Numerical simulations of ice accretion and anti-icing for large-scale wind turbines

As one of the core components in wind-to-electric energy conversion systems, wind turbine generators are rapidly expanding in global deployment. Blade icing, a phenomenon that severely compromises operational efficiency, has emerged as a critical challenge for the industry. With the growing demand for wind energy, turbine sizes have increased significantly, yet research on full-scale turbine icing characteristics and anti-icing strategies remains limited. Therefore, this study employs numerical simulations to investigate the icing distribution characteristics of a three-dimensional, large-scale wind turbine with a 200 m rotor diameter. The simulation results are compared with natural icing observations from unmanned aerial vehicles to analyze the aerodynamic impact of icing on large-scale wind turbines, and to determine the anti-icing zones and strategies. Results indicate that ice accretion predominantly occurs along the leading edge, and minor ice accretion can also be observed at the tip’s trailing edge due to local airfoil geometry. The maximum ice thickness decreases from the blade tip toward the root, and remains comparable at radial positions below 40% (r/R≤40%) under different icing conditions. Based on these accretion patterns, the anti-icing zone is determined as s/c_local≤0.25. Within this zone, the blade leading edge is divided into several heating zones along the spanwise direction, and the required heat-flux-density distribution is further analyzed. The results show that the closer the heating zone is to the blade tip, the higher the required heat flux density. For the same heating zone, the greater the temperature difference between the anti-icing temperature and the ambient icing temperature, the higher the required heat flux density. For example, at an ambient icing temperature of 255 K, zone1 near the blade tip requires 55 kW/m² when the surface temperature is 318 K, but only 16 kW/m² at 278 K. These findings provide a reference for determining anti-icing zones and designing anti-icing power for large-scale wind turbine blades.