Wind Turbines Coating for Anti-Icing Applications

Researchers have demonstrated the use of an electrothermal superhydrophobic epoxy nanocomposite coating for anti-icing/deicing of wind turbines.

Extremely cold and harsh weather makes the blade surface of wind turbines easy to freeze, which seriously affects the capacity of wind power. In the new study, a bilayer epoxy-based nanocomposite coating that consists of an electrothermal and superhydrophobic layer has been developed for anti-icing/deicing. The electrothermal layer consists of epoxy/silver-coated copper (Ag–Cu) and epoxy/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) nanocomposites. Epoxy/Ag–Cu coating showed high electrical conductivity, which can quickly generate heat under voltage. Epoxy/MWCNTs coating exhibited high thermal conductivity, which conducts heat to the whole surface. The superhydrophobic layer was fabricated by epoxy/SiO2/hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) nanocomposite, which covered the top of electrothermal layer.

Industrial application

The designed bilayer epoxy nanocomposite coating displayed electrical power consumption (0.2 W), super hydrophobicity (static and dynamic water contact angle of 156.3° and 3°, respectively), low ice adhesion (0.01 MPa), long icing time (312 s), short deicing time (41 s), and good wear, acid, alkali, and salt resistance, making it promising for industrial application on wind turbine blades.

Source: European coatings