Numerical simulation of rime ice accretion on a three-dimensional wind turbine blade using a Lagrangian approach

Abstract

The accreted ice on wind turbine blades significantly deteriorates the blade aerodynamic performance and consequently the power production. The existing numerical simulations of blade icing have mostly been performed with the Eulerian approach for two-dimensional (2D) blade profiles, neglecting the possible three-dimensional (3D) rotating effect. This paper conducts a numerical simulation of rime ice accretion on a 3D wind turbine blade using the Lagrangian approach. The simulation results are validated through previously published experimental data. The icing characteristics along the blade radial direction are then investigated in detail. Significant radial airflow along the blade is observed, which demonstrates the necessity of 3D simulation. In addition, more droplets are found to impinge on the blade surface near the tip region, thereby producing severer ice accretion there. The accreted ice increases almost linearly along the blade radial direction in terms of both ice mass and maximum ice thickness.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

ice accretion / wind turbine / numerical simulation / Lagrangian approach

References

[1] RuffG ABerkowitzB M. User’s Manual for the NASA Lewis Ice Accretion Prediction Code (LEWICE), 1990

[2] BraggM BHutchionTMerretJOltmanRPokhariyalD. Effect of ice accretion on aircraft flight dynamics. In: Proceedings of the 38th Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit. Reno, NV: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2000

[3] Beaugendre H, Morency F, Habashi W G. FENSAP-ICE’s three-dimensional in-flight ice accretion module: ICE 3D. Journal of Aircraft, 2003, 40(2): 239–247

[4] Fu P, Farzaneh M. A CFD approach for modeling the rime-ice accretion process on a horizontal-axis wind turbine. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 2010, 98(4−5): 181–188

[5] Zhang Z, Jiang X, Sun C, Hu J, Huang H, Gao D W. Influence of insulator string positioning on AC icing flashover performance. IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation, 2012, 19(4): 1335–1343

[6] Zhang Z, Zhang Y, Jiang X, Hu J, Hu Q. Icing degree characterization of insulators based on the equivalent collision coefficient of standard rotating conductors. Energies, 2018, 11(12): 3326

[7] Jin J Y, Virk M S. Study of ice accretion and icing effects on aerodynamic characteristics of DU96 wind turbine blade profile. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 2019, 160: 119–127

[8] Yirtici O, Tuncer I H, Ozgen S. Ice accretion prediction on wind turbines and consequent power losses. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2016, 753: 022022

[9] Hu L, Zhu X, Hu C, Chen J, Du Z. Wind turbines ice distribution and load response under icing conditions. Renewable Energy, 2017, 113: 608–619

[10] Barber S, Wang Y, Jafari S, Chokani N, Abhari R S. The impact of ice formation on wind turbine performance and aerodynamics. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, 2011, 133(1): 011007

[11] Liu Y, Hu H. An experimental investigation on the unsteady heat transfer process over an ice accreting airfoil surface. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2018, 122: 707–718

[12] Jin J Y, Virk M S. Study of ice accretion along symmetric and asymmetric airfoils. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 2018, 179: 240–249

[13] GaoLLiuYZhouWHuH. An experimental study on the aerodynamic performance degradation of a wind turbine blade model induced by ice accretion process. Renewable Energy, 2019, 133: 663−675

[14] Makkonen L. Models for the growth of rime, glaze, icicles and wet snow on structures. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series A: Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences, 1776, 2000(358): 2913–2939

[15] GaoLLiuYHuH. An experimental investigation of dynamic ice accretion process on a wind turbine airfoil model considering various icing conditions. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2019, 133: 930−939

[16] ReidTBaruzziGOzcerISwitchenkoDHabashiW. FENSAP-ICE simulation of icing on wind turbine blades, part 1: performance degradation. In: 51st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition. Grapevine, TX: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2013

[17] Han Y, Palacios J, Schmitz S. Scaled ice accretion experiments on a rotating wind turbine blade. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 2012, 109: 55–67

[18] Virk M S, Homola M C, Nicklasson P J. Relation between angle of attack and atmospheric ice accretion on large wind turbine’s blade. Wind Engineering, 2010, 34(6): 607–613

[19] Virk M S, Homola M C, Nicklasson P J. Atmospheric icing on large wind turbine blades. International Journal of Energy and Environment, 2012, 3(1): 1–8

[20] Etemaddar M, Hansen M O L, Moan T. Wind turbine aerodynamic response under atmospheric icing conditions. Wind Energy, 2014, 17(2): 241–265

[21] Ibrahim G M, Pope K, Muzychka Y S. Effects of blade design on ice accretion for horizontal axis wind turbines. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 2018, 173: 39–52

