NASA Testing Aims at Supercooled Large Droplet Aviation Safety
NASA is leveraging its expertise and enhancing its test facilities to help address a rare but persistent aviation hazard: icing that occurs when aircraft encounter unusually large, very cold water droplets in clouds. The problem, known as “supercooled large droplet icing,” occurs when aircraft fly through clouds containing unusually large drops of water that are […]
NASA is conducting tests to improve aviation safety against a rare but dangerous phenomenon known as supercooled large droplet icing. These tests are taking place in the Icing Research Tunnel at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The problem arises when aircraft fly through clouds containing unusually large, very cold water droplets that remain liquid.
When an aircraft passes through these drops, they can rapidly freeze to unprotected surfaces, potentially causing damage. Supercooled large drops are rare, but can be up to 2,000 microns in diameter, compared to the typical droplets ranging from 2 to 100 microns. NASA is working to enhance its equipment for generating and measuring experimental clouds in the Icing Research Tunnel.
New probes have been developed to help calibrate the sizes of these large drops. The results will be compared with those from a different probe that measures smaller drops. This comprehensive analysis of the droplet size spectrum will provide valuable insights for aircraft designers, helping them better understand and mitigate the risks associated with supercooled large droplet icing.
Written by urgent.news from NASA's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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