D1-11 Induction Heating Ice Protection System

The HERWINGT team by ADS, Ikerlan, AIN and INTA spent the week starting the 23rd August performing Icing Wind Tunnel tests at Rail Tec Arsenal (RTA) in Vienna to prove the concept of thermoelectric heating by induction. For this purpose, a wing model 2,4 m span and 2.0 m chord was built, including a thermoplastic leading edge made by HAI, which was adapted to include the induction by Ikerlan and a resistive thermoelectric device designed by INTA to serve as a reference for comparison. The leading edge was split into four heating sections; 2 for induction and two for resistive, so that testing time could be optimised at the expense of a campaign real-time management a bit more complex. As a late surprise, a small section of the model was painted with a treatment to understand the possible effects on heating.

The testing campaign was performed at the RTA Small Test Section covering a wide range of icing conditions from -10 degC to -30 deg C. The campaign provided the team with a valuable opportunity to assess how inductive and resistive heating perform under representative icing conditions. The week was filled with surprises, experiments, technical discussions, and excellent teamwork, including the visit from EASA.