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Item Open Access Entwicklung laserspektroskopischer Methoden zur Analyse der Verdunstungseigenschaften von Brennstofftropfen(Stuttgart : Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Verbrennungstechnik, 2021) Werner, Stefanie; Riedel, Uwe (Prof. Dr. rer. nat.)Die steigenden Emissionen des klimaschädlichen Treibhausgases CO2 durch die Verbrennung von fossilen, endlichen Energieträgern müssen möglichst schnell und nachhaltig reduziert werden. Ein vielversprechender Lösungsansatz zur Reduzierung der Schadstoffemissionen bei der Verbrennung liegt in dem Einsatz von alternativen und erneuerbaren Brennstoffen. Als Energieträger bieten sich auf Grund ihrer hohen Energiedichte vor allem flüssige Brennstoffe an. Diese werden typischerweise durch Druckzerstäubung in die Brennkammer eingebracht, verdunstet und dann mit dem Oxidationsmittel vermischt und verbrannt. Die Verdunstung der kleinen Brennstofftropfen des sogenannten Sprays ist von entscheidender Bedeutung für den Gesamtverbrennungsprozess in Verbrennungsmotoren und Gasturbinen. Im Allgemeinen bestimmt die Verdunstungsrate die Verbrennungsrate. Daher sind Modelle notwendig, die eine genaue Vorhersage der Brennstoffverdunstung ermöglichen. Zur Validierung dieser Modelle werden quantitative Messungen unter genau definierten Randbedingungen benötigt. Da die Prozesse in technischen Brennkammern sehr komplex sind, werden Experimente zur Tropfenverdunstung häufig mit linearen, monodispersen Tropfenketten durchgeführt, um die Kopplung zwischen den verschiedenen Effekten zu minimieren. Durch die geringe Größe der Tropfen (typischerweise wenige hundert Mikrometer oder weniger), erfordert die experimentelle Untersuchung eine hohe räumliche Auflösung. In dieser Arbeit wurden quantitative, laseroptische Messtechniken mit hoher räumlicher Auflösung zur experimentellen Untersuchung der Tropfenverdunstung an monodispersen Tropfenketten entwickelt. Mit den Messtechniken wurden Validierungsdaten für die Verdunstungseigenschaften von verschiedenen Brennstoffen bestimmt. Konzentrationsmessungen von verdunsteten Kohlenwasserstoffen wurden unter Verwendung von Infrarot-Laserabsorptionsspektroskopie und laserinduzierter Fluoreszenzspektroskopie (LIF) durchgeführt. Tropfenketten wurden mit einem Tropfenkettengenerator erzeugt, welcher vertikal in einem Strömungskanal installiert wurde. Die untersuchten Brennstoffe waren Cyclohexan, iso-Octan, n-Heptan, n-Pentan, 1-Butanol und Anisol. Der Strömungskanal wurde mit einer laminaren Luftströmung bei verschiedenen Temperaturen (313 K - 430 K) durchströmt. Da die untersuchten Tropfen einen Durchmesser in der Größenordnung von 120 bis 160 µm hatten und die Konzentrationsgradienten nahe der Tropfenoberfläche groß waren, war eine hohe räumliche Auflösung der Messtechniken erforderlich. Die Absorptionsmessungen wurden mit der Infrarotstrahlung eines HeNe-Lasers bei λ = 3,39 µm durchgeführt, um die CH-Streckschwingung der Kohlenwasserstoffe anzuregen. Die für die Quantifizierung der Brennstoffkonzentrationen benötigten Absorptionsquerschnitte wurden in einer beheizten Gaszelle für Temperaturen von 300 K - 773 K bestimmt. Die räumliche Auflösung im Strömungskanal betrug < 50 µm über eine Länge von 2 mm (Halbwertsbreite). Durch die Zylindersymmetrie und gute Stabilität der Tropfenketten konnten zeitliche Mittelungs- und Tomografieverfahren angewandt werden. Hierdurch konnten radiale Konzentrationsprofile an mehreren Positionen im Strömungskanal erhalten werden. Aus dem Anstieg der Dampfkonzentration an verschiedenen Messpositionen konnte die Verdunstungsrate bestimmt werden. Die Verdunstungsraten wurden in Abhängigkeit von der Mantelstromtemperatur (313 K - 430 K), der Tropfengeschwindigkeit (8 m/s - 23 m/s), der Tropfenerzeugungsfrequenz (12 kHz - 75 kHz) und dem Tropfenabstand (300 µm - 685 µm) gemessen. Im untersuchten Temperaturbereich steigt die Verdunstungsrate des Brennstoffs linear mit der Temperatur an. Die Reihenfolge der Brennstoffe in Bezug auf die Verdunstungsrate entspricht den Siedepunkten der einzelnen Brennstoffe. Da technische Brennstoffe häufig eine Mischung mehrerer Komponenten sind, ist die Untersuchung von Brennstoffgemischen von großem Interesse. Daher wurde ein Messverfahren entwickelt, um binäre Gemische zu untersuchen. Das Verfahren wurde verwendet, um eine Mischung aus Cyclohexan und Anisol zu untersuchen. Zwei Messtechniken - laserinduzierte