Improved numerical simulation method for airfoil ice accretion

An improved numerical method of simulating ice accretion on airfoil was developed based on parcel concept following the fundamental assumption of droplet movement. This method has overcome the shortages of traditional Lagrangian method, such as: low computation efficiency, ice shape dependence on droplet partition density and grid consistency. But, it has also maintained the robustness of original method, without the issue of convergence in Euler method. NACA0012 rime ice accretion, local droplet collection and local impingement efficiency at 0° and 4° AOA (angle of attack) are simulated with this method in order to verify its correctness. The calculated results show that, this improved method contributes to reduce the calculation efforts. The predicted ice shape was consistent with the experimental result, while the effect on aerodynamics of airfoil was also analyzed.