Performance effects of attachment on blade on a straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine

Recently, many straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbines (SB-VAWT) are installed in community, urban and high mountain areas as an independent power supply. However, in cold climates, icing, snow and other attachments on the blade surface may affect turbine performance. In this study, the condition of rime-type icing on the leading edge of blade surface was simulated by clay, and the effects on the rotation and power performance were measured by wind tunnel tests and discussed. The results show that the attachment reduced the steady revolution and power coefficient of the SB-VAWT, and the reduction rate increased as the weight of the attachment and wind speed increased.