Assessment of a Hydrokinetic Energy Converter Based on Vortex-Induced Angular Oscillations of a Cylinder

Iro Malefaki and Efstathios Konstantinidis
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Iro Malefaki: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, 50132 Kozani, Greece
Efstathios Konstantinidis: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, 50132 Kozani, Greece

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: Vortex-induced oscillations offer a potential means to harness hydrokinetic energy even at low current speeds. In this study, we consider a novel converter where a cylinder undergoes angular oscillations with respect to a pivot point, in contrast to most previous configurations, where the cylinder undergoes flow-induced oscillations transversely to the incident free stream. We formulate a theoretical model to deal with the coupling of the hydrodynamics and the structural dynamics, and we numerically solve the resulting nonlinear equation of cylinder motion in order to assess the performance of the energy converter. The hydrodynamical model utilizes a novel approach where the fluid forces acting on the oscillating cylinder are split into components acting along and normal to the instantaneous relative velocity between the moving cylinder and the free stream. Contour plots illustrate the effects of the main design parameters (in dimensionless form) on the angular response of the cylinder and the energy efficiency of the converter. Peak efficiencies of approximately 20% can be attained by optimal selection of the main design parameters. Guidelines on the sizing of actual converters are discussed.

Keywords: energy harnessing; energy converter; flow-induced oscillations; vortex-induced vibration; flow–structure interaction; hydrodynamics; vortex shedding; cylinder wake (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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