Water-Repellent Planes For Ice-Free Flights

[Raistlin]

A super water-repellent coating for planes is being developed to help planes fly safely through icy weather.

The hydrophobic coating would be applied to the whole plane and could help prevent the buildup of ice deposits which disrupt the movement of the craft.

Areas particularly vulnerable to ice are the leading edges of the wings, the engine cones and the nose. The lower airflow in these areas allows supercooled liquid water to collect on surfaces and form a layer of ice. As the ice builds it can change the way air moves over the craft and affect movement control.

Rather than dealing with the ice as it forms or attempting to stop surface water from turning into ice, the Japanese research team's solution would see water prevented from sticking to the aircraft at all.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) -- a synthetic polymer best known by the brand name Teflon, which reduces the amount of energy needed to detach water molecules from a surface -- is the key to the coating's success.

"If [the energy needed to detach water from a surface] is small, the droplet is easy to remove. In other words it is repelled," explains Hirotaka Sakaue of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, a fluid dynamics specialist involved with the project.

The team are currently investigating which particle sizes create the most water