scholarly journals Passive flow control mechanisms with bioinspired flexible blades in cross-flow tidal turbines

2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Hoerner ◽  
Shokoofeh Abbaszadeh ◽  
Olivier Cleynen ◽  
Cyrille Bonamy ◽  
Thierry Maître ◽  
...  

Abstract State-of-the-art technologies for wind and tidal energy exploitation focus mostly on axial turbines. However, cross-flow hydrokinetic tidal turbines possess interesting features, such as higher area-based power density in array installations and shallow water, as well as a generally simpler design. Up to now, the highly unsteady flow conditions and cyclic blade stall have hindered deployment at large scales because of the resulting low single-turbine efficiency and fatigue failure challenges. Concepts exist which overcome these drawbacks by actively controlling the flow, at the cost of increased mechatronical complexity. Here, we propose a bioinspired approach with hyperflexible turbine blades. The rotor naturally adapts to the flow through deformation, reducing flow separation and stall in a passive manner. This results in higher efficiency and increased turbine lifetime through decreased structural loads, without compromising on the simplicity of the design. Graphic abstract

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 797
Author(s):  
Stefan Hoerner ◽  
Iring Kösters ◽  
Laure Vignal ◽  
Olivier Cleynen ◽  
Shokoofeh Abbaszadeh ◽  
...  

Oscillating hydrofoils were installed in a water tunnel as a surrogate model for a hydrokinetic cross-flow tidal turbine, enabling the study of the effect of flexible blades on the performance of those devices with high ecological potential. The study focuses on a single tip-speed ratio (equal to 2), the key non-dimensional parameter describing the operating point, and solidity (equal to 1.5), quantifying the robustness of the turbine shape. Both parameters are standard values for cross-flow tidal turbines. Those lead to highly dynamic characteristics in the flow field dominated by dynamic stall. The flow field is investigated at the blade level using high-speed particle image velocimetry measurements. Strong fluid–structure interactions lead to significant structural deformations and highly modified flow fields. The flexibility of the blades is shown to significantly reduce the duration of the periodic stall regime; this observation is achieved through systematic comparison of the flow field, with a quantitative evaluation of the degree of chaotic changes in the wake. In this manner, the study provides insights into the mechanisms of the passive flow control achieved through blade flexibility in cross-flow turbines.


Fluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 289
Author(s):  
Imogen Guinness ◽  
Tim Persoons

This paper presents a numerical study on the impact of partial leeward porous coatings on the drag of circular cylinders in cross-flow. Porous coatings are receiving increasing attention for their potential in passive flow control. An unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes model was developed that agreed well with the numerical and experimental literature. Using the two-equation shear stress transport k−ω turbulence model, 2D flow around a circular cylinder was simulated at Re = 4.2×104 with five different angles of partial leeward porous coatings and a full porous coating. For coating angles below 130∘, the coating resulted in an increase in pressure on the leeward side of the cylinder. There was a significant reduction in the fluctuation of the pressure and aerodynamic forces and a damping effect on vortex shedding. Flow separation occurred earlier; the wake was widened; and there was a decrease in turbulence intensity at the outlet. A reduction of drag between 5 and 16% was measured, with the maximum at a 70∘ coating angle. The results differed greatly for a full porous coating and a 160∘ coating, which were found to cause an increase in drag of 42% and 43%, respectively. The results showed that leeward porous coatings have a clear drag-reducing potential, with possibilities for further research into the optimum configuration.


2015 ◽  
Vol 765 ◽  
pp. 353-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Floryan ◽  
J. M. Floryan

AbstractIt is known that the drag for flows driven by a pressure gradient in heated channels can be reduced below the level found in isothermal channels. This reduction occurs for spatially modulated heating and is associated with the formation of separation bubbles which isolate the main stream from direct contact with the solid wall. It is demonstrated that the use of a proper combination of spatially distributed and spatially uniform heating components results in an increase in the horizontal and vertical temperature gradients which lead to an intensification of convection which, in turn, significantly increases the drag reduction. An excessive increase of the uniform heating leads to breakup of the bubbles and the formation of complex secondary states, resulting in a deterioration of the system performance. This performance may, under certain conditions, still be better than that achieved using only spatially distributed heating. Detailed calculations have been carried out for the Prandtl number $\mathit{Pr}=0.71$ and demonstrate that this technique is effective for flows with a Reynolds number $\mathit{Re}<10$; faster flows wash away separation bubbles. The question of net gain remains to be settled as it depends on the method used to achieve the desired wall temperature and on the cost of the required energy. The presented results provide a basis for the design of passive flow control techniques utilizing heating patterns as controlling agents.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3636
Author(s):  
Navid Majdi Nasab ◽  
Jeff Kilby ◽  
Leila Bakhtiaryfard

