Abstract

The enormous inroads made by renewable energy in recent years have been the key to the development of new technologies designed to obtain energy from a range of resources. Hydrokinetic microturbines used to harness kinetic energy from rivers, tidal and marine currents epitomize such developments. As the reservoir is dispensed with, the water footprint normally associated with conventional hydroelectric generation is minimized. The new prototypes being developed require laboratories with water tunnel infrastructures where they can be accurately reproduced under controlled conditions. However, the construction of a water tunnel demands considerable investment, which prevents many research groups from completing their prototype design work. This paper charts the design of a low-cost hydrodynamic water tunnel at the University of Oviedo, indicating the mechanical and electronic elements as well as the software developments that make up the facility. This construction is a part of a research strategy focused on making the study of new hydrokinetic microturbines designs economically feasible. Moreover, it includes a description of a special software application used to perform the characterization of a hydrokinetic microturbine model in the water tunnel and a demonstration of the scope of the facility in the experimental study of a unit with a Darrieus rotor.

Graphic abstract

中文翻译：

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用于表征流体动力微型涡轮设计的流体动力水隧道。

摘要

近年来，可再生能源取得的巨大进展一直是开发旨在从一系列资源中获取能源的新技术的关键。用于利用来自河流、潮汐和洋流的动能的流体动力微型涡轮机就是这些发展的缩影。由于省去了水库，通常与传统水力发电相关的水足迹最小化。正在开发的新原型需要具有水隧道基础设施的实验室，在受控条件下可以准确地复制它们。然而，建造水道需要大量投资，这使许多研究小组无法完成原型设计工作。本文绘制了奥维耶多大学低成本水动力水隧道的设计，指示构成该设施的机械和电子元件以及软件开发。这种结构是研究策略的一部分，该策略的重点是使新型流体动力微型涡轮机设计的研究在经济上可行。此外，它还包括一个特殊软件应用程序的描述，该软件应用程序用于在水隧道中进行流体动力微型涡轮模型的表征，并展示了该设施在带有 Darrieus 转子的装置的实验研究中的范围。

图形摘要