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Predicting Accumulations of Ice on Aerodynamic SurfacesLEWICE is a computer program that predicts the accumulation of ice on two-dimensional aerodynamic surfaces under conditions representative of the flight of an aircraft through an icing cloud. The software first calculates the airflow surrounding the body of interest, then uses the airflow to compute the trajectories of water droplets that impinge on the surface of the body. The droplet trajectories are also used to compute impingement limits and local collection efficiencies, which are used in subsequent ice-growth calculations and are also useful for designing systems to protect against icing. Next, the software predicts the shape of accumulating ice by modeling transfers of mass and energy in small control volumes. The foregoing computations are repeated over several computational time steps until the total icing exposure time is reached. Results of computations by LEWICE have been compared with an extensive database of measured ice shapes obtained from experiments, and have been shown to closely approximate those shapes under most conditions of interest to the aviation community.
Document ID
20110024012
Acquisition Source
Glenn Research Center
Document Type
Other - NASA Tech Brief
Authors
Bidwell, Colin
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Potapczuk, Mark
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Addy, Gene
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Wright, William
(QSS Group, Inc. Cleveland, OH, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
December 1, 2003
Publication Information
Publication: NASA Tech Briefs, December 2003
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Report/Patent Number
LEW-17378
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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