Numerical simulation of ice accretion using Messinger-based approach: effects of surface roughness

Overview & Synopsis

In-flight icing on an aircraft's surface can be a major hazard in aeronautics's safety. Numerical simulations of ice accretion on aircraft is a common procedure to anticipate ice formation when flying in a supercooled water droplets cloud. Numerical simulations bring a better understanding of ice accretion phenomena, performance degradations and lead to even more efficient thermal de-icing systems' designs. Such simulations imply modelling the phase change of water and the mass and energy transfers. The Messinger model developed in the 1950′ is still used today as a reliable basis for new models development. This model estimates the ice growth rate using mass and energy balances coupled to a runback water flow. The main parameter introduced with this approach is the freezing fraction, denoting the fraction of incoming water that effectively freezes on the airfoil. The objective of the present work is to model an ice accretion on an airfoil using a Messinger-based approach and to make a sensitivity analysis of roughness models on the ice shape. The test case will be performed on a 2D NACA0012 airfoil. A typical test case on a NACA0012 airfoil under icing conditions will be run and confronted with the literature for verification prior to further investigations. Ice blocks profiles comparisons will highlight the differences implied by the choice of the roughness correction, which impact the heat transfer coefficient.