IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v10y2017i9p1420-d112199.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Influence of Eroded Blades on Wind Turbine Performance Using Numerical Simulations

Author

Listed:
  • Matthias Schramm

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology, Küpkersweg 70, Oldenburg 26129, Germany
    ForWind, University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstr. 114-118, Oldenburg 26129, Germany)

  • Hamid Rahimi

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology, Küpkersweg 70, Oldenburg 26129, Germany
    ForWind, University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstr. 114-118, Oldenburg 26129, Germany)

  • Bernhard Stoevesandt

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology, Küpkersweg 70, Oldenburg 26129, Germany)

  • Kim Tangager

    (Blade Repair Solutions, Hedevej 25, Hadsund 9560, Denmark)

Abstract

During their operation, wind turbine blades are eroded due to rain and hail, or they are contaminated with insects. Since the relative inflow velocity is higher at the outer than at the inner part of the blades, erosion occurs mostly at the outer blade region. In order to prevent strong erosion, it is possible to install a leading edge protection, which can be applied to the blades after the initial installation, but changes the shape of the initial airfoil sections. It is unclear how this modification influences the aerodynamic performance of the turbine. Hence, it is investigated in this work. The NREL 5 MW turbine is simulated with clean and eroded blades, which are compared to coated blades equipped with leading edge protection. Aerodynamic polars are generated by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics, and load calculations are conducted using the blade element momentum theory. The analysis in this work shows that, compared to clean rotor blades, the worse aerodynamic behaviour of strongly eroded blades can lead to power losses of 9 % . In contrast, coated blades only have a small impact on the turbine power of less than 1 % .

