3D Reconstruction of Ice Shedding Trajectories on a Full-Scale Propeller Test Rig

A new method was developed to document and reconstruct ice shedding events from a full-scale propeller tested in a climatic wind tunnel. A stereo system of synchronized high-speed cameras was used to capture footage of the ice shedding from two different perspectives. Motion-based multiple object tracking was applied to automatically locate ice particles in the series of images. Stereo triangulation was performed on corresponding particle tracks to determine the three-dimensional position of the respective ice particles in each frame. This approach makes it possible to reconstruct the three-dimensional trajectories of shed ice particles, giving detailed insight into their location of detachment and impact. A regression model was computed to approximate the particle trajectory and to derive the particle velocity. The workflow was demonstrated on icing tests of a full-scale general aviation propeller operated in the Rail Tec Arsenal icing wind tunnel. Data of shedding events recorded during these tests is presented, discussed, and evaluated for improvements of the documentation method.