Last but not least, the accumulation of large amounts of snow or ice on the overhead lines increases their overall mass and is very likely to destroy them, leaving hundreds of people with no telecommunications, internet or electricity. In addition, the heat exchangers of power and chemical plants located at arid regions may face freezing risks due to the excessive cooling capacity of ambient air, inflicting damage of the finned tube bundles. In turn, excessive vibrations and increased aerodynamic drag may occur, regrettably in some cases leading to fatal accidents. Furthermore, if at high altitudes an aircraft encounters cumuliform or stratiform clouds (formed upon humid air rising through cooler surrounding air or horizontal spreading of lifted air, respectively), the supercooled water droplets occupying these clouds attach to and freeze instantly on the wings, airfoils and propellers of the vehicle. Unavoidably, the cold weather and negative temperatures during the winter months and in some remote geographic areas lead to snow and ice accretion, and even a thin film of ice/snow is enough to alter the aerodynamic profile of wind turbines (the initially designed shape and roughness), resulting in power production losses, mechanical or electrical failure. Virtually, the icing is undesirable literally everywhere in our daily routine, except may be in the restaurant industry, where the ice cubes are used to cool the beverages. The reason for such a statement is simple and associated with the detrimental effect of icing on many industrial and social sectors including aviation, renewable energy production, power and chemical plants, road infrastructure, overhead lines, solar panels, off-shore oil platforms and many more. Finally, the limitations of existing superhydrophobic/icephobic materials, various possibilities for their unconventional practical applicability in cryobiology and some novel hybrid anti-icing systems are discussed in detail.Īlthough each of the above mentioned potential real-life applications of super-nonwetting coatings has its significance and importance, the possibility for passively preventing (with no external energy applied) the ice and snow accumulation in harsh environments stands out as an approach with extremely high economic and societal impact. Following this framework, the present article introduces the most relevant concepts used to understand the incipiency of ice nuclei at solid surfaces and the pathways of water freezing, considers the criteria that a given material has to meet in order to be labelled as icephobic and clarifies the modus operandi of superhydrophobic (extremely water-repellent) coatings for passive icing protection. The primary objective of this review is to reveal comprehensively the major physical mechanisms regulating the ice accretion on solid surfaces and summarize the most important scientific breakthroughs in the field of functional icephobic coatings. With the tremendous and nature-inspired development of physical, chemical and engineering sciences in the last few decades, novel strategies for passively combating the atmospheric and condensation icing have been put forward. The severe environmental conditions in winter seasons and/or cold climate regions cause many inconveniences in our routine daily-life, related to blocked road infrastructure, interrupted overhead telecommunication, internet and high-voltage power lines or cancelled flights due to excessive ice and snow accumulation.
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