Search Results (35)

To investigate how sand erosion impacts the anti-icing performance of wind turbine blade surfaces, this study experimentally examines the individual and interactive effects of four key factors—the freezing temperature, separation temperature, surface roughness of eroded blade coatings, and loading rate on ice adhesion properties.The results from single-factor analyses reveal that the ice adhesion strength increases linearly with decreasing separation temperature. A more nuanced relationship emerges when considering the freezing temperature relative to the separation temperature: when the freezing temperature exceeds the separation temperature, the adhesion strength rises linearly as the separation temperature drops; conversely, when the freezing temperature is lower than the separation temperature, the adhesion strength decreases linearly with falling separation temperature. Higher loading rates correlate with reduced ice adhesion, while increased surface roughness induced by sand erosion leads to greater adhesion strength. Orthogonal array testing demonstrates the hierarchy of these factors’ influence on post-erosion ice adhesion, as follows: separation temperature > loading rate > freezing temperature > surface roughness of sand-eroded coatings. Notably, the separation temperature and loading rate exert the most significant effects. Furthermore, a regression equation for ice adhesion strength is established based on orthogonal test results, which can effectively predict ice adhesion strength under untested parameter combinations. These findings provide critical foundational data and a reliable theoretical tool to inform the development and optimization of practical de-icing systems in engineering applications. Full article

In cold regions, the power generation efficiency of wind turbines is affected by blade icing. Heavy icing on blades will change the aerodynamic configuration of the blades and can even cause blades to crack or break. Therefore, monitoring and deicing technologies are important for the safe operation of wind turbines. This study proposes a novel strain ratio index based on mechanical analysis of icing, which causes the neutral axis shift and different strain ratio change between waving and shimmy directions. Data from the 5 kW wind turbine blade model in a low-temperature laboratory and the 1.5 MW full-scale field wind turbine monitoring over 1 year are used to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The proposed strain ratio index and icing detection criteria are derived from mechanical analysis with clear interpretability while reducing ambiguity from structural damage. The relationship between the strain ratio index and ice thickness is quantified through laboratory tests and validated by field applications, demonstrating the effectiveness and robustness under complex real-world service scenarios. Full article

Long-term shutdowns caused by ice formation on wind turbine blades can lead to significant power generation losses, a persistent issue for wind farm operators. The rapid acquisition of ice mass and thickness on blades under actual meteorological conditions can facilitate the more effective adjustment of operation and maintenance strategies, enabling the selection of appropriate de-icing methods and optimal human resource allocation. This study proposes a novel approach utilizing icing simulation data across various meteorological parameters to train a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) neural network, enabling rapid ice accretion prediction while maintaining acceptable accuracy. The results demonstrate that the MLP model achieves mean absolute percentage errors (MAPEs) of 7.13% and 7.02% for predicting rime ice mass and maximum thickness, respectively. For glaze ice prediction, the model yields MAPE values of 10.22% and 9.42% for ice mass and maximum thickness prediction, respectively. All MLP models exhibit R² values exceeding 0.95, indicating excellent model fitting. The model is used to simulate and analyze the blade icing condition of a wind farm (located at 27° N and 117° E). The results showed that during a typical icing cycle, the maximum hourly ice accumulation mass on the studied blade was 5.01 kg, and the accumulated ice accumulation mass over 24 h was 95.43 kg. The maximum hourly ice accumulation thickness was 10.38 mm, and the accumulated ice accumulation thickness over 24 h was 228.43 mm. Full article