Suggested Citation

  • Matthias Schramm & Hamid Rahimi & Bernhard Stoevesandt & Kim Tangager, 2017. "The Influence of Eroded Blades on Wind Turbine Performance Using Numerical Simulations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-15, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:10:y:2017:i:9:p:1420-:d:112199
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/9/1420/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/9/1420/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pankaj K. Jha & Earl P. N. Duque & Jessica L. Bashioum & Sven Schmitz, 2015. "Unraveling the Mysteries of Turbulence Transport in a Wind Farm," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-29, June.
    2. Unai Fernandez-Gamiz & Ekaitz Zulueta & Ana Boyano & Igor Ansoategui & Irantzu Uriarte, 2017. "Five Megawatt Wind Turbine Power Output Improvements by Passive Flow Control Devices," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-15, May.
    3. Iván Herráez & Bernhard Stoevesandt & Joachim Peinke, 2014. "Insight into Rotational Effects on a Wind Turbine Blade Using Navier–Stokes Computations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 7(10), pages 1-25, October.
    4. Dalili, N. & Edrisy, A. & Carriveau, R., 2009. "A review of surface engineering issues critical to wind turbine performance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 428-438, February.
    5. Gustave P. Corten & Herman F. Veldkamp, 2001. "Insects can halve wind-turbine power," Nature, Nature, vol. 412(6842), pages 41-42, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sergio Campobasso, M. & Castorrini, Alessio & Ortolani, Andrea & Minisci, Edmondo, 2023. "Probabilistic analysis of wind turbine performance degradation due to blade erosion accounting for uncertainty of damage geometry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    2. Jung-Bo Sim & Se-Jin Yook & Young Won Kim, 2023. "Development of 180 kW Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) with a High-Efficiency Two-Stage Axial Turbine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-20, October.
    3. Mishnaevsky, Leon & Hasager, Charlotte Bay & Bak, Christian & Tilg, Anna-Maria & Bech, Jakob I. & Doagou Rad, Saeed & Fæster, Søren, 2021. "Leading edge erosion of wind turbine blades: Understanding, prevention and protection," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 953-969.
    4. Sara C. Pryor & Rebecca J. Barthelmie & Jeremy Cadence & Ebba Dellwik & Charlotte B. Hasager & Stephan T. Kral & Joachim Reuder & Marianne Rodgers & Marijn Veraart, 2022. "Atmospheric Drivers of Wind Turbine Blade Leading Edge Erosion: Review and Recommendations for Future Research," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-41, November.
    5. Alfredo Alcayde & Quetzalcoatl Hernandez-Escobedo & David Muñoz-Rodríguez & Alberto-Jesus Perea-Moreno, 2022. "Worldwide Research Trends on Optimizing Wind Turbine Efficiency," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-7, September.
    6. Aitor Saenz-Aguirre & Unai Fernandez-Gamiz & Ekaitz Zulueta & Alain Ulazia & Jon Martinez-Rico, 2019. "Optimal Wind Turbine Operation by Artificial Neural Network-Based Active Gurney Flap Flow Control," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-17, May.
    7. Dimitris Al. Katsaprakakis & Nikos Papadakis & Ioannis Ntintakis, 2021. "A Comprehensive Analysis of Wind Turbine Blade Damage," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-31, September.
    8. Castorrini, Alessio & Ortolani, Andrea & Campobasso, M. Sergio, 2023. "Assessing the progression of wind turbine energy yield losses due to blade erosion by resolving damage geometries from lab tests and field observations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    9. Mikkel Schou Nielsen & Ivan Nikolov & Emil Krog Kruse & Jørgen Garnæs & Claus Brøndgaard Madsen, 2020. "High-Resolution Structure-from-Motion for Quantitative Measurement of Leading-Edge Roughness," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-17, July.
    10. Francesco Papi & Lorenzo Cappugi & Simone Salvadori & Mauro Carnevale & Alessandro Bianchini, 2020. "Uncertainty Quantification of the Effects of Blade Damage on the Actual Energy Production of Modern Wind Turbines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-18, July.
    11. Giani, Paolo & Tagle, Felipe & Genton, Marc G. & Castruccio, Stefano & Crippa, Paola, 2020. "Closing the gap between wind energy targets and implementation for emerging countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    12. López, Javier Contreras & Kolios, Athanasios & Wang, Lin & Chiachio, Manuel, 2023. "A wind turbine blade leading edge rain erosion computational framework," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 131-141.
    13. Jeanie A. Aird & Rebecca J. Barthelmie & Sara C. Pryor, 2023. "Automated Quantification of Wind Turbine Blade Leading Edge Erosion from Field Images," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-23, March.
    14. Papi, Francesco & Balduzzi, Francesco & Ferrara, Giovanni & Bianchini, Alessandro, 2021. "Uncertainty quantification on the effects of rain-induced erosion on annual energy production and performance of a Multi-MW wind turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(P1), pages 701-715.
    15. Andrés Meana-Fernández & Jesús Manuel Fernández Oro & Katia María Argüelles Díaz & Sandra Velarde-Suárez, 2019. "Turbulence-Model Comparison for Aerodynamic-Performance Prediction of a Typical Vertical-Axis Wind-Turbine Airfoil," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, February.
    16. Gregory Duthé & Imad Abdallah & Sarah Barber & Eleni Chatzi, 2021. "Modeling and Monitoring Erosion of the Leading Edge of Wind Turbine Blades," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-33, November.
    17. Lopez, Javier Contreras & Kolios, Athanasios, 2024. "An autonomous decision-making agent for offshore wind turbine blades under leading edge erosion," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yang, Muchen & Xiao, Zhixiang, 2019. "Distributed roughness induced transition on wind-turbine airfoils simulated by four-equation k-ω-γ-Ar transition model," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 1166-1177.
    2. Han, Woobeom & Kim, Jonghwa & Kim, Bumsuk, 2018. "Effects of contamination and erosion at the leading edge of blade tip airfoils on the annual energy production of wind turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 817-823.
    3. André D. Thess & Philipp Lengsfeld, 2022. "Side Effects of Wind Energy: Review of Three Topics—Status and Open Questions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Dollinger, Christoph & Balaresque, Nicholas & Gaudern, Nicholas & Gleichauf, Daniel & Sorg, Michael & Fischer, Andreas, 2019. "IR thermographic flow visualization for the quantification of boundary layer flow disturbances due to the leading edge condition," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 709-721.
    5. Mohammad Hassan Khanjanpour & Akbar A. Javadi, 2020. "Experimental and CFD Analysis of Impact of Surface Roughness on Hydrodynamic Performance of a Darrieus Hydro (DH) Turbine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    6. Liu, W.Y. & Zhang, W.H. & Han, J.G. & Wang, G.F., 2012. "A new wind turbine fault diagnosis method based on the local mean decomposition," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 411-415.
    7. Abutunis, A. & Taylor, G. & Fal, M. & Chandrashekhara, K., 2020. "Experimental evaluation of coaxial horizontal axis hydrokinetic composite turbine system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 232-245.
    8. Mauro, S. & Lanzafame, R. & Messina, M. & Brusca, S., 2023. "On the importance of the root-to-hub adapter effects on HAWT performance: A CFD-BEM numerical investigation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    9. Fei Zhao & Yihan Gao & Tengyuan Wang & Jinsha Yuan & Xiaoxia Gao, 2020. "Experimental Study on Wake Evolution of a 1.5 MW Wind Turbine in a Complex Terrain Wind Farm Based on LiDAR Measurements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-14, March.
    10. Tang, Baoping & Liu, Wenyi & Song, Tao, 2010. "Wind turbine fault diagnosis based on Morlet wavelet transformation and Wigner-Ville distribution," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2862-2866.
    11. Moura Carneiro, F.O. & Barbosa Rocha, H.H. & Costa Rocha, P.A., 2013. "Investigation of possible societal risk associated with wind power generation systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 30-36.
    12. Unai Elosegui & Igor Egana & Alain Ulazia & Gabriel Ibarra-Berastegi, 2018. "Pitch Angle Misalignment Correction Based on Benchmarking and Laser Scanner Measurement in Wind Farms," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-20, December.
    13. Fakorede, Oloufemi & Feger, Zoé & Ibrahim, Hussein & Ilinca, Adrian & Perron, Jean & Masson, Christian, 2016. "Ice protection systems for wind turbines in cold climate: characteristics, comparisons and analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 662-675.
    14. Son, Chankyu & Kelly, Mark & Kim, Taeseong, 2021. "Boundary-layer transition model for icing simulations of rotating wind turbine blades," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 172-183.
    15. Nicolas Tobin & Adam Lavely & Sven Schmitz & Leonardo P. Chamorro, 2019. "Spatiotemporal Correlations in the Power Output of Wind Farms: On the Impact of Atmospheric Stability," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-12, April.
    16. Sergio Campobasso, M. & Castorrini, Alessio & Ortolani, Andrea & Minisci, Edmondo, 2023. "Probabilistic analysis of wind turbine performance degradation due to blade erosion accounting for uncertainty of damage geometry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    17. Md Zishan Akhter & Farag Khalifa Omar, 2021. "Review of Flow-Control Devices for Wind-Turbine Performance Enhancement," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-35, February.
    18. J. G. Schepers & S. J. Schreck, 2019. "Aerodynamic measurements on wind turbines," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(1), January.
    19. Yan Li & He Shen & Wenfeng Guo, 2021. "Simulation and Experimental Study on the Ultrasonic Micro-Vibration De-Icing Method for Wind Turbine Blades," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-15, December.
    20. Kiran Siddappaji & Mark Turner, 2022. "Improved Prediction of Aerodynamic Loss Propagation as Entropy Rise in Wind Turbines Using Multifidelity Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-44, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:10:y:2017:i:9:p:1420-:d:112199. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.