Fluoreszenz (LIF) und Infrarot Absorptionsspektroskopie - wurden verwendet, um beide Spezies zu messen. Um λ = 3,39 µm ist der Absorptionsquerschnitt von Cyclohexan um etwa den Faktor 8 größer als von Anisol. Im untersuchten Fall war die Konzentration aufgrund des höheren Dampfdrucks ebenfalls deutlich größer. Daher konnte das Infrarot-Absorptionssignal praktisch ausschließlich Cyclohexan zugeordnet werden. Anisol hat bei Anregung bei λ = 266 nm eine sehr gute Fluoreszenzquantenausbeute, während Cyclohexan keine Fluoreszenz zeigt. LIF ermöglicht daher die Quantifizierung von Anisol (oder anderen Aromaten) ohne Interferenz durch Kohlenwasserstoffe. Es wurde ein Messverfahren entwickelt, welches Halationseffekte vermeidet, die typischerweise in planaren LIF-Experimenten an Tropfenketten auftreten. Kalibrationsmessungen, die im gleichen Strömungskanal durchgeführt wurden, ermöglichten die Quantifizierung der verdunsteten Anisolkonzentrationen. Die räumliche Auflösung betrug 80 µm. Ähnlich wie bei den Einzelkomponentenmessungen wurden Verdunstungsraten bestimmt. Wie aufgrund des niedrigeren Dampfdrucks zu erwarten, ist die Verdunstungsrate von Anisol niedriger als die von Cyclohexan. Die Verdunstungsrate von Cyclohexan in der binären Mischung stimmt gut mit den Einzelkomponentenmessungen überein. Das entwickelte Messverfahren ist sehr vielversprechend für weitere Untersuchungen an Mehrkomponentenmischungen. In dieser Arbeit konnte damit erstmals mit hoher räumlicher Auflösung die Verdunstung von Brennstoffkomponenten mittels Absorptionsspektroskopie in der Nähe von Brennstofftropfen untersucht werden. Zusätzlich wurden in Kombination mit laserinduzierter Fluoreszenzspektroskopie Messungen an binären Mischungen durchgeführt. Damit steht ein wertvoller Datensatz zur Validierung von numerischen Simulationen zur Verfügung.Item Open Access Correlating and predicting thermal conductivity and self-diffusion from entropy scaling using PCP-SAFT(Stuttgart : Universität Stuttgart, Institut für Technische Thermodynamik und Thermische Verfahrenstechnik, 2022) Hopp, Madlen; Groß, Joachim (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)For a complete description and design of thermodynamic processes, knowledge of the properties of all substances involved is absolutely necessary. While the equilibrium properties are already well understood, there is still a lack of a handy description of the transport properties. Entropy scaling is an intriguingly simple approach for correlating and predicting transport properties of real substances and mixtures. As convincingly documented in the literature entropy scaling is indeed a firm concept for the shear viscosity of real substances, including hydrogen-bonding species and strongly non-spherical species and for mixtures. In this thesis, we investigate whether the entropy scaling approach is applicable for the thermal conductivity as well as the self-diffusion coefficients of pure substances. In accordance with the entropy scaling approach proposed by Y. Rosenfeld [Phys. Rev. A 1977, 15, 2545-2549], we observe that the thermal conductivity and the self-diffusion coefficient of real substances, once made dimensionless with an appropriate reference expression, only depend on residual entropy. We propose suitable reference expressions for both properties, to calculate the coefficients of pure substances from entropy scaling using the Perturbed-Chain Polar Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (PCP-SAFT) equation of state. Good entropy scaling behavior is found for the entire fluid region for water and more than 130 organic substances from various chemical families: linear and branched alkanes, alkenes, aldehydes, aromatics, ethers, esters, ketones, alcohols and acids. Models for both, thermal conductivity and self-diffusion coefficient, show satisfying robustness for extrapolating the coefficients to conditions rather distant from state points where experimental data is available. Additionally, a predictive group-contribution method for thermal conductivity based on entropy scaling is derived. The excess entropy for this approach is calculated using the group-contribution PCP-SAFT equation of state. The model is applicable for gaseous phases and for liquid-phase conditions covering wide ranges of temperature and pressure.Item Open Access Modeling and simulation of closed low-pressure adsorbers for thermal energy storage(2019) Schäfer, Micha; Thess, André (Prof. Dr. rer. nat.)Closed low-pressure adsorption systems can be applied for thermal energy storage. Their performance is determined by the mass and heat transport processes in the adsorber. Therefore, thorough knowledge of these transport processes is required for further storage development. The present thesis contributes to this by providing detailed models of closed low-pressure adsorbers and by conducting simulations over a broad range of parameters and configurations. The focus is on adsorbers of larger scale (length L = 0.1 . . . 