TAGS: Smart Coatings Aerospace Coatings
A research team from the Institute for Solid State Physics at Graz University of Technology develops a highly ice-repellent coating that adheres to a wide variety of materials and is highly resistant to abrasion. The material delays the formation of ice crystals and reduces the adhesion of ice layers. Thanks to an innovative manufacturing method, the coating is very robust and adheres to numerous surfaces.
The team, led by Anna Maria Coclite and Gabriel Hernández Rodríguez, has succeeded in resolving the deficiency.
Gradual Transition of Two Components
The researchers achieved the leap in development by using so-called initiated chemical vapor deposition. This makes it possible to gradually transform a strongly adhesive primer material into the ice-repellent compound. This stepless transition is achieved by applying the two materials as a changing gas mixture to the surface to be coated.
Initially, the gas mixture consisted purely of primer material. The proportion of ice-repellent material is continuously increased during application, from initially 0 to finally 100 percent. The result is a coating with a highly adhesive bottom and a top that offers no grip to ice crystals.
During their experiments, the team discovered what the ice-repellent properties of their coating are based on.
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The ice-repellent material consists of elongated molecules that adhere to the primer in a vertical or horizontal orientation,” said Rodríguez. “
The thicker we applied the material, the more random the change between vertical and horizontal molecules became. And the more random the arrangement on the surface, the greater the ice-repellent effect.” This mechanism was previously unknown.
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De-icing of aircraft could be accelerated with such a coating and require less antifreeze,” said Coclite. Sensors exposed to the weather and disrupted by ice could also benefit.
Source: Graz University of Technology