As part of the certification process, aircraft must demonstrate their operation capabilities in all weather conditions, including icing. There is substantial information available for the certification of commercial aircraft under the framework of the EASA CS25 regulations. However, there is a need to investigate the effects of icing on low-speed aircrafts to determine the critical flight conditions and define strategies for safe flight operations.
By being a part of the AVALLON research project, I will be studying the effects of icing on aerodynamic and flight mechanical characteristics for High Altitude Pseudo Satellite unmanned aerial vehicle. The comparatively low speed of HAPS results in lengthy ascents and descents, hence, low response capabilities to weather conditions with icing potential. I will be conducting experimental analysis on an airfoil model with flap at the Technical University of Braunschweig’s Icing Wind Tunnel, as well as numerical analysis by improving numerical icing codes for low-speed aircrafts. The validation and optimization of the calculation methods will be carried out by comparison with measurements from the ice wind tunnel tests.