Numerical Simulation and Experimental Investigation on Performance of the Wells Turbine in Irregular Oscillating Flow

The Wells turbine is an axial-flow air-turbine designed to extract energy from ocean waves. An important consideration is the self-starting capability of the Wells turbine, a phenomenon encountered where the turbine accelerate by itself up to a certain speed for the best turbine performance. In order to clarify the self-starting characteristic and running performance of the Wells turbine in an irregular oscillating flow, a numerical simulation process is established in this paper on the rational assumption of quasi-steady flow conditions, Both self-starting characteristics and running performance are obtained through the numerical simulation and subsequently compared with the experimental data achieved on a computer-controlled oscillating flow test rig which could realize some irregular oscillating flow according to the specified spectrum. Results show that the self-starting time decreases with the increase of the significant wave height and the mean frequency of the irregular oscillating flow, Therefore, it is possible to predict accurately the performance of the Wells turbine by computer simulation.

A Simple Method for Predicting Drag Characteristics of the Wells Turbine

The drag characteristics of the Wells turbine are difficult to be accurately predicted because of the influences of many variables. Detailed analyses about the effects of these variables on the drag characteristics educe that the most sensifive parameters to the drag characteristics are the turbine solidity of the turbine and incidence angle of airflow. In this paper, an experimental research is conducted on the pressure drop across the flat- plate rotor which is used to simulate the Wells turbine. After nondimensionalization and fitting of the experimental data, a common experiential formula is obtained. Compared with the experimental data from literature, the computational results are satisfactory. Thus, this report provides a simple and convenient method for predicting the drag characteristics of the Wells turbine and optimizing the match design between an oscillating water column and a chamber.

Effects of Blade Geometry on Performance of Wells Turbine for Wave Power Conversion

An optimum design of the turbine would need a clear understanding of the influence of blade geometry on a Wells turbine performance. Practically, it is difficult to suggest the optimum geometry for the Wells turbine due to the complex interrelation among important parameters, the solidity, hub-to-tip ratio, aspect ratio, blade sweep of rotor, and so on. In the present study, the effect of blade geometry with the hub-to-tip and aspect ratios of rotor on the turbine performance was investigated with a numerical technique. As a result, the optimum blade geometry is as follows: the hub-to-tip ratio is about 0.7, and the aspect ratio about 0.5 under other constant important parameters, NACA0020 blade with blade sweep ratio of 0.35, and solidity of about 0.67. Furthermore, the detailed flow patterns for blade geometry were also shown and discussed in this paper.

Performance of Wells Turbine with Guide Vanes for Wave Energy Conversion

In order to improve the performance of a Wells turbine, the effect of guide vanes with various gaps between turbine rotor and guide vane has been clarified by model testing and numerical simulation.The results have been compared with those of the case without guide vanes. It is found that the overall characteristics are considerably improved by the inlet guide vanes. Furthermore,a suitable choice of design factor for the gap has been suggested.

Effect of End Plates on the Performence of a Wells Turbine for Wave Energy Conversion

In order to improve the performance of the Wells turbine for wave energy conversion, the effect of end plates on the turbine characteristics has been investigated experimentally by model testing under steady flow conditions. The end plate attached to the tip of the original rotor blade is slightly larger than the original blade profile. The characteristics of the Wells turbine with end plates have been compared with those of the original Wells turbine, i.e., the turbine without end plate. As a result, it has been concluded that the characteristics of the Wells turbine with end plates are superior to those of the original Wells turbine and the characteristics are dependent on the size and position of end plate. Furthermore, the effect of annular plate on the turbine performance, which encircles the turbine and is attached to the tip, was investigated as an additional experiment. However, its device was not effective in improving the turbine characteristics.

Design Method of Guide Vane for Wells Turbine

Guide vanes are installed in the Wells turbine in order to improve its efficiency, self-rotating characteristics and off design performance with stall. This work attempts to explain the role of these guide vanes on the basis of momentum theory. It is shown that the upstream vanes are more effective in enhancing efficiency than the downstream ones. A design method for guide vanes is suggested based on experimental data and potential theory. Experimental studies carried out by the author confirm the theory proposed.

A RANS-VoF Numerical Model to Analyze the Output Power of An OWC-WEC Equipped with Wells and Impulse Turbines in A Hypothetical Sea-State

Wave energy is a renewable source with significant amount in relation to the global demand. A good concept of a device applied to extract this type of energy is the onshore oscillating water column wave energy converter(OWC-WEC). This study shows a numerical analysis of the diameter determination of two types of turbines, Wells and Impulse, installed in an onshore OWC device subjected to a hypothetical sea state. Commercial software FLUENT?,which is based on RANS-VoF(Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations and Volume of Fluid technique), is employed. A methodology that imposes air pressure on the chamber, considering the air compressibility effect, is used. The mathematical domain consists of a 10 m deep flume with a 10 m long and 10 m wide OWC chamber at its end(geometry is similar to that of the Pico's plant installed in Azores islands, Portugal). On the top of the chamber, a turbine works with air exhalation and inhalation induced by the water free surface which oscillates due to the incident wave. The hypothetical sea state, represented by a group of regular waves with periods from 6 to 12 s and heights from 1.00 to 2.00 m(each wave with an occurrence frequency), is considered to show the potential of the presented methodology. Maximum efficiency(relation between the average output and incident wave powers) of46% was obtained by using a Wells turbine with the diameter of 2.25 m, whereas the efficiency was 44% by an Impulse turbine with the diameter of 1.70 m.

