Volume 9, Number 5 • September/October 2001 • Small Business/SBIR

New Aircraft Ice-Protection System

A new aircraft ice-protection system, developed by Cox and Company, with support from Raytheon and NASA, is prepared for testing in GRC’s Icing Research Tunnel. Photo provided by Glenn Research Center.

For the first time in 40 years, a new aircraft ice-protection system has been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for use on a new business jet. The NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio supported the development of the ice- protection system through its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding program and through technical and testing support of researchers at Glenn.

The ice-protection system, built by Cox & Company, Inc., New York, New York, is a hybrid that uses both thermal anti-icing and mechanical de-icing to keep wings and other lifting surfaces clear of ice. The anti-icing part of the system heats the front (or leading) edge of the airfoil, preventing any ice from forming there. Past the heated leading edge, the mechanical de-icing part periodically deflects the wing skin to break and remove any ice that forms there. The mechanical de-icer is a new ice removal technology called the Electro-Mechanical Expulsion De-icing System (EMEDS). Together, the anti-icing and de-icing parts form an ice-protection system well-suited for airfoil leading edges where ice contamination can degrade aerodynamic abilities. The system uses much less energy than other systems that provide equivalent protection.

“Their idea to combine two ice-protection schemes was particularly innovative,” said Andrew Reehorst, an icing research engineer at Glenn. “For us, the FAA approval culminates 20 years of NASA efforts to foster the development of a practical, low-power ice-protection technology.”

The system is in production for Raytheon Aircraft’s new Premier I business jet, where it is used on the horizontal stabilizer. Cox expects its revenues to be more than $10 million over the next several years.

“Now that we have FAA certification, we have a credibility that nothing else can give us,” said Warren Achenbaum, chairman and CEO of Cox & Company. “EMEDS is very efficient and adaptable. While our emphasis has been on the Premier I, it also has been selected by VisionAire for the Vantage. Other companies are considering its use.” Achenbaum added, “the support from NASA and its SBIR program, and from Raytheon, during the development of the system was invaluable to our company.”

Glenn, now celebrating its 60th year as a federal research facility, began testing ice-protection systems in 1944 when its Icing Research Tunnel was completed. Most ice- protection technologies in use today were largely developed at the tunnel. In 1987, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers designated the Icing Research Tunnel an International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark for its leading role in making aviation safer for everyone. Q

For more information, contact Dean Miller at Glenn Research Center, 216/433-5349 or Dean.R.Miller@grc.nasa.gov or Andrew L. Reehorst at Glenn Research Center, 216/433-3938 or Andrew.L.Reehorst@grc.nasa.gov Please mention that you read about it in Innovation.

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