Abstract
A Round Robin Tests program is being undertaken within the EC MaRINET2 initiative. This programme studies the used facility influence can have on the performance evaluation of a horizontal axis tidal turbine prototype when it is operated under wave and current conditions. In this paper, we present the design of experiments that is used throughout the work programme and the results related to the flow characterisation obtained at the Ifremer wave and current circulating tank, the Cnr-Inm wave towing tank and the ocean research facility FloWave. These facilities have been identified to provide adequate geometric conditions to accommodate a 0.724 m diameter turbine operating at flow velocities of 0.8 and 1.0 m/s. The set-up is replicated in each of the facilities with exemption of the amount of flow measuring instruments. Intrinsic differences in creating wave and currents between facilities are found. Flow velocities are up to 10% higher than the nominal values and wave amplitudes higher than the target values by up to a factor of 2. These discrepancies are related to the flow and wave generation methods used at each facility. When the flow velocity is measured besides the rotor, the velocity presents an increase of 8% compared to the upstream measurements.
Highlights
The development of new technologies relies heavily on prototype testing activities.These tests are usually carried out in laboratories that are able to provide similar conditions to the real environment in controllable scenarios where certain parameters can be adjusted as required
To describe the methodology that is used for the entire RoundRobin Tests (RRTs) programme, this paper focuses on the design of the experiments, the initial findings related to the quality of the flow and waves generated and the turbine performance obtained at three research facilities: the circulating flume tank of I FREMER [19], the tow tank of C NR -I NM [20]
All signals are acquired using National Instruments (USA) hardware and in-house electronics developed by I FREMER staff
Summary
The development of new technologies relies heavily on prototype testing activities. These tests are usually carried out in laboratories that are able to provide similar conditions to the real environment in controllable scenarios where certain parameters can be adjusted as required. To identify the influence of the test environment on the device’s performance, interlaboratory tests can be undertaken using the same testing device and subjected to the same testing conditions. It is found that substantial efforts to characterise the motor need to be undertaken to minimise uncertainties between measurements Both campaigns as well as that reported in [1] only considered the use of current-only conditions. Efforts from the scientific community to drive forward the development of tidal stream technology include the estimation of performance and structural loading when these devices are subjected to diverse wave and current conditions e.g., [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. This paper complements the work done by [15], where the authors studied in detail the performance of the turbine through non-dimensional analyses using a technique to establish the input flow characteristics and blockage effects
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