Abstract
Wind turbines located in cold climates suffer from reduced power generation due to ice accretion. This paper presents a novel method for comparing and evaluating two emerging ice mitigation strategies: tip-speed ratio derating and electrothermal anti-icing. The method used takes into account accumulated ice mass, net energy losses both during and after an icing event, and financial breakeven points; it is demonstrated for the assessment of the NREL 5 MW reference wind turbine during different icing events. Our results show how derating can be preferred over electrothermal anti-icing and how this changes for different wind speeds, icing conditions, ambient temperatures, and system costs. For a 1-hour extreme icing event, it is expected that derating will reduce accumulated ice mass and daily power loss by up to 23% and 37%, respectively. Anti-icing was identified to be the preferred strategy when there were 42 in-cloud icing event occurrences per year, ambient temperatures were above −5 °C, and the system cost was no higher than 2% of the turbine’s capital cost. This research demonstrates to wind turbine operators how different strategies can be selected to improve performance during icing conditions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 116610 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Applied Energy |
| Volume | 288 |
| Early online date | 18 Feb 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Apr 2021 |
Bibliographical note
© 2021, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.
This document is the author’s post-print version, incorporating any revisions agreed during the peer-review process. Some differences between the published version and this version may remain and you are advised to consult the published version if you wish to cite from it.
Keywords
- Cold climates
- Ice accretion
- Icing events
- Tip-speed ratio (TSR)
- Wind energy
- Wind power
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Building and Construction
- Energy(all)
- Mechanical Engineering
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law