The coating outperformed current state-of-the-art aerospace coating technologies.
while limiting unwanted environmental effects. They call this coating material a "fracture-controlled surface." The material uses varying chemical and mechanical compositions to initiate crack formation at the interface, direct energy toward those cracks, and accelerate their growth.
"We developed a new concept in which, through material design, you can significantly accelerate the crack formation and growth and easily remove external objects from the surface. This concept is implemented to develop materials that are highly durable, and ice does not attach to these materials.
It works on the principle that force must be applied to remove an external solid object from a surface, such as . This force encourages the formation of cracks at the interface. Once that crack starts, it can quickly grow until the ice completely detaches from the surface. According to the paper, detachment can be accurately controlled and accelerated using this new concept.