The Influence of Anisotropic Microstructures on the Ice Adhesion Performance of Rubber Surfaces

Anti-icing and de-icing technologies are crucial in modern aviation, with optimising ice adhesion performance on material surfaces being a key challenge. This study proposes a straightforward method for fabricating hydrophobic silicone rubber surfaces using a mesh to construct microstructures. The influence of microstructure size and anisotropy on surface wettability and ice adhesion performance is systematically investigated. The experimental results demonstrate that introducing microstructures significantly enhances the hydrophobicity of silicone rubber surfaces, achieving a maximum static contact angle of 149.3 ± 1.3°. For microstructures with identical shapes, dimensional variations affect surface roughness and functional performance. Although the structure with the most significant dimension (600#-SR) exhibits the highest surface roughness, smaller structures (e.g., 1400#-SR) demonstrate superior hydrophobicity and lower ice adhesion strength, likely due to enhanced air entrapment and reduced effective solid–liquid and solid–ice contact areas. Furthermore, due to anisotropic microstructures, a marked directional difference in ice adhesion strength is observed: the lowest strength in the X direction is 38.6 kPa, compared to 63.3 kPa in the Y direction. Fine-tuning the size and configuration of microstructures effectively minimises the ice adhesion strength and enables targeted optimisation of surface properties. This research offers theoretical support for developing innovative, energy-efficient materials with superior anti-icing properties and provides new insights for crafting solutions tailored to various anti-icing needs.