Rebuttal to the Queries raised regarding the proposal “Anti-icing and Aerodynamic

Characteristics of Physical Micro-structure Roughness Induced Superhydrophobicity”

(i) Whether your work will be focusing on developing the hydrophobic anti-icing surface
or whether you will be using one of such surface for your analysis?

The proposed work will be focusing on validating the applicability of One-

dimensional groove-textured superhydrophobic surfaces developed during the course
of my Ph.D. and Post-doctoral Research (University of Toronto, Canada) Research
towards the controlling of ice formation and aggregation on the lifting and non-lifting
surfaces of the HALE and MALE type UAVs. Anti-icing surface development based
on one-dimensional groove-textured solid surface emanates by observing the motion
of liquid droplet formed from the morning frost on the paddy and grass based type
plant leaves. These paddy and grass based type plant leaves have one-dimensional
grooves as microstructure and these plants exhibit better water shedding property in
the direction of the grooves. When compared to the erosive chemical coating that is
applied on the lifting and non-lifting surfaces, the physical structure induced
superhydrophobicity will be stronger and has a less chance for the erosion due to the
fluid flow on those surfaces. Based on the understanding from the existing literatures
and my own research experiences, the ice formation and aggregation can be
controlled by incorporating these structures in the appropriate location of lifting and
non-lifting surfaces on the UAVs.

(ii) Whether your work is limited to aerodynamic analysis and ice accretion studies
(shape ice formed, where ice will form etc)? Whether ice will for with these
hydrophobic surfaces?

The proposed work will be focusing mainly on the experimental studies of the ice
formation and aggregation on the fluid flow over the lifting and non-lifting surfaces
by varying the surface quality from smooth to one-dimensional groove-textures,
where the grooves direction will be varied with respect flow direction. Experimental
Study will look at the shape and size of the ice formed and also the location of ice
formed on these surfaces. Based on the experimental results on the formed ice
 profiles and location of the ice formation, a mathematical model can be proposed by
incorporating the behavior of impregnation of supercooled liquid droplets into the
microgrooves of the groove-textured solid surfaces.
As mentioned in the proposal summary, the roughness induced by the one-
dimensional grooves might have a chance of playing a major role in modifying the
aerodynamic efficiency (L/D ratio) of the lifting and non-lifting surfaces. The
aerodynamic characteristics will be studied both experimentally and numerically
(using commercial CFD software) for studying effect of micro grooves; however, the
microgrooves will be modeled as surface roughness and surface waviness by varying
roughness constant and roughness amplitude while simulating the problem
numerically.

(iii) Also, your proposal must be more elaborate (should have some details of
mathematical models to be used or developed, some case studies to evaluate and
validate them etc)
Proposal submitted is a detailed summary of our idea for controlling the ice
formation and aggregation on the solid surface. In addition to this, the role of surface
microgrooves on aerodynamic efficiency will be studied because the control of the ice
formation will be investigated with the help of super hydrophobic surfaces where the
surface energy will be modified with one-dimensional surface microgrooves.
Present day commercial CFD codes have the capability of predicting the ice
formation and aerodynamic efficiency of surfaces with and without ice; however, the
commercial code does not have the capability of predicting the above two
characteristics on the surface energy modified physical structure induced
superhydrophobic surfaces. Present commercial CFD codes don’t have the option of
modifying surface energy and also meshing of the microgrooves (which is less than
100 microns)is very difficult to look the impregnation behavior of impacting
supercooled liquid droplet on the surfaces.
A model will be proposed for predicting the control of ice formation by combining
the impregnation characteristics of supercooled liquid droplets into the microgrooves
and the water shedding property of the groove orientation for the different size and
shape of the microgrooves.