Speaker
Description
Ice removal and the prevention of ice buildup is a hot topic in industry and academia due to its implications, e.g. on sensors, aircrafts and wind turbines. We recently researched de-icing and anti-icing methods using Surface Acoustic Waves (SAW) to transfer energy into the ice or water to melt it or protect it from freezing respectively. It has been shown that SAWs are a very energy efficient method of ice removal compared to caloric heating and that the interdigital transducer exciting the SAW can be used for ice buildup detection at the same time. In this study the SAW-induced melting process of ice is further investigated using an acoustic analysis combined with microscopic camera footage. We identify different de-icing and anti-icing mechanism during early, middle and late surface activation times. Those results are useful to understand the underlying physics of the energy transfer from the SAW into the ice and the water.