1 m) and on the discharging process. As the adsorption pair, binderless zeolite 13X with water is examined. The models are developed in a stepwise manner from pore to storage scale. The Finite-Difference-Method is implemented to numerically solve the models. Simulations are conducted for defined reference cases as well as over a broad range of geometric and process parameters. The reference cases are analyzed in detail to gain a better understanding of the transport processes. Furthermore, the results are analyzed with respect to two particular modeling aspects: equilibrium assumptions and rarefaction effects (e. g. slip effect). With respect to the application, the discharging performance is analyzed in terms of thermal power and a defined discharging degree. Both the adsorber and the adsorbent configurations are varied. In addition, the effect of the discharging conditions is evaluated. Finally, one exemplary charging process is examined. The detailed analysis of the reference cases reveals that the mass and heat transport and the adsorption processes are strongly coupled and can only be understood in their interaction. For onedimensional adsorber configurations, that is the mass and heat transport are in the same direction, the discharging process is generally limited by the heat transport. This leads to insufficient thermal power and unsuitable discharging durations of up to one year. In contrast, for two-dimensional adsorber configurations, that is the mass and heat transport are in perpendicular directions, the discharging process can be limited either by the mass or heat transport or by the adsorption. The limitation depends on the configuration of the adsorber and adsorbent. Moreover, the twodimensional adsorber configurations can provide sufficient thermal power. With respect to the modeling, it is found that the assumption of a uniform pressure distribution is applicable for one-dimensional adsorber configurations. In contrast, for two-dimensional configurations, no equilibrium assumptions can be applied in general. However, for powder adsorbent it is always valid to assume local adsorption equilibrium. Regarding the rarefaction effects in twodimensional adsorber configurations with honeycombs and granules, the slip effect is relevant for small channel and particle diameters (d = 1 mm). For adsorbers with powder adsorbent, the reduction of the effective heat conductivity due to the rarefaction effect becomes relevant. With respect to the application, the variation of the adsorber configuration shows that the volumetric thermal power generally decreases with increasing adsorber length. Furthermore, the power decreases with increasing width between the parallel heat exchanger plates in the adsorber. Regarding the adsorbent configuration in two-dimensional adsorber configurations, it is found that the volumetric thermal power can be optimized by variation of the channel or particle diameter. Interestingly, the optima for peak and mean power do not coincide. In addition, the discharging degree is found to strongly depend on the discharging conditions in terms of discharging temperature and volume flow of the heat transfer fluid extracting the heat from the adsorber. In general, the discharging degree decreases with increasing discharging temperature. Similarly, the discharging degree decreases with increasing volume flow of the heat transfer fluid. Finally, the analysis of an exemplary charging process revealed that the pressure in the adsorber can increase significantly (> 50%) due to the desorption.Item Open Access Über die Lösung der Navier-Stokes-Gleichungen mit Hilfe der Moore-Penrose-Inversen des Laplace-Operators im Vektorraum der Polynomkoeffizienten(2024) Große-Wöhrmann, Bärbel; Resch, Michael (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)Die bekannten numerischen Standard-Verfahren zur Lösung partieller Differentialgleichungen basieren auf