Study on small wind turbine icing and its performance

Wind turbines often suffer from severe ice during winter. Ice on the blades changes the airfoil profile, thereby causing wind turbine power loss. The icing characteristics and output of small horizontal-axis wind turbine were experimentally studied in an artificial climate chamber, and a 3D ice accretion wind turbine model was proposed to simulate glaze ice. Results show that ice rapidly reduces the rotation speed and load power of the wind turbine. The ice growth rate rises initially and then declines with time. Ice linearly increases from the root to the tip and mainly accumulates at the leading edge. As the rotation speed slows down, the ice-covered area moves to the pressure side. Higher wind velocity and lower temperature lead to more severe ice, but they do not change the ice shape. The shaft torque of the iced turbine shows a rising trend, and then it falls, thereby decreasing the shaft power and power coefficient. Ice load seems to have a greater effect than the deterioration of aerodynamic characteristics on the rotor performance of small wind turbines.