JP2009298198A - Ice prevention/removal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To energy-savingly achieve ice prevention/removal of a structure body arranged in relative air streams. <P>SOLUTION: The ice prevention/removal device is provided with the structure body (wing body) 11; a nano-pin surface part 12 formed over a predetermined range of an outer surface including a specific portion becoming a staying point on the outer surface of the wing body 11 and arranged with a large number of pins of a nano-structure; and an energy giving means (heater) 3 for giving energy for ice prevention/removal of the outer surface mounted relative to the wing body 11 and including the specific portion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an anti-icing device for a structure disposed in a relative air flow, such as an aircraft leading edge, a helicopter rotor blade, a windmill blade, or the like.

During the flight of an aircraft, ice may adhere to the leading edge of, for example, the main wing due to the collision of supercooling water. When the adhering ice grows, it causes an increase in air resistance, a decrease in lift, etc., and it is conventionally known to provide a deicing device such as a heated air type or an electrothermal type as a countermeasure ( For example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-71298 JP 2004-25925 A

  However, if the anti-icing device such as the heated air type or the electrothermal type is used to completely prevent the anti-icing of the leading edge, a great amount of heat energy is required. For this reason, for example, a heated air type anti-icing device causes deterioration of fuel consumption because it uses engine bleed, and, for example, an electrothermal type anti-icing device also has a problem of causing deterioration of fuel consumption due to power consumption. It was. The problem that requires a large amount of energy for ice prevention is the same not only for aircraft but also for flying objects such as helicopters.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this point, The place made into the objective is to implement | achieve the ice prevention of the structure arrange | positioned in a relative air flow by energy saving.

  In view of the above-mentioned object, the present inventor repeated experiments and examinations, and in addition to means for imparting energy for ice prevention to the structure, it imparts super water repellency to the outer surface of the structure. As a result, it has been found that the energy consumption for ice prevention can be significantly reduced, and the present invention has been completed.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, an anti-icing device includes a structure that is disposed in a relative air flow and a specific portion that is a stagnation point on the outer surface of the structure. A nano-pin surface portion in which a large number of nano-structure pins are arranged, and energy for preventing ice from being removed from the outer surface attached to the structure and including the specific portion. Energy applying means.

  According to this configuration, a nanopin surface portion in which a large number of nanostructure pins are arranged is formed on the outer surface of the structure. The nanopin surface portion is in a state in which air is present in the concave portion on the surface, and the ratio of the air layer on the surface is increased, so that the surface becomes super water-repellent (for example, a fine field) Eiji, Shingo Zhou, “Refer to hydrophilic surface by nanostructure control, AIST TODAY, 2006-01, P26-27). Therefore, the predetermined range including the specific portion that becomes a stagnation point on the outer surface of the structure has water repellency (super water repellency).

  In this configuration, super water repellency is imparted to the outer surface of the structure, and energy imparting means for preventing ice is combined. As a result, the energy consumption by the energy applying means is reduced. Although the reason is not clear, it can be considered as follows.

  That is, by providing super-water repellency on the outer surface of the structure, even if the supercooling water collides with the stagnation point of the structure by arranging the structure in a relative air flow, Ice adhesion is suppressed. Even if ice adheres to the surface and grows somewhat, the adhesion between the ice and the surface is extremely weak. For this reason, even if the amount of energy applied to the structure by the energy applying means is small, the adhering ice easily comes off from the outer surface of the structure. In this way, ice prevention of the structure is realized while reducing the energy consumption by the energy applying means.

  The energy applying unit may be a heating unit that applies thermal energy to a predetermined range including the specific portion in the structure.

  Further, the energy applying unit may be an impact unit that applies impact energy to a predetermined range including the specific portion in the structure.

  A range of energy application to the structure by the energy application unit may be set narrower than a formation range of the nanopin surface portion.

