Effect of solid surface wettability on ice adhesion strength: Stretching and shearing adhesion

Abstract

Ice adhesion phenomenon on solid surfaces is common in both natural and industrial fields, often causing potential safety hazards and economic losses. Therefore, designing surfaces with low ice adhesion strength is crucial. Here we investigate the ice normal stretching and shear sliding behaviors on different wetting surfaces using molecular dynamics simulations, clarifying how surface wettability influences ice adhesion characteristics. The results indicate that enhanced wettability promotes water nucleation and crystallization, leading to a more ordered ice crystal structure. Meanwhile, both ice stretch and shear adhesion strengths significantly increase, due to the tighter arrangement of ice molecules, stronger ice - substrate interactions, and the higher number of interface water molecules. Quantitative analysis reveals that both adhesion strengths are linearly and positively correlated with (1+cosθ₀). Furthermore, on the same wetting surface, ice normal tensile adhesion strength is approximately one order of magnitude higher than shear adhesion strength. This is because during normal stretching, the stress is uniformly distributed and the entire contact surface needs to be destroyed; while shear slip is more likely to cause interface sliding and failure due to local stress concentration. This study explains the relationship between surface wettability and ice adhesion strength from a microscopic perspective, providing a theoretical basis for designing low-ice adhesion surfaces.