PTEE Based Water Repellent Coating for Telecommunication Antennas

Since thick snow or ice adhering to the surface of an antenna used for radio communication can impede telecommunication [1], methods to reduce the buildup of snow and ice are needed. Various methods have been investigated. For example, the adhesion of ice to common rubber has been measured [2], and recently, a method that takes advantage of the physicochemical properties of material surfaces has attracted attention [3]. Snow or ice build-up is seen when the thin water layer on snow or ice particles adheres to a surface [4]. Therefore, a surface that has low wettability, i.e., a water-repellent surface, can prevent snow or ice from sticking to antennas. We have studied water-repellent coatings and found that a PTFE-PVDF blend polymer coating shows extremely high water-repellency. In this paper, we report the results of our tests on wettability and microwave reflection upon icing.