Cleaner Ice Control for Wind Turbines
Researchers have developed a chemical-free method to keep wind turbine blades warm and functioning.
Wind turbines are used to power various establishments, but their energy-harnessing ability is reduced during cold weather due to ice accumulation on the blades.
Deicing Method
A team of researchers has developed a deicing method that avoids environmentally harmful chemicals and minimizes energy use.
Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge (SDBD)
The team's work is based on previous studies of surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD), which uses an electrical current to control air flow and heat around an object.
The team accurately calculated the heat distribution around wind turbine blades treated with SDBD over a time increment as small as a nanosecond up to a minute using numerical simulations.
Author's summary: Researchers develop chemical-free deicing method for wind turbines.