Towards Event-Driven Aerodynamic Monitoring of Wind Turbine Blades Using PVDF and MEMS Sensors

Wind power generation is essential for transitioning to sustainable energy, requiring continuous advancements in turbine efficiency and operational monitoring. Understanding the aerodynamics of rotating blades, particularly flow separation, is both crucial and challenging due to installation constraints on operating wind turbines. This paper presents a flexible and modular monitoring system that integrates Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric sensors with Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) barometers to detect key aerodynamic parameters, such as Angle of Attack (AoA) and flow detachment. We demonstrate that PVDF sensors can be employed as event-driven triggers, reducing power consumption by activating high-precision measurements only when necessary. An experimental wind tunnel evaluation of a scaled wind turbine blade demonstrates that this hybrid approach achieves a precision of 1° in AoA estimation while maintaining an ultra-low power consumption below 50 mW. The proposed system offers a viable solution for real-time, energy-efficient aerodynamic monitoring on wind turbine blades.