Incorporation of a Non-Constant Thrust Force Coefficient to Assess Tidal-Stream Energy

Lilia Flores Mateos and Michael Hartnett
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Lilia Flores Mateos: College of Engineering and Informatics, NUI Galway, H91TK33 Galway, Ireland
Michael Hartnett: College of Engineering and Informatics, NUI Galway, H91TK33 Galway, Ireland

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 21, 1-17

Abstract: A novel method for modelling tidal-stream energy capture at the regional scale is used to evaluate the performance of two marine turbine arrays configured as a fence and a partial fence. These configurations were used to study bounded and unbounded flow scenarios, respectively. The method implemented uses turbine operating conditions (TOC) and the parametrisation of changes produced by power extraction within the turbine near-field to compute a non-constant thrust coefficient, and it is referred to as a momentum sink TOC. Additionally, the effects of using a shock-capture capability to evaluate the resource are studied by comparing the performance of a gradually varying flow (GVF) and a rapidly varying flow (RVF) solver. Tidal-stream energy assessment of bounded flow scenarios through a full fence configuration is better performed using a GVF solver, because the head drop is more accurately simulated; however, the solver underestimates velocity reductions due to power extraction. On the other hand, assessment of unbounded flow scenarios through a partial fence was better performed by the RVF solver. This scheme approximated the head drop and velocity reduction more accurately, thus suggesting that resource assessment with realistic turbine configurations requires the correct solution of the discontinuities produced in the tidal-stream by power extraction.

Keywords: tidal-stream energy; thrust force coefficient; momentum sink; unbounded flow; open channel flows; shock-capturing capability (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: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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