Performance analysis and offshore applications of the diffuser augmented tidal turbines
Weixing Liu, Lei Liu, Haitao Wu, Yulong Chen, Xiongbo Zheng, Ningyu Li, Zhiyang Zhang
Abstract
Diffuser-augmented tidal turbines (DATTs) are determined and regarded as efficient in converting tidal energy. In this paper, which is stipulated by a large group of researchers, the highly established module performance of a diffuser turbine is numerically studied by the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Numerical analysis shows that the pressure distributions near the blade tip gradually change for a DATT than a non-diffuser augmented tidal turbine (NDATT), which indicates that the diffuser can effectively reduce the loss of blade tip. The practical assessment through anticipated and assured procedure in the application of this turbine was conducted offshore at Daishan Island and observed to have slightly higher energy efficiency than the experimental model.