TOW TANK TESTING AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF AudPERMANENT MAGNET GENERATOR BASED SMALL VERTICAL AXISudHYDROKINETIC TURBINE

摘要

Vertical axis turbines using permanent magnet generators are being considered as options for useudin hydrokinetic energy conversion. As a precursor to development of full-scale systems, scalemodeludturbines need to be tested in controlled environments. In this article, the results of towudtank testing of a small vertical axis turbine employing a permanent magnet generator areudpresented. Effects of rotor submersion, ripple propagation, and start-up behaviour are presentedudalong with relevant qualitative discussions. Results indicate an overall peak conversionudefficiency of 22% for the tested system. General observations and directions for future work areudsummarized at the end of this paper.