Passive Anti-Icing Performance of Superhydrophobic Surfaces under Static Freezing

Atmospheric icing degrades performance and safety across energy and transportation systems. Superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) offer a passive way to mitigate ice formation by suppressing wetting and lowering ice adhesion without added energy or aerodynamic penalties. we fabricate microtextured SHSs via 3D printing of cylindrical post arrays followed by deposition of hydrophobic nanoparticles and quantify ice adhesion as a function of geometry. Static tests were performed to measure the required force to crack and remove ice from each sample. In a first set, gap g was varied from 200 to 600 µm while diameter d and height h were fixed at 400 µm. In samples #4 and #5, d = g = 400 µm while h was varied from 600 to 200 µm to isolate height effects. The results suggest that larger gaps between micro-posts help reduce the contact area between the ice and the solid surface, making it easier for ice to detach. These findings help explain how surface texture can influence ice-phobic behavior and can establish foundation for the further development of SHSs-based anti-icing strategies.