Numerical hydrodynamics study around turbine array of tidal stream farm in Zhoushan, China

Abstract

In recent decades, great efforts have been made to efficiently explore tidal stream energy due to its unique advantages of easy prediction and great potential. China recently launched a national tidal stream farm demonstration project in the waterway between Putuoshan and Hulu Islands in the Zhoushan area. Before deployment of the turbine array, it is necessary to understand the hydrodynamic changes associated with the construction of a turbine array. In this study, we developed a depth-averaged hydrodynamics model that solves the shallow water governing equations to simulate the tidal hydrodynamics around the Zhoushan Archipelago. The simulation results agree with field data in terms of the water elevation and stream velocity. We considered two types of turbine arrays in this study and investigated their impacts on the local hydrodynamics. In general, the stream velocity in the northern and southern areas is reduced due to the power take-off of the turbine array, whereas stream velocity in the western and eastern areas is slightly increased due to the blockage impact of the turbine array.