Numerical Investigation of Contra Rotating Vertical-Axis Tidal-Current Turbine

In this study,the performance of a contra rotating vertical-axis tidal-current turbine was investigated.The incompressible unsteady Reynolds-averagedNavier-Stokes(U-RANS)equations were solved via two-dimensional(2D)numerical simulation using ANSYS Fluent computational fluid dynamics(CFD)code.An algorithm known as SIMPLE from the CFD code was used to calculate the pressure-velocity coupling and second-order finite-volume discretization for all the transport equations.The base turbine model was validated using the available experimental data.Three given scenarios for the contra rotating turbine were modeled.The contra rotating turbine performs better in a low tip speed ratio(TSR)than in a high TSR operation.In a high TSR operation,the contra rotating turbine inefficiently operates,surviving to rotate in the chaotic flow distribution.Thus,it is recommended to use contra rotating turbine as a part of new design to increase the performance of a vertical-axis tidal-current turbine with a lower TSR.

Motion Responses Analysis for Tidal Current Energy Platform: QuadSpar and Catamaran Types

ωOne approach to support floating tidal current turbines is by using a moored catamaran, a barge type platform.Considering its low draft, one might expect that it performs best at typical straits with sea states of small wavelets to small waves. The problem is that the high rotational motion responses of the catamaran due to wave loads tend to reduce the turbine performance. This paper looks for a possibility to deteriorate these rotational responses by introducing a platform with four buoyant legs referred to as a quad-spar considering its good stability performance.The platforms are moored by four catenary cables as their mooring system. The motion response modeling was undertaken by Computational Fluid Dynamic(CFD) simulation based on three-dimensional potential flow theory.Considering sea states of straits with typical tidal current energy potentials, the environmental load was set on random wave with the significant wave height, Hs, of about 0.09 to 1.5 m and the wave period, T, of about 1.5 to 6 s corresponding to the wave frequency,, of about 1.1 to 4.2 rad/s. This study found that lower motion responses can be satisfied by the quad-spar, in which its yaw, roll and pitch responses are on average about 5%, 44%, and 38%,respectively, compared to those of the catamaran. This result indicates that the quad-spar is more effective in reducing rotational motion responses needed to keep a high performance of the tidal current energy system.