Assessment of Icing Wind Tunnel Operational Uncertainties on Ice Protection System Performances

Numerical simulations of icing wind tunnel testing of an Ice Protection System (IPS) for Appendix C and Appendix O conditions are carried out, accounting for the operational uncertainties in the Liquid Water Content (LWC), median volume diameter (MVD), and static air temperature (SAT) in the wind tunnel. Relevant variability was observed in relevant quantities such as surface temperature and run-back water mass flux in the three selected test cases—particularly in run-back ice formations. The uncertainties were significant, suggesting that under the specified conditions, the wind tunnel testing results may not be entirely conclusive in evaluating the effectiveness of the IPS. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating uncertainties in ice protection system design to prevent overly conservative or unsafe configurations.