Icing characteristics and mitigation strategies for wind turbines in cold climates

Wind power has gained substantial interest worldwide as a form of alternative and sustainable energy. The optimization of wind energy systems is critical in order to establish wind as a viable and economic resource. An immense potential of untapped wind resources exist in cold climates and is hindered by the uncertainty of the characteristics of the surrounding climatological conditions. One issue facing the optimization of wind power generation in cold climates is ice accumulation on turbine blades. This issue creates concern for efficient energy production, operational safety and when wind represents a significant energy mix ratio for a utility, a concern for grid integration. This research explores mitigation strategies to prevent or delay ice accumulation on wind turbines blades in an effort to enhance the understanding of the icing characteristics and to optimize wind turbine systems in cold climate conditions. Mitigation strategies involve surface, thermal and, the newly developed, thermface techniques in both anti-icing and de-icing regimes for both glaze and rime icing conditions. Experiments are conducted on stationary blade configurations in the state-of-the-art University of Manitoba Icing Tunnel Facility. The results of the mitigation techniques depict icing profiles and aerodynamic changes along the blade leading edge over a set period for the simulated icing event and quantify the ice adhesion pressure force, volumetric accumulation amount, metric profile shape extension and the ice accumulation rate. Indication of improved ability to control icing characteristics is presented through the comparison of mitigation strategies to the experimental datum. Results are compiled and summarized in the exclusive Mitigation Forecasting Tool and Profile Shape Catalogue, and are a unique contribution to the scientific community, through the diverse collection of experimental results and novel mitigation solutions.