De-icing and/or anti-icing system for the leading edge of an aircraft wing

1. A de-icing system comprising:

a leading edge of an aircraft wing or air intake lip of an aircraft engine;

a plurality of infrared emitting members arranged inside a cavity defined by a front partition and said leading edge or said lip;

a plurality of supports that extend between an inner wall of the air intake lip and the front partition and distributed evenly on an inner circumference of the air intake lip, wherein the plurality of infrared emitting members are fixed to the plurality of supports and are distanced from the inner wall of the air intake lip;

power supply means for said emitters; and

control means for adjusting a voltage, intensity and duration of said power supply means, so as to regulate heating energy radiated toward an inner wall of said leading edge of said lip,

wherein said front partition separates said cavity from an inner area, thus functioning as both load-carrying structure and for thermal insulation of the cavity relative to the inner area,

wherein said emitters are made of ceramic and have a radiated power/weight ratio of 500 W for 100 g, an emissivity of 97% at 800° C. over a spectrum between 1.5 μm and 10 μm, a surface energy greater than 70 kW per square meter, and an efficiency greater than 95%.

2. The de-icing system according to claim 1 , wherein said infrared emitting members comprise heating resistors included in a ceramic having a highly emissive outer coating.

3. The de-icing system according to claim 1 , wherein said power supply means can be connected to an on board power source of the aircraft or a power source located on the ground.

4. The de-icing system according to claim 1 , further comprising first temperature sensors arranged near an inner wall of said leading edge or said lip and electrically connected to said control means, wherein said control means is capable of regulating voltage and/or intensity and/or duration of the power supply of said infrared emitting members as a function of signals received from said sensors.

5. The de-icing system according to claim 1 , further comprising two temperature sensors arranged in an immediate vicinity of said infrared emitters and electrically connected to said control means, wherein said control means are capable of regulating voltage and/or intensity and/or duration of the power supply of said infrared emitters as a function of signals received from said second sensors.

6. The de-icing system according to claim 1 , wherein said emitters are organized to be controlled either individually or in groups depending on de-icing needs and a size of said air intake.

7. The de-icing system according to claim 1 , wherein said emitters are distributed such that a defect detected on one emitter by the control means causes an increase in power delivered by neighboring emitters, making it possible to offset said defect.

8. The de-icing system according to claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises an integrated self-test that detects any defect of one component of the system during maintenance on the ground.

9. The de-icing system according to claim 1 , comprising interrupting an operation of said power supply means for short periods during which one must make other equipment of said aircraft function.

10. The de-icing system according to claim 1 , comprising controlling said power supply means such that said infrared emitters emit in a given radiation band, set in advance and depending on a material making up the leading edge or the air intake lip, so as to provide heat transfer toward the surface to be de-iced.