ANTI-ICING TECHNOLOGY FOR DRONES PASSES KEY TEST

Battelle Puts its HeatCoat Technology through its Paces at Leading Wind Tunnel Facility

Battelle, a research institute located around the world but headquartered in Ohio, US, has successfully tested its anti-icing system for aircraft in a leading wind tunnel facility. The carbon nanotube-base HeatCoat system is reportedly lighter and less power hungry than existing systems. Designed for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), although applicable to larger commercial aircraft, the system is made up of a number of layers that can be sprayed onto an aircraft’s surface like paint or laid down as a laminate sheet. The first layer is a primer coating and is applied directly onto the aircraft’s surface, followed by the ‘heater coating’ consisting of carbon nanotubes. Finally, a further barrier coating and an exterior top coating are added.

Battelle believe its system holds several advantages over current ice protection systems, it is lighter, consumes less energy, doesn’t release toxic chemicals (such as de-icing agents) and is also less complex. An onboard intelligent controller monitors the efficiency of the heater layer to ensure that the system consumes the optimal amount of energy and no more. This is particularly important for UAVs, where energy is at a premium and must be utilized in a very efficient manner. Energy efficiency and fuel economy are also top priorities for commercial airline companies. During recent tests in a research aero-icing tunnel, the HeatCoat technology was applied to wing and engine inlet test samples which were subjected to temperatures as low as -22° F (-30° C) and air speeds of up to 182 knots (337 km/h, 209 mph). According to Battelle, “Our recent tests validated improvements we’ve made and prove that we are ready to go from a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 on to a TRL 7 once we identify a key partner to help complete the next step of this process.”