einer räumlichen Diskretisierung des Berechnungsgebiets. Ihre Performance und Skalierbarkeit auf modernen massiv-parallelen Höchstleistungsrechnern ist von der Verfügbarkeit effizienter numerischer Verfahren zur Lösung linearer Gleichungssysteme abhängig. Angesichts grundlegender Herausforderungen erscheint die Entwicklung neuer Lösungsansätze sinnvoll. Ich stelle in dieser Arbeit einen Polynomansatz zur Lösung partieller Differentialgleichungen vor, der nicht auf einer räumlichen Diskretisierung beruht und mit Hilfe der Moore-Penrose-Inversen des Laplace-Operators die Entkopplung der Navier-Stokes-Gleichungen ermöglicht. Dabei ist der Grad der Polynome nicht grundsätzlich beschränkt, so dass eine hohe räumliche Auflösung erreicht werden kann.Item Open Access Development and application of PICLas for combined optic-/plume-simulation of ion-propulsion systems(2019) Binder, Tilman; Fasoulas, Stefanos (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)Electric propulsion systems are an efficient option for altitude/attitude control and orbit transfers of spacecraft. One example is the gridded ion thruster which ionizes the propellant and accelerates the ions of the generated plasma by a high-voltage grid system. This work deals with the numerical simulation of the plasma flow starting near the grid system in the ionization chamber and leaving the thruster with high velocity. These simulations give direct insight into the modeled, physical interrelationships and can be used to investigate questions arising in the industrial development process of ion propulsion systems. The required simulation method is challenging due to the high degree of flow rarefaction and the plasma state itself, including freely moving ions and electrons. Applicable simulation methods belong to a particle-based, gas-kinetic approach, such as Particle-In-Cell (PIC) for the simulation of electromagnetic interaction and the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) for inter-particle collisions. The effects resulting from the finite size of a real system can only be investigated by simulating the complete, three-dimensional thruster geometry which requires a large and complex simulation domain. Acceptable simulation times are realized by expanding and using the framework of the coupled PIC-DSMC code PICLas in combination with high performance computing systems.Item Open Access Multiscale modeling and stability analysis of soft active materials : from electro- and magneto-active elastomers to polymeric hydrogels(Stuttgart : Institute of Applied Mechanics, 2023) Polukhov, Elten; Keip, Marc-André (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)This work is dedicated to modeling and stability analysis of stimuli-responsive, soft active materials within a multiscale variational framework. In particular, composite electro- and magneto-active polymers and polymeric hydrogels are under consideration. When electro- and magneto-active polymers (EAP and MAP) are fabricated in the form of composites, they comprise at least two phases: a polymeric matrix and embedded electric or magnetic particles. As a result, the obtained composite is soft, highly stretchable, and fracture resistant like polymer and undergoes stimuli-induced deformation due to the interaction of particles. By designing the microstructure of EAP or MAP composites, a compressive or a tensile deformation can be induced under electric or magnetic fields, and also coupling response of the composite can be enhanced. Hence, these materials have found applications as sensors, actuators, energy harvesters, absorbers, and soft, programmable, smart devices in various areas of engineering. Similarly, polymeric hydrogels are also stimuli-responsive materials. They undergo large volumetric deformations due to the diffusion of a solvent into the polymer network of hydrogels. In this case, the obtained material shows the characteristic behavior of polymer and solvent. Therefore, these materials can also be considered in the form of composites to enhance the response further. Since hydrogels are biocompatible materials, they have found applications as contact lenses, wound dressings, drug encapsulators and carriers in bio-medicine, among other similar applications of electro- and magneto-active polymers. All above mentioned favorable features of these materials, as well as their application possibilities, make it necessary to develop mathematical models and numerical