Asymmetric effects of a modelled tidal turbine on the flow and seabed

Ramírez-Mendoza, R., Murdoch, L., Jordan, L.B., Amoudry, L.O., McLelland, S., Cooke, R.D., Simmons, S.M., Parsons, D. and Vezza, M. (2020) Asymmetric effects of a modelled tidal turbine on the flow and seabed. Renewable Energy, 159, pp. 238-249. (doi: 10.1016/j.renene.2020.05.133)

Abstract

The extraction of power from the flow of water has become an important potential source of clean energy. In spite of significant interest in the interaction between energy extraction devices and water currents, comparatively little work has focused on flow asymmetry. Indeed, unusual wake behaviour and limits of turbine array efficiency have typically been attributed to boundary effects rather than the particular turbine geometry. The aim of the present study was to reveal the asymmetries in the hydrodynamic wake and the interactions with the sediment bed due to the presence of a hydrokinetic turbine. We combined: (i) computational fluid dynamics simulations; (ii) optical flow measurements from a series of flume experiments above a fixed rough bed; and (iii) acoustic measurements from a further series of flume experiments above a mobile sand bed. Results showed flow asymmetry due to the presence of the rotor which appeared to be related to the development of the wake and potentially to the gyre of the blades. Suspended sediments in the flume also exhibited asymmetrical characteristics due to the flow asymmetry. This imbalance in the flow field and sediment transport may decrease energy extraction efficiency in turbine arrays and also could have important environmental consequences.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The authors wish to acknowledge funding of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to grant EP/J010359 “Interactions of flow, tidal stream turbines and local sediment bed under combined waves and tidal conditions”, which is part of the Supergen Consortium, and James Watt Research and EPSRC PhD scholarships.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Vezza, Dr Marco

Creator Roles

Vezza, M.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Writing – review and editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition

• Authors: Ramírez-Mendoza, R., Murdoch, L., Jordan, L.B., Amoudry, L.O., McLelland, S., Cooke, R.D., Simmons, S.M., Parsons, D., and Vezza, M.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Autonomous Systems and Connectivity
• Journal Name: Renewable Energy
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0960-1481
• ISSN (Online): 1879-0682
• Published Online: 05 June 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd.
• First Published: First published in Renewable Energy 159: 238-249
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy