Energy saving performance analysis of contra-rotating azimuth propulsor. Part 2: Optimal matching investigation in model scale

The propulsive efficiency maximization of contra-rotating azimuth propulsor (CRAP) at model scale is investigated through searching the optimal matching rotational speeds of the forward propeller (FP) and rear propeller (RP) of CRAP based on the potential-based panel method. The hydrodynamic performance of CRAP with changing rotational speeds (FP and RP may have different rotational speeds) are calculated. When the inflow velocity is certain, the cubic spline interpolation method is used to get the equal thrust points at which CRAP has the same thrust with the corresponding conventional propeller (CP). Then, the delivered powers at these equal thrust points are further obtained through cubic spline interpolation method. The rotational speeds of FP and RP at the equal thrust point corresponding to the minimal delivered power are the optimal matching rotational speeds of CRAP. The optimal matching calculations are carried out at different inflow velocities. The results of the optimal matching investigation show that CRAP has the lowest delivered powers when FP and RP have the optimal matching rotational speeds and that the energy saving level decreases with the increase of inflow velocity. The optimal matching rotational speed ratio decreases with the increase of inflow velocity. In general, the delivered powers of CRAP having optimal matching rotational speeds at different inflow velocities are obviously smaller than those of CP.     

Hydrodynamic characteristics of a lunate shape oscillating propulsor

Research was conducted to study the hydrodynamic efficiency of a foil with aft-swept wing tips. A potential flow based time domain panel method was formulated to predict the performance of a lunate and rectangular foil in large amplitude, unsteady motion. Skin drag was approximated and boundary layer growth and separation were also estimated. Hydrodynamic efficiency was evaluated in terms of propulsive efficiency and thrust coefficient of the foil. Results are presented for a lunate shaped planform and for a rectangular foil. Predictions show that the lunate shaped planform has a substantially higher propulsive efficiency (13% higher) than the rectangular foil under heavy load conditions when the feathering parameter is zero, throughout a range of reduced frequencies (0.2 to 1.8). Under a medium load condition, however, the rectangular foil gave a higher propulsive efficiency at reduced frequencies less than 0.5 and the same efficiency value at a reduced frequency of 1.8. For a practical range of reduced frequencies between 0.5 and 1.0, the lunate tail gave higher propulsive efficiency. The lunate planform gave a lower thrust coefficient at a heavy load and higher thrust at a medium load condition than the rectangular planform for all reduced frequencies.     

Numerical flow analysis of single-stage ducted marine propulsor

The present work has solved 3D incompressible RANS equations on a rotating, non-orthogonal multi-blocked grid to efficiently analyze a ducted marine propulsor with rotor–stator interaction. To handle the interface boundary between a rotor and a stator, the sliding multi-block technique using the cubic spline interpolation and the bilinear interpolation was applied. To validate the present code, the flow of a single stage turbine flow was simulated. Time averaged pressure coefficients were compared with experiments and good agreements were obtained. After the code validation, the flowfield around a single-stage ducted marine propulsor having a single stage of rotor and stator was successfully simulated and the hydrodynamic performance coefficients were computed.     

A general equation for performance analysis of multi-component propulsor with propeller

An integral panel method (IPM) that treats the different components of multi-component propulsors as a whole is presented for efficient propulsor performance analysis. The IPM requires consider only one blade of the propeller in the performance analysis, which significantly reduces the number of computation grid. The control equations of the IPM are derived in detail for podded propulsors, contra-rotating propellers and hybrid contra-rotating shaft pod propulsors, and based on these derivations, a general control equation for multi-component propulsors with propeller is derived. Comparison between numerical results and experimental data show that the IPM provides good accuracy for the performance analysis of multi-component propulsors with propeller. In addition, the error sources of IPM are discussed, and the reasonableness of these errors is evaluated.     

电动变桨式潮流能水轮机获能分析与应用

我国具有丰富的潮流能资源,但是存在潮流流速偏低、难以高效利用等问题。潮流能水轮机变桨距技术的利用,可有效提高潮流能资源利用效率。以提高潮流能水轮机高效获能为目标,分析了水轮机叶片桨距角对潮流能水轮机获能的影响规律,研究了水轮机变桨距技术原理及控制策略。在20 k W潮流能水轮机中运用了电动变桨距技术,根据潮流流速的不同,使用最大功率点追踪控制算法控制桨距角,并对机组运行过程进行实时测试。机组运行数据表明,与非变桨水轮机相比,变桨式潮流能水轮机可有效提高其获能效率。     