Wind turbine blades are prone to icing in cold environments, which leads to decreased aerodynamic performance, increased power loss, and even endangers the safe and stable operation of wind turbines. Electric heating anti-deicing method is the most effective solution because of its flexible control, rapid response, and high deicing efficiency. However, in the process of blade high-speed rotation, the complex flow field effect significantly affects the blade heat transfer performance, which leads to the problems of high energy consumption, low heat utilization, and uneven heating of traditional electric heating anti-icing/deicing methods, limiting their application effect in complex working conditions. Based on the physical mechanism and heat exchange characteristics of electric heating deicing of wind turbine blades, a coupled flow–heat transfer numerical model suitable for complex flow field conditions was constructed in this study, aiming to realize the dynamic simulation of the global temperature field and the phase transition process of ice sheets under different heating modes. Furthermore, the deicing efficiency characteristics of continuous heating and cyclic heating modes were compared and analyzed. The blade tip section of a Sinoma87.5 was taken as the experimental object, and the deicing experiment of blade by electric heating was carried out under artificial ice-covering laboratory conditions. The simulation and experimental results show that the deicing process by electric heating can be divided into three typical stages: initial temperature rise, stagnation, and rapid temperature rise. Under the influence of incoming flow conditions, the temperature rise of the front stagnation point region lags behind that of the windward side, and the steady-state peak temperature is lower. Compared with the cyclic heating mode, the continuous heating mode can enter and cross the stagnation period more quickly. The peak steady-state temperature of the continuous heating mode is 24.2 °C, and the deviation from the simulation result is only 2.8 °C, which is within the acceptable error range, effectively verifying the reliability of the numerical calculation model established. Full article

Electrothermal superhydrophobic surfaces are regarded as possessing significant potential in anti-icing applications. However, their limited mechanical durability has constrained practical implementation. Herein, this work fabricated a robust electrothermal superhydrophobic surface by femtosecond laser texturing combined with the filling of functional coatings of Ti₃C₂ MXene and hydrophobic SiO₂ nanoparticles (modified with dimethyldichlorosilane), which shows great superhydrophobic anti-icing and electrothermal deicing properties, as well as outstanding mechanical durability. The as-prepared electrothermal superhydrophobic surface exhibited a water contact angle of 160.3° and achieved temperature elevation to 104.2 °C within 180 s under an applied voltage of 5 V. Furthermore, the as-prepared electrothermal superhydrophobic surface demonstrated exceptional anti-icing/deicing performance: ice formation time was prolonged to 75.2 s at −35 °C, ice adhesion strength was reduced to 14.65 kPa, and the frozen droplet on the surface melted rapidly within 10.12 s upon electrifying. Moreover, benefiting from the protection of the designed bionic armor structure (honeycomb-like structure), the as-prepared electrothermal superhydrophobic surface maintained outstanding electrothermal and anti-/deicing properties even after 200 times of blade abrasion. This work paves the way for designing robust electrothermal superhydrophobic surfaces in anti-/deicing applications. Full article

Ice accumulation on wind turbine blades poses a significant challenge to turbine performance and safety, and these issues have led to extensive research on developing effective anti-icing methods. Polymer-based icephobic coatings have emerged as promising solutions, given their passive nature and low energy requirements. However, developing effective icephobic coatings is a complex task. In addition to anti-icing properties, factors such as mechanical strength, durability, and resistance to UV, weathering, and rain erosion must be carefully considered to ensure these coatings withstand the harsh conditions faced by wind turbines. The main challenge in coating engineering is mastering the chemistry behind these coatings, as it determines their performance. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the suitability of current icephobic coatings for wind turbine applications, emphasizing their alignment with present industrial standards and the underlying coating chemistry. Unlike previous works, which primarily focus on the mechanical aspects of icephobicity, this review highlights the critical yet underexplored role of chemical composition and explores recent advancements in polymer-based icephobic coatings. Additionally, earlier studies largely neglect the specific standards required for industrial applications on wind turbines. By demonstrating that no existing coating fully meets all necessary criteria, this work underscores both the urgency of developing icephobic coatings with improved durability and the pressing need to establish robust, application-specific standards for wind turbines. The review also combines insights from cutting-edge research on icephobic coatings that are coupled with active de-icing methods, known as the hybrid approach. By organizing and summarizing these innovations, the review aims to accelerate the development of reliable and efficient wind energy systems to pave the way for a cleaner and more sustainable future. Full article

