Office National D'etudes Et De Recherches Aerospatiales

Office National D'etudes Et De Recherches Aerospatiales (onera)

Didier Guffond

Robert Schegerin

Hervé Lachaud

Alain A Deom

Jean-Claude Garnier

Device and method for anticipating the deposition of ice on a runway, comprising an object having a non-zero relative velocity with respect to the atmosphere surrounding the runway, this surrounding atmosphere being at a certain temperature, a means for determining the thickness of ice present on said moving object, which further includes a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the runway, a means for regulating the temperature of said object in such a way that the temperature of said moving object is substantially equal to or slightly below the temperature of the runway, a computing means, for defining at time ta level of icing at time tof the runway as a function of the thickness of ice present on the object, and a warning means allowing the results obtained by the computing means to be communicated to a monitoring station.

Method and device for the anticipated detection of icing on a runway

In a detection device of the presence of frost and/or measuring the thickness of the frost by ultrasound, a probe with a piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer generates an ultra-sonic acoustic emission wave and detects ultrasonic acoustic echo waves reflected by the frost. An actuating device for the probe is arranged to provide to the transducer electrical energizing signals. The probe comprises: a frost detector placed in front of the transducer and constituted of a material having an acoustic impedance between 30.times.10.sup.5 and 44.times.10.sup.5 kg m.sup.-2 s.sup.-1. This detector has a surface designed to be exposed to the surrounding atmosphere to be covered with frost. An acoustic delay device is adapted to ensure acoustic coupling and adaptation between the transducer and the detector and to separate in time the ultrasonic emission add reflected waves. A body of heat insulating material covers the assembly of the detector, the transducer and the acoustic delay device.

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Fontenay-aux-Roses, France

Didier Guffond