Numerical simulation of a thermal Ice Protection System including state-of-the-art liquid film model

In this work, a numerical model for the operation of an electro-thermal Ice Protection Systems (IPS) for an airfoil is presented. The present model solves the energy conservation laws and includes a boundary layer model to compute the relevant aerodynamic quantities based on previous works. Additionally, the computation of aerodynamic and water impingement properties is performed by means of open-source and in-house developed software. A state-of-the-art liquid film model based on lubrication theory has been deployed as an alternative to an element-wise mass balance. A simple ice formulation for the prediction of the formation of runback ice has been included. Moreover, a robust evaporation model based on the heat and mass transfer analogy is deployed. Finally, an interpolation scheme for the element-wise enthalpy variation is presented. The results obtained are in good agreement with the experimental data from the open literature for a range of different test cases including different operating modes, environmental and flight conditions.