Articles | Volume 10, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-315-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-10-315-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Drop-size-dependent effects in leading-edge rain erosion and their impact on erosion-safe mode operation
Nils Barfknecht
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Wind Energy Group, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
Dominic von Terzi
Wind Energy Group, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
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Rain droplets damage wind turbine blades due to the high impact speed at the tip. In this study, it is found that rain droplets and wind turbine blades interact aerodynamically. The rain droplets slow down and deform close to the blade. A model from another field of study was adapted and validated to study this process in detail. This effect reduced the predicted erosion damage by up to 50 %, primarily affecting smaller drops. It is shown how the slowdown effect can influence erosion mitigation.
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Short summary
The paper investigates the influence of the rain drop diameter on the formation of erosion damage and its implications for erosion-safe mode (ESM). By building an erosion damage model that incorporates several drop-size effects, we found that large droplets are significantly more erosive than small droplets. It is shown that the performance of the ESM is significantly increased when drop-size effects are correctly accounted for. A method to derive optimal ESM strategies is given as well.
The paper investigates the influence of the rain drop diameter on the formation of erosion...
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