This paper evaluates the feasibility of using a hybrid system consisting of wind and tidal turbines connected to a microgrid for power supply to coastal communities that are isolated from a main supply grid. The case study is Stewart Island, where the cost of electricity, provided by a central diesel power station, is higher than the grid network in New Zealand. Local residents believe that reducing the consumption of diesel and having a renewable source of electricity generation are two of the island’s highest priorities. Merging a tidal energy source (predictable) with wind (unpredictable) and diesel (back-up), through a microgrid, may be a way to increase reliability and decrease the cost of generation. Several off-grid configurations are simulated using HOMER and WRPLOT software. Using two wind and four tidal turbines, plus one diesel generator for back-up, is the best design in terms of lower greenhouse gas emissions, higher renewable fraction, and reduced net present cost.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1010
Author(s):  
Micol Pucci ◽  
Debora Bellafiore ◽  
Stefania Zanforlin ◽  
Benedetto Rocchio ◽  
Georg Umgiesser

Our aim was to embed a 2D analytical model of a cross-flow tidal turbine inside the open-source SHYFEM marine circulation code. Other studies on the environmental impact of Tidal Energy Converters use marine circulation codes with simplified approaches: performance coefficients are fixed a priori regardless of the operating conditions and turbine geometrical parameters, and usually, the computational grid is so coarse that the device occupies one or few cells. In this work, a hybrid analytical computational fluid dynamic model based on Blade Element Momentum theory is implemented: since the turbine blades are not present in the grid, the flow is slowed down by means of bottom frictions applied to the seabed corresponding to forces equal and opposite to those that the blades would experience during their rotation. This simplified approach allowed reproducing the turbine behavior for both mechanical power generation and the turbine effect on the surrounding flow field. Moreover, the model was able to predict the interaction between the turbines belonging to a small cluster with hugely shorter calculation time compared to pure Computational Fluid Dynamics.


2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Hamed ◽  
J. Vega ◽  
B. Liu ◽  
L. P. Chamorro

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2033
Author(s):  
Amjid Khan ◽  
Muhammad Irfan ◽  
Usama Muhammad Niazi ◽  
Imran Shah ◽  
Stanislaw Legutko ◽  
...  

Downsizing in engine size is pushing the automotive industry to operate compressors at low mass flow rate. However, the operation of turbocharger centrifugal compressor at low mass flow rate leads to fluid flow instabilities such as stall. To reduce flow instability, surface roughness is employed as a passive flow control method. This paper evaluates the effect of surface roughness on a turbocharger centrifugal compressor performance. A realistic validation of SRV2-O compressor stage designed and developed by German Aerospace Center (DLR) is achieved from comparison with the experimental data. In the first part, numerical simulations have been performed from stall to choke to study the overall performance variation at design conditions: 2.55 kg/s mass flow rate and rotational speed of 50,000 rpm. In second part, surface roughness of magnitude range 0–200 μm has been applied on the diffuser shroud to control flow instability. It was found that completely rough regime showed effective quantitative results in controlling stall phenomena, which results in increases of operating range from 16% to 18% and stall margin from 5.62% to 7.98%. Surface roughness as a passive flow control method to reduce flow instability in the diffuser section is the novelty of this research. Keeping in view the effects of surface roughness, it will help the turbocharger manufacturers to reduce the flow instabilities in the compressor with ease and improve the overall performance.


Author(s):  
Jens Aschenbruck ◽  
Christopher E. Meinzer ◽  
Linus Pohle ◽  
Lars Panning-von Scheidt ◽  
Joerg R. Seume

The regeneration of highly loaded turbine blades causes small variations of their geometrical parameters. To determine the influence of such regeneration-induced variances of turbine blades on the nozzle excitation, an existing air turbine is extended by a newly designed stage. The aerodynamic and the structural dynamic behavior of the new turbine stage are analyzed. The calculated eigenfrequencies are verified by an experimental modal analysis and are found to be in good agreement. Typical geometric variances of overhauled turbine blades are then applied to stator vanes of the newly designed turbine stage. A forced response analysis of these vanes is conducted using a uni-directional fluid-structure interaction approach. The effects of geometric variances on the forced response of the rotor blade are evaluated. It is shown that the vibration amplitudes of the response are significantly higher for some modes due to the additional wake excitation that is introduced by the geometrical variances e.g. 56 times higher for typical MRO-induced variations in stagger-angle.


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