Tonal Noise Reduction for a Maneuverable Marine Hydrokinetic Cycloturbine Vehicle Using Turbine Clocking

A Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) cycloturbine vehicle can exploit tidal currents to generate sustainable power and also has the ability to station keep and maneuver. The vehicle consists of four counterrotating cycloturbines, which radiate sound underwater. Acoustic control is important to curtail the vehicle's vibrations and acoustic signature, potentially preventing harmful effects on aquatic life, as well as to reduce the vehicle's fatigue for longer deployment. A method of reducing the radiated acoustics of the vehicle is determined for tones at foil passing frequency and multiples, by means of clocking the blades between turbines. Experimental work includes testing of a subscale demonstrator in ARL's Reverberant Tank facility. Fixing the subscale demonstrator to a reaction frame in the tank provides the ability to measure the generated loads using load cells. These measurements verify the effects of turbine clocking on the radiated acoustics.