  As described above, ice adheres to the structure only in the vicinity of the stagnation point of the structure. Water does not adhere to the surface but flows backward in the flow direction. Therefore, icing at locations other than the stagnation point can be reliably prevented only by the nanopin surface portion. On the other hand, when ice adheres in the vicinity of the stagnation point, the ice is easily dropped by applying energy by the energy applying means.

  Therefore, while the formation range of the nanopin surface portion is set to a predetermined range including the specific portion that becomes the stagnation point, the energy application range of the energy application means is set narrower than the formation range of the nanopin surface portion. This effectively suppresses the adhesion of ice to the entire structure while further reducing the amount of energy consumption.

  The structure may be a front edge of an aircraft. By doing so, the energy consumption required for ice prevention is reduced, and the fuel efficiency of the aircraft is greatly improved.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the combination of providing the nanopin surface portion on the outer surface of the structure and providing energy applying means for applying energy for preventing ice to the structure is combined. In addition, the ice prevention of the structure can be realized with energy saving.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the following description of the preferred embodiment is merely illustrative in nature, and is not intended to limit the present invention, its application, or its use.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a leading edge portion of a main wing of an aircraft to which an anti-icing device according to the present invention is applied. The leading edge portion 1 is made of, for example, a metal material or a carbon fiber reinforced composite material. In other words, the main wing may be formed of a metal material at all its parts including girders, and the front edge portion 1 is formed of a metal material or a fiber-reinforced composite material, while the other parts are different from it. You may form with the material of. Moreover, you may form all the site | parts of the said main wing with a fiber reinforced composite material. There are no restrictions on the wing shape of the main wing.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a section of a part of the leading edge portion 1. The leading edge portion 1 includes a hollow wing body 11 and nanopins formed on the outer surface of the wing body 11. A surface portion 12. Although described later in detail, the nanopin surface portion 12 has a structure in which a large number of nanostructure pins 13 are arranged (hereinafter referred to as a nanopin structure).

  Here, the nanopin surface portion 12 includes a specific portion that becomes a stagnation point of the leading edge portion 1, and extends toward the trailing edge on both the suction surface and the pressure surface of the blade body 11. It is formed over a predetermined range of the outer surface. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, the nano pin surface part 12 is extended and formed over the spar direction of a main wing over the whole region.

  In this nanopin structure, as shown in FIG. 3, the water 2 comes into contact with the tip of the pin 13 to increase the proportion of air on the surface. As a result, it has super water repellency. Thus, the nanopin surface portion 12 has super water repellency, so that the main wing is prevented from icing on the front edge portion 1 and growing of ice.

  Here, the following method is mentioned as a method of manufacturing such a front edge part 1.

  First, at least the leading edge 1 (wing body 11) is manufactured by a conventionally known method. For example, when the wing body 11 is formed of a carbon fiber reinforced composite material, carbon fibers are sequentially laminated on a predetermined mold having the shape of the leading edge 1 by, for example, a hand layup method, The wing body 11 can be manufactured by molding a laminated body having the shape of the part 1, impregnating the laminate with the resin, and curing it.

  Separately from the wing body 11 thus manufactured, the nanopin surface portion 12 is manufactured. This nanopin surface portion 12 is a pin having a nanostructure with respect to a member (base material) of a predetermined material (this material may be the same as or different from the material forming the wing body 11). Can be produced by applying a surface treatment to form a large number of the particles.

  By attaching the nanopin surface portion 12 thus manufactured (the base material after the surface treatment) to the outer surface of the wing body 11 by, for example, adhesion or the like, the wing body 11 and the nanopin surface portion 12 are provided, The front edge portion 1 in which the nanopin surface portion 12 has a nanopin structure is completed.