海洋能发电装置现场检测平台设计

随着国际社会对海洋可再生能源开发利用的关注,众多海洋能发电装置投入研发。目前我国已有相当一部分海洋能发电装置进入海试阶段。因此,在海洋能发电装置海试的过程中,需要对海洋能发电装置的发电性能进行检测。文中介绍了海洋能发电装置现场检测平台的设计,研究并设计检测方法以满足海洋能发电装置现场检测的需求。海洋能发电装置现场检测平台的设计以满足波浪能、潮流能发电装置的测试需求为主,兼顾其他形式的发电装置。该平台主要对海洋能发电装置的功率特性、电能质量特性以及电网适应性等指标进行测试,并根据海洋能发电装置的测试结果开展分析与评价。     

Numerical investigation of the scale effect of hydrodynamic performance of the hybrid CRP pod propulsion system

The scale effect of hydrodynamic performance of the hybrid CRP pod propulsion system was investigated numerically using the RANS method combined with SST k − ω turbulence model and moving mesh method. The pod resistance influence factor was introduced to represent the effect of wake field of CRP on the pod resistance. Results showed the pod resistance influence factor to be a function of the Reynolds number and revolution ratio. Representative function expression can be obtained by regression analysis using multiplication of multinomial polynomials and linear function. The standard ITTC 1978 extrapolation procedure can be utilized to predict hydrodynamic performance of forward propeller because of the slightness of the influence of the pod unit on the forward propeller. The thrust and torque coefficient influence factors of aft propeller were introduced, and they were found to represent the effect of wake field of forward propeller and blockage effect of the pod on the hydrodynamic performance of aft propeller. It shows that thrust and torque coefficient influence factors are independent of the Reynolds number and have a linear relationship with the revolution ratio. On this basis, a method of estimating the hydrodynamic performance was proposed for full scale propulsion system.     

Design pressure distributions on the hull of the FLOW wave energy converter

This paper presents a procedure to calculate the design pressure distributions on the hull of a wave energy converter (WEC). Design pressures are the maximum pressure values that the device is expected to experience during its operational life time. The procedure is applied to the prototype under development by Martifer Energy (FLOW—Future Life in Ocean Waves).A boundary integral method is used to solve the hydrodynamic problem. The hydrodynamic pressures are combined with the hydrostatic ones and the internal pressures of the large ballast tanks. The first step consists of validating the numerical results of motions by comparison with measured experimental data obtained with a scaled model of the WEC. The numerical model is tuned by adjusting the damping of the device rotational motions and the equivalent damping and stiffness of the power take-off system. The pressure distributions are calculated for all irregular sea states representative of the Portuguese Pilot Zone where the prototype will be installed and a long term distribution method is used to calculate the expected maximum pressures on the hull corresponding to the 100-year return period.     

The effects of yawing motion with different frequencies on the hydrodynamic performance of floating vertical-axis tidal current turbines

Under real sea conditions, the hydrodynamic performance of floating vertical-axis tidal current turbines is affected by waves and currents. The wave circular frequency is a significant factor in determining the frequencies of the wave-induced motion responses of turbines. In this study, the ANSYS-CFX software (manufacturer: ANSYS Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States) is used to analyse the hydrodynamic performance of a vertical-axis turbine for different yawing frequencies and to study how the yawing frequencies affect the main hydrodynamic coefficients of the turbine, including the power coefficient, thrust coefficient, lateral force coefficient, and yawing moment coefficient. The time-varying curves obtained from the CFX software are fitted using the least-squares method; the damping and added mass coefficients are then calculated to analyse the influence of different yawing frequencies. The simulation results demonstrate that when analysing non-yawing turbines rotating under constant inflow, the main hydrodynamic coefficient time-varying curves of yawing turbines exhibit an additional fluctuation. Furthermore, the amplitude is positively correlated with the yawing frequency, and the oscillation amplitudes also increase with increasing yawing frequency; however, the average values of the hydrodynamic coefficients (except the power coefficient) are only weakly influenced by yawing motion. The power coefficient under yawing motion is lower than that under non-yawing motion, which means that yawing motion will cause the annual energy production of a turbine to decrease. The fitting results show that the damping term and the added mass term exert effects of the same level on the loads and moments of vertical-axis turbines under yawing motion. The results of this study can facilitate the study of the motion response of floating vertical-axis tidal current turbine systems in waves.     

