Rain Erosion Maps for Wind Turbines Based on Geographical Locations: A Case Study in Ireland and Britain

Pugh, Kieran; Stack, Margaret

doi:10.1007/s40735-021-00472-0

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…As noted by Rasool et al [27], data from RET experiments show enhanced degradation in both the presence of saline and acidic solutions. Pugh et al [25,26] supports this, noting that the presence of salt within the working fluid appears to enhance rain erosion through the crystallisation of salts on the surface. The data presented by Law and Koutsos [12] support this with wind parks closer to the coast displaying more severe damage in a shorter period than those in remote regions.…”

Section: Compositionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Salt concentrations are typically much higher than acidic pollutants and are of interest in situations where materials (including polymers) are prone to corrosion [15,16,24]. Recent evidence [12,[25][26][27] suggests enhanced degradation due to the presence of sea salt, acidity or at sites in close proximity to quarries. The influence of salt will be more pronounced at sites near the coast or offshore.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mapping of Meteorological Observations over the Island of Ireland to Enhance the Understanding and Prediction of Rain Erosion in Wind Turbine Blades

Nash¹,

Zekos²,

Stack³

2021

Energies

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Leading edge erosion is becoming increasingly important as wind turbine size and rainfall are predicted to increase. Understanding environmental conditions is key for laboratory testing, maintenance schedules and lifetime estimations to be improved, which in turn could reduce costs. This paper uses weather data in conjunction with a rain texture model and wind turbine RPM curve to predict and characterise rain erosion conditions across Ireland during rainfall events in terms of droplet size, temperature, humidity and chemical composition, as well as the relative erosivity, in terms of number of annual impacts and kinetic energy, as well as seasonal variations in these properties. Using a linear regression, the total annual kinetic energy, mean temperature and the mean humidity during impact are mapped geospatially. The results indicate that the west coast of Ireland and elevated regions are more erosive with higher kinetic energy. During rain events, northern regions tend to have lower temperatures and lower humidities and mountainous regions have lower temperatures and higher humidities. Irish rain has high levels of sea salt, and in recent years, only a slightly acidic pH. Most erosion likely occurs during winters with frequent rain infused with salt due to increased winds. After this analysis, it is concluded that Ireland’s largest wind park (Galway) is placed in a moderate-highly erosive environment and that RET protocols should be revisited.

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Section: Compositionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping of Meteorological Observations over the Island of Ireland to Enhance the Understanding and Prediction of Rain Erosion in Wind Turbine Blades

Nash¹,

Zekos²,

Stack³

2021

Energies

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“…The spatio-temporal analysis is accompanied by estimates of wind turbine blade mass loss monthly rates for a few selected cases by using experimental data from [9]. A table from an experiment performed in this reference [9] that links rain amounts in millimeters to blade mass loss in percentage is used in this work to provide insight into possible blade mass loss monthly rates for the period of interest. Methods in data processing in this work include linear interpolation to align data spatial resolution, as well as standard averaging procedures and classical computations of correlation matrices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating North Sea Precipitation Variability: Implications for Offshore Wind Energy Siting and Condition Assessments

Ivanova,

Porchetta,

Buckingham

et al. 2024

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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Rain-driven wind turbine blade erosion, particularly in offshore locations, has been observed as early as within 5 to 7 years of turbine operation, which is below the lifetime expectancy design age of 20 to 25 year. Due to the harsh atmospheric conditions offshore, the preservation of wind turbine blade integrity has become a fundamental necessity. To address this challenge, we compare precipitation maps from two distinct sources (satellite data and a reanalysis product) over 12 years in the region of the North Sea, and we pursue insights into local weather patterns through temporal analysis. This integrated approach enhances the understanding of offshore conditions by focusing on precipitation and wind speed data analysis in time and space. This enables more efficient wind farm planning, operation and maintenance, as well as wind farm siting via informed decisions that account for the risk of rain-driven blade erosion and allow for mitigation measures.

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“…The meteorological data are used to predict erosion behavior based on the Springer model. It has been shown that offshore locations have more severe rain conditions than inland locations in several areas, such as Denmark [ 20 , 21 ], the British Isles [ 22 , 23 , 24 ] and Netherlands [ 25 ]. In the USA, inland conditions vary heavily, as measured by a radar [ 26 ], yet they have a significant effect on leading edge lifetime.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Springer Model for Lifetime Prediction of Wind Turbine Blade Leading Edge Protection Systems: A Review and Sensitivity Study

2022

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The wind energy sector is growing rapidly. Wind turbines are increasing in size, leading to higher tip velocities. The leading edges of the blades interact with rain droplets, causing erosion damage over time. In order to mitigate the erosion, coating materials are required to protect the blades. To predict the fatigue lifetime of coated substrates, the Springer model is often used. The current work summarizes the research performed using this model in the wind energy sector and studies the sensitivity of the model to its input parameters. It is shown that the Springer model highly depends on the Poisson ratio, the strength values of the coating and the empirically fitted a2 constant. The assumptions made in the Springer model are not physically representative, and we reasoned that more modern methods are required to accurately predict coating lifetimes. The proposed framework is split into three parts—(1) a contact pressure model, (2) a coating stress model and (3) a fatigue strength model—which overall is sufficient to capture the underlying physics during rain erosion of wind turbine blades. Possible improvements to each of the individual aspects of the framework are proposed.

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Rain Erosion Maps for Wind Turbines Based on Geographical Locations: A Case Study in Ireland and Britain

Cited by 10 publications

References 15 publications

Mapping of Meteorological Observations over the Island of Ireland to Enhance the Understanding and Prediction of Rain Erosion in Wind Turbine Blades

Mapping of Meteorological Observations over the Island of Ireland to Enhance the Understanding and Prediction of Rain Erosion in Wind Turbine Blades

Investigating North Sea Precipitation Variability: Implications for Offshore Wind Energy Siting and Condition Assessments

The Springer Model for Lifetime Prediction of Wind Turbine Blade Leading Edge Protection Systems: A Review and Sensitivity Study

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