Ice formation in flight remains one of the greatest challenges to aviation safety and efficiency. A thin layer of ice on the wings can reduce lift by up to 30 % and increase aerodynamic drag by 40 %, compromising the aircraft’s performance. Furthermore, aircrafts are exposed to icing conditions for approximately 15 % of their service life, which exacerbates the impact on fuel consumption, stability and maintenance.
Image Credit: AIMPLAS
To address this challenge, the COAT-IPS project, led by OMAR Coatings, the AIMPLAS Plastics Technology Centre and the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), has developed an anti-icing protection system based on a Joule-heating coating. This coating is formulated as a technical paint, with low energy consumption, capable of acting in both anti-icing and de-icing modes, providing a rapid and efficient response to icing conditions.
As explained by Blai López, researcher on Coatings, Adhesives and Converting at AIMPLAS, “in a sector moving towards more efficient and sustainable mobility, it is essential to develop solutions that reduce energy impact without compromising safety”. The fact is that current anti-icing systems (hot air from the engine, pneumatic boots and electrothermal technologies) have significant limitations, such as high energy consumption, added weight, difficulty in control, potential overheating and limited efficiency under certain conditions.
“The solution we are presenting represents a significant innovation in the aeronautical field, as it allows for direct application onto the aircraft’s surface and adapts easily to areas with complex geometries,” highlighted Blai López.
In addition to its energy efficiency, the coating offers advantages such as compatibility with commonly used aircraft paints, its lightness as it requires no auxiliary systems or transformers, and its reparability, which allows repairs to be carried out directly at the point of damage without the need to discard and replace the entire system.
As a result, COAT-IPS provides an optimized formulation and a system specifically applied and validated for use on aircraft, of particular interest to structural manufacturers, unmanned vehicle producers and companies in the coatings sector.
A Collaborative Project Involving Three Key Players
The development of COAT-IPS involves three key partners who provide the necessary capabilities to take the heatable coating from formulation through to validation under real-world conditions. AIMPLAS contributes the original development of the heatable formulation and its solid expertise in advanced polymer technologies, laying the foundations for the system.
OMAR COATINGS complements this work by taking the formulation to an industrial development level, optimizing the coating and its application process to ensure its scalability and its use as an on-site repair solution.
Finally, INTA brings its in-depth knowledge of the aviation sector, defining the technical requirements the product must meet and carrying out characterization and validation tests in environments representative of end-use. The previous collaboration between AIMPLAS and INTA also facilitates the optimal design of the heating system and its performance under real operating conditions.
“COAT-IPS provides a direct response to the aeronautical sector’s need for lighter, more efficient and sustainable technologies that enable reduced fuel consumption and improved flight safety,” concluded the AIMPLAS researcher.
The COAT-IPS project is funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, through the 2024 Public-Private Partnership call for proposals by the State Research Agency (AEI) and is co-funded by the European Union through the ERDF.