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IMAGE: This drone photo from a field study of icing on wind turbines shows how ice accumulated at the tip of a turbine blade during a winter storm. view more
Credit: Photo courtesy of Hui Hu/Iowa State University
AMES, Iowa - Wind turbine blades spinning through cold, wet conditions can collect ice nearly a foot thick on the yard-wide tips of their blades.
That disrupts blade aerodynamics. That disrupts the balance of the entire turbine. And that can disrupt energy production by up to 80 percent, according to a recently published field study led by Hui Hu, Iowa State University s Martin C. Jischke Professor in Aerospace Engineering and director of the university s Aircraft Icing Physics and Anti-/De-icing Technology Laboratory.
Field study shows icing can cost wind turbines up to 80% of power production • News Service • Iowa State University iastate.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from iastate.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.