Abstract Most of the research done on tidal energy focuses on marine current turbines. Therefore, tidal turbine’s wake is well-documented. The tidal energy converter studied here is based on the fluid-structure interactions that occur between a flexible membrane and an axial flow, resulting in an undulating motion that can be used to harvest energy. This device’s performance had been studied but it is the first time its wake is experimentally characterized from two-dimensional Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements. PIV is synchronized with a motion tracking system that gives information on trajectory and power conversion. Wake measurement gives access to velocity deficit, turbulence intensity and vorticity. Three configurations are tested in order to identify the influence of the main adjustment parameters. Pre-stress increases the membrane vertical speed, leading to a more important vertical expansion of the wake. The power extraction slows down the membrane’s motion, thus limiting the wake’s length and intensity. The flume tank measurements suggest that the best location for a downstream device in a tidal farm would be in the same horizontal position, at 5 membrane’s length. In the open sea, the membrane interaction effects should not predominant.

中文翻译：

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波状膜潮汐能转换器的尾流特性

摘要 关于潮汐能的大部分研究都集中在海流涡轮机上。因此，潮汐涡轮机的尾流是有据可查的。此处研究的潮汐能转换器基于柔性膜和轴流之间发生的流固耦合，从而产生可用于收集能量的波动运动。该设备的性能已经过研究，但这是第一次通过二维粒子图像测速 (PIV) 测量对其尾流进行实验表征。PIV 与运动跟踪系统同步，提供有关轨迹和功率转换的信息。尾流测量提供了速度赤字、湍流强度和涡度。测试了三种配置，以确定主要调整参数的影响。预应力增加膜垂直速度，导致尾流的更重要的垂直扩展。能量提取减慢了膜的运动，从而限制了尾流的长度和强度。水槽测量表明，潮汐场中下游设备的最佳位置应处于相同的水平位置，长度为 5 膜。在公海中，膜相互作用效应不应占主导地位。