DOD Navy SBIR  Icephobic Coating for Air Cycle Machine

Air Cycle Machines (ACMs) are critical to aircraft Environmental Control Systems (ECS), which regulate air temperature, pressure, and humidity within the cabin. However, frosting on ACM condensers poses significant challenges to maintain optimal and reliable system performance. Frost formation can occur on both the hot-side and cold-side of condensers, driven by distinct mechanisms. Hot-side frosting results from humid bleed air cooling below its dew point, while cold-side frosting occurs due to the impact of supercooled droplets. Traditional icephobic coatings based on superhydrophobic surfaces are ineffective in addressing both types of frosting due to their differing growth mechanisms.In this SBIR program, Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) in collaboration with Virginia Tech (VT) will develop a new class of icephobic coating. The proposed coating can be easily adjusted to be applicable for mitigating frost buildup on both hot-side and cold-side under various frosting conditions. In addition, the coating is scalable, durable, and can be applied to numerous geometries. This highly customizable coating will be able to meet a wide range of operational requirements, making it ideal for ACMs and the need for continued reliable system performance.