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CFD Investigation of a Hybrid Wells Turbine with Passive Flow Control

Author

Listed:
  • Mohammad Nasim Uddin

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA)

  • Michael Atkinson

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA)

  • Frimpong Opoku

    (Senior Structural Engineer, Collins Aerospace, 190 Oak Plaza Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27105, USA)

Abstract

In the past decade, there has been renewed interest in wave energy harvesting utilizing oscillating water columns (OWC), one of the most well-studied wave energy harnessing technologies. In the OWC, pneumatic power from ocean waves is converted to mechanical energy by Wells turbines. It should be noted, however, that such turbines tend to perform poorly, have a limited operating range, and have low efficiency. In the present study, we incorporate a rectangular Gurney flap (GF) at the trailing edge (TE) of a Wells turbine consisting of hybrid airfoil (NACA 0015 and NACA 0025) blades with variable chord distribution along the span. This passive flow control mechanism was adopted to achieve increased power production by the Wells turbine. This study aimed to determine the aerodynamic performance of the variable chord turbine with GF compared to a turbine with a constant chord. By using ANSYS™ CFX, the three-dimensional, steady-state, incompressible Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations coupled with the k-ω SST turbulence model are solved. The performance was evaluated through the use of non-dimensional coefficients of torque, pressure drop, and efficiency. In addition, the numerical accuracy was achieved through a grid independence study. There was a good agreement between the computed results and the available experimental and numerical data. The GF increased the torque coefficient by 18.6% and 47.3% but with the expense of peak efficiency of 8.5% and 7.4% for the baseline and the hybrid turbine, respectively. Additionally, the hybrid turbine with GF delayed the onset of the stall by ~3° angle of attack (AOA).

Suggested Citation

  • Mohammad Nasim Uddin & Michael Atkinson & Frimpong Opoku, 2023. "CFD Investigation of a Hybrid Wells Turbine with Passive Flow Control," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-28, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:9:p:3851-:d:1137268
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Thakker, A. & Dhanasekaran, T.S., 2005. "Experimental and computational analysis on guide vane losses of impulse turbine for wave energy conversion," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 30(9), pages 1359-1372.
    2. Das, Tapas K. & Samad, Abdus, 2020. "Influence of stall fences on the performance of Wells turbine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    3. Abdullah Saad Alkhalifa & Mohammad Nasim Uddin & Michael Atkinson, 2022. "Aerodynamic Performance Analysis of Trailing Edge Serrations on a Wells Turbine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-21, November.
    4. Shehata, Ahmed S. & Saqr, Khalid M. & Xiao, Qing & Shehadeh, Mohamed F. & Day, Alexander, 2016. "Performance analysis of wells turbine blades using the entropy generation minimization method," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1123-1133.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Ru & Cui, Ying & Liu, Zhen & Li, Boyang & Zhang, Yongbo, 2024. "Numerical study on unsteady performance of a Wells turbine under irregular wave conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).

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