A Discrete Vortex Method for Simulating a Stand-Alone Tidal-Current Turbine: Modeling and Validation

作者：Li Ye^*; Calisal Sander M

来源：Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, 2010, 132(3): 031102.

DOI：10.1115/1.4000499

• tidal power
• tidal-current
• discrete-vortex method
• unsteady flow
• viscous effect
• numerical simulation
• kinematic and dynamic validation
• towing tank test

This paper advanced our recent effort (Li and calisal, 2007, "Preliminary Result of a Discrete Vortex Method for Individual Marine Current Turbine," The 26th ASME International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, Jun. 10-15, San Diego, CA) to study the behavior of tidal-current turbines. We propose a discrete-vortex method with free-wake structure (DVM-UBC) to describe the behavior of a stand-alone tidal-current turbine and its surrounding unsteady flow and develop a numerical model to predict the performance and wake structure of the turbine based on DVM-UBC. To validate this method, we conducted a series of towing tank tests. DVM-UBC is then validated with several kinematic and dynamic results. When we compared the results obtained with DVM-UBC with our towing tank test results, published results, and the results obtained with other numerical methods, we achieved good agreements. Our comparisons also suggested that DVM-UBC can predict the performance of a turbine 50% more accurately than the traditional discrete-vortex method (traditional DVM) with comparable computational effort and will produce results comparable to the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equation with much less computational effort. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4000499]

• 出版日期2010-8