Tao Zhu,Yuan Yuan,Xingde Wei,Xujiang Hua,Xu Dai,Huiying Xiang,Linbo Song,Ruijin Liao
Ice accretion on wind turbine blades severely impacts the power generation efficiency, equipment lifespan, and safe operation of wind farms. Low-interfacial toughness materials have demonstrated potential for large-scale deicing under controlled laboratory conditions. However, their anti-icing and deicing performance in complex and harsh natural fields is rarely studied. Herein, low-interfacial toughness PDMS/SiO 2 coatings are prepared on aluminum plates. Field tests for anti-icing, icephobic, and large-scale deicing are conducted in the high-altitude regions of Southwest China. Fortunately, the PDMS/SiO 2 coating exhibits exceptional anti-icing and icephobic properties. The coating effectively delays the freezing of water droplets and natural ice accretion, significantly reducing icing weight and ice adhesion strength. During natural ice-covering processes, the ultra-low ice adhesion of the PDMS/SiO 2 coating aids in efficient ice shedding through wind and gravity and ensures rapid melting post-icing. Additionally, the PDMS/SiO 2 coating excels in large-scale deicing performance. The constant deicing force, governed by low interfacial toughness, provides robust assurance for efficient large-scale deicing of ice layers of varying sizes under gravity. Moreover, the coating demonstrates stable durability, retaining excellent deicing capabilities during icing/deicing cycles, UV radiation, and high-temperature aging tests. This study lays an experimental foundation for the further research and application of low-interfacial toughness materials.
Tao Zhu,Yuan Yuan,Linbo Song,Xingde Wei,Huiying Xiang,Xu Dai,Xujiang Hua,Ruijin Liao
The icing of wind turbine blades leads to a decrease in output power, seriously jeopardizing the economic benefits and operational reliability of wind farms. Conventional deicing techniques require expensive equipment and consume a large amount of energy. Low-interfacial toughness coatings without energy dissipation are believed to be a highly potential passive deicing technology. However, the durability in service is facing challenges. Herein, low-interfacial toughness PDMS coatings were prepared by physical blending. Through the optimization of added plasticizers and SiO 2 , PDMS coatings with excellent large-scale deicing performance were obtained. The constant deicing force and ice adhesion strength were reduced to 14.69 N/cm and 12.63 kPa, respectively. Moreover, a systematic durability assessment of the PDMS coating was carried out to address the actual operating conditions of wind turbines. Fortunately, the results showed that the PDMS coating could withstand 200 icing/deicing cycles while maintaining constant deicing force and ice adhesion strength of less than 50 N/cm and 30 kPa, respectively. After long-term thermal aging (21 days), UV irradiation (42 days) and salt spray corrosion (20 days), the PDMS coating still retained superior icephobicity and outstanding large-scale deicing performance. This work contributes to the research and development of low-interfacial toughness materials for large-scale deicing applications on wind turbine blades.