Durable and robust PVDF-HFP/SiO2/CNTs nanocomposites for anti-icing application: Water repellency, icing delay, and ice adhesion

AbstractUsing an anti-icing coating to prevent ice accretion on the drill surface is a feasible solution to address the drilling difficulties in warm ice. In this study, four types of commercially available hydrophobic coating materials were tested to evaluate their water repellency and anti-icing properties, namely, a mixture of silica and fluorocarbon resin with polytrifluoroethylene, modified Teflon, silica-based emulsion and an acrylic-based copolymer. Their water contact angles are ~107°, 101°, 114° and 95°, respectively. All these hydrophobic coatings can significantly reduce the strength of the ice adhesion within a temperature range of −10 to −30°C on a planar or curved surface. The coating of an acrylic-based copolymer, in particular, can reduce the average tensile strength and the shear strength of the ice adhesion by 87.08 and 97.11% on planar surfaces at −30°C, and by 98.06 and 96.15% on a curved surface, respectively. The main challenge in the practical application of these coatings is their durability. An acrylic-based copolymer coating will lose its water repellency performance after 140 cycles of abrasion. The shear strength of ice adhered on curved surfaces coated with this material will approach that achieved on uncoated surfaces after 11 cycles of icing and de-icing tests.

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Rf-Sputtered Teflon®-Modified Superhydrophobic Nanostructured Titanium Dioxide Coating on Aluminum Alloy for Icephobic Applications

Coatings ◽

10.3390/coatings11040432 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 432

Author(s):

Saleema Noormohammed ◽

Dilip Kumar Sarkar

Keyword(s):

Water Repellency ◽

Ice Formation ◽

Aluminum Surface ◽

Cold Winter ◽

Safety Issues ◽

The Past ◽

Insulating Surfaces ◽

Low Dielectric ◽

Low Surface Energy ◽

Ice Adhesion

Icing on surfaces such as cables or high-voltage insulators may often lead to severe safety issues such as power outages in cold winter conditions. Conventional methods used to tackle such icing problems include mechanical deicing, where the ice is scraped or broken, and chemical deicing, where deicers such as ethylene glycol are used. However, the best approach to addressing these issues is to prevent ice formation in the first place. Research in the past few decades have shown hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces to be effective in reducing ice adhesion. We used the concept of water repellency to turn an aluminum surface superhydrophobic to minimize ice adhesion on these surfaces. However, to render these surfaces also applicable to insulating surfaces, we also demonstrated the adaptability of the concept on a low dielectric oxide, TiO2, to an aluminum surface with icephobic properties. This work demonstrates the importance of the coexistence of rough nanostructures as well as low-surface-energy compositions on a surface to make it superhydrophobic and icephobic and is applicable on metals and insulating surfaces.

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