Modeling of twin-turbine systems with vertical axis tidal current turbines: Part I—Power output

Recent interest in the tidal current industry has driven development of the prototype from the stand-alone turbine to the twin-turbine system. In this paper, we develop a numerical model to systematically analyze the relationship between the power output and the configuration of a twin-turbine system. First, we present the design principle of the twin-turbine system. We then develop the numerical model for simulating the operation of the system, and validate the model by conducting towing tank experimental tests. We then use the model to predict the power output of the system. The results of this study show that the total power output of a twin-turbine system with optimal layout can be about 25% higher than two times that of a stand-alone turbine. We also discuss the hydrodynamic interaction between the two turbines under different configurations of the system. We conclude that the optimally configured counter-rotating system should be a side-by-side system, and that the optimally configured co-rotating system should have the downstream turbine partially in the wake of the upstream turbine, depending on the detailed configuration of the turbine.     

海水声速剖面基函数的重构性能分析

海水声速剖面通常使用经验正交函数（Empirical Orthogonal Function,EOF）进行稀疏表示,然而基函数会受到数据完备性和数据测量时间的制约,其代表性误差会导致声速剖面重构精度受限。为了提高声速剖面的重构精度,本文利用模糊C均值聚类对BOA_Argo历史数据集进行聚类分析,探讨不同聚类空间的训练集数据对实测声速剖面重构精度的影响。研究表明,声速剖面具有明显的时空聚集特性,聚类后的历史声速剖面集生成的基函数和平均声速剖面具有最优的重构性能。本文研究结果有助于为历史声速剖面训练集的选取提供实际指导意义,进而提高声速剖面重构精度乃至反演精度。     

海底边界效应对海流发电水轮机水动力性能影响研究

对30 W海流能水平轴水轮机进行叶片设计,应用FLUENT软件对水轮机的水动力性能进行数值模拟,研究了边界效应对叶片表面压力、流场、湍流强度、获能和轴向力的影响。受海底边界效应影响,海流速度沿深度呈现梯度变化,底层流速较小,中上层流速较大。边界效应导致水轮机的水动力性能呈现周期性变化,降低了水轮机的获能和轴向力。机组布置时,宜选择水流稳定且流速较大的中上层区域。     

A dynamic response analysis of tension leg platforms including hydrodynamic interaction in regular waves

A numerical procedure is described for predicting the motion and structural responses of tension leg platforms (TLPs) in waves. The developed numerical approach, in a TLP is assumed to be flexible instead of rigid, is based on a combination of the three dimensional source distribution method and the finite-element method. The hydrodynamic interactions among TLP members, such as columns and pontoons, are included in the motion and structural response analysis. Numerical results are compared with the experimental and numerical ones. The results of comparison confirmed the validity of the proposed approach.     

基于模型试验的海洋核动力平台定位系统解脱作业关键指标分析

海洋核动力平台定位系统采用软刚臂单点系泊方式,属于多铰连接的单点系泊装置。定位系统在长期海上运营过程中,会面临结构维护、改造、更换等作业,解脱作业的安全性是定位系统乃至核动力平台安全的重要组成。借鉴国内外海洋石油平台解脱作业的成功案例,首先给出了核动力平台定位系统解脱作业的流程,并结合解脱作业故障树的风险传递路径给出关键风险指标;然后基于相似理论搭建了定位系统1∶9缩尺比模型试验平台,真实模拟了定位系统全流程解脱作业,验证了定位系统解脱作业的可行性与有效性;基于实时测量数据分析提升缆绳在限位状态与解脱作业时的张力响应、法兰解脱时系泊腿下部万向节振动响应、系泊刚臂下放姿态等关键指标。研究结果表明物理试验模拟方法可以准确表征解脱作业过程的关键节点,并为量化作业指标、优化作业流程提供数据支持,同时相关试验分析方法可以为其他海洋装备的解脱、安装等提供参考。     

Modeling of twin-turbine systems with vertical axis tidal current turbine: Part II—torque fluctuation

We recently showed the advantage of using a numerical system to extract energy from tidal currents by developing a new twin-turbine model (Li and Calisal, 2010a). Encouraged by this result, we decided to use this model to study another important characteristic of the turbine system, torque fluctuation. This effort is summarized in this paper. The torque fluctuation is expected to reduce the fatigue life of tidal current turbines, though potentially it also may deteriorate the power quality of tidal current turbines. In this paper, after reviewing the twin-turbine model, we use it to predict the torque fluctuation of the system with the same configurations as we used to study the power output in Li and Calisal (2010a). Specifically, we investigate the torque fluctuation of twin-turbine systems with various turbine parameters (e.g., relative distance between two turbines and incoming flow angle) and operational condition (e.g., tip speed ratio). The results suggest that the torque of an optimally configured twin-turbine system fluctuates much less than that of the corresponding stand-alone turbine, under the same operating conditions. We then extensively compare the hydrodynamic interaction’s impact on the torque fluctuation and the power output of the system. We conclude that the hydrodynamic interactions pose more constructive impacts on the torque fluctuation than on the power output. The findings indicate that the optimally configured counter-rotating system should be a side-by-side system, and that the optimally configured co-rotating system should have the downstream turbine partially in the wake of the upstream turbine depending on the detailed configuration of the turbines. Furthermore, one must balance the optimal torque fluctuation against the optimal power output.     

