In-Flight Icing Risk Management Through Computational Fluid Dynamics-Icing Analysis

In this work, an in-depth analysis of the occurrence of in-flight icing accidents and incidents is conducted to identify high-risk flight conditions. These conditions are investigated more thoroughly using a computational fluid dynamics model of a representative airfoil. This model permits the recreation of experiments conducted in the controlled environment of the icing wind tunnel. The ice accumulations and resulting aerodynamic performance degradations of the airfoil are computed for a range of pitch angles and flight speeds. These simulations reveal substantial performance losses such as reduced maximum lift, and decreased stall angle. From these results, an icing hazard analysis tool is developed, using risk management principles, to evaluate the dangers of in-flight icing for a specific aircraft based on the atmospheric conditions it is expected to encounter, as well as the effectiveness of aircraft certification procedures.