Turbulent Scale and Wake Modeling on a Horizontal Axis Turbine

This project aimed to accurately simulate turbulent flow over a scaled horizontal axis tidal turbine to resolve turbulence in the near and far field regions. The validated model enables a better determination of which turbulence model is better suited for tidal turbine study,   to accurately estimate blade forces, and near/far-field turbulence. This allows for improved blade design optimization as well as giving better insight into the flow-physics of a tidal array set up.

Team

Principal Investigators: Dr. Dominic Groulx and Nicholas Osbourne, Dalhousie University

Date
January – April 2015
Publications
  • OSBOURNE, N., GROULX, D, PENESIS, I. (2014) Three Dimensional Simulation of Horizontal Axis Tidal Turbine – Comparison with Experimental Results, 2nd Asian Wave and Tidal Energy Conference Series (AWTEC), Tokyo (Japan), 8 p.
  • OSBOURNE, N., GROULX, D., PENESIS, I. (2015) 3D Modeling of a Tidal Turbine – An Investigation of Wake Phenomena, 11th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference Series (EWTEC), Nantes (France), 10 p.