tools to simulate the response of them in order to design pertinent microstructures for particular applications as well as understand the observed complex patterns such as wrinkling, creasing, snapping, localization or pattern transformations, among others. These instabilities are often considered as failure points of materials. However, many recent works take advantage of instabilities for smart applications. Investigation of these instabilities and prediction of their onset and mode are some of the main goals of this work. In this sense, the thesis is organized into three main parts. The first part is devoted to the state of the art in the development, fabrication, and modeling of soft active materials as well as the continuum mechanical description of the magneto-electro-elasticity. The second part is dedicated to multiscale instabilities in electro- and magneto-active polymer composites within a minimization-type variational homogenization setting. This means that the highly heterogeneous problem is not resolved on one scale due to computational inefficiency but is replaced by an equivalent homogeneous problem. The effective response of the macroscopic homogeneous problem is determined by solving a microscopic representative volume element which includes all the geometrical and material non-linearities. To bridge these two scales, the Hill-Mandel macro-homogeneity condition is utilized. Within this framework, we investigate both macroscopic and microscopic instabilities. The former are important not only from a physical point of view but also from a computational point of view since the macroscopic stability (strong ellipticity) is necessary for the existence of minimizers at the macroscopic scale. Similarly, the investigation of the latter instabilities are also important to determine the pattern transformations at the microscale due to external action. Thereby the critical domain of homogenization is also determined for computation of accurate effective results. Both investigations are carried out for various composite microstructures and it is found that they play a crucial role in the response of the materials. Therefore, they must be considered for designing EAP and MAP composites as well as for providing reliable computations. The third part of the thesis is dedicated to polymeric hydrogels. Here, we develop a minimization-based homogenization framework to determine the response of transient periodic hydrogel systems. We demonstrate the prevailing size effect as a result of a transient microscopic problem, which has been investigated for various microstructures. Exploiting the elements of the proposed framework, we explore the material and structural instabilities in single and two-phase hydrogel systems. Here, we have observed complex experimentally observed and novel 2D pattern transformations such as diamond-plate patterns coupled with and without wrinkling of internal surfaces for perforated microstructures and 3D pattern transformations in thin reinforced hydrogel composites. The results indicate that the obtained patterns can be controlled by tuning the material and geometrical parameters of the composite.Item Open Access Präzise Fahrzeugpositionierung durch Entzerrung der gepulsten magnetischen Flussdichteverteilung einer Ladespule(2017) Martinovic, Dean; Reuss, Hans-Christian (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)Elektrofahrzeuge werden in Zukunft nicht mehr per Kabel, sondern mittels induktiver Ladesysteme mit Strom versorgt. Um eine hohe Ladeleistung sicher übertragen zu können, müssen die Spulen hinreichend genau übereinander positioniert werden, was für den Fahrer eine kaum lösbare Aufgabe darstellt. Das allgemeine Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es daher, eine neue Methode zu untersuchen, die ein gepulstes Magnetfeld der Ladespule zu dessen Ortung nutzt. Hierbei wird das magnetische Pulssignal durch den ferromagnetischen Unterboden des Elektrofahrzeugs verzerrt. Dieser verändert die Pulsamplitude entsprechend einer unbekannten Abbildung, ohne deren Kenntnis eine präzise und eindeutige Positionierung nicht möglich ist. Die Herausforderung der vorliegenden Arbeit ist daher die Bestimmung dieser Abbildung samt ihrer Eigenschaften und Abhängigkeiten. Theoretische Untersuchungen zeigen, dass die Abbildung allgemein vom nicht-deterministischen magnetischen Zustand des Unterbodenmaterials abhängt und dessen messtechnische Erfassung kaum möglich