Abstract
Marine current power is a kind of renewable energy that has attracted increasing attention because of its abundant reserves, high predictability, and consistency. A marine current turbine is a large rotating device that converts the kinetic energy of the marine current into mechanical energy. As a straight-bladed vertical axis marine current turbine (VAMCT) has a square or rectangular cross-section, it can thus have a larger swept area than that of horizontal axis marine current turbines (HAMCT) for a given diameter, and also have good adaptability in shallow water where the turbine size is limited by both width and depth of a channel. However, the low energy utilization efficiency of the VAMCT is the main bottleneck that restricts its application. In this paper, two-dimensional numerical simulations were performed to investigate the effectiveness of an upstream deflector on improving performance of the straight-bladed (H-type) marine current turbine. The effects of various key geometrical parameters of the deflector including position, length, and installation angle on the hydrodynamic characteristics of the VAMCT were then systematically analyzed in order to explore the mechanism underlying the interaction between the deflector and rotor of a VAMCT. As a result, the optimal combination of geometrical parameters of the deflector by which the maximum energy utilization efficiency was achieved was a 13.37% increment compared to that of the original VAMCT. The results of this work show the feasibility of the deflector as a potential choice for improving the energy harvesting performance of a VAMCT with simple structure and easy implementation.
Highlights
As a kind of abundant, clean, and renewable energy source, marine current power generation is becoming more and more attractive in the face of climate change impacts [1].Much like a wind turbine, a marine current turbine is a device that captures the kinetic energy from tidal-driven marine currents and converts it into electricity, and can be classified as either a horizontal axis marine current turbine (HAMCT) or vertical axis marine current turbine (VAMCT) [2]
The results show that the deflector with l/d = 1.00 could effectively improve the hydrodynamic performance of VAMCT
The influence of the position, length, and installation angle of a single flat plate deflector on the hydrodynamic performance of a vertical axis marine current turbine were studied by numerical simulation
Summary
As a kind of abundant, clean, and renewable energy source, marine current power generation is becoming more and more attractive in the face of climate change impacts [1].Much like a wind turbine, a marine current turbine is a device that captures the kinetic energy from tidal-driven marine currents and converts it into electricity, and can be classified as either a horizontal axis marine current turbine (HAMCT) or vertical axis marine current turbine (VAMCT) [2]. Compared with HAMCTs, VAMCTs can operate with the incoming flow from any direction and most of its machine components can be installed above the water surface, allowing ease of access for maintenance, repairs, and upgrades [3]. Rapid progress has been made in the technical development of the VAMCT, and a number of marine current prototypes are being developed and tested in real coastal sites [4]. Compared to their horizontal axis counterparts, VAMCTs are of relatively low energy utilization efficiency and they are not yet in widespread use. Many researchers are committed to exploring different methods to improve the performance of VAMCTs for hydrokinetic energy harvesting
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
