Anti-Icing System

Reliable Ice Protection Systems (IPS) are flight-critical for aircraft, from fixed-wing to rotorcraft and unmanned vehicles (UAV/RPA). They provide anti-icing capabilities to prevent the formation of ice and/or de-icing to remove ice build-up from aerosurfaces. Traditional de-icing fluid used in commercial applications is not environmentally friendly, and is impractical for most military platforms. Current embedded solutions have proven unreliable, lacked durability, caused manufacturing issues or reduce vehicle efficiency. MDC has demonstrated that CNT-based multifunctional appliques can be integrated into both composite laminates and metallic assemblies to be used as an effective means for ice protection. They can provide equivalent performance at a fraction of weight (as little as 1% compared to metal-based heaters), and have the potential to operate with significant power savings. MDC has performed several successful ice-tunnel tests using the FAA recommended icing envelope, and has plans for flight validation in 2019.