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A performance study on a direct drive hydro turbine for wave energy converter

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Abstract

Clean and renewable energy technologies using ocean energy give us non-polluting alternatives to fossil-fueled power plants as a countermeasure against global warming and growing demand for electrical energy. Among the ocean energy resources, wave power takes a growing interest because of its enormous amount of potential energy in the world. Therefore, various types of wave power systems to capture the energy of ocean waves have been developed. However, a suitable turbine type is not yet normalized because of relatively low efficiency of the turbine systems. The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of a newly developed direct drive hydro turbine (DDT), which will be built in a caisson for a wave power plant. Experiment and CFD analysis are conducted to clarify the turbine performance and internal flow characteristics. The results show that the DDT obtains fairly good turbine efficiency in cases with and without wave conditions. Most of the output power is generated at the runner passage of Stage 2. Relatively larger amount of the decreased tangential velocity at Stage 2 produces more angular momentum than that at Stage 1 and thus, the larger angular momentum at the Stage 2 makes a greater contribution to the generation of total output power in comparison with that at Stage 1. Large vortex existing in the upper-left region of the runner passage forms a large recirculation region in the runner passage, and the recirculating flow consumes the output power at Region 2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mokpo National University, Jeonnam, 534-729, Korea

    Young-Do Choi

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School, Korea Maritime University, Busan, 606-791, Korea

    Chang-Goo Kim

  3. Department of Marine System Engineering, Korea Maritime University, Busan, 606-791, Korea

    You-Taek Kim

  4. School of Mechatronics, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Changwon National University, Changwon, 641-773, Korea

    Jung-Il Song

  5. Division of Mechanical and Information Engineering, Korea Maritime University, Busan, 606-791, Korea

    Young-Ho Lee

Authors
  1. Young-Do Choi
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  2. Chang-Goo Kim
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  3. You-Taek Kim
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  4. Jung-Il Song
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  5. Young-Ho Lee
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Young-Ho Lee.

Additional information

This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Won-Gu Joo

Young-Do Choi received his B.E. and M.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Korea Maritime University, Korea in 1996 and 1998, respectively. He then received his Dr. Eng. degree from Yokohama National University, Japan in 2003. Dr. Choi is currently a fulltime lecturer at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mokpo National University in Jeonnam, Korea. His research interests include ocean energy, wind power, small hydro power, fluid machinery, PIV and CFD.

Young-Ho Lee received his B.E. and M.E. degrees from Korea Maritime University, Korea. He then received his Dr. Eng. degree from the University of Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Lee is currently a Professor at the Division of Mechanical and Information Engineering, Korea Maritime University in Busan, Korea. His research interests include ocean energy, wind energy, small hydro power, fluid machinery, PIV and CFD.

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Choi, YD., Kim, CG., Kim, YT. et al. A performance study on a direct drive hydro turbine for wave energy converter. J Mech Sci Technol 24, 2197–2206 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-010-0903-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-010-0903-5

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