Investigation of Relative Humidity and Induced-Vortex Effects on Aircraft Icing

Two new mechanisms for downstream ice growth (i.e., downstream of the primary ice shape) in aircraft icing scenarios were investigated. The first mechanism is local variation of relative humidity with its potential for water deposition due to supersaturation. The second mechanism is induced-vortex effects due to their potential impact on droplet paths. It was shown that for rough surfaces with an extended period of exposure, relative humidity effects can lead to additional growth. The resultant frost is a sandpaperlike roughness that can severely degrade the aerodynamic performance of the wings. It was also shown that the vortices induced by the existing ice-shape features are capable of altering the droplet paths. As a result, impingements occur beyond the limits predicted by the methods in other icing prediction codes.