Modeling of the trajectory of ice thrown from a wind turbine

Abstract: There is a growing number of wind turbines installed in cold temperature zones as a result of the restricted space for new construction. Due to ice deposition on the turbine blades, the increasing installation of wind turbines in freezing temperature areas presents many challenges: ice accumulation increases weight, unbalances the rotor, diminishes aerodynamic efficiency, and creates safety issues. This paper attempts to investigate the influence of the velocity magnitude and Reynolds number on aerodynamic forces, given by Drapalik et al., for different ice concretions. Moreover, it will be examined how the sensitivity of the forces are modified based on different turbulence models through RANS and LES simulations. RANS models included the SST k-ω, RNG k-ε, Realizable k-ε, and Spalart-Allmaras models, while the WALE SGS model was used for LES simulations to capture small-scale fluid motions. Lastly, the ice trajectories were evaluated based on the in-house ballistic model, while considering different resolution of the aerodynamic force database acting on the ice.