Preliminary 3D computational fluids dynamics analysis of the wells turbine

A. Thakker, P. Frawley, J. Daly, E. Sheik Bajeet

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

The unique ability of Wells Turbine to generate a uni-directional rotational motion out of an oscillating axial air flow of relatively low magnitude has made it the ideal tool to harness wave power. A preliminary three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics analysis of the Wells Turbine was carried out to investigate secondary flows of the actual blade geometry of the power plant on the island of Pico, Brazil, and the effect of adding sweep and taper to the blade geometry. The swept geometry produced a lower pressure gradient on the suction side indicating that it should be less susceptible to separation. This lower pressure gradient was evident in both the hub and tip planes, but especially at the blade tip. The pressure distribution also indicated the possibility of flow separation at the hub for the Pico geometry. The Pico geometry showed separation at the hub and tip, whereas the other blades showed extensive separation at the tip only. Both the taper and sweep blades showed an extended region of high velocity, which might give rise to high kinetic energy losses due to the swirl component. The effects of the blade interactions started to become apparent on the velocity contours at the mid-span plane for the higher flow coefficient. Pico geometry showed the most blade to blade interaction, indicating that this should be an area of consideration if this blade geometry is to be used at a higher solidity. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 10th (2000) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference (Seattle, US, 5/28/-6/2/200).

Original languageEnglish
Pages442-451
Number of pages10
Publication statusPublished - 2000
EventProceedings of the Tenth (2000) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, ISOPE 2000 - Seattle, WA, United States
Duration: 28 May 20002 Jun 2000

Conference

ConferenceProceedings of the Tenth (2000) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, ISOPE 2000
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySeattle, WA
Period28/05/002/06/00

Keywords

  • 3D
  • CFD
  • Pico
  • Wells Turbine

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