Digital Twin Design of Anti-Icing System for Aircraft Wings

This thesis presents the development of an ice protection system model for a hybrid propulsion regional aircraft which could take advantage of the higher electrical energy stored on-board this kind of aircraft. In regions where aircraft frequently encounter high concentrations of super-cooled water in clouds and low temperatures, the risk of ice formation on external surfaces is substantial, causing negative effects on aerodynamic performance and potential loss of control on the aircraft. To mitigate the associated flight problems, ice prevention systems are crucial. Therefore, the present study starts with the definition of the characteristics of the icing phenomena and how they affect the behaviour of aircraft during their operation. Thus, allowing to develop a highly parametric predictive model for the actual icing that may be faced by an aircraft during a set flight mission. Such model incorporates many factors that characterize the atmospheric conditions responsible for the formation of ice on the surfaces, enabling an accurate estimation and quantification of the parameters necessary to design an appropriate ice protection system. The latter part of the thesis deals with the definition of a suitable model for this kind of system. More specifically, by developing a dynamic model of two separate anti-icing solutions, based on the computations performed by the icing prediction model. The developed models have been designed with the clear goal of integrating them into a digital twin platform, creating a faithful digital replica of the actual aircraft systems, thanks to a close collaboration with Leonardo S.p.A., the industrial partner for the present thesis. As such, the models are highly compatible with the remaining systems of the aircraft, facilitating the increase in the level of detail and faithfulness of the global aircraft model.