Aircraft anti-icing system
An aircraft can include a turbine engine including a rotor and a stator, and also including a compressor, a combustor, and a turbine in axial flow arrangement. The aircraft can further include an anti-icing system with a magnetic field generator having a rotating portion and a non-rotating portion, as well as an array of carbon nanotubes thermally coupled to an exposed surface.
1. A method of heating an exposed surface of an engine having an engine core and a central axis defining at least a radial direction and an axial direction, the method comprising:
positioning an anti-icing structure on the exposed surface and protruding radially outward therefrom, the anti-icing structure having an array of carbon nanotubes thermally conductively coupled to the exposed surface;
generating, by rotating a rotor within the engine, a varying magnetic field encompassing an array of carbon structures, thereby inducing a current within the array of carbon structures that generates heat;
varying a magnitude of the varying magnetic field by varying a rotational speed of the rotor;
transferring the heat, via a thermal conductor, from the array of carbon structures to the array of carbon nanotubes; and
transferring the heat from the array of carbon nanotubes to the exposed surface, wherein the exposed surface is located on a splitter nose within the engine, the splitter nose splitting a bypass airflow, which flows over the engine core and a pressurized air flow, which flows through the engine core,
wherein the anti-icing structure is axially offset from a leading edge of the splitter nose.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the varying magnetic field passes through at least a portion of a nacelle encompassing the rotor.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the rotational speed of the rotor based on a predetermined level of heat generation for the exposed surface.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing a generated electric charge from the varying magnetic field.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transferring the heat from the array of carbon structures to a stator thermally conductively coupled to the array of carbon structures.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the array of carbon structures comprises a graphene sheet.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the array of carbon structures is spaced from the array of carbon nanotubes by a coupling distance between 0 m and 4 m.
8. A method of heating an exposed surface of a turbine engine having a central axis defining at least a radial direction and an axial direction, an engine core, a rotor, and a stator, the method comprising:
positioning an anti-icing structure on the exposed surface and protruding radially outward therefrom, the anti-icing structuring having an array of carbon nanotubes thermally conductively coupled to the exposed surface;
generating heat within an array of carbon structures located on the stator and confronting the rotor by varying a magnetic field encompassing the array of carbon structures;
transferring, via a thermal conductor, the heat generated from the array of carbon structures to the array of carbon nanotubes thermally conductively coupled to the exposed surface; and
transferring the heat generated from the array of carbon nanotubes to the exposed surface, wherein the exposed surface is located on a splitter nose within the turbine engine, the splitter nose splitting a bypass airflow, which flows over the engine core and a pressurized air flow, which flows through the engine core,
wherein the anti-icing structure is axially offset from a leading edge of the splitter nose.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the array of carbon structures comprises a graphene sheet.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein varying the magnetic field comprises rotating the rotor within the turbine engine.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein varying the magnetic field comprises varying a rotational speed of the rotor, thereby varying a magnitude of the magnetic field.
12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising adjusting a rotational speed of the rotor based on a predetermined level of heat generation for the exposed surface.
13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising transferring a portion of the heat generated from the array of carbon structures to the stator thermally conductively coupled to the array of carbon structures.
14. The method of claim 8 wherein the transferring further comprises transferring the heat generated over a distance between 30 cm and 400 cm from the array of carbon structures to the array of carbon nanotubes.
15. The method of claim 8 , further comprising storing a generated electric charge from the array of carbon structures within at least one power storage device.
16. The method of claim 8 , wherein the thermal conductor comprises at least one of carbon nanotubes, aluminum, or copper.
17. The method of claim 8 , further comprising arranging the array of carbon nanotubes within a layered anti-icing structure having an insulation layer and an erosion protection layer.