Ice accretion characteristics on rotating aeroengine fan blades

An experimental study was conducted to characterize the dynamic ice accretion process on rotating aero-engine fan blades to evaluate the icing-induced detrimental effects on the fan rotor performance. A scaled spinner-fan model was installed in an Icing Research Tunnel and exposed to typical rime and glaze icing conditions. It was found that, while ice structures accreted on both the suction and pressure surfaces of the fan blades, more ice accumulated in the region near the blade roots than those near the blade tips. The ice structures accreted on the fan blades not only deteriorated the shapes of the deliberately designed blades greatly but also blocked the airflow passages through the fan rotor substantially, regardless of the icing type. More specifically, the thickness of the fan blades was found to increase up to 40 % after undergoing 480 s of the rime icing experiment, the airflow passages were blocked by up to 14 % due to the rime ice accretion near the blade roots, resulting in about 70 % reduction of the air pressure increment across the fan rotor. Due to the combined effects of the aerodynamic shear forces and centrifugal forces associated with the rotating motion, substantial water runback was observed over the rotating blade surfaces under the glaze icing condition, resulting in the rapid growth of more complex “needle-like” icicles along the blade leading edges. Glaze ice accretion was found to cause more serious and faster performance degradation to the fan rotor than the rime icing scenario. While the airflow passages between the neighbouring blades were blocked by up to 18 % after undergoing 120 s of the glaze icing experiment, the airflow was found to be depressurized, instead of pressurized, after passing the iced fan rotor.