Numerical Analysis of a Wells Turbine at Different Non-dimensional Piston Frequencies

Wave energy is one of the renewable energy sources with the highest potential.Several pilot plants have been built based on the principle of the Oscillating Water Column(OWC).Among the different solutions that have been suggested,the Wells turbine has gained particular attention due to its simplicity and reliability.The majority of available studies concentrate on the steady operation of the Wells turbine,while only few analyze its performance under an unsteady and bi-directional air flow,as determined by the presence of the OWC system.In this work,experimental and numerical performance of a high-solidity Wells turbine with NACA0015 profiles have been compared,at different non-dimensional piston frequencies.The numerical simulations have been conducted using commercial CFD software and focus on unsteady predictions,with particular attention to the behavior of the flow upstream and downstream of the rotor,flow hysteresis between acceleration and deceleration phases and differences between intake and exhaust strokes due to the non-symmetrical configuration of the machine.

Effect of partial blockage of air duct outlet on performance of OWC device

The use of a Savonius rotor as turbine for an oscillating water column(OWC) is demonstrated.The effect of tuning the OWC using turbine duct blockage is also studied for different wave conditions.A horizontal turbine section OWC employing a Savonius rotor was tested by varying the opening of OWC exit(0%,25%,50%,75% and 100%) to study the behavior and performance of the device.The OWC model was tested at water depth of 0.29 m at frequencies of 0.8,0.9 and 1.0 Hz while the exit openings are varied.The static pressure,dynamic pressure,rotational speed of the Savonius rotor and the coefficient of power are presented as results.The OWC with exit opening of 25% showed greater performance in terms of rotational speed and CP compared to OWC with other exit opening percentages.This proves the ability of the OWC to be tuned by regulating flow in the turbine duct.

Effect of Guide Vanes on the Performance of a VariableChord Self-Rectifying Air Turbine

Wells turbine is a self rectifying air flow turbine capable of converting pneumatic power of the periodically reversing air stream in Oscillating Water Column into mechanical energy. One of the principal reasons for the low efficiency of the Wells turbine is its lower tangential force compared to its axial force. Guide vanes before and after the rotor suggest a means to improve the tangential force, hence its efficiency. Experimental investigations are carried out on the Wells turbine with a variable chord (VACR) blade rotor fitted with inlet and outlet guide vanes to understand the aerodynamics especiallyimprovement in efficiency and starting characteristics. Numerical simulation has been made to clarify the unsteady characteristics of the turbine with guide vanes. Studies are done at various flow coefficients covering the entire range of flow coefficients over which the turbine is operable. The efficiency,starting characteristics of the Wells turbine has improved when compared with the turbine without guide vanes.

Comparison of Performances of Turbines for Wave Energy Conversion

The Wells turbine for a wave power generator is a self-rectifying air turbine that is available for an energy conversion in an oscillating water-air column without any rectifying valve. The objective of this paper is to compare the performances of the Wells turbines in which the profile of blade are NACA0020, NACA0015, CA9 and HSIM15-262123-1576 in the small-scale model testing. The running characteristics in the steady flow, the start and running characteristics in the sinusoidal flow and the hysteretic characteristics in the sinusoidal flow were investigated for four kinds of turbine. As a conclusion, the turbine in which the profile of blade is NACA0020 has the best performances among 4 turbines for the running and starting characteristics in the small-scale model testing.

Comparative Study of Turbines for Wave Energy Conversion

The objective of this paper is to compare the performances of the themes, which could be used for wave energy conversion in the near future, under various irregular wave conditions. The turbines included in the paper are as follows: (a) Wells turbine with guide vanes; (b) impulse turbine with self-pitch-controlled guide vanes; (c) impulse turbine with fixed guide vanes. In this study, experimental investigations were carried out to clarify the performances of the turbines under steady flow conditions, and then a numerical simulation was used for predicting the performances under irregular wave conditions with various significant wave heights. As a result it was found that the running and starting characteristics of the impulse turbines could be superior to those of the Wells turbine.

Electrical control strategy for an ocean energy conversion system

Globally abundant wave energy for power generation attracts ever increasing attention. Because of non-linear dynamics and potential uncertainties in ocean energy conversion systems, generation productivity needs to be increased by applying robust control algorithms. This paper focuses on control strategies for a small ocean energy conversion system based on a direct driven permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). It evaluates the performance of two kinds of control strategies, i.e., traditional field-oriented control (FOC) and robust adaptive control. The proposed adaptive control successfully achieves maximum velocity and stable power production, with reduced speed tracking error and system response time. The adaptive control also guarantees global system stability and its superiority over FOC by using a non-linear back-stepping control technique offering a better optimization solution. The robustness of the ocean energy conversion system is further enhanced by investigating the Lyapunov method and the use of a DC-DC boost converter. To overcome system complexity, turbine-generator based power take-off (PTO) is considered. A Matlab/Simulink study verifies the advantages of a non-linear control strategy for an Oscillating Water Column (OWC) based power generation system.