Experimental analysis of the shear flow effect on tidal turbine blade root force from three-dimensional mean flow reconstruction

Type Article
Date 2020-08
Language English
Author(s) Gaurier BenoitORCID1, Druault Ph.2, Ikhennicheu Maria1, Germain GregoryORCID1
Affiliation(s) 1 : Ifremer, Marine Structure Laboratory, 150 quai Gambetta, 62 200 Boulogne-sur-mer, France
2 : Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR 7190, Institut Jean Le Rond d’Alembert, 75 005 Paris, France
Source Philosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society A-mathematical Physical And Engineering Sciences (1364-503X) (The Royal Society), 2020-08 , Vol. 378 , N. 2178 , P. 20200001 (14p.)
DOI 10.1098/rsta.2020.0001
WOS© Times Cited 14
Note This article is part of the theme issue ‘New insights on tidal dynamics and tidal energy harvesting in the Alderney Race’.
Keyword(s) tidal turbine, blade force, turbulent wake, experimental trials, PIV, POD
Abstract

In the main tidal energy sites like Alderney Race, turbulence intensity is high and velocity fluctuations may have a significant impact on marine turbines. To understand such phenomena better, a three-bladed turbine model is positioned in the wake of a generic wall-mounted obstacle, representative of in situ bathymetric variation. From two-dimensional Particle Image Velocimetry planes, the time-averaged velocity in the wake of the obstacle is reconstructed in the three-dimensional space. The reconstruction method is based on Proper Orthogonal Decomposition and enables access to a representation of the mean flow field and the associated shear. Then, the effect of the velocity gradient is observed on the turbine blade root force, for four turbine locations in the wake of the obstacle. The blade root force average decreases whereas its standard deviation increases when the distance to the obstacle increases. The angular distribution of this phase-averaged force is shown to be non-homogeneous, with variation of about 20% of its time-average during a turbine rotation cycle. Such force variations due to velocity shear will have significant consequences in terms of blade fatigue.

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Gaurier Benoit, Druault Ph., Ikhennicheu Maria, Germain Gregory (2020). Experimental analysis of the shear flow effect on tidal turbine blade root force from three-dimensional mean flow reconstruction. Philosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society A-mathematical Physical And Engineering Sciences, 378(2178), 20200001 (14p.). Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2020.0001 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00643/75535/