Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21278/brod76308
Experimental and numerical investigations of hydrodynamic performance for horizontal-axis hydrokinetic turbines
Fatih Mehmet Kale
; Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Maritime Faculty, Bursa Technical University, Bursa, Turkiye
*
Naz Yilmaz
; Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Maritime Faculty, Bursa Technical University, Bursa, Turkiye
Kemal Furkan Sokmen
; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Bursa Technical University, Bursa, Turkiye
Weichao Shi
; School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This paper presents both experimental and numerical investigations of the hydrodynamic performance of Horizontal-axis Hydrokinetic Turbines (HAHTs) using experimental methods and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approaches, respectively. The innovative aspect of this study lies in the consistency of the results, achieved by aligning the method used in the CFD analyses for Hydrokinetic Turbines (HKTs) and airfoil profiles with experimental data. For this purpose, 2-D CFD analyses were first conducted with blade section geometries (Eppler 395 and S1210), which are commonly used in HKT designs. The aerodynamic characteristics (CL and CL/CD) of these blade sections were computed and compared with the experiments. Subsequently, a three-dimensional (3-D) turbine geometry, featuring three different pitch angles (PAs), was simulated using CFD, and the results were compared with experimental data obtained under the same operating conditions in the Emerson Cavitation Tunnel (ECT) at Newcastle University. The comparisons showed good agreement while the maximum relative error was calculated less than 10 % for the power coefficient (CP) of the turbine with a PA of 0°. For the other PA (8°), the maximum relative error was 11 % for CP and 14 % for the thrust coefficient (CT). The CFD investigations of HKTs revealed that the Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) model has less relative errors compared to the other turbulence models at the same Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) values, while the Sliding Mesh (SM) method describing rotation gives more consistent and closer results to the experiments, with the investigation of y+ point of view.
Keywords
Horizontal-axis hydrokinetic turbines (HAHT); hydrodynamic performance; experimental investigation; computational fluid dynamics (CFD); power coefficient (CP); thrust coefficient (CT);
Hrčak ID:
332378
URI
Publication date:
1.7.2025.
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