The Effect of Boundary Proximity Upon the Wake Structure of Horizontal Axis Marine Current Turbines

Author(s):  
L. E. Myers ◽  
A. S. Bahaj ◽  
R. I. Rawlinson-Smith ◽  
M. Thomson

An experimental and theoretical investigation of the flow field around small-scale mesh disk rotor simulators is presented. The downstream wake flow field of the rotor simulators has been observed and measured in the 21m tilting flume at the Chilworth hydraulics laboratory, University of Southampton. The focus of this work is the proximity of flow boundaries (seabed and surface) to the rotor disks and the constrained nature of the flow. A three-dimensional Eddy-viscosity numerical model based on an established wind turbine wake model has been modified to account for the change in fluid and the presence of a bounding free surface. This work has shown that previous axi-symmetric modelling approaches may not hold for marine current energy technology and a novel approach is required for simulation of the downstream flow field. Such modelling solutions are discussed and resultant simulation results are given. This work has been conducted as part of a BERR-funded project to develop a numerical modelling tool which can predict the flow onto a marine current turbine within an array. The work presented in this paper feeds into this project and will eventually assist the layout design of arrays which are optimally spaced and arranged to achieve the maximum possible energy yield at a given tidal energy site.

Author(s):  
A. S. Bahaj ◽  
L. E. Myers ◽  
R. I. Rawlinson-Smith ◽  
M. Thomson

An experimental and theoretical investigation of the flow field around small-scale mesh disk rotor simulators is presented. The downstream wake flow field of the rotor simulators has been observed and measured in the 21m tilting flume at the Chilworth hydraulics laboratory, University of Southampton. The focus of this work is the proximity of flow boundaries (sea bed and surface) to the rotor disks and the constrained nature of the flow. A three-dimensional Eddy-viscosity numerical model based on an established wind turbine wake model has been modified to account for the change in fluid and the presence of a bounding free surface. This work has shown that previous axi-symmetric modeling approaches may not hold for marine current energy technology and a novel approach is required for simulation of the downstream flow field. Such modeling solutions are discussed and resultant simulation results are given. In addition, the presented work has been conducted as part of a UK Government funded project to develop validated numerical modeling tools which can predict the flow onto a marine current turbine within an array. The work feeds into the marine energy program at Southampton to assist developers with layout designs of arrays which are optimally spaced and arranged to achieve the maximum possible energy yield at a given tidal energy site.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 585
Author(s):  
Minghao Wu ◽  
Leen De Vos ◽  
Carlos Emilio Arboleda Chavez ◽  
Vasiliki Stratigaki ◽  
Maximilian Streicher ◽  
...  

The present work introduces an analysis of the measurement and model effects that exist in monopile scour protection experiments with repeated small scale tests. The damage erosion is calculated using the three dimensional global damage number S3D and subarea damage number S3D,i. Results show that the standard deviation of the global damage number σ(S3D)=0.257 and is approximately 20% of the mean S3D, and the standard deviation of the subarea damage number σ(S3D,i)=0.42 which can be up to 33% of the mean S3D. The irreproducible maximum wave height, chaotic flow field and non-repeatable armour layer construction are regarded as the main reasons for the occurrence of strong model effects. The measurement effects are limited to σ(S3D)=0.039 and σ(S3D,i)=0.083, which are minor compared to the model effects.


Author(s):  
Joost den Haan

The aim of the study is to devise a method to conservatively predict a tidal power generation based on relatively short current profile measurement data sets. Harmonic analysis on a low quality tidal current profile measurement data set only allowed for the reliable estimation of a limited number of constituents leading to a poor prediction of tidal energy yield. Two novel, but very different approaches were taken: firstly a quasi response function is formulated which combines the currents profiles into a single current. Secondly, a three dimensional vectorial tidal forcing model was developed aiming to support the harmonic analysis with upfront knowledge of the actual constituents. The response based approach allowed for a reasonable prediction. The vectorial tidal forcing model proved to be a viable start for a full featuring numerical model; even in its initial simplified form it could provide more insight than the conventional tidal potential models.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 975
Author(s):  
Cong Sun ◽  
Chunyu Guo ◽  
Chao Wang ◽  
Lianzhou Wang ◽  
Jianfeng Lin

