Systems and methods for deicing
First Claim
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1. A deicing method, comprising:
- determining, by control circuitry of a deicing apparatus, a necessary quantity of heat to substantially vaporize an interfacial layer between a solid surface and a layer of ice;
applying, by the deicing apparatus, pulsed heating to a plurality of separated areas of the interfacial layer, wherein the pulsed heating is applied with the determined necessary quantity of heat to substantially vaporize the interfacial layer;
determining, by the deicing apparatus, a thickness of the layer of ice; and
determining, by the control circuitry, a distance between the plurality of separated areas based on the determined thickness.
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Abstract
A deicing method includes the steps of determining a necessary quantity of heat to substantially vaporize an interfacial layer between a solid surface and a layer of ice and applying pulsed heating at the interfacial layer. The pulsed heating is applied with the determined necessary quantity of heat to substantially vaporize the interfacial layer.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A deicing method, comprising:
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determining, by control circuitry of a deicing apparatus, a necessary quantity of heat to substantially vaporize an interfacial layer between a solid surface and a layer of ice; applying, by the deicing apparatus, pulsed heating to a plurality of separated areas of the interfacial layer, wherein the pulsed heating is applied with the determined necessary quantity of heat to substantially vaporize the interfacial layer; determining, by the deicing apparatus, a thickness of the layer of ice; and determining, by the control circuitry, a distance between the plurality of separated areas based on the determined thickness. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15)
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14. A deicing apparatus for removing a layer of ice from a solid surface, the apparatus comprising:
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control circuitry operable at least to determine a necessary quantity of heat to substantially vaporize an interfacial layer between the solid surface and the layer of ice; a pulsed heating system configured to apply pulsed heating to a plurality of separated areas of the interfacial layer, wherein the pulsed heating is applied with the determined necessary quantity of heat to substantially vaporize the interfacial layer; and an ice-detection system configured to determine a thickness of the layer of ice; wherein the control circuitry is operable to determine a distance between the plurality of separated areas based on the determined thickness of the layer of ice. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. An ice detection system comprising
a first plurality of sensors for detecting a layer of ice on a solid surface; -
a second plurality of sensors operable to determine a thickness of the layer of ice; control circuitry operable at least to determine a necessary quantity of heat to substantially vaporize an interfacial layer between the solid surface and the detected layer of ice and to determine a distance between a plurality of separated areas of the interfacial layer, based on the determined thickness of the layer of ice; and a heating system interface communicatively coupling the ice detection system to a heating system that is configured to apply pulsed heating at the interfacial layer, wherein the pulsed heating is applied with the determined necessary quantity of heat to substantially vaporize the interfacial layer; wherein the control circuitry is further configured to instruct the heating system to apply pulsed heating to the plurality of separated areas of the interfacial layer. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification