Research progress and prospect of helicopter rotor anti-icing and de-icing technologies

In high-altitude, mid-to-high-latitude, and low-temperature regions, helicopters are highly susceptible to icing while flying at high altitudes. Ice accumulation on the rotor blades can significantly impact a helicopter's flight be-haviour and performance. Mitigating or even eliminating the adverse effects of rotor blade icing is therefore crucial for ensuring the stable operation of helicopters in all regions and under all complex climatic conditions. This paper outlines the causes and hazards of rotor icing in helicopters and provides an overview of current anti-icing and de-icing methods for helicopter rotors, their performance characteristics, and the current state of research. It also ex-plores passive anti-icing mechanisms based on biomimetic superhydrophobic surfaces in terms of reducing droplet coalescence, delaying icing and reducing ice adhesion strength. The paper also discusses synergistic anti-icing and de-icing strategies based on functional composite materials, such as electrothermal/photothermal responses, mag-netic field control and phase-change energy storage. It summarises the shortcomings and limitations of these strate-gies in current applications. Finally, it outlines the technical challenges facing novel rotor de-icing technologies and prospectively considers future core development directions. This study fully demonstrates the necessity and feasi-bility of researching novel anti-icing technologies for helicopter rotors, providing theoretical references and tech-nical support for the practical implementation and iterative development of innovative anti-icing technologies based on “bio-inspiration, structural regulation and functional synergy” in the field of helicopter rotors.