Interfacial evolution and low-energy deicing mechanism of pulsed heating

Ice accretion poses a serious threat to small aerial platforms, while conventional electrothermal deicing is constrained by high energy consumption. Pulsed electrothermal deicing offers a promising alternative because it can concentrate transient heat near the ice-substrate interface. However, the effect of power density on deicing energy consumption and the underlying mechanism remain unclear. In this study, pulsed electrothermal deicing experiments and transient numerical simulations were combined to examine how power density affects interfacial melting, ice detachment, and energy consumption. The results show that deicing energy consumption exhibits a U-shaped dependence on power density. A minimum value of 20.3 J·cm⁻2 was achieved at a critical power density of 4.0 W·cm⁻2, representing an approximately 47% reduction relative to that at 0.2 W·cm⁻2. Ice adhesion strength measurements indicate that gravity-driven ice detachment is not triggered solely by the onset of interfacial melting. Instead, continued interfacial melting is required to form a micrometer-scale liquid film, thereby reducing the adhesion strength below the shedding threshold. Transient heat-transfer analysis shows that moderate increases in power density reduce heat diffusion into the ice layer and heat loss to the environment, whereas excessive power density increases sensible heat storage in the substrate. Competition between these effects gave rise to the U-shaped dependence of deicing energy consumption on power density. Moreover, increasing the interfacial thermal resistance shifts the critical power density toward a lower value while simultaneously elevating the total energy consumption. These findings provide a physical basis for designing low-energy pulsed electrothermal deicing systems for small platforms.