LERCat - Leading Edge Roughness Categorisation
LERCat enables leading edge roughness (LER) repairs of wind turbine blades at the right time, yielding a 1 bn DKK/year gain across the partners’ turbine fleets. This is achieved by establishing an open and industry-wide standard for categorising the LER related performance losses, which will allow optimally balancing those losses with repair costs.
LERCat enables leading edge roughness (LER) repairs of wind turbine blades at the right time. Potentially saving 1 billion DKK/year across the project partners’ turbine fleets. LER is the largest cost-driver in servicing offshore wind farms and cannot be avoided, yet little is known about the precise performance loss (both aerodynamic and acoustic) it incurs. LERCat sets out to close the link between LER inspection data and losses by establishing an open, industry-wide standard for LER loss categorisation, which allows balancing losses and maintenance costs. To form the categorisation, digital twins are created from surface scans of real LER, which are used in flow simulations and wind tunnel measurements to assess their performance impact. Those results are then correlated back to the observed LER and categorised into distinct loss levels. A strong consortium supports a fast global uptake of the categorisation, including world leading manufacturers (Vestas, LM, SGRE, Suzlon), the service provider PowerCurve and a Sounding Board formed by farm developers/owners (Ørsted, Vattenfall, RWE, European Energy) and service providers (SkySpecs, Rope Robotics, Alerion, Wind Power LAB).
Key figures
Participants
| Partner | Subsidy | Auto financing |
|---|---|---|
| Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU) | 9,28 mio. DKK | 1,03 mio. DKK |
| VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S | 0,22 mio. DKK | 0,66 mio. DKK |
| LM WIND POWER A/S | 0,34 mio. DKK | 1,01 mio. DKK |
| Suzlon Energy Limited | 0,32 mio. DKK | 0,96 mio. DKK |
| Power Curve ApS | 0,94 mio. DKK | 0,63 mio. DKK |
Contact
Frederiksborgvej 399,
4000 Roskilde
Tlf.: +45 9351 1533
