On the electrical breakdown of GFRP wind turbine blades due to direct lightning strokes

Abstract

Lightning puncture damage on the wind turbine blades can pose a severe threat to the safe operation of large-capacity wind turbines. We investigated its formation by performing long air gap discharge experiments under positive and negative downward leaders. Upward streamers were observed to emit from the sample blade before its electrical breakdown. To explain this phenomenon, a numerical model considering the streamer discharge in air, charge transport in GFRP laminate and surface charge accumulation on air-solid interfaces was established. It is found that streamer discharges can be triggered inside the blade hollow to generate space and surface charges, which strengthen the electric field on the outer blade surface and contribute to the upward streamer initiation. The upward streamer development leads to the accumulation of surface charges with opposite polarities on the two sides of GFRP laminate, which causes the electric field on the GFRP laminate to exceed its electrical breakdown threshold. The electrical breakdown, which occurs before the thermal effect of lightning current appears, is the initial stage of lightning puncture damage of blades. The electrical discharge inside the blade hollow and the surface charge accumulation on the GFRP blade should be suppressed to prevent the puncture damage of blades.