Design and analysis of simulated ice for a civil aircraft airfoil

Natural icing flight tests are costly and risky, necessitating reliable simulated ice models for airworthiness certification. This study presents a novel approach utilizing a 3D-printed sandwich composite (UV-curable resin core with GFRP skins) to replicate critical ice shapes for dry air flight testing. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations quantified the aerodynamic degradation, revealing that leading-edge ice accretion reduces the maximum lift coefficient by 24.1% at 0.4 Ma and advances the stall angle by 2° due to premature flow separation. A finite element model incorporating cohesive zone elements and the Tsai–Wu failure criterion was developed to assess the structural integrity of the simulated ice. The results indicate that the simulated ice exhibits negligible deformation (less than 0.2% of the chord length) while maintaining sufficient safety margins under aerodynamic loading, which is accurately mapped to structural nodes using the inverse-distance weighting interpolation method. This study provides a feasible implementation scheme for dry air flight test with simulated ice, offering high safety reliability while fully complying with airworthiness requirements.