Research and development of anti-icing/deicing techniques for vessels: Review

Past progress in developing and application of anti-icing/deicing techniques on marine vessels is reported and summarised in this paper. Icing, especially sea spray icing, seriously affects the safety of vessels. Anti-icing/deicing measures are necessary for ships sailing in cold seas and ocean regions. There are more than 40 kinds of anti-icing/deicing techniques, including those that have been applied and are being studied. However, the applied measures often cannot protect vessels from the adverse effects of icing because of the changeable marine climate and the actual situation of ships. In contrast, the measures under development are more energy-saving and efficient, but there is still a long way to go before they are put into the market. The paper briefly reviews anti-icing/deicing techniques, along with the icing principle and icing models for ships. The existing problems of anti-icing/deicing techniques are analysed and some suggestions based on the analysis are recommended to obtain a better anti-icing/deicing scheme.