Study of ice accretion along symmetric and asymmetric airfoils

A parametric numerical study of ice accretion along symmetric (NACA-0012) and asymmetric (NACA-23012) airfoils has been carried out at different operating and geometric conditions with the aim to better understand the ice accretion along wind turbine blades. The results show that the airfoil geometric shape and size has an effect on the rate and shape of ice accretion. Streamline ice shapes are observed in the case of symmetric airfoil in comparison to the ones found for the asymmetric airfoil. Aerodynamic characteristics of both airfoils for clean and iced conditions were analyzed at different angles of attack ranging from −16° to +16°. The analysis shows a decrease in the aerodynamic characteristics of the iced airfoils as compared to the clean airfoil. The parametric analysis of the ice accretion at different operating and geometric conditions show an increase in the ice growth with the increase in air velocity and droplet size, whereas a change in the atmospheric temperature significantly affects the accreted ice shapes. A decrease in accreted ice mass and thickness is observed with the increase of airfoil geometric size.