Parameters influencing the erosion behavior of the leading edges of wind turbine blade tips are investigated. Recent enhancements in structural sizes of wind turbines operating at extreme environments present critical challenges to performance and sustainability of wind energy production. In order to investigate the influence of the parameters controlling the erosion performance of the coatings under rain contacts, a systematic finite element simulation approach was implemented. Three main groups of parameters namely environmental, design, and manufacturing were investigated. The conducted investigations reveal desirable coating material characteristics and a simple indicator to select materials which protect leading edges against rain erosion. Moreover, the parameters such as surface properties, manufacturing aspects, and droplet shape were demonstrated to be critical in estimation of the coatings lifetime through numerical simulations. The introduced results provide a roadmap toward improved design of durable coatings for new wind turbine blades.

中文翻译：

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风力涡轮机叶片的雨蚀：控制表面退化的参数的计算分析

研究了影响风力涡轮机叶尖前缘侵蚀行为的参数。最近在极端环境下运行的风力涡轮机结构尺寸的改进对风能生产的性能和可持续性提出了严峻挑战。为了研究控制涂层在雨水接触下的侵蚀性能的参数的影响，实施了系统的有限元模拟方法。研究了三组主要参数，即环境、设计和制造。进行的调查揭示了理想的涂层材料特性和一个简单的指标来选择保护前缘免受雨水侵蚀的材料。此外，表面特性、制造方面等参数，和液滴形状被证明是通过数值模拟估计涂层寿命的关键。引入的结果为改进新型风力涡轮机叶片的耐用涂层设计提供了路线图。