Icing test systems

For more than 50 years, NRC has performed icing simulation testing in two test cells at its gas turbine lab in Ottawa that can deliver a liquid water content of up to 4.0 grams/cubic metre over a 15 to 45 micron range of median volumetric diameters. The smaller test cell can handle engines with up to 45 kN of thrust (140 kg/s of engine airflow), while the larger test cell can handle engines with up to 120 kN of thrust (360 kg/s of engine airflow). The facility relies on ambient air temperatures to produce the desired conditions (December through March), so produces the operational window for icing testing at lower cost.

  • Specialized icing instrumentation development
  • Laser measurement technologies for droplet diameter measurements
  • Techniques for snow and ice crystal ingestion
  • Ice slab or hail stone ingestion(FAR 33.77 testing)
  • Hail storm simulator
  • Large icing test facility as partner in GLACIER
  • Iso-kinetic probe for accurate total water content measurements
  • FAR 33.68 icing certification testing