Ice on an aircraft’s surfaces can be a hazard. It increases drag and fuel consumption, disrupts aerodynamic flows, and decreases lift—which impairs the aircraft’s ability to fly safely. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS, Airbus and TU Dresden have developed a laser process that fills two needs with one deed. On one hand, accumulated ice falls off by itself and on the other it takes less heat to de-ice surfaces. Direct Laser Interference Patterning permits surfaces to be structured in ways that effectively repel ice.
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Source: Phys.org