In areas where there is high humidity and freezing rain, there is a tendency of blade icing on wind turbines. It results in energy dissipation and mechanical abrasion and also creates a safety concern due to the risk of having falling ice. Real-time online detection of icing is crucial in the enhancement of power generation efficiency and in the safety of wind turbines. The current methods of icing detection that use ultrasound, optics, vibration, and electromagnetics are already studied. But these methods have their drawbacks, including small detection ranges, low accuracy, large size, and challenges in distributed installation, making it hard to capture the real-time dynamics of the icing and de-icing processes on the wind turbine blades. To this end, this paper presents a new blade surface icing detection technique using microstrip lines. This approach uses the impact of icing state and thickness on the effective dielectric constant of the microstrip line surface. This paper presents the analysis of time-domain features of microwave signals, which facilitates the identification of both the icing state and the corresponding thickness. Simulation and experimental measurement of linear and S-shaped microstrip sensors are used in this research in order to compare the response of the sensors to the variation in the thickness of the icing layer. It is seen that for icing thickness ranging from 0 mm to 6 mm, the imaginary part of the S21 parameter of the S-shaped microstrip line has a more significant change than that of the linear microstrip line. The above experiments also confirm that the phase shift value of the S-shaped microstrip line is always higher than that of the linear microstrip line for the same variation of icing thickness, which proves that the S-shaped microstrip line is more sensitive than the linear one. Also, it was possible to establish the relationship between the phase shift values and icing thickness, which makes it possible to predict the icing thickness. The developed microwave microstrip detection technology is intended for usage in the wind turbine blade icing and similar surface detection areas. This method saves the size and thickness of icing sensors, which makes it possible to conduct measurements at various points. This is especially beneficial for usage in wind turbine blades and can be further applied in aerospace, automotive, and construction, especially the bridges. Full article

In cold and humid climate conditions, the surface of wind turbine blades is prone to icing. Effective de-icing methods have attracted widespread attention from scholars around the world. In this study, an external hot-air de-icing test system was designed and constructed. A test program for FRP plate surface de-icing was formulated. The main parameters of the experiment included hot-air temperature (25~55 °C), hot-air speed (7~13 m/s), the jet distance between the outlet of the hot-air pipe and the ice surface (100~400 mm), the pipe inner diameter of the de-icing device air outlet (50 mm, 63 mm, 90 mm), and different jet times. Critical data on the de-icing mass, energy consumption, and energy efficiency were obtained. The experimental results showed that the external hot-air method could be used for FRP plate surface de-icing. Under the conditions of this experiment, the lowest de-icing energy consumption and the highest de-icing energy efficiency of 21.1 kJ/g and 4.95% were achieved when the hot-air temperature was 55 °C and hot-air speed was 13 m/s. Full article

Durable elastomeric deicing coatings were developed for the anti-icing and deicing of wind turbine blades in this study. Our developed deicing coatings demonstrated extremely low ice adhesion strength (~15 kPa). Silica was added to enhance the icephobic surfaces’ durability. The life of the deicing coating with silica was extended by 1.2 times. After 168 h of xenon lamp irradiation, there were no significant changes in the chemical composition of the coatings. Due to the increasing roughness and the decreasing tensile modulus, the contact angle of the aged coatings decreased by 14°. Further outdoor research was carried out on a wind farm for two months to investigate the influence of natural insolation and wind erosion on the elastic deicing coatings. The aged coating still maintained a high hydrophobicity and low ice adhesion strength. The contact angle stabilized at 107°, and the ice adhesion strength was 75% lower than that of the uncoated wind turbine blade. The elastomeric deicing coatings had three advantages: a lagging freezing time, low ice accumulation, and a short icing/deicing cycle. The results of field experiments on the naturally aged coatings showed that the freezing time of the coated blade was delayed by 20 min, and the ice on the coated blade was 29% thinner than that on the uncoated blade. Full article

