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Turbulent inflow characteristics for hydrokinetic energy conversion in rivers

Author

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  • Neary, V.S.
  • Gunawan, B.
  • Sale, D.C.

Abstract

Marine and hydrokinetic technologies, which convert kinetic energy from currents in open-channel flows to electricity, require inflow characteristics (e.g. mean velocity and turbulence intensity profiles) for their siting, design, and evaluation. The present study reviews mean velocity and turbulence intensity profiles reported in the literature for open-channel flows to gain a better understanding of the range of current magnitudes and longitudinal turbulence intensities that these technologies may be exposed to. We compare 47 measured vertical profiles of mean current velocity and longitudinal turbulence intensity (normalized by the shear velocity) that have been reported for medium-large rivers, a large canal, and laboratory flumes with classical models developed for turbulent flat plate boundary layer flows. The comparison suggests that a power law (with exponent, 1/a=1/6) and a semi-theoretical exponential decay model can be used to provide first-order approximations of the mean velocity and turbulence intensity profiles in rivers suitable for current energy conversion. Over the design life of a current energy converter, these models can be applied to examine the effects of large spatiotemporal variations of river flow depth on inflow conditions acting over the energy capture area. Significant engineering implications on current energy converter structural loads, annual energy production, and cost of energy arise due to these spatiotemporal variations in the mean velocity, turbulence intensity, hydrodynamic force, and available power over the energy capture area.

Suggested Citation

  • Neary, V.S. & Gunawan, B. & Sale, D.C., 2013. "Turbulent inflow characteristics for hydrokinetic energy conversion in rivers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 437-445.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:26:y:2013:i:c:p:437-445
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2013.05.033
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Gunawan, Budi & Neary, Vincent S. & Colby, Jonathan, 2014. "Tidal energy site resource assessment in the East River tidal strait, near Roosevelt Island, New York, New York," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 509-517.
    2. Musa, Mirko & Hill, Craig & Guala, Michele, 2019. "Interaction between hydrokinetic turbine wakes and sediment dynamics: array performance and geomorphic effects under different siting strategies and sediment transport conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 738-753.
    3. Craig Hill & Vincent S. Neary & Michele Guala & Fotis Sotiropoulos, 2020. "Performance and Wake Characterization of a Model Hydrokinetic Turbine: The Reference Model 1 (RM1) Dual Rotor Tidal Energy Converter," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-21, October.
    4. Xu, Tongtong & Haas, Kevin A. & Gunawan, Budi, 2023. "Estimating annual energy production from short tidal current records," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 105-115.
    5. Vinod, Ashwin & Han, Cong & Banerjee, Arindam, 2021. "Tidal turbine performance and near-wake characteristics in a sheared turbulent inflow," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 840-852.
    6. Kumar, Dinesh & Sarkar, Shibayan, 2016. "A review on the technology, performance, design optimization, reliability, techno-economics and environmental impacts of hydrokinetic energy conversion systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 796-813.
    7. Puertas-Frías, Carmen M. & Willson, Clinton S. & García-Salaberri, Pablo A., 2022. "Design and economic analysis of a hydrokinetic turbine for household applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 587-598.
    8. Gaurier, Benoît & Carlier, Clément & Germain, Grégory & Pinon, Grégory & Rivoalen, Elie, 2020. "Three tidal turbines in interaction: An experimental study of turbulence intensity effects on wakes and turbine performance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 1150-1164.
    9. Fontaine, A.A. & Straka, W.A. & Meyer, R.S. & Jonson, M.L. & Young, S.D. & Neary, V.S., 2020. "Performance and wake flow characterization of a 1:8.7-scale reference USDOE MHKF1 hydrokinetic turbine to establish a verification and validation test database," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 451-467.
    10. Niebuhr, C.M. & Schmidt, S. & van Dijk, M. & Smith, L. & Neary, V.S., 2022. "A review of commercial numerical modelling approaches for axial hydrokinetic turbine wake analysis in channel flow," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).

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