Plasma characteristics and de-icing of three-electrode double-sided pulsed surface dielectric barrier discharge

Abstract Ice accumulation on aircraft can lead to aerodynamic performance degradation and even trigger security incidents. However, traditional surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) reactors cannot work while covered by glaze ice. In the present work, a novel three-electrode double-sided SDBD is proposed and employed for glaze ice deicing. Compared with traditional SDBD reactor, three-electrode double-sided SDBD introduces an additional discharge area and grounding electrode. On one hand, the heat generated in the additional discharge area can melt the glaze ice covered on the high-voltage electrode, providing a discharge gap for the subsequent discharge. On the other hand, the introduction of the additional grounding electrode can also dramatically enhance the upper discharge and thermal effect. As a result, compared with the three-electrode single-sided SDBD and two-electrode double-sided SDBD, the three-electrode double-sided SDBD has the highest deposited energy, maximal temperature, and deicing rate. To further optimize the structural design, the effect of air gap length below the dielectric on three-electrode double-sided SDBD is investigated. And it is found that the best deicing performance can be obtained at the air gap length of 1 mm.