Abstract
The work describes modelling of erosion of the IEA 15 MW Reference Wind Turbine. Five-year worth of historical time series including wind speed, rain intensity and price of energy was used in the modelling. The work included erosion-safe operation of the turbine where the tip speed was limited during rain events to prevent erosion. The tip-speed limit was defined as a function of rain intensity and price of energy, the distribution of which was subject to an optimization. The objective for the optimization was to maximize the profit. The factors taken into account in the modelling and optimization were: the loss in power curve due to erosion, and the cost of repair and associated downtime. The results indicated that for this particular turbine it would be sufficient to define the tip-speed limit as a function of rain intensity alone. The model showed that 88% of the overall profit loss due to erosion could be saved by running the turbine in the erosion-safe operation. Although some inaccuracy may be associated with the modelling, the results strongly indicate that a significant amount of money could be saved by utilizing the erosion-safe operation on offshore turbines.
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