The Biffis Canal Hydrodynamic System Performance Study of Drag-Dominant Tidal Turbine Using Moment Balancing Method

Yixiao Zhang, Eddie Yin Kwee Ng () and Shivansh Mittal
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Yixiao Zhang: The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
Eddie Yin Kwee Ng: The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
Shivansh Mittal: The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-24

Abstract: Drag-dominant tidal turbine energy holds tremendous clean energy potential but faces significant hurdles as unsuitability of the actuator disc model due to the varying swept blockage area, unaccounted bypass flow downstream interaction, and rotor parasitic drag, whereas blade element momentum theory is computably effective for majorly 3-blade lift-dominated aerofoil. This study validates a novel method to find the optimal TSR of any turbine with a cost-effective and user-friendly moment balancing algorithm to support robust tidal energy development. Performance analysis CFD study of Pinwheel and Savonius tidal turbines in a Biffis canal hydrodynamic system was carried out. Thrust and idle moment are analyzed as functions of only inlet fluid velocity and rotational speed, respectively. These relationships were verified through regression analysis, and the turbines’ net moment equations were established based on these parameters. In both simulation models, rotational speed and inlet velocity were proved excellent predictor variables (R 2 value ≈ 1) for idle and thrust moments, respectively. The optimal TSR values for Pinwheel and Savonius turbines were 2.537 and 0.671, respectively, within an acceptable error range for experimental validation. The optimal basin efficiency ( η opt , TSR ) values for Pinwheel and Savonius in the 12% blockage channel were (29.09%, 4.0) and (25.67%, 2.87), respectively. The trade-off between TSR opt and η opt is the key instruction concerning electricity generation and environmental impact.

Keywords: drag-dominant tidal turbine; computational sustainability; turbomachinery moment analysis; Savonius; Pinwheel (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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