ist. Im weiteren Verlauf der Untersuchungen wird jedoch hergeleitet, dass die Ladespule, das Elektrofahrzeug und die umgebende Atmosphäre zusammen einen magnetischen Kreis bilden, der aufgrund der sehr hohen Reluktanz der Atmosphäre linear ist. Änderungen des magnetischen Zustands haben folglich keinen Einfluss auf die Abbildung. Diese ist somit reproduzierbar und kann messtechnisch einfach erfasst werden. Die These wird für unterschiedliche magnetische Zustände experimentell nachgewiesen. Basierend auf den Forschungsergebnissen wird ein vollständiger Prototyp entwickelt und in ein Versuchsfahrzeug integriert. Das Gesamtsystem wird anschließend erfolgreich getestet. Die gefundenen Ergebnisse zeigen, dass mittels gepulster magnetischer Felder eine universelle, kostengünstige, sichere und präzise Positionierung von Elektrofahrzeugen möglich ist. Dies unterstreicht das Potential des neuen, komfortablen Positionierungsverfahrens eine Schlüsseltechnologie für die Elektromobilität zu werden.Item Open Access Physics-informed regression of implicitly-constrained robot dynamics(2022) Geist, Andreas René; Allgöwer, Frank (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)The ability to predict a robot’s motion through a dynamics model is critical for the development of fast, safe, and efficient control algorithms. Yet, obtaining an accurate robot dynamics model is challenging as robot dynamics are typically nonlinear and subject to environment-dependent physical phenomena such as friction and material elasticities. The respective functions often cause analytical dynamics models to have large prediction errors. An alternative approach to analytical modeling forms the identification of a robot’s dynamics through data-driven modeling techniques such as Gaussian processes or neural networks. However, solely data-driven algorithms require considerable amounts of data, which on a robotic system must be collected in real-time. Moreover, the information stored in the data as well as the coverage of the system’s state space by the data is limited by the controller that is used to obtain the data. To tackle the shortcomings of analytical dynamics and data-driven modeling, this dissertation investigates and develops models in which analytical dynamics is being combined with data-driven regression techniques. By combining prior structural knowledge from analytical dynamics with data-driven regression, physics-informed models show improved data-efficiency and prediction accuracy compared to using the aforementioned modeling techniques in an isolated manner.Item Open Access Dynamics of finite-dimensional mechanical systems(2019) Winandy, Tom; Leine, Remco I. (Prof. Dr. ir. habil.)This monograph deals with the description of mechanical systems having finitely many degrees of freedom using the language of global differential geometry. The mechanical systems may be explicitly time-dependent and involve nonpotential forces. The focus is on the mathematically rigorous formulation of the physical theory dealing with the aforementioned mechanical systems with the objective to introduce the involved physical quantities as well-defined mathematical objects. The geometric presentation of the physical theory is erected upon a generalized space-time known as Galilean manifold. The state space of a mechanical system is defined as an affine subbundle of the tangent bundle of its associated Galilean manifold. The system's motion is considered to be an integral curve of a second-order vector field on the state space. With the coordinate-free characterization of the motion in terms of second-order vector fields, differential forms appear on stage. A one-to-one correspondence between second-order vector fields and action forms is established. Action forms are differential two-forms with additional properties. The definition of action forms and the derivation of this bijective relation relies on the geometry of double tangent bundles, in which vector bundle homomorphisms and their differential concomitants play an important role. A coordinate-free definition of forces is given and different geometric interpretations are discussed. With the definition of kinetic energy and of potential forces, the equations of motion are postulated in a coordinate-free way using the action form of the mechanical system. Lagrange's, Hamel's, and Hamilton's equations become local representations of this postulate in terms of a respective chart of