  As a manufacturing method different from this, for example, the front edge portion 1 can also be manufactured by subjecting the wing body 11 manufactured as described above directly to surface treatment for forming a large number of nanostructured pins. Is possible. This is particularly effective when the wing body 11 is formed of a metal material.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an electric heater 3 as a heating means is disposed in the front edge portion 1. That is, although not shown in detail, the heater 3 includes a heating wire that generates heat when energized, and is disposed in close contact with the inner surface of the front edge portion 1. Here, the heater 3 includes a specific portion that becomes a stagnation point of the leading edge portion 1, as in the nanopin surface portion 12, and the trailing edge direction on both the suction surface side and the pressure surface side of the blade body 11. The nanopin surface portion 12 is formed in a range that is substantially the same as or larger than that of the heater 3. Moreover, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, the heater 3 is extended over the whole area | region in the beam direction of a main wing similarly to the nanopin surface part 12. FIG. The heating by the heater 3 may be continuously performed during the flight of the aircraft, or may be performed intermittently while providing an appropriate stop time.

  As described above, the front edge portion 1 having such a configuration has a super-water-repellent surface. As a result, while the aircraft having the leading edge 1 is flying, it is possible to prevent the ice from adhering to the leading edge 1 even if the supercooling water collides with the leading edge 1. Moreover, the adhesion of ice is also suppressed by heating by the heater 3.

  Even if ice adheres to the surface of the front edge portion 1 and grows, the adhesive force between the ice and the surface is extremely weak. For this reason, even if the amount of heating by the heater 3 is small, the ice easily comes off from the surface. Also, the ice can be easily peeled off by the displacement of the main wing and the change of the airflow.

  In this way, it is possible to sufficiently obtain the anti-icing and de-icing effects of the leading edge 1 while reducing the amount of heating by the heater 3.

  Therefore, since the amount of heating by the heater 3 is reduced in the aircraft provided with the main wing including the leading edge portion 1, the power consumption in the aircraft is reduced accordingly, and the fuel consumption can be improved.

  Here, as an example, when the inventor of the present application conducted an icing wind tunnel experiment using an airfoil model equipped with an electrothermal heater, no icing occurred in the airfoil model formed with the nanopin surface portion. As a result, it was found that the power consumption required for this was about 30% of the power consumption required for non-icing in the airfoil model in which the nanopin surface portion was not formed. Thus, it can be seen that energy saving can be achieved by combining the nanopin surface portion with the energy applying means for ice prevention.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 shows the front edge 1 according to the second embodiment. 4, the same components as those illustrated in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the front edge portion 1 according to the second embodiment, the arrangement range of the heater 3 is narrower than the formation range of the nanopin surface portion 12. Specifically, the heater 3 is disposed only in the vicinity of a portion that becomes a stagnation point in the front edge portion 1. Thereby, the arrangement range of the heater 3 is significantly narrower than the formation range of the nanopin surface portion 12.

  Even with such a configuration, the ice prevention effect for the entire blade including the leading edge 1 can be obtained with a small amount of energy consumption. That is, as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, the portion where the ice 4 is likely to adhere and grow on the leading edge 1 is the vicinity including the stagnation point of the leading edge 1. On the other hand, in places other than the stagnation point, the supercooled water tends to flow backward by the nanopin surface portion 12 without adhering to the surface. Therefore, icing is effectively prevented by the nanopin surface portion 12 at locations other than the stagnation point.

  On the other hand, even if the heater 3 is disposed only in the vicinity of the stagnation point, the ice adhering to the heater 3 can be efficiently dropped by heating the heater 3.

  Therefore, even if the arrangement range of the heater 3 is significantly narrower than the formation range of the nanopin surface portion 12, ice prevention for the entire blade is realized.

  Thus, by reducing the arrangement range of the heater 3, it is possible to obtain the anti-icing and deicing effects of the front edge 1 while further reducing the amount of energy consumed by the heater 3. Further, the downsizing of the heater 3 provides an effect of reducing the weight of the aircraft, thereby improving fuel efficiency.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 5 shows the front edge 1 according to the third embodiment. 5, the same components as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the front edge portion 1 according to the third embodiment, a pulse generator 5 as an impact means is attached to the front edge portion 1 instead of the heater 3.

