Parametric Study of the Effects of Ice Accretion on the Aerodynamic Performance of NACA0012 Airfoil Using FENSAP-ICE

In the present study, a parametric study has been carried out to investigate the influence of ice accretion on the aerodynamic performance of NACA0012 airfoil through numerical simulations using FENSAP-ICE. The results reveal that at zero angle of attack the ice profile created on the leading edge of the airfoil is symmetric. The most dominant feature in the flow-field of an iced airfoil is a recirculation zone that forms due to concavity regions created on both upper and lower surfaces of the airfoil. The numerical simulations show that the appearance of the recirculation zone alters significantly the aerodynamic coefficients. At the angle of attack 12°, lift coefficient decreases by %20.58 and the drag coefficient increases by %15.92 in comparison with the clean airfoil. The effects of temperature and air flow velocity on the ice accretion created on the NACA0012 were investigated for glaze ice and rime ice. The thickness of ice increases with decreasing temperature, and glaze ice with the sharp horn is created at the temperatures ranging from 0°C to -14°C. Making the transition from glaze ice to rime ice occurs at temperatures varied from -14°C to -16°C and at temperatures below -16°C rime ice is created. In order to eliminate the ice accretion, a thermal de-icing system is simulated. By applying a heat power of 30 watts, the melting of 21.41 gr horn ice starts and the created ice on the airfoil surface is completely melted. It should be noted that with the introduction of thermal de-icing system the runback water flow on the airfoil’s surface occurs.