Corky Scott
May 13th 05, 07:29 PM
Some time ago I posted some information about an engineering professor
at Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering who had developed a new
method for removing ice from just about anything using electricity to
interact with the ice.
I just found out he has a website and folks who are interested can go
to: http://www.iceengineering.com/ to see a demo of his de-cing
technique on a small airfoil, as well as other objects.
When you are at the website, go the the "technology" menu.
My poor understanding of the technique is that whatever it is
requiring de-icing is hit with a low voltage current which causes a
reaction in the ice, making it outgas or form bubbles at the surface
where the ice is building up. In an airplane this would be any
surface into the wind. The outgassing prevents the ice from
establishing a grip on the surface, and the wind then carries it away.
There is a short video of an airfoil demonstrating this.
The discovery was announced some four or five years ago and the method
wsa patented and is now in the hands of several companies that are
attempting to develop it for the market.
I have absolutely no idea when or even if this will ever hit the
market.
Corky Scott
at Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering who had developed a new
method for removing ice from just about anything using electricity to
interact with the ice.
I just found out he has a website and folks who are interested can go
to: http://www.iceengineering.com/ to see a demo of his de-cing
technique on a small airfoil, as well as other objects.
When you are at the website, go the the "technology" menu.
My poor understanding of the technique is that whatever it is
requiring de-icing is hit with a low voltage current which causes a
reaction in the ice, making it outgas or form bubbles at the surface
where the ice is building up. In an airplane this would be any
surface into the wind. The outgassing prevents the ice from
establishing a grip on the surface, and the wind then carries it away.
There is a short video of an airfoil demonstrating this.
The discovery was announced some four or five years ago and the method
wsa patented and is now in the hands of several companies that are
attempting to develop it for the market.
I have absolutely no idea when or even if this will ever hit the
market.
Corky Scott