Phys.org September 12, 2022 Many of the current ice-shedding materials have low durability limiting their applicability. Researchers at the University of Houston used the concept of “fracture-controlled surface” to affect the interfacial crack nucleation and growth on the surfaces through coordinated mechanical and chemical heterogeneity in the material structure. Measurements indicated low ice adhesion, high mechanical durability, and three orders of magnitude greater than other state-of-the-art ice-shedding materials. They pre-specified the crack nucleation coordinates at the interface and guided the crack growth in an interfacial plane, with no kinking in other directions to maximize the energy that goes towards crack […]
Tag Archives: Deicing
Moth-eye nanostructures make good anti-icing coatings
Physics World September 3, 2020 Researchers in Vietnam fabricated moth eye structure on the quartz substrate covered with a flat paraffin layer to isolate it in a cold and humid environment. The paraffin layer only stayed on the top of the nanostructure, separated it from the outside environment to obstruct heat energy being transferred to the cold substrate, and prevented the wetting transition, which was observed regularly on the rough surface. Numerous air blocks trapped inside the nanostructure also contributed to delayed heat transfer, leading to an increase in the freezing time of the attached water droplet. The nanostructure coated […]
Materials could delay frost up to 300 times longer than existing anti-icing coatings
Nanowerk March 21, 2019 An international team of researchers (USA – University of Illinois, France) has demonstrated that the use of certain phase‐change materials, called phase‐switching liquids (PSLs), which are in liquid state under ambient conditions and have melting point higher than the freezing point of water can impede condensation–frosting lasting up to 300 and 15 times longer in bulk and surface infused state, respectively. The freezing delay is primarily a consequence of the release of trapped latent heat due to condensation, solidified PSL surface morphology and its miscibility in water. Regardless of surface chemistry, PSL‐infused textured surfaces exhibit low […]