Abstract
The presence of ice on airplanes, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and wind turbines alters the airfoil, reduces the lift, can lead to stall and increases the drag and weight [1]. On heat pump evaporators, it grows in the form of frost and causes inefficiencies [2]. At the terraXcube facility (Eurac Research), an icing wind tunnel has been developed to address this phenomenon with a focus on aeronautical applications, following the standard CSs of EASA Appendix C [3]. Electrical and/or thermal active de-icing systems require energy to implement as well as increasing weight while the use of anti-freezing compounds [4] implies environmental pollution. With a view to green solutions, there is growing scientific and industrial research into surfaces that passively delay the growth of ice and facilitate its removal. At the University of Trento and at the Bruno Kessler Foundation, surfaces with controlled wetting have been designed, fabricated and tested for multi purposes. The unique skills and infrastructures lay the foundations for a synergistic collaboration with the aim of innovating passive anti-icing solutions and testing them in extreme conditions.