Numerical simulation and validation of electro-impulse de-icing on a leading edge structure

•A numerical de-icing model of a slat is compared to experimental results.•Different approaches to model the ice shape and its cracking are presented.•The initial ice shape strongely influences the de-icing pattern after first impulse.•A combined failure approach of CZM and shear stress criterion is introduced. The Electro Impulse De-Icing (EIDI) system offers an energy-efficient way of mechanically de-icing aircraft. Structural deformations induced by electromagnetic fields remove the accreted ice, and during this failure process different phenomena can be observed. A complex pattern of multiple cracks arises inside the ice layer, whereas in the ice-structure interface delaminations occur. This paper presents a numerical approach to model the combined failure process and compares it to experimental results. Cohesive zones are chosen to describe the complex fracture processes inside the ice layer while an interfacial shear stress criterion is used to determine the ice detachment from the structure. The numerical model is applied to a leading edge structure and the simulations are validated by comparison with experimental studies performed under realistic icing conditions in an icing wind tunnel. The results of several consecutive de-icing impulses show that the dynamic structural behavior and de-icing process can be approximated very well by the simulations. Furthermore, different approaches to model the complex accreted ice shape are proposed and the results are compared to each other.