Prospective challenges in the experimentation of the rain erosion on the leading edge of wind turbine blades

Bartolomé, Luis; Teuwen, Julie J.E.

doi:10.1002/we.2272

Cited by 63 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(145 reference statements)

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“…Thus, the leading edge actually comprises several layers of the main structural composite material (and thickening materials) plus coatings (Mishnaevsky Jr. et al, 2017). Impact fatigue caused by collision with rain droplets and hail stones is a primary cause of WT blade LEE (Bech et al, 2018;Bartolomé and Teuwen, 2019;Zhang et al, 2015). Although rain droplets fall at only modest velocities (typically ≤ 10 m s −1 , see details below), the tip of WT blades rotate quickly (50-110 m s −1 ); thus the net closing velocity and kinetic energy transfer are large.…”

Section: Introduction and Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radar-derived precipitation climatology for wind turbine blade leading edge erosion

2020

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Wind turbine blade leading edge erosion (LEE) is a potentially significant source of revenue loss for wind farm operators. Thus, it is important to advance understanding of the underlying causes, to generate geospatial estimates of erosion potential to provide guidance in pre-deployment planning, and ultimately to advance methods to mitigate this effect and extend blade lifetimes. This study focuses on the second issue and presents a novel approach to characterizing the erosion potential across the contiguous USA based solely on publicly available data products from the National Weather Service dual-polarization radar. The approach is described in detail and illustrated using six locations distributed across parts of the USA that have substantial wind turbine deployments. Results from these locations demonstrate the high spatial variability in precipitationinduced erosion potential, illustrate the importance of low-probability high-impact events to cumulative annual total kinetic energy transfer and emphasize the importance of hail as a damage vector.

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Section: Introduction and Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radar-derived precipitation climatology for wind turbine blade leading edge erosion

2020

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“…Despite the possible diverse wind turbine configurations, the horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) with three blades is the most common design. The blades mainly consist of two shells that are bonded with adhesive and made of composite material [6,34]. The two shells form an airfoil shape that has a leading and a trailing edge as shown in Figure 2.…”

Section: Blade Design and Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, one nozzle is often used with rotating disk rigs, which helps in quantifying the exact number of droplets impacting the sample at each revolution [121]. As noted by Bartolomé and Teuwen [34], rotating devices are inherently incapable of replicating the movement of the turbine blade during rainfall impacts. The interaction between the raindrop and the wind turbine blades principally depends on the position of the blade during rotation.…”

Section: Testing Facilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Droplet Erosion of Wind Turbine Blades: Mechanics, Testing, Modeling and Future Perspectives

Ibrahim

Medraj

2019

Materials

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The problem of erosion due to water droplet impact has been a major concern for several industries for a very long time and it keeps reinventing itself wherever a component rotates or moves at high speed in a hydrometer environment. Recently, and as larger wind turbine blades are used, erosion of the leading edge due to rain droplets impact has become a serious issue. Leading-edge erosion causes a significant loss in aerodynamics efficiency of turbine blades leading to a considerable reduction in annual energy production. This paper reviews the topic of water droplet impact erosion as it emerges in wind turbine blades. A brief background on water droplet erosion and its industrial applications is first presented. Leading-edge erosion of wind turbine is briefly described in terms of materials involved and erosion conditions encountered in the blade. Emphases are then placed on the status quo of understanding the mechanics of water droplet erosion, experimental testing, and erosion prediction models. The main conclusions of this review are as follow. So far, experimental testing efforts have led to establishing a useful but incomplete understanding of the water droplet erosion phenomenon, the effect of different erosion parameters, and a general ranking of materials based on their ability to resist erosion. Techniques for experimentally measuring an objective erosion resistance (or erosion strength) of materials have, however, not yet been developed. In terms of modelling, speculations about the physical processes underlying water droplet erosion and consequently treating the problem from first principles have never reached a state of maturity. Efforts have, therefore, focused on formulating erosion prediction equations depending on a statistical analysis of large erosion tests data and often with a combination of presumed erosion mechanisms such as fatigue. Such prediction models have not reached the stage of generalization. Experimental testing and erosion prediction efforts need to be improved such that a coherent water droplet erosion theory can be established. The need for standardized testing and data representation practices as well as correlations between test data and real in-service erosion also remains urgent.

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“…LEE is caused by repeated bombardment, primarily by raindrops and particulate matter, hail, ice, salt, and UV, which lead to erosion and an increase in surface roughness. [3][4][5][6][7][8] The increase in roughness that results from this erosion process creates extra resistance to the flow over the surface, which impairs the aerodynamic performance of a blade in the form of increased drag and thus potentially premature stall, reducing WTG efficiency and decreasing the generating capacity of a windfarm. 1,5,7,8 This consequently reduces AEP and ROI.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…What was also clear was that the reduction in drag was very aerofoil dependent. Sareen et al 15 looked at Reynolds numbers from 1 to 1.85×10 6 and also adjusted where the tape ended over the suction side of the aerofoil. As with Giguére and Selig, 14 they found that the further the tape extended, this case to a maximum of 30% chord, the smaller the increase to the drag, again attributed to the backward step of the tape influencing boundary layer transition.…”

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confidence: 99%

The effect of a leading edge erosion shield on the aerodynamic performance of a wind turbine blade

2019

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Armour EDGE is a novel shield developed to protect the leading edge of wind turbine blades from erosion. The aerodynamic impact on aerofoils of National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5MW wind turbine has been investigated using 2D fully turbulent computational fluid dynamics (CFD), with three profiles at critical locations along the blade simulated both with and without the shield to compare aerodynamic performance. Two wind speeds were investigated that reflect regular operating conditions: at rated speed of 11.4 m/s and a below rated speed of 7 m/s. The results showed that the presence of the shield during rated wind speed reduced the drag by as much as 4.5%, where the lift‐to‐drag ratio increased by a maximum of 4%. At the below rated wind speeds, the shield had negligible impact on the performance of all but one National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 64‐618 profile, which resulted in an increase in the drag coefficient of 7%. It was also found that the suction side of the aerofoil is much more sensitive to leading edge protection placement than the pressure side. It was concluded that the erosion shield as a method of leading edge protection, with a gradual transition from shield to blade, will not have a major impact on the aerodynamic performance of a multi‐megawatt wind turbine blade and could slightly increase aerofoil efficiency at high wind speeds.

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Prospective challenges in the experimentation of the rain erosion on the leading edge of wind turbine blades

Cited by 63 publications

References 83 publications

Radar-derived precipitation climatology for wind turbine blade leading edge erosion

Radar-derived precipitation climatology for wind turbine blade leading edge erosion

Water Droplet Erosion of Wind Turbine Blades: Mechanics, Testing, Modeling and Future Perspectives

The effect of a leading edge erosion shield on the aerodynamic performance of a wind turbine blade

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