The objective of the CHOPIN project is to develop coatings with hydrophobic and/or omniphobic properties against insect contamination. Different technologies are being considered in the project to obtain hydrophobic surfaces : wet-chemistry deposition (Sol-gel, Ionogel, UV-Varnish) and dry technologies (Ion Implantation and Dry Spray). These are sustainable solutions reducing CO2 emission.
Overview on the project and information on the techniques.
The aircraft industry has long been concerned with the increase of drag impacting directly the fuel consumption of airplanes. Different researches have shown that the insect sticking causes 3-D disturbances in the laminar flow. The use of coatings to mitigate the insect contamination is really promising. Critical issues remain though due to lack of durability.
The objectives of the project CHOPIN are :
- The development of highly durable hydrophobic coatings which can be applied to micro-perforated surfaces typically used for drag reduction and ;
- The validation of the technology and the coating process by using tests to clearly assess the mitigation of insect contamination under realistic conditions.
Different technologies are being considered in the project to obtain hydrophobic surfaces : wet-chemistry deposition and dry technologies (plasma and spray).
The application process needs to keep the holes and the efficiency of the HLFC leading edges.
The insect contamination and cleaning behaviour of the best coatings will be demonstrated during simulation testing and under realistic conditions.
Tests under real conditions will be done by using drones which will evaluate statistically the insect impact and contamination behaviour of typical A/C leading edges under realistic A/C environment during take-off, landing and flight.
Up-front the test under real conditions, wind tunnel tests will be performed at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics to demonstrate the insect contamination and cleaning behaviour of the best coatings. The von Karman Instititute CWT-1 facility is used for testing the best three coatings developed for the CHOPIN project under simulated conditions. These coatings are tested on two different substrates (stainless steel 304 and micro perforated titanium) in terms of anti-sticking and cleanability properties. The best coating is selected based on the results obtained from these tests, and used for further validation.
Project information
Project duration: 1 March 2018 - 28 February 2021
EU grant: € 1 529 893,75
Project Coordinator: Materia Nova
Partners: Berthier Etudes, France; Fundacion CIDETEC, Spain; NORUT Northern Research Institute, Norway; NORCE Norwegian Research Center, Norway; von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Belgium
Topic Management: Airbus
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under Grant Agreement no. 785484.