Title Embedding of a blade-element analytical model into the shyfem marine circulation code to predict the performance of cross-flow turbines
Authors Pucci, Micol ; Bellafiore, Debora ; Zanforlin, Stefania ; Rocchio, Benedetto ; Umgiesser, Georg
DOI 10.3390/jmse8121010
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Is Part of Journal of marine science and engineering.. Basel : MDPI. 2020, vol. 8, iss. 12, art. no. 1010, p. 1-21.. eISSN 2077-1312
Keywords [eng] CFD ; cross-flow tidal turbine ; BEM ; source terms ; friction ; marine numerical model
Abstract [eng] 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.
Published Basel : MDPI
Type Journal article
Language English
Publication date 2020
CC license CC license description