Study on the Dependence between Surface Topography and Icephobic Behavior of Ni–Cu–P Ternary Coatings

Unpredictable ice accretion and accumulation phenomena could lead to serious problems and even disastrous accidents. Applying icephobic coatings onto the engineering surfaces could be an effective ice protection method. The icephobicity could be mainly affected by several material strategies, such as wettability, surface topography and surface toughness, etc. Herein, several topographical surfaces (Ni–Cu–P coatings prepared on 304 stainless steel using electroless deposition) are critically investigated to understand the role of surface topography in affecting icephobic performances, including anti-icing and deicing aspects. The freezing delay tests show that rougher surfaces contribute to longer icing delay in anti-icing. The ice adhesion strength results indicate that rougher surfaces lead to a more mechanical interlock ice and increase the ice adhesion strength between the ice–solid interfaces. The electrothermal deicing tests indicate that the rough voids introduce large thermal resistance and impede heat conduction, resulting in the increase in detachment duration and energy input in deicing. The rough asperity could introduce air pockets at the surface interfaces, which leads to the difficulty of droplet phase transition. The rough structure also increases the mechanical interlock as well as the thermal resistance and impedes the heat conduction, which deteriorates the deicing ability.