The effectiveness of graphene and polyurethane multilayer coating on minimizing the leading-edge erosion of wind turbine blades
Wind energy has been expanding in the last few decades, and the potential for building wind farms in new and harsh environments is being explored. One such harsh environment is the desert, where the collision of sand particles during sandstorms with the leading edge of wind turbine blades is expecte...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Results in Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025008813 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849730551932518400 |
|---|---|
| author | Abdullah F. Alajmi M. Ramulu |
| author_facet | Abdullah F. Alajmi M. Ramulu |
| author_sort | Abdullah F. Alajmi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wind energy has been expanding in the last few decades, and the potential for building wind farms in new and harsh environments is being explored. One such harsh environment is the desert, where the collision of sand particles during sandstorms with the leading edge of wind turbine blades is expected to cause erosive damage. The leading-edge erosion of wind turbine blades has been shown to negatively affect the turbines’ aerodynamic efficiency and power generation. In this paper, the leading-edge erosion of wind turbine blades has been experimentally investigated and characterized by studying the effects of multiple variables. These variables include (i) air pressure and, subsequently, the impact velocity of the sand particles, (ii) the impingement angle at which sand particles impact the leading edge, and (iii) the effects of protective coatings. The erosion of an uncoated wind turbine blade has been compared to that of a blade coated with alternating Graphene IA-700 and Polyurethane layers. The amount of material removed, the depth of erosion scars, and the surface roughness were utilized to analyze the erosion resistance behavior of coated and uncoated wind turbine blades. It has been found that using the combination of Graphene IA-700 and Polyurethane has decreased the amount of material removed from the blade and the depth of erosion scars by as much as 60 % compared to the uncoated blade. Moreover, the aerodynamic performance of the coated and uncoated blades has been investigated. The maximum lift-to-drag ratio (Cl/Cd)max was found to be higher for the coated blade by 36 % and 62 % before and after erosion, respectively. The results shown in this paper suggest that using the combination of graphene and polyurethane coatings is a promising strategy to reduce the effects of leading-edge erosion due to sand particles’ impingement. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e12d5cf968e5458b8fcf362118c978c7 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2590-1230 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Results in Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-e12d5cf968e5458b8fcf362118c978c72025-08-20T03:08:50ZengElsevierResults in Engineering2590-12302025-06-012610480410.1016/j.rineng.2025.104804The effectiveness of graphene and polyurethane multilayer coating on minimizing the leading-edge erosion of wind turbine bladesAbdullah F. Alajmi0M. Ramulu1Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Petroleum, Kuwait University, Kuwait; Corresponding author.Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195, USAWind energy has been expanding in the last few decades, and the potential for building wind farms in new and harsh environments is being explored. One such harsh environment is the desert, where the collision of sand particles during sandstorms with the leading edge of wind turbine blades is expected to cause erosive damage. The leading-edge erosion of wind turbine blades has been shown to negatively affect the turbines’ aerodynamic efficiency and power generation. In this paper, the leading-edge erosion of wind turbine blades has been experimentally investigated and characterized by studying the effects of multiple variables. These variables include (i) air pressure and, subsequently, the impact velocity of the sand particles, (ii) the impingement angle at which sand particles impact the leading edge, and (iii) the effects of protective coatings. The erosion of an uncoated wind turbine blade has been compared to that of a blade coated with alternating Graphene IA-700 and Polyurethane layers. The amount of material removed, the depth of erosion scars, and the surface roughness were utilized to analyze the erosion resistance behavior of coated and uncoated wind turbine blades. It has been found that using the combination of Graphene IA-700 and Polyurethane has decreased the amount of material removed from the blade and the depth of erosion scars by as much as 60 % compared to the uncoated blade. Moreover, the aerodynamic performance of the coated and uncoated blades has been investigated. The maximum lift-to-drag ratio (Cl/Cd)max was found to be higher for the coated blade by 36 % and 62 % before and after erosion, respectively. The results shown in this paper suggest that using the combination of graphene and polyurethane coatings is a promising strategy to reduce the effects of leading-edge erosion due to sand particles’ impingement.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025008813Wind EnergySandstormsLeading edge erosionCoatingsgraphenePolyurethane |
| spellingShingle | Abdullah F. Alajmi M. Ramulu The effectiveness of graphene and polyurethane multilayer coating on minimizing the leading-edge erosion of wind turbine blades Results in Engineering Wind Energy Sandstorms Leading edge erosion Coatings graphene Polyurethane |
| title | The effectiveness of graphene and polyurethane multilayer coating on minimizing the leading-edge erosion of wind turbine blades |
| title_full | The effectiveness of graphene and polyurethane multilayer coating on minimizing the leading-edge erosion of wind turbine blades |
| title_fullStr | The effectiveness of graphene and polyurethane multilayer coating on minimizing the leading-edge erosion of wind turbine blades |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effectiveness of graphene and polyurethane multilayer coating on minimizing the leading-edge erosion of wind turbine blades |
| title_short | The effectiveness of graphene and polyurethane multilayer coating on minimizing the leading-edge erosion of wind turbine blades |
| title_sort | effectiveness of graphene and polyurethane multilayer coating on minimizing the leading edge erosion of wind turbine blades |
| topic | Wind Energy Sandstorms Leading edge erosion Coatings graphene Polyurethane |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025008813 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT abdullahfalajmi theeffectivenessofgrapheneandpolyurethanemultilayercoatingonminimizingtheleadingedgeerosionofwindturbineblades AT mramulu theeffectivenessofgrapheneandpolyurethanemultilayercoatingonminimizingtheleadingedgeerosionofwindturbineblades AT abdullahfalajmi effectivenessofgrapheneandpolyurethanemultilayercoatingonminimizingtheleadingedgeerosionofwindturbineblades AT mramulu effectivenessofgrapheneandpolyurethanemultilayercoatingonminimizingtheleadingedgeerosionofwindturbineblades |