Ice particle trajectory simulation

Abstract

Large ice particles shed from an airframe can cause damage to downstream aerodynamic surfaces and aft mounted engines. A simulation tool was developed to compute the trajectories of shed ice particles and determine the probability of these particles passing through a particular downstream location. The flowfield into which the ice particles shed was determined using CFD. The aerodynamic forces and moments acting on the ice particles were obtained from published literature and experimental data. Three, four and six degree of freedom trajectory simulation models were developed to compute the trajectories of shed ice particles. Monte Carlo simulations were performed by varying the aerodynamic and geometric properties of the ice particles to obtain a probability map depicting the regions where the ice particles were most likely to strike.