Experimental Study on Anti-Icing and Deicing for Model Wind Turbine Blades with Continuous Carbon Fiber Sheets

Abstract

A novel anti-icing and deicing technique for wind turbine blades using surface-mounted continuous carbon fiber sheets is proposed and experimentally verified with model blades under both static and rotation conditions. Anti-icing and deicing tests on one model blade in a refrigerator are carried out using different levels of current. Three identical wind turbine scale-model blades are fabricated into a wind turbine model driven by a motor and anti-icing and deicing tests are carried out in a cold chamber. The temperature distribution of the electrically heated model blade under various input voltages, rotation speeds, and air temperatures are measured. The anti-icing and deicing performance including deicing time at different input voltages, energy consumption, and temperature variations with time at various locations along the model blades is presented. Results show that the proposed method is efficient and has great potential for the anti-icing and deicing of wind turbine blades in icing climate sites.