ISU Usage rate (updated on 06/01/2024)

Icing Research Tunnel of Iowa State University (ISU-IRT), which was donated by UTC Aerospace System (former Goodrich Inc.) to ISU in 2010, is a newly refurnished, research-grade icing wind tunnel. ISU-IRT is a multi-functional icing research tunnel. It can be run over a range of test conditions from rime ice to extremely wet glaze ice, which can be used to duplicate/simulate icing phenomena over a range of conditions for icing physics studies pertinent to aircraft/aero-engine/power transmission line/wind turbine icing and various anti-/de-icing applications.

The working parameters of ISU-IRT are:

Test section size: W X H X L = 400mm (height) by 400mm(width) by 2,000mm (length);
Airflow speed: V_air = 5 to 60 m/s;
Airflow temperature: T_air = -25^oC to 20^oC;
Water Droplet Size: d = 10 ~ 100 micrometers;
Liquid Water Content: LWC = 0.1 to 5.0 grams/cubic meter.

A schematics of ISU-IRT

KCCI News Report about ISU-IRT on 02/14/2014

Icing Research Tunnel (ISU-IRT) of Iowa State University

(a). Over the upper surface of the airfoil

(b). Over the lower surface of the airfoil

Glaze ice accretion process over a NACA0012 airfoil with airflow speed V=35m/s, T=-8°C, α = 5.0 deg. (Waldman & Hu, 2015)

(a). airflow velocity V=15m/s (b). airflow velocity V=20m/s (c). airflow velocity V=25m/s

Surface water rivulet/film flow over a NACA0012 airfoil pertinent to aircraft icing phenomena (Zhang, Tian and Hu, 2015)

Effects of superhydrophobic surface (SHS) coating on the ice accreting process over an airfoil surface (Waldman & Hu, 2015)

Aircraft Icing Physics & Anti-/De-icing Technology Laboratory