Cylinder Ice Accretion with Application to UAS

As unmanned aircraft begin to fill the roles for many flight needs, the impact of icing on unmanned aircraft (UA) needs to be explored. Small UAS (SUAS) are usually incapable of supporting anti-aircraft systems and are may be required to fly in hazardous icing regions. In order to further the understanding of the ice accretion at the range of Reynolds numbers, a simple model is created specifically suited to the conditions expected for SUAS in icing conditions.

The code calculates heat flux based on its atmospheric conditions and uses empirical equations to get collection efficiency based on the flow’s amount of deviation from Stoke’s Law, C_D Re/24 = 1. For this range of Re, Nusselt number is uncertain. The flow is not yet transcritical and lands in an unpredictable range of results. Simulations use both the smooth cylinder expression and the pre-critical Nusselt number equation for comparison.

This study will run an exhaustive set of simulations within the Weber and Reynolds numbers prescribed, 0.2(10⁶)- 0.5(10⁶) and 0.3 (10⁶)- 0 0.8(10⁶) respectively, and the environmental conditions that are known to create aircraft icing.