LERCat

Objective: The objective of the LERCat project is to enable the repair of leading edge roughness (LER) on wind turbine blades at the right time. Achieving this will result in an annual gain of 1 billion DKK for the combined turbine fleet of the project partners. LER is the largest cost-driver in servicing offshore wind farms, causing annual expenses of anywhere between 17-70 million DKK for a typically sized offshore wind park. Considering the increasing dependence of Danish green energy supply on offshore wind, this directly translates into higher electricity prices.. Expected outcome: To formulate the LER categorisation multiple images and laser surface scans from operating turbine blades will be collected and statistically analysed to device digital twins of real-world LER. Their impact on performance is then evaluated by numerical simulations using high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics and wind tunnel measurements. Those results are then correlated back to the observed LER and categorised in distinct loss levels. The ambition of establishing the LER categorisation as common terminology in the global wind turbine industry.