Numerical Investigation of Near-Wall Pressure Spectral Characteristics of a Wind Turbine Airfoil Under Different Leading-Edge Erosion Conditions

Leading-edge erosion can modify pressure fluctuations near wind turbine blade surfaces. The FFA-W3-241 airfoil with healthy, mildly eroded, and severely eroded geometries is investigated using two-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations with a fully turbulent SST k − ω model. Signals from 29 near-wall probes are analyzed over 0.40 ≤ t < 0.60 s. Relative to the healthy geometry, mean drag changes by −2.31% and +0.0417% for mild and severe erosion. The root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) of the mean pressure coefficient is 0.003180 and 0.006601, respectively. Mean probe root-mean-square (RMS) pressure fluctuations are 1.46, 1.88, and 1.55 Pa. Within 100–400 Hz, spectral centroid increases from 241.42 to 253.79 and 266.06 Hz, normalized spectral entropy decreases from 0.94446 to 0.92099 and 0.91250, and peak frequency increases from 220 to 280 and 315 Hz. The ordering persists in the tested mesh, window, spectral estimator, and spatial-weighting comparisons. These descriptors characterize the prescribed geometries at the investigated operating condition. Physical spectral validation and their applicability to other erosion morphologies remain to be established.