  The pulse generator 5 is a device that strikes the inner surface of the wing body 11 by energization, thereby applying vibration (impact) to the wing body 11. A plurality of pulse generators 5 (four in the illustrated example) are attached to the inner peripheral surface of the blade body 11 so as to surround a specific portion that becomes a stagnation point. Although not shown, a plurality of pulse generators 5 are arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in the spar direction of the main wing.

  Even in the front edge portion 1 having such a configuration, as described above, since the surface thereof has super water repellency, the front edge portion of the aircraft having the front edge portion 1 is flying while the aircraft is flying. Even if the supercooled water collides with 1, the ice is prevented from adhering. Even if ice adheres and grows, the adhesive force between the ice and the surface of the leading edge 1 is extremely weak. For this reason, by driving the pulse generator 5, the attached ice easily falls off the surface due to the impact applied to the wing body 11. Here, the pulse generator 5 may be driven periodically during the flight of the aircraft.

  In this way, the combination of the nanopin surface portion 12 and the pulse generator 5 can surely prevent the ice from the leading edge portion 1. In this configuration, it is possible to easily drop off the attached ice by the nanopin surface portion 12, and therefore, for example, the necessary number of the pulse generators 5 to be arranged is reduced as compared with the case where the pulse generator 5 is used alone. It is possible to reduce the output or to reduce the output of each pulse generator 5. As a result, the amount of energy required for ice prevention, that is, the amount of electric power consumed in the aircraft is reduced, and the fuel efficiency can be improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, the heating means disposed on the leading edge 1 may be a conventionally known heating means using engine bleed. In this case, it is possible to reduce the amount of engine bleed required for anti-icing and to reduce the diameter (smaller and lighter) of the bleed duct disposed in the wing body 11, thereby improving the fuel efficiency of the aircraft. be able to.

  Moreover, what is necessary is just to set suitably the range which provides the nanopin surface part 12 in a main wing as a range including the front edge at least.

  The present invention is not limited to being applied to the leading edge portion 1 of the main wing, but can be widely applied to locations where an anti-icing or de-icing system is conventionally applied to aircraft.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to an aircraft, and can be applied as a deicing device for structures in various flying objects such as helicopter rotor blades.

  In addition, the present invention can be used as an anti-icing device such as a blade of a wind turbine for power generation. In this case, since it is possible to drive the windmill even under conditions where icing can occur on the blades of the windmill, there is an advantage that the windmill can be driven stably and continuously.

  As described above, the present invention can perform ice prevention of structures disposed in a relative air flow with less energy consumption. Therefore, various aircrafts, windmills, and the like such as airplanes can be used. Can be widely applied as a deicing device.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a front edge portion of the main wing according to the first embodiment. It is an expanded sectional view which expands and shows a part of front edge part. It is an enlarged view of a nanopin structure. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a leading edge portion of a main wing according to Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a front edge portion of a main wing according to a third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Leading edge part 11 Structure 12 Nano pin surface part 13 Pin 3 Heater (heating means)
5 Pulse generator (impact means)

Claims (5)

A structure disposed in a relative air flow;
A nanopin surface portion that includes a specific portion that becomes a stagnation point on the outer surface of the structure, and is formed over a predetermined range of the outer surface, and in which a large number of nanostructure pins are arranged;
An anti-icing device comprising: an energy applying unit that is attached to the structure and applies energy to the structure for deicing an outer surface including the specific portion. In the ice prevention apparatus of Claim 1,
The anti-icing device, wherein the energy applying unit is a heating unit that applies thermal energy to a predetermined range including the specific portion in the structure. In the ice prevention apparatus of Claim 1,
The deicing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the energy applying unit is an impact unit that applies impact energy to a predetermined range including the specific portion of the structure. In the ice prevention apparatus of any one of Claims 1-3,
An anti-icing device in which an energy application range for the structure by the energy application unit is set narrower than a formation range of the nanopin surface portion. In the deicing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The structure is an anti-icing device that is a front edge of an aircraft.

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