Abstract
Rain-induced blade erosion is a main issue in Offshore Wind Turbines (OWT) since most wind farms experience heavy rainfalls. The Springer model, which is highly used for erosion estimation, is undergoing improvements, especially the droplet impact pressure aspect. Therefore, this Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) study was conducted to estimate the impact pressure for different droplet sizes, while discussing impact behaviour in detail. Simulations were done for droplet diameters 1-5 mm with an impact speed of 100 m/s. Water droplets slightly deform just before the impact, delaying the impact due to the pressurized air layer. During this delay period, pressure was significantly increased to reach the maximum impact pressure. When the droplet size increases the maximum impact pressure also increases, due to high air volume displacement which is not included in the Springer model’s pressure estimation. In conclusion, the larger droplets were observed to impose higher pressure on the blade’s coating than the smaller droplets leading to high erosivity.
Original language | English (Ireland) |
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Publication status | Published - 23 May 2023 |
Event | Wind Energy Science Conference - Glasgow, United Kingdom Duration: 23 May 2023 → 27 May 2023 Conference number: 7 https://www.marei.ie/wind-energy-science-conference-wesc-2023/ |
Conference
Conference | Wind Energy Science Conference |
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Abbreviated title | WESC |
Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
City | Glasgow |
Period | 23/05/2023 → 27/05/2023 |
Internet address |
Keywords
- Erosion
- Offshore wind turbine
- Rain erosion
- Droplet impact
- Impact pressure