When amphibious aircraft, ships, and other equipment perform tasks on the water, especially in winter or in low-temperature environments such as high latitudes, high altitudes, and polar regions, they will inevitably encounter icing problems which can adversely affect the safety and performance of these devices. In order to study the mechanical properties of freshwater and seawater ice, this paper tests and analyzes the tensile and shear strengths of static ice and proposes the test principle of shear and tensile strengths of static ice. It then designs and builds the corresponding test equipment, prepares the freshwater and seawater ice samples, and completes the tests. Experiments yield the shear and tensile strengths of freshwater and different seawater samples at various temperatures, and the temperature–strength curves are then drawn. The findings can provide technical support and valuable reference for anti-icing and de-icing design of water vehicles in low-temperature and hostile ocean environments.

This research investigates the effects of freezing temperature and salinity on the adhesion shear strength of amphibious aircraft tires under static icing. It found that the lower the freezing temperature, the greater the ice adhesion shear strength, and the higher the salinity of the water sample, the lower the ice adhesion shear strength. This is related to the thickness of the brine layer at the ice-tire substrate interface; the temperature decreased, the brine layer became thinner, and, accordingly, the adhesion shear strength increased. This paper analyzes the problem of brine precipitation during seawater freezing and its influencing mechanism on the ice adhesion shear strength. In addition, it also found that the lower the temperature, the greater the growth rate of the ice adhesion shear strength. When the salinity in different ranges changed, its influence on the adhesion shear strength was different. When the salinity of the water sample is close to 0%, a small change in the salinity will cause a large change in the ice adhesion shear strength. When the salinity is large, the change of salinity has a weaker influence on the ice adhesion shear strength. This research provides a strong reference for the design and study of amphibious aircraft tires.

This study aims to accurately simulate the outfield low-temperature environment for the key components of aircraft in the parking state, using the infield low-temperature environmental test chamber, when there is a difference between the infield and outfield environments; and, moreover, reveal the similarity between the influences of the infield and outfield low-temperature environments on the elastic properties of the rubber sealing materials for aircraft. Two kinds of rubber materials were examined in the infield and outfield—the tensile springback test and the isobaric elongation test—and the measured data of low-temperature steady-state response (elastic property) were obtained under the typical temperature of −40 to 10 °C, finding that there is difference of elastic property between the infield and outfield environment. Three fitting methods were then used to describe the relationship between elasticity and temperature. In view of the difference of the elastic response of the typical rubber sealing materials to the low-temperature infield and outfield, a similarity calculation method of infield and outfield low-temperature tests was proposed, based on the translation and scaling transformation of the similarity curve. The outfield test data verify that the method proposed has high goodness of fit, and it is feasible and generalizable in the low-temperature performance testing and research of rubber materials and components.