Abstract
Vertical axis tidal turbines are devices that extract the kinetic energy from tidal currents. Tidal currents can be highly turbulent. Since ambient turbulence affects the turbine hydrodynamic, it is critical to understand its influence in order to optimize tidal farms. Actuator Line Model (ALM) combined with Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is a promising way to comprehend this phenomenon. In this article, an ALM was implemented into a Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) LES solver. This implementation gives good results for predicting the wake of a vertical axis tidal turbine placed into a turbulent boundary layer. The validated numerical configuration was then used to compute the wake of a real size ducted vertical axis tidal turbine. Several upstream turbulence rates were simulated. It was found that the shape of the wake is strongly influenced by the ambient turbulence. The cost-to-precision ratio of ALM-LBM-LES compared to fully resolved LBM-LES makes it a promising way of modeling tidal farms.
Highlights
In the context of the global energy crisis, developing renewable energies is of primal importance.Among the renewable resources available are tidal currents
This implementation gives good results for predicting the wake of a vertical axis tidal turbine placed into a turbulent boundary layer
It was found that the shape of the wake is strongly influenced by the ambient turbulence
Summary
In the context of the global energy crisis, developing renewable energies is of primal importance.Among the renewable resources available are tidal currents. This paper investigates the behavior of vertical axis tidal turbines. Mycek et al [5] carried out such study for a horizontal axis tidal turbine model. They showed that going from 3% to 15% turbulence intensity decreases the power coefficient by a maximum of 10%. The results from Mycek et al show that interactions between turbulence and tidal turbines will directly affect the layout and performances of farms. Predicting those interactions is crucial for reducing the cost of tidal farms
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