The formation of ice on wings and other control surfaces of
airplanes is one of the oldest and most vexing problems that
aircraft engineers and scientists continue to face. While no easy,
comprehensive answers exist, the staff at NASAs Icing Research
Tunnel (IRT) at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland has done
pioneering work to make flight safer for experimental, commercial,
and military customers. The National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics (NACA) initiated government research on aircraft icing
in the 1930s at its Langley facility in Virginia. Icing research
shifted to the NACA's Cleveland facility in the 1940s. Initially
there was little focus on icing at either location, as these
facilities were more concerned with aerodynamics and engine
development. With several high-profile fatal crashes of air mail
carriers, however, the NACA soon realized the need for a leading
research facility devoted to icing prevention and removal. The IRT
began operation in 1944 and, despite renovations and periodic
attempts to shut it down, has continued to function productively
for almost 60 years. In part because icing has proved so
problematic over time, IRT researchers have been unusually
open-minded in experimenting with a wide variety of substances,
devices, and techniques. Early icing prevention experiments
involved grease, pumping hot engine exhaust onto the wings,
glycerin soap, mechanical and inflatable "boots," and even corn
syrup. The IRT staff also looked abroad for ideas and later tried a
German and Soviet technique of electromagnetism, to no avail. More
recently, European polymer fluids have been more promising. The IRT
even periodically had "amateur nights" in which a dentist's coating
for children's teeth proved unequal to the demands of super-cooled
water droplets blown at 100 miles per hour. Despite many research
dead-ends, IRT researchers have achieved great success over the
years. They have developed important computer models, such as the
LEWICE software, and made significant contributions to prevent ice
buildup on turbine-powered commercial aircraft, helicopters, and
military planes.
General
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