During the first year of the project, the primary objectives were to analyse and enhance a version of the nanocoating with anti-icing properties for application on wind turbine blades. DTU, in collaboration with Linari, focused on devising a new solution to develop the desired nanocoating. However, experimental trials revealed the initial concept of utilizing a portable electrospinning device, later adapted to a drone, along with a nanocoating heating system to enhance blade adhesion, was unfeasible. This was due to limitations with the electrospinning technique for nanocoating creation and safety concerns regarding drone usage, particularly exceeding weight restrictions due to required solution tanks. Instead, a nanocoating was synthesized and tested on
2 laboratory-prepared tape, employing a machine designed and constructed for on-site nanocoating application, featuring a final heating system to boost adhesion onto blades.
Furthermore, conventional nanocoating was assessed on ice detection sensors, yielding unsatisfactory results due to sensor material vulnerability to temperatures exceeding 70°C. Efforts are underway to identify materials with superior thermal resistance, with findings anticipated in the subsequent phase.
Another milestone was the application of the nanocoating onto turbine blades at the Valdihuelo wind farm in Spain from Enel Green Power – Endesa. This objective necessitated scaled nanocoating production at Linari's facilities. Utilizing the developed machinery for application, portions of the blades adjacent to installed ice-detection sensors were successfully coated by the end of September 2023, preceding the winter season. Concurrently, the V2 iteration of the nanocoating was formulated for implementation in the upcoming year.
The project's original concept aimed at in-flight electrospinning of the nanocoating, initially through a manually operated portable system and later via drone deployment. However, research insights prompted a deviation from this trajectory, favouring a tape-based coating method produced in Linari laboratory, followed by semi-automated application onto blades performed by operators with proper elevation systems instead of drone. The on-site electrospinning was eliminated for low productivity, while the use of drone was considered to complex during the first filed application experience both for regulatory prospective and because the maintenance operators has to manually clean the blade before nanocoating application and, in the same time, they can easily apply the nanocoating with properly design application tool.
