Experimental study on interception efficiency of receptor on wind turbine blade with brine adhesion

Lightning creates a huge threat to offshore wind turbine due to its height and the marine environment. The blade surface will be polluted by brine after long operation in highsalinity and high-humidity environment. In order to study the efficiency of the receptor under the influence of brine covered on blade surface, a group controlled test is conducted in this paper. Statistical analysis is applied according to the test results. The results show that, the adhesion of brine on the blade surface reduces the interception efficiency of receptor greatly, which makes the blade exposed to a huge threat of lightning damage. Only water or salt has limited impact compared with brine. The influence of the brine area is more obvious if the area is close to the receptor. It can expand the severe area of strike and reduce the interception efficiency of the receptor. The brine area far from the receptor has a limited effect on attracting downward leader.