The aerodynamic losses caused by leading-edge erosion (LEE) on wind turbine blades are caused by damages at scales as small as 50 microns. To study how these minute damages affect the turbulent boundary layer over airfoils, we must have realistic, high-resolution models for testing in wind tunnels and with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In a new research paper, Meyer Forsting et al. (2024) describe how such high-resolution “digital twins” can be created.

The process starts with handheld 3D laser scans of real LEE-damaged airfoils. The scanned points are then processed to separate the original clean airfoil surface from the eroded topography. Finally, the extracted LEE topography is digitally mapped onto the leading edge of a clean airfoil to generate the final high-resolution airfoil model. Meyer Forsting et al. (2024) demonstrate the process by developing an LEE model of the FFA-W3-211 airfoil. Based on the model, a 91 million grid cell CFD mesh is created, and simulation results are compared to the clean airfoil.

Meyer Forsting, A, As Olsen, Nn Sørensen, A Fischer, Cm Markussen, and C Bak. 2024. “An Aerodynamic Digital Twin of Real-World Leading Edge Erosion: Acquisition, Generation and 3d CFD.” Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2767 (2): 022021. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/2767/2/022021