Mechanically robust cable superhydrophobic coating with passive anti-icing and rapid deicing performance

Abstract

The accumulation of ice and snow on cables in winter poses a serious threat to the transmission and safety of electricity. It is extremely necessary to prepare a strong superhydrophobic anti-icing coating on the surface of the cable to gently remove the ice and snow on its surface. In this study, we constructed rough structures using inexpensive nano SiO2, modified the hydrophobicity and flexibility of epoxy resin with acrylic resin and polydimethylsiloxane as modifiers, and prepared a robust superhydrophobic anti-icing coating that combines multiple binders. The coating was prepared by a simple air spraying process and has compatibility with both flat and curved surfaces. Compared with the pristine cable, this coating can reduce ice accumulation by about 4 times, shorten deicing time by about 2.1 times, and lower the average ice adhesion strength to 12.5 KPa, a reduction of about 90%; On stainless steel plates, the anti-icing time can be extended by about 5.8 times. In addition, the coating still has low ice adhesion strength and good hydrophobic properties after being scratched by a knife, impacted by 12 h of water flow, impacted by 500 mL sand drop, and peeled off by 60 adhesive tapes. The preparation of this coating has a simple process flow and excellent anti-icing performance, and has broad application prospects in the field of anti-icing for transmission lines.

Keywords

• Cable
• Superhydrophobicity
• Anti-icing
• SiO2
• Mechanical robustness