Research on Wake Field Characteristics and Support Structure Interference of Horizontal Axis Tidal Stream Turbine

Jiayan Zhou, Huijuan Guo (), Yuan Zheng, Zhi Zhang, Cong Yuan and Bin Liu
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Jiayan Zhou: College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing 210098, China
Huijuan Guo: College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing 210098, China
Yuan Zheng: College of Energy and Electrical Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Zhi Zhang: College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing 210098, China
Cong Yuan: Huaishu New River Management Office of Jiangsu Province, Huaian 223001, China
Bin Liu: Luoyun Water Conservancy Project Management Divison in Jiangsu Province, Suqian 223800, China

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: The harnessing and utilization of tidal current energy have emerged as prominent topics in scientific inquiry, due to their vast untapped resource potential, leading to numerous investigations into the efficacy of hydrokinetic turbines under various operational conditions. This paper delineates the wake field characteristics and performance of horizontal axis tidal stream turbines under the influence of support structures, using a comprehensively blade-resolved computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) model that employs Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations in combination with the RNG k-ε turbulence model. To achieve this, the study utilized experimental tank tests and numerical simulations to investigate the distribution characteristics and recuperative principles of the turbine’s wake field. The velocity distribution and energy augmentation coefficient of the wake field showed strong agreement with the experimental results. To further assess the effect of support structures on the flow field downstream of the unit and its performance, the hydrodynamic attributes of the turbine wake field were analyzed with and without support structures. The interference elicited by the support structure modified the velocity distribution of the near-wake flow field, resulting in a 4.41% decrease in the turbine’s power coefficient ( C p ), significantly impacting the turbine’s instantaneous performance.

Keywords: horizontal axis tidal stream turbine; wake flow; CFD; turbine power coefficient; support structure (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: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:9:p:3891-:d:1139356

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