The interactions between the main hull and demi-hull of trimarans have been arousing increasing attention, and detailed circumferential flow fields greatly influence trimaran research. In this research, the unsteady wake flow field of a trimaran was obtained by Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations on the basis of the viscous flow principles with consideration of the heaving and pitching of the trimaran. Then, we designed an experimental method based on particle-image velocimetry (PIV) and obtained a detailed flow field between the main hull and demi-hull of the trimaran. A trimaran model with one demi-hull made of polycarbonate material with 90% light transmission rate and a refractive index 1.58 (close to that of water 1.33) was manufactured as the experiment sample. Using polycarbonate material, the laser-sheet light-source transmission and high-speed camera recording problems were effectively rectified. Moreover, a nonstandard calibration was added into the PIV flow field measurement system. Then, we established an inverse three-dimensional (3D) distortion coordinate system and obtained the corresponding coordinates by using optics calculations. Further, the PIV system spatial mapping was corrected, and the real flow field was obtained. The simulation results were highly consistent with the experimental data, which showed the methods established in this study provided a strong reference for obtaining the detailed flow field information between the main hull and demi-hull of trimarans.


2020 ◽  
Vol 92 (7) ◽  
pp. 1019-1025
Author(s):  
Mehran Masdari ◽  
Maryam Ghorbani ◽  
Arshia Tabrizian

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze experimentally subsonic wake of a supercritical airfoil undergoing a pitch–hold–return motion. The focus of the investigation has been narrowed to concentrate on the steadiness of the flow field in the wake of the airfoil and the role of reduced frequency, amplitude and the hold phase duration. Design/methodology/approach All experiments were conducted in a low sub-sonic closed-circuit wind tunnel, at a Reynolds number of approximately 600,000. The model was a supercritical airfoil having 10% thickness and wall-to-wall in ground test facilities. To calculate the velocity distribution in the wake of the airfoil, total and static pressures were recorded at a distance of one chord far from the trailing edge, using pressure devices. The reduced frequency was set at 0.012, 0.03 and the motion pivot was selected at c/4. Findings Analysis of the steadiness of the wake flow field ascertains that an increase in reduced frequency leads to further flow time lag in the hold phase whereas decreases the time that the wake remains steady after the start of the return portion. Also, the roles of amplitude and stall condition are examined. Practical implications Examination of a pitch–hold–return motion is substantial in assessment of aerodynamics of maneuvers with a rapid increase in angle of attack. Moreover, study of aerodynamic behavior of downstream flow field and its steadiness in the wake of the airfoil is vital in drag reduction and control of flapping wings, dynamic stability and control of aircrafts. Originality/value In the present study, to discuss the steadiness of the flow field behind the airfoil some statistical methods and concept of histogram using an automatic algorithm were used and a specific criterion to characterize the steadiness of flow field was achieved.


Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3098 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuli Hong ◽  
Guoping Huang ◽  
Yuxuan Yang ◽  
Zepeng Liu

The flow structures around the blade tip, mainly large-scale leakage vortex, exert a great influence on compressor performance. By applying unsteady jet control technology at the blade tip in this study, the performance of the compressor can be greatly improved. A numerical simulation is conducted to study the flow characteristics of a centrifugal compressor with and without a flow control. The complex flow structures cause great difficulties in the analysis of the dynamic behavior and flow control mechanism. Thus, we introduced a dynamic flow field analysis technology called dynamic mode decomposition (DMD). The global spectrums with different global energy norms and the coherent structures with different scales can be obtained through the DMD analysis of the three-dimensional controlled and uncontrolled compressors. The results show that the coherent structures are homogeneous in the controlled compressor. The leakage vortex is weakened, and its influence range of unsteady fluctuation is reduced in the controlled compressor. The effective flow control created uniform vortex structures and improved the overall order of the flow field in the compressor. This research provides a feasible direction for future flow control applications, such as transferring the energy of the dominant vortices to small-scale vortices.


