The effect of chemical modifications with spherosilicates of nanocomposite waterborne polyurethane hydrophilic coatings on anti-icing properties

A guarantee of safe and efficient power production by the means of green energy sources is an extremely important task, necessary to the popularize environmental-friendly solutions. Ice accumulation and water droplet erosion are some serious obstacles to increasing the power output of the wind energy sector. A proposed solution to minimize the effects of severe weathering on composite wind turbine blades is the use of anti-icing hybrid coatings. One of the strategies is to
utilize protective polyurethane coatings, none of which exhibit icephobic properties. In this paper waterborne polyurethane coatings modified with nanocompounds from the group of spherosilicates were investigated in terms of water repellent and anti-icing behavior. The roughness of the surface was measured as it significantly influences the aforementioned characteristics of the material. The
hydrophobicity was evaluated by means of water contact angle at room temperature, roll-off angle and contact angle hysteresis measurements. All of the modifiers increased the contact angle, modifying the reference material from hydrophilic to slightly hydrophobic. The ice adhesion strength, which was used to characterize the icephobic behavior was decreased even by 45% in comparison to the unmodified reference material.