Development of BEM-AD model for optimisation of Horizontal Axis Tidal Current Turbine Arrays

Chee Meng, Pang and David, Kennedy and Fergal, O'Rourke (2024) Development of BEM-AD model for optimisation of Horizontal Axis Tidal Current Turbine Arrays. Doctoral thesis, Dundalk Institute of Technology.

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Abstract

Advancement and improvement of new and efficient techniques to meet the ever- increasing energy demand for economic and social development are of significant interest. Renewable energy technologies offer an appealing option to supply this growing electricity demand, while also assisting with the European Union’s policy on sustainability. Ireland has excellent tidal energy resources which can be utilised to meet future energy goals. However, significant research and development is still needed to realise Ireland’s tidal energy potential. tidal current turbines (TCTs) are at an early stage of development, particularly the deployment of devices in arrays, thus more studies and investigations are required on wake interactions between tur- bines to optimise array performance via numerical modelling. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a very suitable numerical method to study TCT arrays, but high computational cost is needed to obtain high-accuracy results. For that reason, the development of low computational cost numerical models with suitable accuracy is paramount. In this work, a numerical model was developed to predict the wake effects of a tidal current turbine for array optimisation with a focus on downstream velocity, turbulence intensity and energetic predictions. The first stage of the work focused on developing and enhancing a single-turbine model by coupling Actuator Disk (AD) theory and Blade Element Momentum (BEM) theory to model turbine wake effects known as BEM-AD model. Variations and hybrid models were developed to further improve prediction of downstream wake effects. In the second stage of the work, a multiple turbine wake interaction study was performed to evaluate hydrodynamically, the array spacing, array arrangement, effects of turbine sizes and the placement of turbines at different depths in the water column. For the third stage of the work, an optimised TCT array model was developed and evaluation was conducted for a range of different domain conditions. Finally, a case study on the Shannon Estuary was conducted to assess the tidal current turbine array model’s energetic performance in a pseudo-transient state.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	Engineering Engineering > Renewable Energy
Research Centres:	UNSPECIFIED
Depositing User:	Fergal O'rourke
Date Deposited:	19 Sep 2024 09:18
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2024 09:18
License:	Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0
URI:	https://eprints.dkit.ie/id/eprint/891

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