2017 ◽  
Vol 95 (12) ◽  
pp. 1285-1298 ◽  
Author(s):  
I-Han Liu ◽  
Bashar Attiya ◽  
Alparslan Oztekin

Transient flows past arrays of yawed finite-length prisms in tandem and staggered arrangements are simulated. Large eddy simulation method is employed to characterize spatial and temporal characteristics of flows in the vicinity of prisms. Drag coefficients of prisms are determined for different spacing and yaw angle of prisms. Three-dimensional effects are investigated for different spacings of prisms in a tandem array. Drag coefficient of downstream prism is significantly lower compared to that of upstream prism when prisms are tightly spaced. Drag coefficient of downstream prism predicted by simulations in three-dimensional geometry is recovered fully as spacing approaches 10 times the height of the prism while drag coefficient predicted by simulations in two-dimensional geometry is only about 30% of the upstream prism even when two prisms are separated by 20 times the height of the prism. The wake flow patterns do not influence the drag coefficient strongly for the staggered arrays of yawed prisms. Prisms can be placed in a tighter arrangement without a significant penalty of drag reduction. Mathematical models and numerical methods employed are validated by comparing simulation results against experimental results. Drag exerted on these prisms can directly be related to power generation by devices containing translating blades of marine-current applications. This study demonstrates that arrangement, spacing, and yaw angle can be used to design and optimize energy harvesting devices and other offshore structures.


Author(s):  
A. RINOSHIKA ◽  
Y. ZHENG ◽  
E. SHISHIDO

The three-dimensional orthogonal wavelet multi-resolution technique was applied to analyze flow structures of various scales around an externally mounted vehicle mirror. Firstly, the three-dimensional flow of mirror wake was numerically analyzed at a Reynolds number of 105 by using the large-eddy simulation (LES). Then the instantaneous velocity and vorticity were decomposed into the large-, intermediate- and relatively small-scale components by the wavelet multi-resolution technique. It was found that a three-dimensional large-scale vertical vortex dominates the mirror wake flow and makes a main contribution to vorticity concentration. Some intermediate- and relatively small-scale vortices were extracted from the LES and were clearly identifiable.


Author(s):  
Yan Zheng ◽  
Akira Rinoshika ◽  
Shun Fujimoto

The three-dimensional (3D) turbulent structure was simulated by large eddy simulation (LES), and then the numerical result was validated by PIV experiment. In order to give a detailed description of dune wake flow, the instantaneous velocity, vorticity, and pressure were decomposed into the large-, intermediate- and relatively small-scale components by 3D wavelet multi-resolution technique. To get a further understanding of coherent structure, the decomposed wavelet components were employed to calculate Q-criterion. It was found that the rollers and horse-shoe structures in the separation bubble were mainly contributed from large-scale structures and it made the most significance to the vorticity concentration. The observations of intermediate-scale horse-shoe structures indicated that the coherent structure was the combined effect of large- and intermediate-scale structures. Besides, from the visualization of 3D streamlines and pressure iso-surfaces, the separation bubble and pressure distribution are found to be dominated by large-scale structure.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4568
Author(s):  
Yingchao Zhang ◽  
Jinji Li ◽  
Zijie Wang ◽  
Qiliang Wang ◽  
Hongyu Gong ◽  
...  

To deepen our understanding of the flow field and flow mechanism of a car-like model, in this paper, an experimental investigation of the flow field of MIRA notchback 1/8 scale model is carried out using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) method. The tests are conducted in an open circuit wind tunnel at a Reynolds number of . In order to obtain the detailed flow field structure of the notchback model, the PIV method was used to capture the flow field images from three orthogonal directions. By studying the vorticity and velocity vector figures of both the time-averaged and instantaneous states, a three-dimensional flow field schematic of the notchback model is summarized, and the formation mechanism and development process of the vortices are analyzed. This study not only provides an intuitive display of the three-dimensional flow field structure of the MIRA notchback model but, more importantly, it provides a reference for the development of automobile aerodynamic drag reduction by analyzing the flow mechanism, which is beneficial to energy conservation.


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