Ice formation on aerodynamic surfaces is a safety-related issue in aviation. Thermal, mechanical, or hybrid systems are used to prevent or eliminate ice formation. To increase energy efficiency, new methods are being researched and tested, using new materials. This article aims to investigate in detail the geometrical parameters of a novel thermomechanical deicing concept based on the shape memory effect. The thermomechanical behavior of a shape memory alloy wire embedded in an elastomer can be described, using the transformation expansion coefficient. The approach includes the nonlinear phase transformation and the linear expansion of the alloy. Simulation results using the above approach are compared with experimental results. In addition, a parameter study of the geometric quantities is presented, where the individual effects of these quantities are investigated assuming that there is a block-like ice layer on the surface. The results for the behavior of the SMA show promising results in terms of describing the thermomechanical behavior of the wire. However, deviations are still observed in the thermal behavior of the embedding matrix.

A combined experimental and numerical approach for the analysis of convective heat transfer from a multifunctional flat plate specimen under aircraft icing conditions is presented. The experimental setup including a heat control and measurement system that is installed in a de-icing test bed. The ambient temperature (${\theta }_{\mathrm{a}}=[253,283]\mathrm{K}$), air velocity ($v_{\mathrm{a}}=\{0,15,30\}\frac{\mathrm{m}}{\mathrm{s}}$), and angle of attack ($\alpha ={\{10,30\}}^{\circ }$) are varied, and their influence on heat transfer during local Joule heating is discussed. The numerical approach utilises the results to compute the convective heat transfer coefficients (HTC) based on Newton’s convective heat transfer condition. Results indicate that the numerical model represents the heat transfer behaviour with high accuracy. The HTC for free convection was found to hold $\overline{h}\approx 2.5\frac{\mathrm{W}}{{\mathrm{m}}^2\mathrm{K}}$ and $\overline{h}\approx [10,40]\frac{\mathrm{W}}{{\mathrm{m}}^{2}K}$ for forced convection conditions with minor scattering. The increase in HTC under forced convection conditions has a significant effect on the overall heat transfer behaviour, resulting in high temperature gradients within the material. The functional optimisation of multifunctional structures will benefit from including application related convection conditions, dealing with resulting temperature fields by structural design. It is expected that multifunctional structures for de-icing as well as for structural energy storage, morphing structures, or stiffness adaptive structures with similar material constituents will benefit from this recognition.