Piezoelectric Transducer Actuated Leading Edge De-Icing with Simultaneous Shear and Impulse Forces

Piezoelectric actuations for simultaneous generation of shear and impulse forces for effective and energy efficient de-icing applications are proposed. Aircraft leading edge structures are considered for analysis and lab experiments. Piezoelectric actuators are affixed on the inner surface of the leading edge at the locations where highest amount of ice accretion on the outer surface has occurred. Simultaneous shear and impulse force generation is achieved with actuators consisting of two sets of electrodes, one arranged in parallel to the poling direction, and the other perpendicular to it, to generate shear forces and normal forces, respectively. Finite element models of the leading edge structure with ice accretion layer are formulated. Simulations of the de-icing process are performed and the actuator locations, electric charge applied, and impulse duration are optimized to achieve effective ice removal