Ultrasonic de-icing of wind turbine blades: Performance comparison of perspective transducers

Icing brings a significant harm for renewable energy installations and in aviation. Wind turbine blades, high voltage transmission lines, photovoltaic panels, airplane wing and helicopter blades often suffer from icing, which causes considerable losses of energy due to performance deterioration. Energy efficiency is a pivotal issue for wind turbines. Active ice mitigation system for wind turbines has not yet been commercialized due to the difficulty in overcoming the higher costs associated with a decrease in turbine power output. Ultrasonic de-icing as a new and potential energy-efficient de-icing technique has raised the increasing interest with its energy-saving effect, low running costs, good applicability and environmental conservation. Basic parameters of semi-hard lead zirconate titanate (PZT-4), lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN-PT) and lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) materials are compared in this paper in terms of ultrasonic de-icing feasibility and efficiency. The theoretical models with applied ultrasonic guided wave propagation theory are established and the following simulations are carried out. The experiments with aluminum and composite plates are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of ultrasonic de-icing and correspondence with simulations. Comparing with the lead zirconate titanate transducer, lithium niobate actuator shows the advantages both in performance and in environmental concern.