Leading edge erosion (LEE) affects almost all wind turbines, reducing their annual energy production and lifetime profitability. This study presents results of an investigation into 18 operational wind farms to assess the validity of the current literature consensus surrounding LEE. Much of the historical research focuses on rain erosion, implying that this is the predominant causal factor. However, this study showed that the impact of excessive airborne particles from seawater aerosols or from adverse local environments such as nearby quarries greatly increases the levels of LEE. Current testing of leading edge protection coatings or tapes is based on a rain erosion resistivity test, which does little to prove its ability to withstand solid particle erosion and may drive coating design in the wrong direction. Furthermore, it was shown that there is little correlation between test results and actual field performance. A method of monitoring the expected level of erosion on an operational wind turbine due to rain erosion is also presented. Finally, the energy losses associated with LEE on an operational wind farm are examined, with the average annual energy production dropping by 1.8% due to medium levels of erosion, with the worst affected turbine experiencing losses of 4.9%.

中文翻译：

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风力涡轮机的前缘腐蚀：固体颗粒物和雨水对运行中的风电场的影响

前沿腐蚀（LEE）几乎影响所有风力涡轮机，从而降低了它们的年发电量和终生盈利能力。这项研究提出了对18个运行中的风电场的调查结果，以评估当前有关LEE的文献共识的有效性。许多历史研究都集中在降雨侵蚀上，这表明这是主要的因果关系。但是，这项研究表明，海水气溶胶或不利的局部环境（如附近的采石场）产生的过量空气中颗粒物的影响大大提高了LEE的水平。当前对前沿保护涂层或胶带的测试基于抗雨水侵蚀性测试，该测试几乎无法证明其能够抵抗固体颗粒腐蚀，并且可能会朝错误的方向推动涂层设计。此外，结果表明，测试结果与实际现场性能之间几乎没有关联。还提出了一种监视运行中的风力涡轮机由于雨水侵蚀而预期的侵蚀水平的方法。最后，检查了运行中的风电场与LEE相关的能量损失，由于中等程度的侵蚀，年平均能源产量下降了1.8％，受影响最严重的涡轮机损失了4.9％。