The Springer Model for Lifetime Prediction of Wind Turbine Blade Leading Edge Protection Systems: A Review and Sensitivity Study

The wind energy sector is growing rapidly. Wind turbines are increasing in size, leading to higher tip velocities. The leading edges of the blades interact with rain droplets, causing erosion damage over time. In order to mitigate the erosion, coating materials are required to protect the blades. To predict the fatigue lifetime of coated substrates, the Springer model is often used. The current work summarizes the research performed using this model in the wind energy sector and studies the sensitivity of the model to its input parameters. It is shown that the Springer model highly depends on the Poisson ratio, the strength values of the coating and the empirically fitted a2 constant. The assumptions made in the Springer model are not physically representative, and we reasoned that more modern methods are required to accurately predict coating lifetimes. The proposed framework is split into three parts-(1) a contact pressure model, (2) a coating stress model and (3) a fatigue strength model-which overall is sufficient to capture the underlying physics during rain erosion of wind turbine blades. Possible improvements to each of the individual aspects of the framework are proposed.

Automated summary

The wind energy sector is growing rapidly, leading to larger wind turbines and increased erosion damage from rain droplets. Coating materials are used to protect the blades, and the Springer model is commonly used to predict the fatigue lifetime of these coated substrates. However, the model's sensitivity to input parameters and lack of physical representation highlight the need for more accurate prediction methods. A proposed framework consisting of a contact pressure model, coating stress model, and fatigue strength model is sufficient to capture the underlying physics of rain erosion on wind turbine blades.