Influence of turbulence on the wake of a marine current turbine simulator
Influence of turbulence on the wake of a marine current turbine simulator
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 grid-Inlet, 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.
Blackmore, Thomas
67c8cd84-cdb6-4aa5-94ab-8082249a877b
Batten, W.M.J.
8a6a68c7-b614-4f62-9d56-54eb38a45a94
Bahaj, A.S.
a64074cc-2b6e-43df-adac-a8437e7f1b37
October 2014
Blackmore, Thomas
67c8cd84-cdb6-4aa5-94ab-8082249a877b
Batten, W.M.J.
8a6a68c7-b614-4f62-9d56-54eb38a45a94
Bahaj, A.S.
a64074cc-2b6e-43df-adac-a8437e7f1b37
Blackmore, Thomas, Batten, W.M.J. and Bahaj, A.S.
(2014)
Influence of turbulence on the wake of a marine current turbine simulator.
Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 470 (2170).
(doi:10.1098/rspa.2014.0331).
Abstract
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 grid-Inlet, 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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e-pub ahead of print date: 27 August 2014
Published date: October 2014
Organisations:
Energy & Climate Change Group
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Local EPrints ID: 372223
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/372223
ISSN: 1364-5021
PURE UUID: efbd1949-bb48-489c-b36d-ca5f6bdab314
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Date deposited: 03 Dec 2014 15:31
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:33
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Author:
Thomas Blackmore
Author:
W.M.J. Batten
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