About PRECISE
PRECISE is a cooperative research project focused on one of the challenging questions in future aviation: how can propeller icing be tested, scaled and simulated with sufficient confidence across different aircraft sizes and operating conditions?
Propeller icing remains a technically demanding area because the interaction between rotating blades, cloud droplets, aerodynamics, ice accretion and ice shedding is highly complex. Ground-based icing facilities are essential for research and certification support, but they have practical limits in terms of test-section size, airspeed, temperature, liquid water content and achievable propeller rotational speed.
PRECISE addresses these limitations through a coordinated experimental and numerical research programme. The project combines testing in two icing wind tunnels with complementary capabilities: the NASA Glenn Icing Research Tunnel, which is well suited to smaller-scale propeller testing, and the RTA Icing Wind Tunnel, which enables larger-scale propeller investigations.
A medium-scale propeller will be tested at both facilities to support interfacility comparison. Smaller and larger propeller configurations will then be used to investigate how icing behaviour changes with scale and operating condition.
The experimental results will support the development of scaling laws and numerical models for propeller icing, including effects such as droplet splash and bounce, liquid water shedding, secondary droplet breakup, re-impingement and erosion due to high-speed droplet impact.
Project Objectives
- Improve understanding of icing scaling on rotating propellers
- Generate high-quality experimental data from icing wind tunnel campaigns
- Improve numerical modelling capabilities for propeller ice accretion and shedding
- Compare results between different facilities and propeller scales
- Support future aircraft development and certification by reducing reliance on costly full-scale or flight-test-only approaches
Expected Impact
PRECISE aims to strengthen European and Austrian capability in aircraft icing research by improving the methods used to test, document, simulate and scale propeller icing. The results are expected to support safer and more efficient development of future propeller-driven and open-rotor aircraft concepts.
The project also contributes to sustainability by supporting more efficient development and certification approaches. Improved scaling methods and validated numerical tools can help reduce the need for energy-intensive full-scale experimental campaigns and flight tests.