Construction of Energy‐Efficient Electro‐Thermal Anti‐Icing/De‐Icing System for Composite Wings Based on MWCNT Films

ABSTRACT Electro‐thermal anti‐icing/de‐icing (AI/DI) system is particularly suitable for aircraft composite structures, but the high energy demand currently presents a major challenge. It is necessary to construct a more energy‐efficient electro‐thermal AI/DI system. This study employed the multi‐walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) film with good electro‐thermal properties as the heating element in the composite wing. The electro‐thermal and mechanical reliability of the film‐embedded composites were verified through experiments and the construction method for the electro‐thermal AI/DI system of composite wing based on the MWCNT films through numerical simulation was explored. The results showed that embedding of MWCNT film into the composite created electro‐thermal composites with superior electro‐thermal and mechanical properties. After being subjected to 100 heating/cooling cycles, the equilibrium temperature of film‐embedded composites varied by only ±0.35°C. The flexural and shear strength showed low degradation of 6.02% and 1.03%, respectively. The protective surface of the AI/DI system for a scaled model wing meeting the airworthiness requirements was determined to cover 55.3% of the chord length. A zonal heating strategy was provided to reduce the anti‐icing energy consumption by 44.45% energy. The feasibility of the construction method of the AI/DI system was confirmed at −30°C with a wind speed of 20 m/s by experiment.