Multistep simulation for three-dimensional ice accretion on an aircraft wing

A simplified icing model combined with Eulerian two-phase flow theory has been proposed for direct numerical simulation of ice accretion occurred on an aircraft wing leading-edge surfaces. An innovative wall boundary condition treatment has been proposed to properly depict the droplet-wall interactions including splashing and bouncing under supercooled large droplet (SLD) conditions. The icing model is derived on the basis of the extended Messinger model and under the assumption that the overflow direction follows the air streamlines just above the water film layer. Several concepts such as the critical ice thickness have been presented to facilitate the use of this icing model for predicting three-dimensional ice accretions. Two different multistep simulation procedures are adopted to predict possible ice shapes for each case studied. The numerical predicted results obtained by the two multistep procedures are compared with each other, as well as against the available experimental data. The applicability of each multistep procedure has then been analyzed with recommendations having been made in due course.