A combination of coating and drone technology developed by researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM and the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA promises to prevent the accumulation of ice on wind turbines.

The project, dubbed TURBO: Temporary coating by means of drones — Icing protection of wind turbines as a case study, attempts to safeguard wind turbine blades against the formation of ice, which can impact wind power efficiency and increase the wear and tear on wind turbine equipment.

To accomplish this, the team first developed a coating composed of urea and wax that can be applied to wind turbine blades by drones carrying an airless pump system. The airless pump system features a lance and a nozzle with a diameter of just 0.3 millimeters, which enables the spraying of droplets of coating as small as 100 micrometers.

The quick drying coating reportedly prevented the formation of ice when tested in an ice chamber by researchers, who are also eyeing the technology for anti-ice accumulation applications such as overhead rail transport lines and hard to reach building surfaces.