4 ms·

Paint the fronts of every blade black, and leave the backs white. The wear should be even (because the weight is balanced), and you'd even get a (granted, like

• saalweachter 6y ago
  ... the problem being that birds can approach the turbine from either side.
  • Ancapistani 6y ago
    This is a bit of a silly thread, but I'm curious if that's the case. Assuming that the issue is that the blades are hard for birds to see, not "impossible", then having them black on the windward side may solve the problem. For a given wind speed `x` and bird flight speed `y`, the relative speed when approaching the blades from the windward side would be `x + y`. The relative speed when approaching from the leeward side would be `x - y`, giving the bird additional time to react. ... on the other hand, at `x + y` the bird's body would pass through the blade plane is less time than at `x - y`, potentially reducing the likelihood of a strike. Now I'm curious if there are data showing where birds have been found dead are wind turbines. Intuitively, I would expect there to be more dead birds on one side than the other.
    • Someone 6y ago
      I would think most birds don’t fly straight into a blade, but get hit from the side (modern turbines are large; tips of blades will easily hit 100mph) That would make relative speed in both cases about equal.