Session: 09-03-02: Current and Tidal Energy: Hydrodynamic Analysis
Paper Number: 103551
103551 - Numerical Study of the Effects of Lateral Blockage and Free Surface on the Performance of a Novel Vertical-Axis Turbine
Regarding to a novel vertical axis auto-rotation current turbine, a detailed numerical study was carried out on the influence of lateral blockage and free surface on its performance using detached eddy simulation (DES) combined with the slide mesh and the volume of fluid (VOF) algorithm. Firstly, it is demonstrated that as the lateral blockage ratio decreases, the power of the turbine decreases. The trend curve of power coefficient as a function of lateral blockage ratio is given. Then, it is also found that the free surface will reduce the rotation speed and power of the turbine generally, and when the fluctuation of the free surface is large relative to the height of the turbine submerged into the water surface, the degree of this effect is very significant and cannot be ignored. In addition, detailed flow field characteristics such as free surface and vorticity contour during the power production stage of the turbine are displayed. It is observed that the two rows of side-by-side three-dimensional vortexes on the free surface periodically fall off in the wake, and the vortexes downstream the advancing blade are stronger. This study deepens the understanding of this novel vertical-axis turbine, and can provide references for its future industrial applications.
Presenting Author: Hao Wu Tsinghua University
Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Hao Wu received PhD degree in 2022 from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro majoring in ocean engineering, and then joined Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangzhou. His research interests include current and tide turbine, offshore wind turbine and hybrid offshore renewable energy converter system.
Authors:
Hao Wu Tsinghua UniversityRenjing Cao Southern University of Science and Technology
Enhao Wang Tsinghua University
Numerical Study of the Effects of Lateral Blockage and Free Surface on the Performance of a Novel Vertical-Axis Turbine
Paper Type
Technical Paper Publication