US Patent 11174044 Ice accretion apparatus

An ice accretion apparatus comprises a column having a longitudinal axis, a side wall, and a central chamber having top and bottom ends. It also comprises a top unit which closes the top end of the chamber and includes a droplet discharge device for producing water droplets, a bottom unit which closes the bottom end of the chamber and includes a target, and chamber cooling means configured to cool the chamber during a test and thereby to cool the water droplets, whereby, in use during the test, a layer of accreted ice is built up on the target.