Integrated stealth and anti-/de-icing performance enabled by a wave-transparent, electrically heated patterned polymer-based film material

Abstract

The rapid movement of electrons during electrical heating produces electromagnetic shielding phenomena (along with an increase in the dielectric constant), which severely hampers the transmission of electromagnetic waves. We propose a patterned structure based on an electrically heated film that enables efficient surface heating and high wave-transmittance. In this paper, the structure exhibits a transmittance greater than 50 % in the 2–18 GHz band and excellent transmittance exceeding 80 % in the 2–8.88 GHz band under vertically incident TM-polarized electromagnetic waves (parallel polarized or vertically polarized wave). The de-icing experiments demonstrated the excellent heating efficiency and fast electrothermal response time of the structure. At a loading power of 4629.6 W/m2, the surface temperature of the structure reached 50.6 °C after 110 s, resulting in the shedding of surface ice. This work proposes a coupling strategy between wave transparency and electro-thermal performance, which is important for promoting the development of integrated structures with stealth/de-icing capabilities.