Aerodynamic characteristics of an iced cup-shaped body

Abstract

The negative effects of ice accretion on wind speed measurements by a cup anemometer have been indicated by analyses of field test results and already been studied numerically and experimentally by the authors of this paper. Implementation of calculations of the dynamic behavior of a cup anemometer with or without ice was carried out employing the fictitiously altered aerodynamic characteristics of an iced or clean cup based on NACA test results for a conical cup because no information covering the aerodynamic characteristics of an iced cup had been provided up to that point. In light of the absence of solid data, wind tunnel tests of the aerodynamic characteristics of iced cup-shaped bodies were performed. Imitated ice models were built and used for the test based on test results from an icing wind tunnel test conducted separately. We found that, depending on its amount, ice accretion in dry-growth conditions results in big penalties to the aerodynamics of cup-shaped bodies, while ice deposits of wet growth cause little effect, regardless of the thickness of ice.