COMPUTATIONAL INVESTIGATION OF WALL INTERFERENCE EFFECT ON ICE ACCRETION ON AIRFOIL IN ICING WIND TUNNEL TEST

The icing on aircraft wings negatively impacts the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft, posing potential safety hazards. Accordingly, aircraft are equipped with anti-icing devices, the development of which requires accurate prediction of ice accretion and its range. Ice prediction methods are generally divided into two types: icing wind tunnel tests and icing simulations. While icing wind tunnel tests offer higher accuracy, they also incur considerable costs. This has led to the construction of smaller test sections, necessitating the consideration of wall effects. In this study, the Blockage Ratio was increased by reducing the height of the test wind tunnel, which allowed for the investigation of changes in ice accretion rate and shape. Wall-Airfoil interference was considered, leading to areas where water droplets did not collide, thereby impacting the shape of the ice. A three-dimensional airfoil model was designed, comparing a model with and without wall effects to understand differences in ice accretion on the airfoil. These analyses aided in the understanding of the impact of wall effects on ice wind tunnel tests and the accuracy of predictions.