Design of a maneuvering marine hydrokinetic cycloturbine

Margalit Goldschmidt, Michael Jonson, Joseph Horn, Richard Medvitz, Milo Feinberg

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

A Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) cycloturbine is a renewable electric power generation system used in rivers or tidal environments. MHK cycloturbines have foils oriented perpendicular to the flow in a paddlewheel configuration, and use the lift from these foils to produce power. Due to the high cost associated with its operation and maintenance, it was desired to design an MHK system that can self-deploy, with propulsion and control mechanisms similar to a cyclorotor aircraft. This paper investigates different design configurations for such a vehicle, and analyzes the basic force and moment balance required. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to predict cycloturbine efficiency, during both power generation and maneuver. A six-DOF simulation model is being developed, where the turbine propulsive force model is matched to CFD analysis. A four turbine design with stacked counter-rotating turbines was determined to provide the best vehicle control and performance. Future experimental work includes investigation of a single small-scale crossflow turbine to validate the CFD and propulsive force model used in the six-DOF simulation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)164-174
Number of pages11
JournalAnnual Forum Proceedings - AHS International
StatePublished - 2017
Event73rd American Helicopter Society International Annual Forum and Technology Display 2017 - Fort Worth, United States
Duration: May 9 2017May 11 2017

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Engineering

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