Icephobic performance of low-pressure cold sprayed PEEK SLIPS

Abstract

Ice accretion is a global problem that takes place in cold regions and can affect different life fields and industries, and it can cause damage, danger, and operational delays. Icephobic materials, anti-icing surfaces and coatings are widely dealt with nowadays, however, they always come with limitations related to durability. In this paper, slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) for icephobic purposes were produced using a low-pressure cold spray (LPCS) coating process of a composite mixture of 90 vol% poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) with 10 vol% aluminium oxide (Al2O3) to produce a porous coating and infused it with silicon oil to create the SLIPS. Two types of coatings were produced with and without heating assistance during coating production. Coating and SLIPS' properties were characterized by studying the coating and the powder microstructure, surface wettability, roughness, topography, and icephobicity by cyclic icing/de-icing testing. In line with the obtained results, the coating showed low ice adhesion strength of 45 kPa and 43 kPa for these two SLIPS. Re-useability of these SLIPS was observed by refilling them after cyclic icing testing and they showed ice adhesion strengths of 38 kPa and 35 kPa, which in turn, supported their mechanical stability and integrity.