Abstract
LECTURING before the Royal Aeronautical Society on November 4, Mr. Lockspeiser, of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, described experiments upon this subject which have led to the recommendation of a certain method of combating this. It consists of forcing ethylene-glycol through a porous leather strip which can be attached to, or form part of, those surfaces upon which ice appears to form. This presents the greatest danger when on the leading edges of the various lifting surfaces and the airscrew. In such cases it not only adds to the weight to be carried but it also reduces the efficiency by changing the shape, and in the case of the propeller it causes out of balance forces that necessitate slowing it down with still further loss. The action. of the ethylene-glycol is to prevent the ice from adhering to the surface. Mr. Lockspeiser referred to thermal methods for prevention of ice formation, and mechanical methods for dislodging it, but said that neither of these has the simplicity and the general application to all cases of the evaporation method. Thermal methods, using the engine heat to warm the wing surfaces, may become more attractive upon larger thick-winged monoplanes, where the ‘plumbing’ difficulties would be less. Mechanical methods of dislodging the ice from the planes have been used for some time in the United States, but are not applicable to the propeller. Experiments are now being made with devices similar to the British ones, using rubber sheathing and oil. The experiments described were undertaken originally for R.A.F. requirements; but the question was considered to be so vital to civil aviation, that the results have been made public and the device is to be marketed by the Dunlop Company.
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Ice Accretion on Aircraft. Nature 136, 904 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/136904b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/136904b0