Photo By Airman 1st Class Christopher Morales | The deicing truck driver controls the direction of the IceCam so the deicer in the...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- When aircraft need to fly, but the climate clenches its icy grip even more, the only hope is to deice. Sometimes seeing a problem in a different light might change perspective.
The 3rd Maintenance Squadron deicing program on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson works with a new device called the IceCam, which allows the truck driver and deicer to view the scene through an infrared sensor. Targeting ice patches individually, instead of deicing the whole aircraft, can save time and fluid used, which cuts cost.
PV Labs, a company specializing in design and development of aerial imaging systems, was contracted to demonstrate IceCam so they can improve their system.
“We hope the technology [will] allow us to reduce the amount of deicing fluid … [it] is expensive, and can be environmentally hazardous; if we can reduce the amount consumed it would cut significant cost,” said Justin Bolduc, PV Labs production supervisor. “The goal is to pinpoint the areas of most severe ice buildup and provide an inspection tool to be certain the ice is gone.”
“It’s an infrared imager, capable of detecting frost and ice, and [the thickness] of ice,” Bolduc said. “It is able to display the different thickness based on color schemes superimposed on the image [monitor].”
The human eye might see heavy ice on an aircraft wing, but maybe not on the body. Fog, snow, rain or hail could also distort the deicer’s view, but IceCam isn’t easily swayed.
The camera is not static. The truck driver targets the camera, finds the ice and relays that back to the deicer in the basket.
“The basket operator would be able to constantly receive a live view of the ice before and after they spray the fluid and see if the ice is no longer there almost instantly,” Bolduc said.
The IceCam also allows others, like supervision, to monitor the deicing so they can see how effective their workers are. This was one of the many improvements during the camera’s more than three-year development, but this isn’t the first time it has been used on JBER.
“This is the second study; the last one was in 2012 with [the] prototype system,” Buldoc said. “The last time we were here with the prototype, our technician had to be in the truck operating it along with the crew.
“This time it is a more immediately accessible technology and is far simpler to use … [we] were able to train the crew on how to use it, get comfortable with it, and enjoy it for several weeks,” Buldoc said.
Deicers used IceCam for four weeks so Bolduc could collect data on usability, imaging and reliability.
IceCam was commonly used with deicers on aircraft leaving the flightline in the morning, mostly Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIs, said Staff Sgt. Paul Lampe Jr., 3rd Maintenance Squadron aircraft deicing noncommissioned officer in charge.
“The technology is a few steps away from total commercialization before we can deploy it more reliably, but we are very close to being able to do that today,” Bolduc said.
Targeting only the frost and ice on an aircraft reduces time and cost. This is just one way JBER improves effectiveness in everyday mission success.
| Date Taken: | 02.19.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 03.03.2016 16:46 |
| Story ID: | 191033 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, AK, US |
| Web Views: | 192 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Icecam saves time, deicing fluid with infrared imaging, by A1C Christopher Morales, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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