Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T08:46:05.171Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

On the interaction between a turbulent open channel flow and an axial-flow turbine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2013

L. P. Chamorro ,
C. Hill ,
S. Morton ,
C. Ellis ,
R. E. A. Arndt  and
F. Sotiropoulos
L. P. Chamorro
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA
C. Hill
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA
S. Morton
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA
C. Ellis
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA
R. E. A. Arndt
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA
F. Sotiropoulos*
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA
*
†Email address for correspondence: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A laboratory experiment was performed to study the dynamically rich interaction of a turbulent open channel flow with a bed-mounted axial-flow hydrokinetic turbine. An acoustic Doppler velocimeter and a torque transducer were used to simultaneously measure at high temporal resolution the three velocity components of the flow at various locations upstream of the turbine and in the wake region and turbine power, respectively. Results show that for sufficiently low frequencies the instantaneous power generated by the turbine is modulated by the turbulent structure of the approach flow. The critical frequency above which the response of the turbine is decoupled from the turbulent flow structure is shown to vary linearly with the angular frequency of the rotor. The measurements elucidate the structure of the turbulent turbine wake, which is shown to persist for at least fifteen rotor diameters downstream of the rotor, and a new approach is proposed to quantify the wake recovery, based on the growth of the largest scale motions in the flow. Spectral analysis is employed to demonstrate the dominant effect of the tip vortices in the energy distribution in the near-wake region and uncover meandering motions.

JFM classification

Waves/Free-surface Flows: Channel flow Waves/Free-surface Flows: Hydraulics Waves/Free-surface Flows: Waves/Free-surface Flows
Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 716 , 10 February 2013 , pp. 658 - 670
Copyright
©2013 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bahaj, A. S., Molland, A. F., Chaplin, J. R. & Batten, W. M. J. 2007 Power and thrust measurements of marine current turbines under various hydronamic flow conditions in a cavitation tunnel and a towing tank. Renew. Energy 32, 407–426.Google Scholar
Betz, A. 1920 Das maximum der theoretisch möglishen ausnützung des windes durch windmotoren. Z. Gesamte Turbinenwesen 26, 307–309.Google Scholar
Caselitz, P., Kleinkauf, W., Kruger, T., Petschenka, J., Reichardt, M. & Storzel, K. 1997 Reduction of fatigue loads on wind energy converters by advanced control methods. In Proceedings of European Wind Energy Conference, Dublin, pp. 555–558.Google Scholar
Chamorro, L. P. & Arndt, R. E. A. 2011 Non-uniform velocity distribution effect on the Betz–Joukowsky limit. Wind Energy doi:10.1002/we.549.Google Scholar
Chamorro, L. P., Arndt, R. E. A. & Sotiropoulos, F. 2012 Reynolds number dependence of turbulence statistics in the wake of wind turbines. Wind Energy 15, 733–742.Google Scholar
Chamorro, L. P. & Porté-Agel, F. 2010 Effects of thermal stability and incoming boundary-layer flow characteristics on wind-turbine wakes: a wind-tunnel study. Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 136, 515–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Felli, M., Camussi, R. & Di Felice, F. 2011 Mechanisms of evolution of the propeller wake in the transition and far fields. J. Fluid Mech. 682, 5–53.Google Scholar
Fraenkel, P. L. 2002 Power from marine currents. Proc. Inst. Mech. Engrs, A: J. Power and Energy 216, 1–14.Google Scholar
Garcia, C. M., Cantero, M., Nino, Y. & Garcia, M. H. 2005 Turbulence measurements with acoustic Doppler velocimeters. J. Hydraul. Engng 131, 1062–1073.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garrett, C. & Cummins, P. 2007 The efficiency of a turbine in a tidal channel. J. Fluid Mech. 588, 243–251.Google Scholar
Goring, D. & Nikora, V. 2002 Despiking acoustic Doppler velocimeter data. J. Hydraul. Engng 128, 117–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joukowsky, N. E. 1920 Windmill of the nej type. Transactions of the Central Institute for Aero-hydrodynamics of Moscow.Google Scholar
Khan, M. J., Bhuyan, G., Iqbal, M. T. & Quaicoe, J. E. 2009 Hydrokinetic energy conversion systems and assessment of horizontal and vertical axis turbines for river and tidal applications: a technology status review. Appl. Energy 86, 1823–1835.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lange, C. 2003 Harnessing tidal energy takes new turn: could the application of the windmill principle produce a sea change? IEEE Spect.  http://spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/geothermal-and-tidal/harnessing-tidal-energy-takes-new-turn.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maganga, F., Germain, G., King, J., Pinon, G. & Rivoalen, E. 2010 Experimental characterisation of flow effects on marine current turbine behaviour and on its wake properties. IET Renew. Power Generation 4 (6), 498–509.Google Scholar
Medici, D. & Alfredsson, P. 2008 Measurement behind model wind turbines: further evidence of wake meandering. Wind Energy 11, 211–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molland, A. F., Bajah, A. S., Batten, W. M. J. & Chaplin, J. R. 2004 Measurements and predictions of forces, pressures and cavitation on 2-d sections suitable for marine current turbines. J. Engng Maritime Environ. 218, 127–138.Google Scholar
Myers, L. E., Bajah, A. S., Rawlinson-Smith, R. I. & Thomson, M. 2008 The effect of boundary proximity upon the wake structure of horizontal axis marine current turbines. In Proceedings of the ASME 27th Conference, Portugal. OMAE2008-57667.Google Scholar
Okulov, V. 2004 On the stability of multiple helical tip vortices. J. Fluid Mech. 521, 319–342.Google Scholar
Okulov, V. & van Kuik, G. A. M. 2012 The Betz–Joukowsky limit: on the contribution to rotor aerodynamics by the British, German and Russian scientific schools. Wind Energy 15, 335–344.Google Scholar
Pao, L. Y. & Johnson, K. E. 2009 A tutorial on the dynamics and control of wind turbines and wind farms. In Proceedings of American Control Conference, St Louis, MO, June.Google Scholar
Radkey, R. L. & Hibbs, B. D. 1981 Definition of cost effective river turbine designs. Tech. Rep. for the US Department of Energy AV-FR-81/595 (DE82010972).Google Scholar
Vennell, R. 2010 Tunning turbines in a tidal channel. J. Fluid Mech. 663, 253–267.Google Scholar
Voulgaris, G. & Trowbridge, J. 1998 Evaluation of the acoustic Doppler velocimeter (adv) for turbulence measurements. J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol. 15, 272–288.Google Scholar
Williamson, C. H. K. 1996 Vortex dynamics in the cylinder wake. Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 28, 477–539.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zong, L. & Nepf, H. 2012 Vortex development behind a finite porous obstruction in a channel. J. Fluid Mech. 691, 368–391.Google Scholar