We present experiments along with an approximate, semi-analytic, close-form solution to predict ice sintering force as a function of temperature, contact load, contact duration, and particle size during the primary stage of sintering. The ice sintering force increases nearly linear with increasing contact load but nonlinear with both contact duration and particle size in the form of a power law. The exponent of the power law for size dependence is around the value predicted by general sintering theory. The temperature dependence of the sintering force is also nonlinear and follows the Arrhenius equation. At temperatures closer to the melting point, a liquid bridge is observed upon the separation of the contacted ice particles. We also find that the ratio of ultimate tensile strength of ice to the axial stress concentration factor in tension is an important factor in determining the sintering force, and a value of nearly 1.1 MPa can best catch the sintering force of ice in different conditions. We find that the activation energy is around $41.4\mathrm{KJ}/\mathrm{mol}$ , which is close to the previously reported data. Also, our results suggest that smaller particles are “stickier” than larger particles. Moreover, during the formation of the ice particles, cavitation and surface cracking is observed which can be one of the sources for the variations observed in the measured ice sintering force.

Perception and sensing of the surrounding environment are crucial for ensuring the safety of autonomous driving systems. A key issue is securing sensor reliability from sensors mounted on the vehicle and obtaining accurate raw data. Surface contamination in front of a sensor typically occurs due to adverse weather conditions or particulate matter on the road, which can degrade system reliability depending on sensor placement and surrounding bodywork geometry. Moreover, the moisture content of dust contaminants can cause surface adherence, making it more likely to persist on a vertical sensor surface compared to moisture only. In this work, a 76–81 GHz radar sensor, a 72–82 GHz automotive radome tester, a 60–90 GHz vector network analyzer system, and a 76–81 GHz radar target simulator setup were used in combination with a representative polypropylene plate that was purposefully contaminated with a varying range of water and ISO standard dust combinations; this was used to determine any signal attenuation and subsequent impact on target detection. The results show that the water content in dust contaminants significantly affects radar signal transmission and object detection performance, with higher water content levels causing increased signal attenuation, impacting detection capability across all tested scenarios.