the state space. Moreover, the connection between action forms and the concept of virtual work is established. This allows to obtain Lagrange's and Hamel's central equation. This variational perspective is pursued by showing that motions characterized by an exact action form satisfy Hamilton's principle. For this purpose, a coordinate-free definition of the action integral is given. Finally, constraints are defined as distributions compatible with the time structure of the Galilean manifold on which they are defined. Consequently, the distinction between holonomic and nonholonomic constraints is made using the Frobenius theorem.Item Open Access Wetting, de-icing and anti-icing behavior of microstructured and plasma-coated polyurethane films(2019) Grimmer, Philipp E. S.; Hirth, Thomas (Prof. Dr. rer. nat.)Ice build-up on surfaces, for example on wings of airplanes or on rotor blades of wind turbines, impairs the functionality of transportation vehicles or technical systems and reduces their safety. Therefore, functional anti-ice surfaces are being researched and developed, which shall enable an easy removal or reduce the amount of ice on the surfaces at risk. The starting hypothesis for this work is that superhydrophobic polyurethane (PU) films with microstructure base diameters of 35 µm or more reduce the wetting by water, show a low ice adhesion for easy removal of ice and reduce or delay icing. Superhydrophobic PU films for passive anti- and de-icing were created by hot embossing and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The hot embossing process as well as the plasma coating and etching processes were analyzed for the dependence of the surface characteristics on different process parameters. The functionalized PU films were characterized for their surface topography, surface chemistry, stability against erosion, wettability, ice adhesion and icing behavior. For comparison, the ice adhesion and icing behavior were examined on relevant technical materials (aluminum, titanium, copper, glass, epoxy resin of carbon fiber reinforced polymer and other fluoropolymers) and on some commercial anti-ice coatings. The PU films were chemically analyzed by IR spectroscopy. As the first process step for functionalization, microstructures of cylindrical, elliptical or linear shape were imprinted in PU films by a hot embossing technique with different ns-pulsed laser-drilled stamps and characterized by several microscopy methods. The microstructures had heights of 15 µm to 140 µm, diameters or widths of 35 µm to 300 µm and distances (pitch values) of 50 µm to 500 µm. The embossing process was analyzed and optimized in terms of the process parameters temperature, pressure, time, PU film release temperature and reproducibility of the microstructures. In a second functionalization step (PECVD) the microstructured surfaces were coated with thin, hydrophobic plasma polymers using different fluorocarbon precursors (CHF3, C3F6 and C4F8) or hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO). Different process parameters for plasma coating and etching (Ar or O2 plasmas) were used in order to create various nanoscale roughness values. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), spectroscopic ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used for analysis of the chemical composition, the thickness and the nanoroughness of the plasma polymers. The functionalizations, especially the plasma coatings, were completely worn off by a UV/water weathering test (1000 h, X1a CAM 180 Test, SAE J-2527), but showed sufficient stability against sand erosion (DIN 52348), in a long-term outdoor test for 13.5 months and against fivefold repeated pull-off of ice. The silicone-like plasma coatings were more stable than the fluorocarbon plasma coatings. The wetting behavior of water was determined by static, advancing and receding contact angle measurements. Static contact angle measurements with diiodomethane (DIM) were made for determination of the surface free energies of the relevant surfaces. Advancing contact angles of over 150° and very low contact angle hysteresis values below 10° were reached on some of the cylindrically and elliptically structured PU samples with microstructure base diameters in the range of 35 µm to 50 µm. The measured water advancing contact angles did not reach the theoretical values of the Cassie-Baxter state. Starting from a mixed wetting state near Cassie-Baxter in case