International Journal of Marine Energy最新文献

In this paper, a theoretical study is presented concerning power extraction via the Vortex-Induced-Vibration (VIV) of a circular cylinder in a dual-mass configuration. The dual mass system is modeled as a simplified two-degrees-of-freedom mechanical system where fluid forces on the circular cylinder are taken out of experimental data from forced vibration tests. It is shown that power extraction can be optimized in certain reconfiguration scenarios if dual mass parameters (i.e.: secondary mass and stiffness between masses) are chosen appropriately. More specifically, system behavior is characterized as a function of the governing parameters, and performance charts are presented that could be used for parameter selection purposes in an engineering environment. Limitations and benefits of the redesigning with respect to the absence of the dual-mass is also presented.

With large-scale development of offshore wave power conversion, artificial structures become more common in the open sea. To examine how wave power devices may be colonized by epifaunal organisms, 21 concrete foundations used for anchoring wave power generators were studied during two years, 2007 and 2008. The foundations were placed in two different clusters, located north and south within the Lysekil test site at the Swedish west coast. The degree to which early recruits covered the foundations and the succession of epibenthic communities were documented during two years. A succession in colonization over time was observed, with a higher degree of cover in the northern location. Furthermore, the northern location showed an increase in number of individuals, number of species and in Shannon-Wiener diversity in 2008. Dominant organisms on the foundations were the serpulid tubeworms (Pomatoceros triqueter) and barnacles (Balanus sp.). This comprehensive large-scale study about succession and colonization patterns on wave power foundations suggests that the location of wave energy devices affects colonization patterns. This gives indications on settlement patterns on already operating and planned offshore wave power parks further off the coasts.

Floating wave energy converters (WECs) operating in the resonance region are strongly affected by non-linearities arising from the interaction between the waves, the WEC motion and the mooring restraints. To compute the restrained WEC motion thus requires a method which readily accounts for these effects. This paper presents a method for coupled mooring analysis using a two-phase Navier–Stokes (VOF–RANS) model and a high-order finite element model of mooring cables. The method is validated against experimental measurements of a cylindrical buoy in regular waves, slack-moored with three catenary mooring cables. There is overall a good agreement between experimental and computational results with respect to buoy motions and mooring forces. Most importantly, the coupled numerical model accurately recreates the strong wave height dependence of the response amplitude operators seen in the experiments.

Oscillating wings can extract energy from an oncoming water or air stream, and first large-scale marine demonstrators are being tested. Oscillating wing hydrodynamics is highly unsteady, may feature dynamic stall and leading edge vortex shedding, and is significantly three-dimensional due to finite-wing effects. Understanding the interaction of these phenomena is essential for maximizing power generation efficiency. Much of the knowledge on oscillating wing hydrodynamics stemmed from two-dimensional low-Reynolds number computational fluid dynamics studies and laboratory testing; real installations, however, will feature Reynolds numbers higher than 1 million and unavoidable finite-wing-induced losses. This study investigates the impact of flow three-dimensionality on the hydrodynamics and the efficiency of a realistic aspect ratio 10 device in a stream with Reynolds number of 1.5 million. The improvements achievable by using endplates to reduce finite-wing-induced losses are also analyzed. Three-dimensional time-dependent Navier–Stokes simulations using the shear stress transport turbulence model and a 30-million-cell grid are performed. Detailed comparative hydrodynamic analyses of the finite and the infinite wings reveal that flow three-dimensionality reduces the power generation efficiency of the finite wing with sharp tips and that with endplates by about 17% and 12% respectively. Presented analyses suggest approaches to further reducing these power losses.

Numerical simulations of the turbulent wakes generated by rows of up to five marine turbines are presented. The numerical scheme combines an actuator disk model with a non-uniform velocity distribution, and the solution to the Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations. The first computations examine the dynamics of the turbulent wakes when the stream flows perpendicular to the row. The experiments of Stallard et al. (2013) serve as the benchmark for the numerical predictions. The computations also explore the significance of turbulence intensity and yawed conditions. An increase in the ambient turbulent intensity results in a quicker wake recovery. When the fluid stream is yawed to the turbine row, the problem loses its symmetry and some turbines realize lower velocities as they become affected by the wakes generated by other turbines.

This paper presents a sensitivity analysis on a numerical tidal stream turbine model where a multitude of input parameters’ effect on the load output were determined. The statistical procedure used, known as the Morris method, provided insight into the interactions between the parameters as well as showing their comparative influence on the turbine loading. The investigation covered parameters from the operational, geometric design and inflow variable domains where the rotor radius, current shear, blade root pitch, surface velocity and wave height were identified as most influential. The blade pitch was regarded as a surprisingly prominent influence on the loads. The turbine’s operating depth and the blade geometry were also found to be of limited influence in the ranges investigated. In terms of load transmission into the internal components of a turbine’s drive train, the rotor out-of-plane bending moment, or eccentric bending moment, was found to be a considerable contribution to the off-axis loads on the shaft. Therefore, special attention was paid to the input parameters’ relationship to the eccentric load component by performing a detailed study on the load variations caused by the identified primary input parameters. It is concluded that performing a sensitivity analysis on a tidal stream turbine in a specific operating climate can yield insight to the expected load range and that the eccentric loading transmitted to the shaft is significant for most input cases.