Experimental Determination of the Droplet Impingement Characteristics of a Propeller

Reichhold, J.D., Bragg, M.B. and Sweet, D.
University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801


ABSTRACT
One of the most powerful tools in an analysis of aircraft icing is the knowledge of where the water in a given cloud will impinge on a surface. The determination of where a structure will accrete ice is expressed by the impingement efficiency, b. An improvement to the dye-tracer method for the experimental determination of impingement efficiency is presented. The improved method, which saves both time and expense, was then used to determine the impingement efficiency on a four-bladed, constant chord propeller with a nacelle. The propeller impingement tests showed the limitations of the current droplet impingement test techniques and found impingement efficiencies greater than one for a large portion of the propeller blade. Using blade-element theory it is shown how impingement efficiencies greater than one can occur for the case of a propeller. Suggestions are also made as to how the dye-tracer test method can be improved.





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