Design and manufacturing of anti-icing micro-nano-structured inlet cones and their performance study

The aero-engine inlet cone icing is a critical issue threatening flight safety. Focusing on the fabrication of anti-icing micro-nano structures on aero-engine inlet cones, a design strategy centered on “stabilizing the liquid-gas-solid composite interface”, “blocking solid-liquid heat transfer”, and “weakening ice-surface adhesion” was proposed. Two types of structures were designed: triangular-rib interconnected micro-nano structures fabricated using electrodeposited high-entropy alloys, and square-column array micro-nano structures created via laser etching. Systematic explorations were conducted on the implementation of confined electrodeposition and femtosecond laser etching processes on both TC4 titanium alloy plates and full-size inlet cone surfaces. The anti-icing capability of the micro-nano structured inlet cone was evaluated through icing wind tunnel tests. Results demonstrate that the electrodeposited high-entropy alloy micro-nano structures exhibit splicing seams, with a static contact angle of 146.7° on flat samples and 153.0° on full-size inlet cones. The laser-etched micro-nano structures show excellent surface uniformity, achieving a static contact angle of 153.4° on flat samples and 152.0° on full-size inlet cones. Both processes exhibited stable superhydrophobic properties. Both micro-nano structured inlet cones exhibited a certain degree of icing delay capability, and the ice accretion on them was lower than that on the smooth inlet cone under the same test conditions. This research provides effective structural solutions and manufacturing paradigms to overcome the engineering application barriers of passive anti-icing technology on complex curved components.