Characterization of Superhydrophobic Surfaces for Anti-Icing in a Low-Temperature Wind Tunnel

Author(s):  
Christopher Swarctz ◽  
Elias Aljallis ◽  
Scott Hunter ◽  
John Simpson ◽  
Chang-Hwan Choi

In this study, a closed loop low-temperature wind tunnel was custom-built and uniquely used to investigate the anti-icing mechanism of superhydrophobic surfaces in regulated flow velocities, temperatures, humidity, and water moisture particle sizes. Silica nanoparticle-based hydrophobic coatings were tested as superhydrophobic surface models. During tests, images of ice formation were captured by a camera and used for analysis of ice morphology. Prior to and after wind tunnel testing, apparent contact angles of water sessile droplets on samples were measured by a contact angle meter to check degradation of surface superhydrophobicity. A simple peel test was also performed to estimate adhesion of ice on the surfaces. When compared to an untreated sample, superhydrophobic surfaces inhibited initial ice formation. After a period of time, random droplet strikes attached to the superhydrophobic surfaces and started to coalesce with previously deposited ice droplets. These sites appear as mounds of accreted ice across the surface. The appearance of the ice formations on the superhydrophobic samples is white rather than transparent, and is due to trapped air. These ice formations resemble soft rime ice rather than the transparent glaze ice seen on the untreated sample. Compared to untreated surfaces, the icing film formed on superhydrophobic surfaces was easy to peel off by shear flows.

Author(s):  
Mohammad Amin Sarshar ◽  
Christopher Swarctz ◽  
Scott Hunter ◽  
John Simpson ◽  
Chang-Hwan Choi

In this paper, the iceophobic properties of superhydrophobic surfaces are compared to those of uncoated aluminum and steel plate surfaces as investigated under dynamic flow conditions by using a closed loop low-temperature wind tunnel. Superhydrophobic surfaces were prepared at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory by coating aluminum and steel plates with nano-structured hydrophobic particles. The contact angle and contact angle hysteresis measured for these surfaces ranged from 165–170° and 1–8°, respectively. The superhydrophobic plates along with uncoated control ones were exposed to an air flow of 12 m/s and 20°F with micron-sized water droplets in the icing wind tunnel and the ice formation and accretion were probed by using high speed cameras for 90 seconds. Results show that the developed superhydrophobic coatings significantly delay the ice formation and accretion even with the impingement of accelerated super-cooled water droplets, but there is a time scale for this phenomenon which has a clear relation with contact angle hysteresis of the samples. Among the different superhydrophobic coating samples, the plate having the lowest contact angle hysteresis showed the most pronounced iceophobic effects, while the correlation between static contact angles and the iceophobic effects was not evident. The results suggest that the key parameter for designing iceophobic surfaces is to retain a low contact angle hysteresis, rather than to have only a low contact angle, which can result in more efficient anti-icing properties in dynamic flow conditions.


HortScience ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 1088a-1088
Author(s):  
Cindy L. Flinn ◽  
Edward N. Ashworth

Examination of both frozen specimens and -5C freeze-fixed buds showed that ice crystals were not uniformly distributed in blueberry flower buds. Localized freezing was also evidenced by detection of multiple freezing events using differential thermal analysis (DTA). Upon cooling, an initial exotherm occurred just below 0C and coincided with ice formation in adjacent woody tissue. Multiple low temperature exotherms (LTE), which have been reported to correspond with the freezing of individual blueberry florets (Bierman, et al. 1979. ASHS, 104(4):444-449), occurred between -7C and -28C. The presence and temperature of LTEs was influenced by cooling rates and whether buds were excised. LTE temperatures did not correlate with hardiness of buds frozen under field-like conditions. Results suggested that DTA of excised buds was not an appropriate method for determining hardiness.


2015 ◽  
Vol 135 (7) ◽  
pp. 733-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasushi Kobayashi ◽  
Yoshihiro Nakata ◽  
Tomoji Nakamura ◽  
Mayumi B. Takeyama ◽  
Masaru Sato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

10.2514/3.902 ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 339-345
Author(s):  
James P. Sawyer ◽  
S. Rao ◽  
Mohammad A. Rob ◽  
Larry H. Mack ◽  
Sivaram Arepalli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Makoto Matsui ◽  
Shingo Yoneda ◽  
Satoshi Nomura ◽  
Yoshiki Yamagiwa ◽  
Kimiya Komurasaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 303
Author(s):  
Rokayya Sami ◽  
Schahrazad Soltane ◽  
Mahmoud Helal

In the current work, the characterization of novel chitosan/silica nanoparticle/nisin films with the addition of nisin as an antimicrobial technique for blueberry preservation during storage is investigated. Chitosan/Silica Nanoparticle/N (CH-SN-N) films presented a stable suspension as the surface loads (45.9 mV) and the distribution was considered broad (0.62). The result shows that the pH value was increased gradually with the addition of nisin to 4.12, while the turbidity was the highest at 0.39. The content of the insoluble matter and contact angle were the highest for the Chitosan/Silica Nanoparticle (CH-SN) film at 5.68%. The use of nano-materials in chitosan films decreased the material ductility, reduced the tensile strength and elongation-at-break of the membrane. The coated blueberries with Chitosan/Silica Nanoparticle/N films reported the lowest microbial contamination counts at 2.82 log CFU/g followed by Chitosan/Silica Nanoparticle at 3.73 and 3.58 log CFU/g for the aerobic bacteria, molds, and yeasts population, respectively. It was observed that (CH) film extracted 94 regions with an average size of 449.10, at the same time (CH-SN) film extracted 169 regions with an average size of 130.53. The (CH-SN-N) film presented the best result at 5.19%. It could be observed that the size of the total region of the fruit for the (CH) case was the smallest (1663 pixels), which implied that the fruit lost moisture content. As a conclusion, (CH-SN-N) film is recommended for blueberry preservation to prolong the shelf-life during storage.


2017 ◽  
Vol 122 (8) ◽  
pp. 084103 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Smirnova ◽  
A. Sotnikov ◽  
S. Ktitorov ◽  
H. Schmidt

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