Abstract
This paper presents a newly developed experimental method for measuring the impact force of a rain droplet on the leading edge of a wind turbine blade under rain erosion conditions. A piezoelectric pressure sensor, calibrated against a force sensor using the pulsed jet apparatus, was installed on the leading edge of the wind turbine blade to measure the impact force. The pressure sensor’s output signal was transmitted to a computer system using a wireless signal transmission. The experimental results obtained from a rain erosion tester revealed that the impact force of a droplet with a diameter of 2.4 mm, impacting the leading edge of the rotating blade, generated an impact force of 82.7N at a velocity of 127 m/s. This measurement closely agreed with the numerical result of impact force obtained from the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations within an experimental uncertainty, indicating the validity of the proposed experimental method.
https://ror.org/0244rem06 
