Detection of ice accretions on composite panels using FMCW radars at 60GHz

This paper encloses experimental results based on two FMCW-radars and shows the ability of such systems to detect ice on the surface of glass fibre composites. The investigation aims to define sensor nodes based on radar technology for wind turbines experiencing blade icing. Indeed, accumulation of ice on rotor blades can be critical, because pieces of ice can come loose and fly away. For this practically relevant scenario, herein it is studied a differential analysis approach where the dry state of a composite plate serves as baseline and ice layers are used as test cases. The same differential imaging concept can be applied for the detection of structural defects such as delaminations or debondings.