Lightning Attachment Characteristics of Electrically Heated Ice-Melting Blades for Wind Turbine
Wang Huan1, Hu Qin1, Shu Lichun1, Jiang Xingliang1, Tang Fangchun2
1. Xuefeng Mountain Energy Equipment Safety National Observation and Research Station of Chongqing University Chongqing 400044 China; 2. China Resources Power Technology Research Institute Co. Ltd Dongguan 523808 China
Abstract：Wind turbines are often installed in highly humid and cold mountainous areas, and as a towering structure exposed to the atmosphere, it makes the blades face serious ice-covering and lightning strike disasters. Although the electrically heated ice-melting technology is the most effective in solving the blade ice-covering problem, the risk of lightning strikes of its surface-coated or pre-buried electric heating elements, such as resistance wires, electric heating films, electric heating sheets, etc., is unknown, and the impact on the original lightning protection system of the blade is not yet clear. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive experimental study on the lightning attachment characteristics of electrically heated ice-melting blades. To perfectly simulate the process of wind turbine blade lightning strike attachment. Firstly, a 1:30 scaled-down wind turbine model was made with a 3 MW wind turbine as a reference, and the electrically heated ice-melting blade was designed according to the blade icing protection area. Secondly, the Xuefeng Mountain Energy Equipment Safety National Observation and Research Station of Chongqing University, which is very similar to the actual wind farm environmental conditions, was selected as the experimental site. A long-gap lightning discharge experimental platform for scaled-down wind turbine blades was constructed with a rod electrode as the high-voltage terminal. To ensure the equivalence with the natural lightning strike, the similarity theory was followed, and the striking distance was used to determine the discharge gap of 3 m. Finally, the lightning attachment characteristics of electrically heated ice-melting blades and ordinary blades were experimentally investigated by considering four lightning downward leader positions, lightning polarity, and blade states (stationary and natural rotation), the probability of lightning strikes at the potential attachment points was analyzed, and the failure mechanism of electrically heated ice-melting blades’ lightning attachment was discussed with the help of electric field simulation. The experimental results show that: (1) Similar to ordinary blades, there is a polarity effect in the lightning strike attachment of electrically heated ice-melting blades. Compared with the negative lightning strike, the positive lightning strike attachment points and their probability distribution of the electrically heated ice-melting blades are more dispersed. (2) The risk of lightning ablation damage to the electric heating element of the ice-melting blades is more prominent, and its probability of lightning strike is related to the position and polarity of the lightning, and the state of the blades: ①The probability of lightning strike to the electric heating element is the greatest when the lightning downward leader is on the windward side, and it is 0% on the leeward side. ②Compared with negative lightning strikes, the probability of positive lightning strikes to the electric heating element is significantly higher. ③Compared with static, the electric heating element is more susceptible to lightning strikes when the blade is naturally rotating. (3) Compared with ordinary blades, electrically heated electric heating elements of ice-melting blades not only distort the spatial electric field in its neighborhood, but also shield the electric field in the lead wires, resulting in a decrease in the probability of lightning strikes on the blade’s receptors and body, and a shift of the attachment points to the electric heating element, which is especially preferred to striking its edges. The results of this paper clarify the lightning strike risk of electrically heated ice-melting blades and can provide guidance for the integrated design of their lightning and ice protection.
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2026, Vol. 41 
