A flexible surface-mountable sensor for ice detection and non-destructive measurement of liquid water content in snow

Ice and snow accumulation on structures can cause serious safety issues due to falling pieces of accumulated ice as well as overloading of the structure. It is crucial to detect ice and the degree of wetness of snow when selecting a mitigation strategy such as applying anti-icing/de-icing techniques and/or notifying personnel to take necessary action. In this study, a sensor was developed to detect the ice presence and determine the liquid water content (LWC) by mass of wet snow accumulated on a surface through measuring the electrical resistance and temperature of the medium covering the surface, namely, the Ice Presence and Snow Liquid Water Content (ISLWC) sensor. This is a lightweight and flexible sensor that can be installed on surfaces such as bridge cables and provides a real-time and non-destructive way to detect ice or measure the LWC of snow in layers as thin as a few millimeters. The detection algorithm used was developed using the thresholds obtained from numerous indoor experiments data. Outdoor tests verified the detection accuracy and reliability as well as the ISLWC sensor durability under extreme weather conditions. Both indoor and outdoor experiment results showed that this sensor is an efficient tool for real-time monitoring and mitigation of icing problems on structures. • A sensor was developed to detect ice and snow presence on the surface of structures. • The sensor is crucial in detection of ice and snow accretion and shedding events. • The sensor is flat, small in size, lightweight, and can adhere to any surface. • Numerous indoor and outdoor experiments conducted to confirm the sensor performance. • The sensor results were verified visually and compared to existing ice/snow sensors.