of the superhydrophobic PU surfaces, they approached the Wenzel state with an increasing pitch/diameter (P/d) factor. Fluorescence laser scanning microscopy images were taken of some microstructured, uncoated or plasma coated samples during the wetting by a water drop containing a fluorescent dye. These images show the Wenzel state or a mixed wetting state by visualization of the interface between the water droplet and the surface. A new icing test chamber and a test setup were developed for characterization of the ice adhesion and the icing behavior. The tensile ice adhesion was measured at -20 °C by pull-off of ice cylinders (highly purified water, (<0.056 µS/cm, diameter of 4 mm, similar to the diameter of large raindrops) and compared to the theoretical values and the wetting behavior. The technical material surfaces measured for comparison showed a high ice adhesion, which led to cohesive fractures especially on the metal surfaces, whereas some of the commercial anti-ice coatings showed lower ice adhesion values. The flat, plasma coated PU surfaces showed adhesive fractures with a reduced ice adhesion compared to the technical material surfaces and uncoated PU and revealed a good correlation of the ice adhesion with the wetting behavior of water (work of adhesion). On the other hand, the microstructured PU surfaces showed a greatly increased ice adhesion in comparison to the flat PU and technical material surfaces which was enhanced even further by the plasma coatings and did not correlate with the wetting behavior. The reason for this is the wetting transition from the Cassie-Baxter to the Wenzel state during the cooling or freezing process, leading to an increased ice-surface contact area and mechanical interlocking of the ice with the micro- and nanostructures. The freezing of water drops was examined in thermodynamic equilibrium (static experiment) and under quasi-steady conditions (dynamic experiment). In the static experiment, 15 µl water drops (corresponding to medium to large raindrops) at room temperature were dispensed onto a cold surface at a constant temperature of -20 °C. The freezing delay times, the crystallization times and the total freezing times were measured and compared to calculated expected values. On the flat samples, the freezing delay times could be extended by the plasma treatments. On the microstructured samples, the freezing (nucleation) could sometimes be delayed even further, but not always reproducible because of an unstable Cassie-Baxter state. In the dynamic experiment, 25 µl water drops (corresponding to large raindrops) were cooled down in quasi-steady conditions with the surface and the surrounding atmosphere by a constant, low cooling rate of 1 K/min while the water drop temperature was measured by an IR camera for determination of the surface-specific nucleation temperature and crystallization time. A lower nucleation temperature could be measured on the flat, plasma coated PU surfaces compared to uncoated PU and the hydrophilic glass and metal surfaces. The superhydrophobic PU surfaces did not show a further reduction of the nucleation temperature because of an unstable Cassie-Baxter state. The resulting measured nucleation temperatures were compared to the expected values calculated with an enhanced nucleation theory including a quasi-liquid interfacial layer of the ice nucleus and a Poisson process. Overall, it is shown that hot embossing and PECVD are useful processes for creating superhydrophobic PU surfaces with regard to a roll-to-roll process. The flat, plasma coated PU films show a reduced ice adhesion and lowered nucleation temperature compared to the relevant technical material surfaces. The microstructured, plasma coated PU films are far more water repellent than the flat, plasma coated PU surfaces or the other technical materials. However, the microstructures with base diameters of 35 µm or more and the nanoroughness of the plasma coatings cannot stabilize the Cassie-Baxter state of a freezing water drop enough for a low ice adhesion or a significant decrease of the nucleation temperature. These superhydrophobic PU films are therefore not more icephobic than the flat, plasma coated PU films. In the outlook, the reduction of the geometrical parameters of the microstructures (diameter D, distance P) and nanostructures (curvature radius R) of the surface functionalizations for lower ice adhesion values and nucleation temperatures is proposed.