Flexible And Printed Interdigitated Electrodes For Field Ice Detection Using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy

The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) allows measurements to be made in water, both in liquid and solid states, as well as in the absence of water, in a two-wire configuration through an interdigitated transducer. Therefore, the development of flexible and integrable interdigitated electrodes will play a key role in providing an ice sensing solution for wind turbines located in cold regions. In our work, two types of transducers have been developed, copper and silver ink electrodes printed in polyamide and fibreglass substrates, respectively. These transducers have been embedded in a simulated wind turbine blade environment based on epoxy resin composites to analyse the ice detection by EIS. Silver ink embedded electrodes in a fiberglass reinforced epoxy resin composites resulted in a promising solution to detect the ice accretion in these structures.