Effect of Wavelength on Turbine Performances and Vortical Wake Flows for Various Submersion Depths

Abstract

When tidal turbines are deployed in water areas with significant waves, assessing the surface wave effects becomes imperative. Understanding the dynamic impact of wave–current conditions on the fluid dynamic performance of tidal turbines is crucial. This paper aims to establish a fundamental understanding of the influence of surface waves on tidal turbines. OpenFOAM, an open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) library platform, is utilized to predict the performance of current turbine under waves and currents. This research investigates the effects of two critical wave parameters, wave height and wavelength, on the fluid dynamics and wake structures of current turbine. Additionally, this study explores the influence of various submersion depths on turbine performance. The findings indicate that, under various wave conditions, the turbine’s average power coefficient remains constant, but significant fluctuations are shown. Increasing submersion depth can mitigate the impact of waves. However, in regions characterized by longer wavelengths, altering the submersion depth has limited effects on turbine performance.