波浪对潮流能水轮机性能测试影响的实验研究

随着潮流能开发利用技术日趋成熟,对其测试工作也提出了更高的要求。然而,在潮流能装置性能测试中,波流相互作用的影响往往被忽略,导致测试结果不准确。为了研究波流相互作用对测试的影响方式与程度,采用物理模型试验的方法,对垂直轴潮流能发电装置模型进行了试验研究。通过分析波流作用下装置的扭矩、转速及发电功率,发现波流与发电装置耦合作用明显,相比不存在波浪影响的情况下,叶轮的转动、主轴的扭矩都变得不规则,启动流速变小,同时,扭矩、转速及发电功率的瞬时值显著增大。测试结果表明,波流相互作用对装置性能测试影响显著,平均影响程度约10%,研究结果为今后潮流能发电装置性能测试标准的制定和完善提供了参考和依据。     

海上浮式风机气动性能数值模拟

采用计算流体动力学(CFD)方法,基于RANS方程和SST k-ω湍流模型,对OC3-Hywind Spar浮式平台支撑的NREL5 MW风机进行气动性能模拟。对固定式风机的数值模型做网格无关性验证,同时考虑垂直风切变的影响,并将数值结果与NREL设计数据进行对比以验证模型的有效性。在FLUENT软件中,设定嵌入式滑移网格和用户定义程序(UDF)来模拟风机叶轮随平台的周期运动,分别研究浮式平台的纵荡、纵摇和首摇运动对风机气动荷载的影响。数值结果表明平台的纵荡和纵摇运动对输出功率影响较大,且平台运动幅值越大周期越低,其气动荷载变化越剧烈。合理控制平台的运动幅值对提高浮式风机的发电性能和疲劳强度有很大作用。     

并联式后弯管波力发电浮体模型性能试验研究

对并联式后弯管波力发电浮体模型的波能转换性能和锚泊力进行了试验研究。结果表明并联式后弯管浮体模型的最佳响应周期基本不变，各单元浮体性能略有差异，位于中间的单元浮体性能略低于两侧的浮体，波能转换性能随浮体数量增加而下降，多点系泊使并联式后弯管装置效率提高。并联式后弯管波力发电装置采用标准化单元设计，灵活组成不同装机容量的装置，将大大降低锚泊系统、海底电缆系统的费用。     

平板对下游方柱流体动力性能影响分析

基于有限体积法求解二维粘性不可压缩Navier-Stokes方程,分别采用层流模型和Realizable k-ε模型研究Re=250和Re=104前置平板与下游方柱间的流动干扰现象,分析不同尺度的平板布置在不同位置时对下游方柱的绕流场及流体动力性能的影响。计算发现在方柱上游布置平板可以有效的控制方柱的绕流场,减小方柱的阻力系数和升力系数;随着平板尺度的增加,方柱的阻力系数、升力系数呈下降趋势;并且存在较好的平板布置区间,可以最大程度的降低方柱和平板的阻力系数及方柱的升力系数,从而达到良好的减振、降噪的效果。     

Numerical and experimental study on seakeeping performance of ship in finite water depth

Vessels operating in shallow waters require careful observation of the finite-depth effect. In present study, a Rankine source method that includes the shallow water effect and double body steady flow effect is developed in frequency domain. In order to verify present numerical methods, two experiments were carried out respectively to measure the wave loads and free motions for ship advancing with forward speed in head regular waves. Numerical results are systematically compared with experiments and other solutions using the double body basis flow approach, the Neumann-Kelvin approach with simplified m-terms, and linearized free surface boundary conditions with double-body m-terms. Furthermore, the influence of water depths on added mass and damping coefficients, wave excitation forces, motions and unsteady wave patterns are deeply investigated. It is found that finite-depth effect is important and unsteady wave pattern in shallow water is dependent on both of the Brard number τ and depth Froude number F_h.