Optimization of a Multi-Layered Heater for an Electro-Thermal Ice Protection System for a Composite Wing

In this work, a multi-layered heater of an electro-thermal ice protection system (IPS) is optimized to minimize the electric energy consumption in de-icing mode. The design parameters are the thickness of the layers. The temperature inside the composite material layer is constraint to a maximum value to avoid material degradation. The temperature distribution inside the heater and the magnitude of ice accretion are evaluated by means of a representative and validated numerical model. Then, the optimization is performed using a derivative-free approach, that is the genetic algorithm, thanks to its suitability of dealing with complex problems and non-linear objective functions. An optimization of the heater layout has been performed and the results show that the electric energy can be reduced by accurately allocating the thickness of each layer. Eventually, the optimized heater is tested with a reference test case considering a NACA0012 with IPS operating in de-icing mode. Results have shown that a reduction in the mean and maximum ice thickness formed on the surface can be obtained by properly allocating the thickness of the different layers of the heater.