White Paper
Modeling Ice Shedding in Fan and Compressor Blades
Ice that builds up in-flight due to the presence of supercooled liquid droplets can severely impact an aircraft’s performance, including an increase in drag and loss of lift.
In an engine, accreted ice on rotational components such as a spinner, fan blade or low-pressure compressor rotor can result in higher vibration levels. These vibrations can become uncontrolled and turn catastrophic if the ice continues to build or sheds abruptly under the influence of centrifugal loading. Ice fragments that shed can impact neighboring components to cause significant mechanical damage. Additionally, ice shed from upstream components may enter the core compressor. And the presence of ice or water from melted ice in the gas path may cause the engine to assume new operating conditions leading to a change in performance, or if it enters the combustor, may lead to a flameout.
This paper covers how Ansys can be used to model ice shedding in fan and compressor blades.
