Ultrasonic In-Flight Wing Ice Detection 2001-01-2663

Discussions and sample results are presented for an in-flight wing ice accretion detector based on newly developed ultrasonic guided wave sensors and measurements. Detection over a fairly large area can be accomplished with these sensors. Physical principles, hardware, and computational methods are outlined along with a description of two flight demonstration programs. Excellent results are obtained, pointing to the potential for immediate field use of this new ice detection technology.