A coupled blade element momentum – Computational fluid dynamics model for evaluating tidal stream turbine performance

Malki, R.; Williams, Alison; Croft, Nick; Togneri, Michael; Masters, Ian

doi:10.1016/j.apm.2012.07.025

Cited by 78 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Traditionally, reduced-order numerical techniques such as the vortex-element and bladeelement-momentum methods have been used to predict the performance of tidal stream turbines [11,54,55,57,58]. Although results from these numerical simulations were occasionally shown to be in good agreement with experimental measurements, the aforementioned methods rely on empirical correlations and may not be suitable for a wide range of operating conditions.…”

Section: Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 97%

Free-surface flow modeling and simulation of horizontal-axis tidal-stream turbines

Yan¹,

Deng²,

Korobenko³

et al. 2017

Computers & Fluids

123

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A computational free-surface flow framework that enables 3D, time-dependent simulation of horizontal-axis tidal-stream turbines (HATTs) is presented and deployed using a complexgeometry HATT. Free-surface flow simulations using the proposed framework, without any empiricism, are able to accurately capture the effect of the free surface on the hydrodynamic performance of the turbine, as demonstrated through excellent agreement with the experimental data. To carry out the free-surface computations, we have developed a novel level-set redistancing procedure compatible with the sliding-interface technique used for handling the rotor-stator interaction in the HATT full-machine simulations. To illustrate the versatility of the proposed approach, additional computations are carried out where the HATT is subjected to wave action.

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Section: Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 97%

Free-surface flow modeling and simulation of horizontal-axis tidal-stream turbines

Yan¹,

Deng²,

Korobenko³

et al. 2017

Computers & Fluids

123

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The moving boundary in the mesh may present difficulties, manifesting as a pressure discontinuity and greater computational costs. An alternative method is the BEM-CFD model in which the flow properties are resolved by interaction of the BEM and CFD methods [19][20][21][22]. As BEM by itself does not provide any useful information about the effect of a turbine in the far-field, we use CFD to resolve the full domain [23].…”

Section: Cfd and Bem-cfdmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of Numerical Modelling Techniques for Tidal Stream Turbine Analysis

et al. 2015

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To fully understand the performance of tidal stream turbines for the development of ocean renewable energy, a range of computational models is required. We review and compare results from several models of horizontal axis turbines at different spatial scales. Models under review include blade element momentum theory (BEMT), blade element actuator disk, Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) CFD (BEM-CFD), blade-resolved moving reference frame and coastal models based on the shallow water equations. To evaluate the BEMT, a comparison is made to experiments with three different rotors. We demonstrate that, apart from the near-field wake, there are similarities in the results between the BEM-CFD approach and a coastal area model using a simplified turbine fence at a headland case.

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“…CFD simulations with actuator discs are commonly used to investigate turbine wakes as they can provide information on the whole flow field at reduced cost compared with experiments [14,20,21,26,27]. An actuator disc represents the forces applied to the surrounding flow field by a turbine rotor as a momentum sink term in the computational domain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Small-scale laboratory experiments using porous disc rotor simulators [4,9] or numerical simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) [10][11][12][13][14] have been used for array design. It has been shown that tidal flows are highly turbulent with intensities of around 10% and a broad range of length scales, or turbulent eddy sizes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of turbulence on the wake of a marine current turbine simulator

2014

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Marine current turbine commercial prototypes have now been deployed and arrays of multiple turbines under design. The tidal flows in which they operate are highly turbulent, but the characteristics of the inflow turbulence have not being considered in present design methods. This work considers the effects of inflow turbulence on the wake behind an actuator disc representation of a marine current turbine. Different turbulence intensities and integral length scales were generated in a large eddy simulation using a gridInlet, which produces turbulence from a grid pattern on the inlet boundary. The results highlight the significance of turbulence on the wake profile, with a different flow regime occurring for the zero turbulence case. Increasing the turbulence intensity reduced the velocity deficit and shifted the maximum deficit closer to the turbine. Increasing the integral length scale increased the velocity deficit close to the turbine due to an increased production of turbulent energy. However, the wake recovery was increased due to the higher rate of turbulent mixing causing the wake to expand. The implication of this work is that marine current turbine arrays could be further optimized, increasing the energy yield of the array when the site-specific turbulence characteristics are considered.

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A coupled blade element momentum – Computational fluid dynamics model for evaluating tidal stream turbine performance

Cited by 78 publications

References 17 publications

Free-surface flow modeling and simulation of horizontal-axis tidal-stream turbines

Free-surface flow modeling and simulation of horizontal-axis tidal-stream turbines

A Comparison of Numerical Modelling Techniques for Tidal Stream Turbine Analysis

Influence of turbulence on the wake of a marine current turbine simulator

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