Experimental Analysis and Evaluation of the Numerical Prediction of Wake Characteristics of Tidal Stream Turbine

Yuquan Zhang, Jisheng Zhang, Yuan Zheng, Chunxia Yang, Wei Zang and E. Fernandez-Rodriguez
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Yuquan Zhang: College of Energy and Electrical Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Jisheng Zhang: College of Harbor, Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Yuan Zheng: College of Energy and Electrical Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Chunxia Yang: College of Energy and Electrical Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Wei Zang: College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
E. Fernandez-Rodriguez: Technological Institute of Merida, Technological Avenue, Merida 97118, Mexico

Energies, 2017, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-11

Abstract: It is important to understand tidal stream turbine performance and flow field, if tidal energy is to advance. The operating condition of a tidal stream turbine with a supporting structure has a significant impact on its performance and wake recovery. The aim of this work is to provide an understanding of turbine submerged depth that governs the downstream wake structure and its recovery to the free-stream velocity profile. An experimentally validated numerical model, based on a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool, was present to obtain longitudinal, transverse and vertical velocity profiles. Wake characteristics measurements have been carried out in an open channel at Hohai University. The results indicate that varying the turbine proximity to the water surface introduces differential mass flow rate around the rotor that could make the wake persist differently downstream. CFD shows the same predicted wake recovery tendency with the experiments, and an agreement from CFD and experiments is good in the far-wake region. The results presented demonstrate that CFD is a good tool to simulate the performance of tidal turbines particularly in the far-wake region and that the turbine proximity to the water surface has an effect on the wake recovery.

Keywords: tidal stream turbine; wake recovery; experiments; computational fluid dynamics (CFD); turbine performance (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: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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