Device and method for de-icing an elongated structural element

A method for de-icing an elongated structural element having a closed contour, comprising the steps of:

• positioning at least one pair of conductive wires along the structural element, the conductive wires being preformed to wind, one next to the other, along and around the structural element following a substantially helicoidal trajectory while embracing substantially the contour of the structural element with a predetermined gap between the conductive wires and the structural element, the conductive wires having first and second opposite ends, the conductive wires being provided with means for electrically insulating the conductive wires from each other and from the structural element, the conductive wires being sized to withstand a current causing, between the conductive wires of the pair, a repulsion having an intensity capable of breaking the ice or the frost on the structural element by a separation of the conductive wires from each other in response to the repulsion, the conductive wires having rigidity and elasticity properties such that the conductive wires recover their shape around the structural element after the separation caused by the repulsion;
• electrically connecting the second ends of the conductive wires together;
• and
• applying electromagnetic impulses between the first ends of the conductive wires to generate said current in the conductive wires.