Simulator research could aid the design of tidal turbines

Note* - All images used are for editorial and illustrative purposes only and may not originate from the original news provider or associated company.

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from any location or device.

Media Packs

Expand Your Reach With Our Customized Solutions Empowering Your Campaigns To Maximize Your Reach & Drive Real Results!

– Access the Media Pack Now

– Book a Conference Call

– Leave Message for Us to Get Back

Related stories

Eight Energy Trends 2025: Redefining Global Energy Landscape

The Eight Energy Trends Defining 2025 The year 2025 is...

Ocean engineering firm Tadek delivers floating wind study for Marine Power Systems

The report assesses through-life performance of Tension Leg Platforms (TLP) compared...

Ensuring the integrity of underwater energy production equipment and related facilities

EEMUA has substantially upgraded its subsea engineering materials selection...

Research being carried out at a unique environmental simulator in Hull could inform the design and deployment of tidal turbines.

The EPSRC-funded project will aim at solutions that find a compromise between energy generating efficiency and environmental impact in terms of turbulence and sediment motion. Tidal turbines apply roughly the same principles as wind turbines but using the more predictable and larger energy density of tide flows.

However, it is known that flow passing by tidal turbines support structures combined with the rotation of the turbine rotors produces a turbulent downstream wake that can impact the stability of sediments.

Because of knowledge gaps in predicting the sea-bed response, developers of tidal projects have to carry out costly environmental monitoring programmes in order to obtain environmental permission.

Hull University currently runs a ‘total environment simulator’ at The Deep public aquarium on the Humberside coast. It contains a unique flume facility 16m in length, 6m wide and 1.6m deep, in which powerful pumps generate a flow rate of 1m3 per second. It also has the capability to generate waves of different frequencies and directions that can overlap in a random fashion.

The facility has in the past tested the generating capacity of a range of wave and tidal devices; however, in addition to this, the latest project will assess environmental impact. The team, which includes academics from the geography and engineering departments, will analyse sediment behaviour using a range of advanced techniques, including laser Doppler emission.

‘The question is: is it possible to modify the construction of this type of turbine to minimise environmental impact?’ lead engineer Sergei Lukaschuk of Hull told The Engineer. ‘One of the targets of this work will be to make recommendations for manufacturers. There should be some kind of compromise between efficiency and environmental impact.’

A complicating factor is that areas with strong tidal currents — where turbines are usually placed — are subject to complex sediment transport dynamics. The cumulative, interactive effect of multiple turbines may confound this further.

‘At the end of the this work, a great result would be some numerical system that can predict the characteristics of sediment distribution due to tidal turbines,’ Lukaschuk said. ‘You cannot really experiment for each configuration of tide turbine array, but if you have some numerical mode this will allow you to predict environmental impact.’

 

Latest stories

Related stories

Eight Energy Trends 2025: Redefining Global Energy Landscape

The Eight Energy Trends Defining 2025 The year 2025 is...

Ocean engineering firm Tadek delivers floating wind study for Marine Power Systems

The report assesses through-life performance of Tension Leg Platforms (TLP) compared...

Ensuring the integrity of underwater energy production equipment and related facilities

EEMUA has substantially upgraded its subsea engineering materials selection...

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from any location or device.

Media Packs

Expand Your Reach With Our Customized Solutions Empowering Your Campaigns To Maximize Your Reach & Drive Real Results!

– Access the Media Pack Now

– Book a Conference Call

– Leave Message for Us to Get Back