Enhancing the ice-phobic performance of soft materials
Catalina Ospina
University of Milano Bicocca, Italy
https://tugraz.webex.com/tugraz/j.php?MTID=m2790c3d2a9a49c31369978e2a76de31c
11:15 - 12:15 Wednesday 12 June 2024 Considering the low ice adhesion strength values reported in the literature, soft materials are a promising alternative to designing and fabricating passive de-icing systems. Nevertheless, the interwoven effects of surface and mechanical properties have not been elucidated in terms of their contribution to the ice adhesion performance.
This work analyzes the wetting and mechanical properties of soft PDMS with different lubricant content. The collected information is used to understand its relation with the shear ice adhesion results, identifying three mechanisms depending on the ice block size and lubrication: single-detachment, stick-slip, and interfacial slippage.
A promissory outlook to avoid ice reattachment is the deposition of a thin layer of a harder polymer on top of the soft material. This generates wrinkles at the surface, promoting the material hydrophobicity, which can potentially shed light on the individual contribution of surface and mechanical properties to the ice adhesion performance.
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Institute of Solid State Physics
