Extending the life of wind turbine blade leading edges by reducing the tip speed during extreme precipitation events

Bech, Jakob Ilsted; Hasager, Charlotte Bay; Bak, Christian

doi:10.5194/wes-2017-62

Cited by 14 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The site was within 50 m of the sea and was therefore the most representative example of an offshore turbine within the sample size. The comparatively high erosion grade substantiates the consensus that offshore turbines will experience greater erosion levels than onshore turbines,22,23 particularly as this site was only affected by aerosols from the East. This is important from an economic perspective, with the average size of an installed offshore turbine in Europe in 2017…”

supporting

confidence: 63%

Leading edge erosion of wind turbines: Effect of solid airborne particles and rain on operational wind farms

Law

Koutsos

2020

Wind Energy

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Leading edge erosion (LEE) affects almost all wind turbines, reducing their annual energy production and lifetime profitability. This study presents results of an investigation into 18 operational wind farms to assess the validity of the current literature consensus surrounding LEE. Much of the historical research focuses on rain erosion, implying that this is the predominant causal factor. However, this study showed that the impact of excessive airborne particles from seawater aerosols or from adverse local environments such as nearby quarries greatly increases the levels of LEE. Current testing of leading edge protection coatings or tapes is based on a rain erosion resistivity test, which does little to prove its ability to withstand solid particle erosion and may drive coating design in the wrong direction. Furthermore, it was shown that there is little correlation between test results and actual field performance. A method of monitoring the expected level of erosion on an operational wind turbine due to rain erosion is also presented. Finally, the energy losses associated with LEE on an operational wind farm are examined, with the average annual energy production dropping by 1.8% due to medium levels of erosion, with the worst affected turbine experiencing losses of 4.9%.

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confidence: 63%

Leading edge erosion of wind turbines: Effect of solid airborne particles and rain on operational wind farms

Law

Koutsos

2020

Wind Energy

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“…Therefore, the minor repairs (typically, erosion) take rather large fraction of OPEX costs. The ways to reduce these costs are discussed in Bech et al and Mishnaevsky 3,14 and include the development of new multilayer protective dissipating coatings, 14 safe mode control of WT speed (allowing to reduce the blade tip speed under severe conditions), 3 and combining the polymer and metallic elements in coatings, and so on.…”

Section: Minor Versus Major Repairs Of Wt Bladesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Costs of repair of wind turbine blades: Influence of technology aspects

Mishnaevsky

Thomsen

2020

Wind Energy

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The influence of repair technology of wind turbine blades on the levelized costs of energy (LCOE) is analyzed. The contribution of minor and major failure to the operational expenditures (OPEX) of wind turbines is estimated. It is demonstrated that the minor failure, mainly, surface erosion, is the largest contributor to the unplanned repair, 12 times higher than structural failure. The shortening of material curing procedure can lead to the significant reduction of repair costs, and LCOE, and expand the so-called "repair window." The analysis of the role of defects and voids in adhesives on the post-repair lifetime of wind turbine blades and energy costs is carried out. Using the continuum damage mechanics approach, it is demonstrated that the voids in adhesives drastically reduce the post-repair lifetime of wind turbine blades.

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“…11 [27]. This database is valuable for the production of a rain erosion map for wind turbines where precipitation, wind speed and turbine characteristics such as tip speed would be input [29].…”

Section: Erosion Of the Wind Turbine Bladementioning

confidence: 99%

Rain erosion-resistant coatings for wind turbine blades: A review

Dashtkar

Hadavinia

Şahinkaya

et al. 2019

Polymers and Polymer Composites

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Wind blades are the most expensive parts of wind turbines made from fibre-reinforced polymer composites. The blades play a critical role on the energy production, but they are prone to damage like any other composite components. Leading edge (LE) erosion of the wind turbine blades is one of the common damages, causing a reduction in the annual energy production especially in offshore wind turbine farms. This erosion can be caused by rain, sand and flying solid particles. Coating the blade against erosion using appropriate materials can drastically reduce these losses and hence is of great interest. The sol–gel technique is a convenient method to manufacture thin film coatings, which can protect the blades against the rain erosion, while having negligible effect on the weight of the blades. This article provides an extensive review of the liquid erosion mechanism, water erosion testing procedures and the contributing factors to the erosion of the LE of wind turbine blades. Techniques for improving the erosion resistance of the LE using carbon nanotubes and graphene nano-additives are also discussed.

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Extending the life of wind turbine blade leading edges by reducing the tip speed during extreme precipitation events

Cited by 14 publications

References 26 publications

Leading edge erosion of wind turbines: Effect of solid airborne particles and rain on operational wind farms

Leading edge erosion of wind turbines: Effect of solid airborne particles and rain on operational wind farms

Costs of repair of wind turbine blades: Influence of technology aspects

Rain erosion-resistant coatings for wind turbine blades: A review

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