Wind Tunnel Test of Icing Distribution on the Leading Edge of a 2D Blade Airfoil for Wind Turbines

Abstract

As clean and renewable energy, wind energy has been widely used in the world. The wind turbine is a kind of rotating machinery, which can convert wind energy into mechanical energy and electrical energy. Wind turbines sometimes face a variety of extreme weather conditions, such as icing, heavy snow, lightning, sand storm, and so on, which affect the safety operation of wind turbines. In the present study, icing events on the blade surfaces of wind turbines are focused, and the wind tunnel test of icing was carried out on a 2D blade with NACA0018 airfoil used in wind turbines. In the icing tests, three kinds of ambient temperatures were selected, including −5 °C, −10 °C, and −15 °C, and two kinds of wind speeds were decided, including 5m/s and 10m/s. The icing distributions on the blade surface at the different attack angles were tested and recorded by a high-speed camera for several minutes. The ice accretion and distribution characteristics at the leading edge of the 2D blade airfoil were acquired and analyzed. The findings can provide a reference for the research on the icing mechanism and the de- and anti-icing of wind turbines.