Computation of Aerodynamic Performance Deterioration of Wind Turbine Blade Due to Ice Accretion

The attention for a wind power-generator has been attracted as one of the solutions for the environmental problems. When a wind turbine is operated in winter, supercooled water droplets impinge on the blade surface, and as the result ice accretes around the leading edge. It is well known that the occurrence of ice accretion on the wind turbine blade can lead to the severe deterioration of aerodynamic performance. However, the experiment is difficult, because it is not easy to create repeatedly the accretion conditions in a laboratory. Therefore, CFD is expected as a useful tool to predict and investigate the phenomena. In the present study, we develop the ice accretion code, and apply it to the MEL wind turbine blade. From the computational results, the shape of the ice-accreted blade and the deterioration of aerodynamic performance are numerically investigated.