Evaluation of Capillary Reinforced Composites.

• Main Authors: Ciardullo, Samuel W., Stoffer, Lewis J.
• Other Authors: GENERAL ELECTRIC CO CINCINNATI OH AIRCRAFT ENGINE BUSINESS GROUP
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1985
• Subjects: Laminates and Composite Materials; Thermodynamics; Snow; Ice and Permafrost; *HEAT TRANSFER; *COMPOSITE MATERIALS; *COMPOSITE STRUCTURES; *CAPILLARITY; *REINFORCEMENT(STRUCTURES); *DEICING SYSTEMS; COMPUTER PROGRAMS; EXPERIMENTAL DATA; ENGINE COMPONENTS; AIR; MATERIALS; FILMS; HIGH PRESSURE; GLASS; ICE FORMATION; PIPES; CODING; ICE; HIGH STRENGTH; MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS; HEATING; THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY; WIND TUNNEL TESTS; ACCUMULATION; SURFACE TEMPERATURE; AIR PRESSURE; REINFORCING MATERIALS; JET ENGINE INLETS; TRANSVERSE; *CAPILLARY REINFORCED COMPOSITES; INFRARED MEASUREMENT; Ice; permafrost
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA301939; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA301939

Anti-icing of the inlet of jet engines is generally performed with high pressure heated air that is directed forward from the compressor through a series of pipes to various manifolds located near the structures to be anti-iced. From these manifolds, the air is directed to all flowpath surfaces that may be susceptible to ice formation. There the anti-icing function may be performed by either heat conduction or film heating. Unfortunately, the prospect of utilizing lightweight, high strength composites for inlet structures of jet engines has been frustrated by the low transverse thermal conductivity of such materials. It was the objective of this program to develop an advanced materials and design concept for anti-icing composite structures. The concept that was evaluated used capillary glass tubes embedded on the surface of a composite structure with heated air ducted through the tubes. An analytical computer program was developed to predict the anti-icing performance of such tubes and a test program was conducted to demonstrate actual performance of this system. Test data and analytical code results were in excellent agreement. Both indicate feasibility of using capillary tubes for surface heating as a means for composite engine structures to combat ice accumulation. Original contains color plates: All DTIC and NTIS reproductions will be in black and white.