Experimental and CFD Analysis of Impact of Surface Roughness on Hydrodynamic Performance of a Darrieus Hydro (DH) Turbine

Mohammad Hassan Khanjanpour and Akbar A. Javadi
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Mohammad Hassan Khanjanpour: Department of Engineering, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QF, UK
Akbar A. Javadi: Department of Engineering, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QF, UK

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: Although improving the hydrodynamic performance is a key objective in the design of ocean-powered devices, there are some factors that affect the efficiency of the device during its operation. In this study, the impacts of a wide range of surface roughness as a tribological parameter on stream flow around a hydro turbine and its power loss are studied. A comprehensive program of 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling, as well as an expansive range of experiments were carried out on a Darrieus Hydro (DH) turbine in order to measure reduction in hydrodynamic performance due to surface roughness. The results show that surface roughness of turbine blades plays an important role in the hydrodynamics of the flow around the turbine. The surface roughness increases turbulence and decreases the active fluid energy that is required for rotating the turbine, thereby reducing the performance of the turbine. The extent of the negative impact of surface roughness on the drag coefficient, pressure coefficient, torque, and output power is evaluated. It is shown that the drag coefficient of a turbine with roughness height of 1000 μm is about 20% higher than a smooth blade (zero roughness height) and the maximum percentage of reduction of output power could be up to 27% (numerically) and 22% (experimentally).

Keywords: DH turbine; tidal power; renewable energy; NACA 0015; surface roughness; tribology (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
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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