Micro/nano manufacturing aircraft surface with anti-icing and deicing performances: An overview

Abstract The aircraft surface is prone to icing when flying under windward conditions. It is required to protect the aircraft surface from icing for flight safety. The anti-/deicing performance of aircraft surface is affected by the surface morphology and surface wettability. The hydrophobicity of aircraft surface with anti-/deicing performance is closely related to the surface energy. To satisfy the requirements of anti-/deicing surface processing, the micro/nano manufacturing technologies have been developed to fabricate anti-/deicing functional aircraft surfaces. The icing time and deicing efficiency for aircraft surfaces fabricated with micro/nano manufacturing technologies are dozens of times more than those manufactured by conventional anti-/deicing methods. In this study, the recent technologies of micro/nano manufacturing of anti-/deicing functional surfaces are reviewed. First, the extreme conditions during aircraft flight and the huge potential safety hazards of icing are introduced. Then, the principle of aircraft icing and mechanism of both anti-icing and deicing are summarized. Then, the current micro/nano manufacturing technologies for preparing anti-icing and deicing surfaces, including electrochemical, chemical, laser and wire-cut etching chemical, electrochemical, vapor and plasma deposition, and other processing methods are described. By summarizing the advantages and disadvantages of different preparation methods, guidance is provided for new methods of preparing anti-icing and deicing surfaces, in order to avoid disadvantages and promote advantages. Fabrication and characterization of nanocomposite materials and composite coatings/thin films with anti-icing and deicing properties are discussed. Finally, the development trend and application prospect of micro/nano manufacturing in the field of anti-icing and deicing are presented.