Abstract: Aero-engine blades are prone to icing in cold environments, which not only damages the aerodynamic shape of the blades and reduces engine performance, but also endangers flight safety. Electrothermal anti-/de-icing technology has become an efficient and reliable approach to solving this problem due to its advantages of fast response speed and high controllability. However, the complex morphology of the special-shaped curved surface of blades puts forward stringent requirements for heating uniformity. The electrode arrangement of traditional electrothermal systems cannot adapt to the curved surface morphology, leading to uneven temperature distribution in the heating area. To address this issue, this study proposes a zoned electrothermal device based on graphene-skinned glass fiber fabric, integrating parallel segmentation and differentiated sheet resistance regulation strategies. Specifically, the irregular blade is systematically divided into six approximately trapezoidal sub-zones and the sheet resistance of each sub-zone is precisely controlled, which compensates for the resistance variations caused by geometric differences between sub-zones and thereby achieves consistent power density across all zones. The prepared device exhibits excellent temperature uniformity, with a temperature difference within ~10 °C at an equilibrium temperature of ~83 °C, and a heating rate of 3.8 °C s-1, which is ~127 times higher than that of traditional nickel-chromium alloy electrothermal materials. In addition, the device features outstanding temperature tunability, with saturation temperatures adjustable from ~48 °C to ~125 °C by varying the input voltage. It also demonstrates reliable long-term usability, showing negligible temperature fluctuation after 1500 s of continuous heating or 500 heating cycles. Moreover, GGFF possesses remarkable process compatibility with aviation resin systems. After composite molding, the resistance only increases by ~3.2%. Benefiting from these superior electrothermal properties, the GGFF-based electrothermal system achieves a de-icing rate of 83 s mm-1 with an energy consumption of 0.023 kWh mm^-1 m^-2 under a low input power density of 1000 W m^-2. In summary, this zoned device resolves uneven heating on irregular surfaces, offering flexibility, conformability, and structural-functional integration. It provides an engineering-feasible solution for efficient anti-/de-icing of aero-engine blades and other irregular aerospace structures, advancing practical applications in extreme cold environments.

Key words: Electrothermal anti-/de-icing, Graphene-skinned glass fiber fabric, Irregular structures, Zoned design, Heating uniformity, Composite materials