The icing on wind turbines reduces their aerodynamic performance and can cause other safety issues. Accordingly, in this paper, the de-icing characteristics of a wind turbine blade airfoil under different conditions are investigated using numerical simulation. The findings indicate that when the de-icing time is 10 s, the peak ice thickness on the leading edge of the airfoil surface decreases from 0.28 mm to 0.068 mm and from 0.77 mm to 0.45 mm at low (5 m/s) and high (15 m/s) wind speeds, respectively. This is due to the fact that the ice melting rate is much greater than the icing rate at low wind speeds, while the icing rate increases at high wind speeds. When the de-icing time is 20 s, ice accretion on the leading edge of the airfoil is completely melted. At a low heat flux (8000 W/m²) and high heat flux (12,000 W/m²), the peak ice thickness decreases by 31.2% and 64.9%, respectively. With an increase in de-icing time and heat flux, the peak thickness of runback ice increases. This is due to an increase in runback ice as a result of more ice melting on the leading edge of the airfoil. The surface temperature in the ice-free area is significantly higher than that in the ice-melting area, due to high thermal resistance in the ice-free area. This study will provide guidance for the thermal distribution and coating layout of a wind turbine blade airfoil to make the anti-/de-icing technology more efficient and energy-saving. Full article

The development and utilization of clean energy is becoming more extensive, and wind power generation is one of the key points of this. Occasionally, wind turbines are faced with various extreme environmental impacts such as icing, lightning strikes and so on. In particular, the icing of wind turbines increases icing–wind loads, and results in a reduced power output. And blades broken down lead to large-area shutdown accidents caused by high-speed rotating, which seriously affects the reliability and equipment safety of wind power generation. Relevant institutions and researchers at home and abroad have carried out a lot of research on this. This paper summarizes the formation and influencing factors of wind turbine icing, the influence of icing on wind power generation, and defense technologies. First, it introduces the formation conditions and mechanisms of icing in wind farm regions and the relationship between meteorological and climatic characteristics and icing, and analyzes the key influence factors on icing. Then, the impact of icing on wind turbines is explained from the aspects of mechanical operation, the power curve, jeopardies and economic benefits. And then the monitoring and safety status of wind turbines icing is analyzed, which involves collecting the relevant research on anti-de-icing in wind power generation, introducing various anti/de-icing technologies, and analyzing the principle of icing defense. Finally, this paper summarizes wind turbine icing and its defense technologies, and puts forward the future research direction based on the existing problems of wind power generation icing. Full article

This study explores the influence of angle of attack (AOA) on the icing distribution characteristics of asymmetric blade airfoil (DU97) surfaces for wind turbines under icing conditions by numerical simulation. The findings demonstrate a consistence between the simulated ice shapes and experimental data. The ice thickness distribution on the lower surface of the leading edge exhibits a trend of first rising and then declining along the chord direction while showing a gradually decreasing trend on the upper surface. The ice distribution range on the upper surface of the trailing edge is broader than that on the lower surface. The peak ice thickness at the trailing edge rises significantly as AOA increases from 5° to 10°, and at the leading edge raises dramatically at droplet sizes of 30–40 μm and wind speeds of 5–10 m/s. The peak ice thickness is more significantly influenced by AOA than by ambient temperature due to the combined effect of airflow characteristics induced by AOA and latent heat (phase change) and sensible heat (thermal convection and thermal radiation) caused by ambient temperature. The findings offer valuable insights into the flow and heat transfer physics, and can operate as references for wind turbine anti/de-icing technology. Full article