[22] Zhu X, Hu L, Chen J, Shen X, Du Z. Calculation of collection efficiency on NREL Phase VI blade. Journal of Energy Resources Technology, 2018, 140(7): 071202

[23] Hu L, Zhu X, Chen J, Shen X, Du Z. Numerical simulation of rime ice on NREL Phase VI blade. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 2018, 178: 57–68

[24] Kang L, Guo L. Eulerian−Lagrangian simulation of aeolian sand transport. Powder Technology, 2006, 162(2): 111–120

[25] Huang N, Xia X, Tong D. Numerical simulation of wind sand movement in straw checkerboard barriers. European Physical Journal E, 2013, 36(9): 99

[26] Huang N, Sang J, Han K. A numerical simulation of the effects of snow particle shapes on blowing snow development. Journal of Geophysical Research, 2011, 116(D22): D22206

[27] Okaze T, Niiya H, Nishimura K. Development of a large-eddy simulation coupled with Lagrangian snow transport model. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 2018, 183: 35–43

[28] Rabczuk T, Belytschko T. Cracking particles: A simplified meshfree method for arbitrary evolving cracks. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 2004, 61(13): 2316–2343

[29] Rabczuk T, Zi G, Bordas S, Nguyen-Xuan H. A simple and robust three-dimensional cracking-particle method without enrichment. Computational Methods in Applied Mathematics, 2010, 199: 2437–2455

[30] Zhang Y, Zhuang X. Cracking elements method for dynamic brittle fracture. Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics, 2019, 102: 1–9

[31] Zhang Y, Yang X, Wang X, Zhuang X. A micropolar peridynamic model with non-uniform horizon for static damage of solids considering different nonlocal enhancements. Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics, 2021, 113: 102930

[32] Abdelsalam A M, Ramalingam V. Wake prediction of horizontal-axis wind turbine using full-rotor modeling. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 2014, 124: 7–19

[33] Makkonen L, Laakso T, Marjaniemi M, Finstad K J. Modelling and prevention of ice accretion on wind turbines. Wind Engineering, 2001, 25(1): 3–21

[34] WidhalmMRonzheimerAMeyerJ. Lagrangian particle tracking on large unstructured three-dimensional meshes. In: The 46th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit. Reno, NV: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2008

[35] VilledieuPTrontinPGuffondDBoboD. SLD Lagrangian modeling and capability assessment in the frame of ONERA 3D icing suite. In: 4th AIAA Atmospheric and Space Environments Conference. New Orleans: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2012

[36] Sang W, Shi Y, Xi C. Numerical simulation of icing effect and ice accretion on three-dimensional configurations. Science China. Technological Sciences, 2013, 56(9): 2278–2288

[37] Li Y, Sun C, Jiang Y, Yi X, Xu Z, Guo W. Temperature effect on icing distribution near blade tip of large-scale horizontal-axis wind turbine by numerical simulation. Advances in Mechanical Engineering, 2018, 10(11): 1–13

[38] PootsG. Ice and Snow Accretion on Structures. Hoboken: Wiley, 1996

[39] Shu L, Liang J, Hu Q, Jiang X, Ren X, Qiu G. Study on small wind turbine icing and its performance. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 2017, 134: 11–19

[40] BourgaultYHabashiW GDompierreJBoutaniosZBartolomeoW D. An Eulerian approach to supercooled droplets impingement calculations. In: The 35th Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit. Reno: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1997

[41] PedersenMSørensenH. Towards a CFD model for prediction of wind turbine power losses due to icing in cold climate. In: The 16th International Symposium on Transport Phenomena and Dynamics of Rotating Machinery. Honolulu, HJ, 2016

[42] Homola M C, Virk M S, Wallenius T, Nicklasson P J, Sundsbø P A. Effect of atmospheric temperature and droplet size variation on ice accretion of wind turbine blades. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 2010, 98(12): 724–729

[43] WirogoSSirirambhatlaSLeaderT. An Eulerian method to calculate the collection efficiency on two and three dimensional bodies. In: The 41st Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit. Reno: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2003

[44] HansenM O L. Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines. Oxford: Earthscan Publication, 2008

[45] Seifert H, Westerhellweg A, Kröning J. Risk analysis of ice throw from wind turbines. Boreas, 2003, 6(9): 2006–01

[46] Bai C, Wang W. Review of computational and experimental approaches to analysis of aerodynamic performance in horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs). Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016, 63: 506–519

Acknowledgements

This project is jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52078380) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No. SLDRCE19-B-14), which are gratefully acknowledged.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2023 Higher Education Press