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Duct and blade design for small-scale floating tidal current turbine development and CFD-based analysis of power performance

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Abstract

This paper proposes designs for blades and a water velocity amplification device for the development of a 5-kW duct-type floating tidal current turbine. In addition, it verifies the power performance by a CFD simulation. A BEM theory-based algorithm is used for iterative design and analysis to delay the onset of the chronic problem of cavitation in tidal current turbine blades. The HEEDS optimization software connected to CAE tools is applied to optimize the design of the duct shape, thereby improving the efficiency of the tidal current turbine. The performance of the designed turbine is verified using the CFD software STAR CCM+. A wave model is established to reflect the pressure variation in shallow water when analyzing the cavitation and power performance. The power and efficiency at the rated water velocity are 5 kW and 44 %, respectively. The results indicate that power can be stably controlled due to stalling under the high-flow-velocity condition.

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Abbreviations

C D :

Drag coefficient

C L :

Lift coefficient

C P :

Power coefficient

C P(min) :

Minimum pressure coefficient

D :

Rotor diameter [m]

P :

Static pressure at the point (Pa)

P o :

Local pressure (Pa)

P V :

Vapor pressure of the fluid (Pa)

R :

Rotor radius [m]

r :

Local radius [m]

V ∞ :

Velocity of fluid (m/s)

α:

Angle of attack [deg]

ρ:

Density of the fluid (kg/m3)

σ:

Cavitation Number

Ω:

Rotor speed [rpm]

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by “Development of Floating Tidal Power System for Bridge for Self-sufficient Energy of Bridge” and “Graduate Program for O&M Technology on Reliability and AEP Enhancement of On/Off-shore Wind Turbines” of KETEP (Grant Nos 20153030071550 and 20184030202200) granted financial resource from the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE), Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Multidisciplinary Graduate School Program for Wind Energy, Jeju National University, Jeju, Korea

    Heejeon Im

  2. Korea Marine Equipment Research Institute, Busan, Korea

    Taegyu Hwang

  3. Faculty of Wind Energy Engineering, Jeju National University, Jeju, Korea

    Bumsuk Kim

Authors
  1. Heejeon Im
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  2. Taegyu Hwang
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  3. Bumsuk Kim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bumsuk Kim.

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Recommended by Editor Yang Na

Heejeon Im is a Ph.D. candidate of the Multidisciplinary Graduate School Program for Wind Energy in Jeju National University, Jeju, Korea. He received his master’s degree (2018) from the Faculty of Wind Energy Engineering, Graduate School, Jeju National University. His research interests include aerodynamics, blade design, wind turbine, tidal turbine and passive flow control devices.

Taegyu Hwang is a director of Busan Headquarters of Korea Marine Equipment Research Institute, Busan, Korea. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Korea Maritime and Ocean University. His research interests include renewable energy system, hydro turbine and flow visualization.

Bumsuk Kim is an Associate Professor of the Faculty of Wind Energy Engineering, Graduate School of Jeju National University, Jeju, Korea. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Korea Maritime and Ocean University (2005). His research interests include wind turbine system design, Integrated load analysis and operation and maintenance of offshore wind farm.

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Im, H., Hwang, T. & Kim, B. Duct and blade design for small-scale floating tidal current turbine development and CFD-based analysis of power performance. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 1591–1602 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0321-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0321-2

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