Posters
Come meet the poster presenters to ask them questions and discuss their work
We would like to invite you to come and see the posters at our upcoming conference. The posters will showcase a diverse range of research topics and provide an opportunity for delegates to engage with the authors and learn more about their work. Whether you are a seasoned researcher or simply curious about the latest developments in your field, we believe that the posters will offer something of interest to everyone. So please, join us at the conference and take advantage of this opportunity to learn and engage with your peers in the academic community. We look forward to seeing you there!
PO203: Wind tunnel test of airfoil with erosion and leading edge protection
Christian Bak, Professor, Director of the Poul la Cour Tunnel, Head of the Airfoil and Rotor Design section, DTU Wind Energy
Abstract
Erosion and contaminated leading edges of blades cause a significant uncertainty for the annual energy production. The power and the energy output from the wind turbines are measured, but it is a big challenge to make any final conclusions on the energy losses. This is due to the stochastic nature of the wind, which results in uncertainties in the relation between wind speed and power. Currently much work is carried out to provide methods to determine the power losses in a precise and reliable manner in e.g. the IEA Task 46 about “Erosion”. Since inspections of blades are carried out on a regular basis, knowledge about how the aerodynamic performance is influenced by erosion and leading edge protection is important. In this work the wind turbine service providers Wind Power Lab and Rope Robotics have together with DTU carried out investigations of how erosion and leading edge protection influence the aerodynamic performance of wind turbines. A part of this was wind tunnel tests of an airfoil that were carried out in the large Poul la Cour Tunnel for Reynolds numbers between 3 and 7 million corresponding to wind turbines of between 1 and 7 MW, where Reynolds numbers of 7 million is very high compared to other wind tunnels in the world. In the tests, performance is measured of leading edges where 1) the glass fiber is exposed, 2) small damages protrude from the surface and 3) leading edge protection is mounted. The wind tunnel tests showed that erosion and protrusions reduce the aerodynamic performance significantly, but also that leading edge protection with a backward facing step reduce the aerodynamic performance. The results are exemplified by relating the degraded airfoil performance to a corresponding power reduction of a rotor.
Follow the event on: