Aerodynamic performance of small wind turbines in sand-laden atmospheric flows

Within the context of global energy transitions, many wind turbines have been installed in desert and Gobi regions. Nevertheless, the impact of turbulence characteristics in actual sand-laden atmospheric flows on the aerodynamic performance of wind turbines has not been evaluated. The current study employs the high-quality wind velocity data measured in the Qingtu Lake Observation Array station of Min Qin to reveal the effects of turbulence characteristics in sand-laden atmospheric flows on the power and loads of a small wind turbine. The results demonstrate that turbulent coherent structures under sand-laden conditions occur more frequently and with shorter durations than that under the unladen conditions, leading to frequent and large fluctuations of wind turbine loads, specifically, the power, thrust, and blade root flapwise moment increased by 238%, 167%, and 194%, respectively. The predictions by applying the extreme turbulence model suggested that the maximum extreme thrust, blade root flapwise moment, and blade root edgewise moment of wind turbine under sand-laden conditions are 23%, 19%, and 7% higher than that under unladen conditions. This study is expected to provide a basic supply for wind turbine design and siting decisions in sand-laden environment.