An eco-friendly alternative to the labor- and cost-intensive process of chemically deicing aircraft is under development in Germany. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology, Airbus and the Dresden University of Technology are advancing direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) technology The airfoil with the water-repellent structured surface. Source: Airbusto etch 3D microscale structures into aircraft wings that will serve to minimize ice accumulation.

The method uses short and ultrashort pulse lasers to create surface structures and can be applied to process up to one square meter of material per minute. The resulting fragmented surface reduces the number of adhesion points for ice, which will detach after reaching a certain thickness.

Wind tunnel tests were conducted at wind speeds of 65 to 120 m/s and air temperatures below -10º C with a control and a DLIP-treated National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics airfoil simulating the leading edge of an airplane wing. Ice was observed to fall off the patterned surface without the need for surface heating. With heating applied, ice was removed in five seconds from the treated surface versus 70 seconds from the control surface, which required 25% more heating power to effect removal.

Real-world flight testing is now being conducted with an A350 aircraft whose surfaces have been treated with DLIP.