| This project was aimed at the evaluation of effects of freezing precipitation conditions on the output of wind turbine generators.;An experiment to model the form of ice accumulation on a horizontal axis rotor was done in a cold room.;A simulated icing test on a full scale horizontal axis wind turbine was performed at the Atlantic Wind Test Site.;The cold room icing test gave a better understanding of the blunt shaped glaze ice accretion on the leading edge of blade sections where the wind speed was relatively high. Theoretical estimations showed that icing events, associated with ambient temperatures close to freezing point and high liquid water content in the air, could destroy the performance of wind turbines completely. The wind turbine field test showed that a progressive power reduction occurred during a simulated freezing event and a complete loss of power from the wind turbine generator was encountered after a short time period of freezing precipitation. The wind tunnel tests for the airfoil with simulated ice accretions on the leading edge revealed that increase of drag coefficient and decrease of lift coefficient on the iced blade sections of a wind turbine were the main reasons that caused the power output from a wind turbine to drop. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
