Ice adhesion to rubber materials

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the interfacial shear strength between ice and rubbers. Different rubber materials containing only a polymer and curing agent (peroxide) were tested with regard to surface wettability and interfacial shear strength. The effect of different grades and amounts of carbon black filler was also studied. The wettability was determined from contact angles, using water and diiodomethane as test liquids, measured on carefully cleaned and mirror smooth rubber sheets. The test showed that there is a correlation between ice adhesion and rubber substrate wettability. Below a water contact angle of 90°, the interfacial shear strength of ice decreases linearly with increasing contact angle. For contact angles above 90°, the interfacial shear strength of ice stays practically the same. The presence of high surface energy additives such as reinforcing carbon black (e.g. N220 ISAF) significantly increases the interfacial shear strength. The highly hydrophobic behaviour of different plant surface textures was also investigated regarding ice adhesion strength. The combination of a submicrometer textured surface and a hydrophobic surface characteristic showed an abrupt decrease in the adhesion force of a water droplet at measured macroscopic contact angles above approximately 150°. Despite this water repellency, the ice adhesion strength is not nil. However, it was among the lowest values experienced in the test.