A comparison of self-rectifying turbines for OWC based Wave Energy power extracting device using numerical simulation

摘要

This paper presents a comparison of self-rectifying turbines for the Oscillating Water Column (OWC) based Wave Energy power extracting device using numerical simulation. The two most commonly used turbines for OWC based devices, the Impulse and the Wells turbines were evaluated under real sea simulated conditions. Assuming the quasi-steady condition, experimental data for both 0.6m turbines with 0.6 hub to tip ratio was used to predict their behavior under real sea conditions. The real sea water surface elevation time history data was used to simulate the flow conditions using standard numerical simulation techniques. A simple geometry of the OWC was considered for the simulation. The results show that the overall mean performance of an Impulse turbine is better than the Wells turbine under unsteady, irregular real sea conditions. The Impulse turbine was observed to be more stable over a wide range of flow conditions. This paper reports the comparison of performance characteristics of both these turbines under simulated real sea conditions.