A new atmospheric icing detector based on thermally heated cylindrical probes for wind turbine applications

Abstract This paper presents a new method to detect atmospheric icing conditions using different arrangements of thermally heated and instrumented cylindrical probes. The proposed method offers a new low-cost alternative to detect icing conditions. A mathematical model describing the heat transfer behaviour of each probe has been developed and validated experimentally in a temperature-controlled wind tunnel. In situ measurements under icing conditions have shown great potential for the detection of the onset, the duration and the intensity of an icing event.