Wind turbines in cold and humid regions face significant icing challenges. Heating is considered an efficient strategy to prevent ice accretion over the turbine’s blade surface. An ice protection system is required to minimize freezing of the runback water at the back of the blade and the melting state of the ice on the blade; the law of re-freezing of the runback water is necessary for the design of wind turbine de-icing systems. In this paper, a wind tunnel test was conducted to investigate the de-icing process of a static heated blade under various rime icing conditions. Ice shapes of different thicknesses were obtained by spraying water at 5 m/s, 10 m/s, and 15 m/s. The spray system was turned off and different heating fluxes were applied to heat the blade. The de-icing state and total energy consumption were explored. When de-icing occurred in a short freezing time, the ice layer became thin, and runback water flowed out (pattern I). With an increase in freezing time at a low wind speed, the melting ice induced by the dominant action of inertial force moved backward due to the reduction in adhesion between the ice and blade surface (pattern II). As wind speed increased, it exhibited various de-icing states, including refreezing at the trailing edge (pattern III) and ice shedding (pattern IV). The total energy consumption of ice melting decreased as the heat flux increased and the ice melting time shortened. At 5 m/s, when the heat flux was q = 14 kW/m², the energy consumption at E_A at t_δ = 1 min, 5 min, and 7 min were 0.33 kJ, 0.55 kJ, and 0.61 kJ, respectively. At 10 m/s, when the heat flux was q = 14 kW/m², the energy consumption at E_A at t_δ = 1 min, 3 min, and 5 min were 0.77 kJ, 0.81 kJ, and 0.80 kJ, respectively. Excessive heat flow density increased the risk of the return water freezing; thus, the reference de-icing heat fluxes of 5 m/s and 10 m/s were 10 kW/m² and 12 kW/m², respectively. This paper provides an effective reference for wind turbine de-icing. Full article

The blades of some airborne equipment are prone to icing under supercooled cloud conditions. In this paper, we propose an anti-deicing spray method to prevent blades from icing at low temperatures. Using computational fluid dynamics modeling and orthogonal experimental methods, we investigated the effects of the blade angle of attack, inlet wind speed, and nozzle mass flow rate on the thickness and coverage of the liquid layer of spray material and examined the use of deflectors in this study. We found the magnitude and change rule of the influence of the previously mentioned parameters on the liquid film thickness and coverage of sprayed material to be the nozzle mass flow rate is greater than the blade angle of attack and greater than the inlet wind speed. Under the optimal combination of conditions of α = 30°, u₀ = 6 m/s, and Q = 0.003 kg/s, the liquid film thickness was maximized, and the liquid film thickness was 0.037 mm; under the optimal combination of conditions of α = 60°, u₀ = 6 m/s, and Q = 0.003 kg/s, the liquid film coverage was maximized, and the liquid film coverage was 99.81%. The anti-deicer spraying method proposed herein for use on blades is effective when considered from a number of perspectives. It provides an innovative and feasible solution to the wind turbine blade freezing problem. However, the method must be explored and modified to maximize its chances of general application, and other factors must also be considered to fully optimize the sprinkler de-icing technique to improve the performance and reliability of blades. Full article

Accumulated ice has brought much damage to engineering and people’s lives. The accumulation of ice can affect the flight safety of aircraft and lead to the failure of cables and power generation blades; it can even cause damage to human life. Traditional anti-icing and de-icing strategies have many disadvantages such as high energy consumption, low efficiency, or pollution of the environment. Therefore, inspired by animal communities, researchers have developed new passive anti-icing materials such as superhydrophobic material. In this paper, the solid surface wetting phenomenon and superhydrophobic anti-icing and de-icing mechanism were introduced. The methods of fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces were summarized. The research progress of wear-resistant superhydrophobic coatings, self-healing/self-repairing superhydrophobic coatings, photothermal superhydrophobic coatings, and electrothermal superhydrophobic coatings in the field of anti-icing and de-icing was reviewed. The current problems and challenges were analyzed, and the development trend of superhydrophobic materials was also prospected in the field of anti-icing and de-icing. The practicality of current superhydrophobic materials should continue to be explored in depth. Full article