Methods and systems for measuring and classifying accretion of ice

Abstract

An icing warning system for a structure with an exterior surface is described. The system includes a flexible sensor film including a plurality of water sensors for application to the exterior surface, wherein each water sensor is associated with a different collection efficiency. The system also includes a sensor head in electric communication with each of the water sensors that receives raw data from the water sensors. A controller in communication with the sensor head receives the raw data from each of the plurality of water sensors and receives a temperature measurement. The controller is configured to determine an icing pattern on the exterior surface based on the raw data indicating the presence of water or ice, and based on the temperature measurement indicating a temperature less than a freezing temperature of water.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.