A Review of Icing Research at the Royal Aerospace Establishment

A brief review of the computer models developed by the Royal Aerospace Establishment (RAE) for the analysis of natural rotor icing and rotor protection against icing is provided. Experimental results are then presented for the increase in profile drag due to rime, glaze, and beak type icing. These data, combined with other published data, were used to obtain correlations for iced profile performance which were included in a computer model of helicopter performance. This enables the prediction of the increase in rotor power required by a helicopter with unprotected rotors during flight in icing conditions. Comparisons between model prediction and both rig and flight test data are given.