Ice adhesion on metallic surfaces represents a significant technical challenge in various industrial sectors, as it strongly affects system efficiency and safety. In this thesis, strategies for reducing ice adhesion on aluminum surfaces were investigated using a combined approach of localized laser-texturing and deposition of a hydrophobic PDMS coating. Square microstructures of different sizes (150, 225, 300 μm) and center-to-center distances (0.5–4.0 mm) were fabricated on the surfaces and subsequently hydrophobized with a 10 wt.% PDMS layer. Measurements of ice shear adhesion were performed on a specially developed experimental setup using a horizontal shear test. The lowest ice adhesion of 28.0 ± 8.4 kPa was achieved for structures with a side length of 150 μm and a center-to-center distance of 2.5 mm, corresponding to a 64% reduction compared to a smooth PDMS surface and an 87% reduction compared to untreated aluminum. A linear surface coverage parameter was defined, and a mathematical model was developed to predict ice adhesion for different structural configurations. It was found that low ice adhesion is not directly correlated with high surface hydrophobicity; rather, an appropriate combination of microstructure size and spacing is critical to achieving a balance between reduced contact area and stress concentration.
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