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Content archived on 2024-04-19

Icing of wind turbines

Objective

- analysis of the influence of icing conditions on wind turbines in Europe - inquiry including development, distribution and evaluation of questionnaires - measurements of icing conditions, wind tunnel tests, evaluation of recommendations for European Standards - preparation and organization of a conference (BOREAS II) - reporting, including conference proceedings.

There was an excellent response to the survey which showed a genuine industrial concern about the problems this project addressed. A general knowledge of the extent of icing on wind turbines has been reached and a proposal for wind turbine standards on handling ice loads was given to the certification bodies and has been included in some national recommendations. This will help to ensure that safety is normalised across Europe. Some instrument enhancements have been achieved and a group of European scientists that is well-connected to industry has been formed. The work has helped to ensure that industrial companies are prepared to manufacture wind turbines in cold climates. The group is better acquainted with the industrial needs of manufacturers and links between partners have been formed. Several instrument enhancements have been achieved as a result of the project. Without this project many manufacturers would have to study these effects independently across the industry. This would be more expensive and the results would not be shared as freely.
Increasing application of wind energy in mountanious regions and cold climates leads to operation of wind turbines under severe meteorological conditions such as icing. Heavy icing conditions are known from the Scandinavian Countries, the highland of Germany, Austria and most of the Eastern European countries. There is a growing interest in the large wind energy potential at those sites.

The scope of the project is to:
- help the manufacturers of wind energy converting systems, components and instruments to improve their products for use in cold climate regions with in Europe
- generate recommendations to improve the European Standards - prepare and organize a conference on wind power in cold climates (BOREAS II)
- organization of and evaluation of inquiry about icing events Examples of the project's results will be:
- a recommendation for European Standards
- an increase of knowledge of wind turbine operation under icing conditions - an information package for designers of wind turbines and instrumentation as well as wind turbine operators and utilities about use of wind energy under icing conditions
- the proceedings of the BOREAS II conference which covers most the international experience of experts concerned The research is not machine dependent and thus the results are interesting for all European manufacturers, operators and certification bodies. Examples of possible applications of the project's results wiill be better input data for wind turbine designers and an improvement of computer codes and prediction models, new design of wind turbine and instrumentation for cold regions as well as the exploitation of wind energy at sites concerned in Europe.
List of Project Participants German Windenergy-Institute (DEWI) c/o Mr. Henry Seifert Head of Fundamental Research Department Ebertstr. 96 26382 Wilhelmshaven Germany Tel: 0049-4421-4808-12 Fax: 0049-4421-4808-43 Finnish Meteorological Institute Climatology Devision c/o Mr. Bengt Tammelin P.O.Box 503 SF-00101 Helsinki Finland Tel: 00358-0-1929-664 Fax: 00358-0-1929-537

Call for proposal

Data not available

Coordinator

DEUTSCHES WINDENERGIE - INSTITUT GMBH
EU contribution
No data
Address
Ebert Strasse 96
WILHELMSHAVEN
Germany

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Total cost
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Participants (1)