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The European Union (EU) ‘Clean Sky’ [1] Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) is a research programme aimed at developing breakthrough technologies which will minimise the impact of aviation on the environment. Within this, the System for Green Operations (SGO) Integrated Technology Demonstrator (ITD) looks to improve aircraft operation through management of energy and mission trajectory. As part of the SGO ITD, a series of environmental icing tests have been conducted on an ice protected, acoustically protected, electrically powered, scoop intake and channel. The range of conditions tested included in-flight icing (CS-25 Appendix C, same as 14 CFR 25), super-cooled large droplets (proposed 14 CFR 25 Appendix O, [2]), snow and ice crystal conditions as well as ground icing in freezing fog conditions.

Under the EU Clean Sky 2 research project InSPIRe – Innovative Systems to Prevent Ice on Regional Aircraft, numerical and experimental studies have been performed to investigate the potential to minimise the electrical power required for wing ice protection on a regional aircraft wing. In a standard electrothermal de-ice protection scheme there is a parting strip heater which runs along the full spanwise protected extent and is permanently powered. This splits the ice formation on the leading edge into an upper and lower region, which makes it easier to shed. However, the parting strip is relatively energy intensive and contributes a significant portion of the overall power demand. Developing a system which is able to provide the desired ice protection function without a parting strip would therefore offer a substantial power saving. The great difficulty with such a system is in ensuring that acceptable ice shedding occurs.