flight icing.
