Design and Numerical Simulations of a Flow Induced Vibration Energy Converter for Underwater Mooring Platforms
Limited battery energy restricts the duration of the underwater operation of underwater mooring platforms (UMPs). In this paper, a flow-induced vibration energy converter (FIVEC) is designed to produce power for the UMPs and extend their operational time. The FIVEC is equipped with a thin plate to c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2017-09-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/9/1427 |
| _version_ | 1811278166647373824 |
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| author | Wenlong Tian Zhaoyong Mao Fuliang Zhao |
| author_facet | Wenlong Tian Zhaoyong Mao Fuliang Zhao |
| author_sort | Wenlong Tian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Limited battery energy restricts the duration of the underwater operation of underwater mooring platforms (UMPs). In this paper, a flow-induced vibration energy converter (FIVEC) is designed to produce power for the UMPs and extend their operational time. The FIVEC is equipped with a thin plate to capture the kinetic energy in the vortices shed from the surface of the UMP. A magnetic coupling (MC) is applied for the non-contacting transmission of the plate torque to the generators so that the friction loss can be minimized. In order to quantify and evaluate the performance of the FIVEC, two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are performed. Simulations are based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations and the shear stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulent model is utilized. The CFD method is firstly validated using existing experimental data. Then the influences of plate length and system damping on the performance of the FIVEC are evaluated. The results show that the device has a maximum averaged power coefficient of 0.0520 (13.86 W) in the considered situations. The results also demonstrate the feasibility of this energy converter plan. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T00:30:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-38c44ef2781249a2bad200e5abdf7cc7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T00:30:53Z |
| publishDate | 2017-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-38c44ef2781249a2bad200e5abdf7cc72022-12-22T03:10:29ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732017-09-01109142710.3390/en10091427en10091427Design and Numerical Simulations of a Flow Induced Vibration Energy Converter for Underwater Mooring PlatformsWenlong Tian0Zhaoyong Mao1Fuliang Zhao2School of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, ChinaSchool of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, ChinaSchool of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, ChinaLimited battery energy restricts the duration of the underwater operation of underwater mooring platforms (UMPs). In this paper, a flow-induced vibration energy converter (FIVEC) is designed to produce power for the UMPs and extend their operational time. The FIVEC is equipped with a thin plate to capture the kinetic energy in the vortices shed from the surface of the UMP. A magnetic coupling (MC) is applied for the non-contacting transmission of the plate torque to the generators so that the friction loss can be minimized. In order to quantify and evaluate the performance of the FIVEC, two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are performed. Simulations are based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations and the shear stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulent model is utilized. The CFD method is firstly validated using existing experimental data. Then the influences of plate length and system damping on the performance of the FIVEC are evaluated. The results show that the device has a maximum averaged power coefficient of 0.0520 (13.86 W) in the considered situations. The results also demonstrate the feasibility of this energy converter plan.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/9/1427underwater mooring platforms (UMPs)energy conversionflow induced vibrationvortex induced vibrationcomputational fluid dynamics (CFD)ocean current energy |
| spellingShingle | Wenlong Tian Zhaoyong Mao Fuliang Zhao Design and Numerical Simulations of a Flow Induced Vibration Energy Converter for Underwater Mooring Platforms Energies underwater mooring platforms (UMPs) energy conversion flow induced vibration vortex induced vibration computational fluid dynamics (CFD) ocean current energy |
| title | Design and Numerical Simulations of a Flow Induced Vibration Energy Converter for Underwater Mooring Platforms |
| title_full | Design and Numerical Simulations of a Flow Induced Vibration Energy Converter for Underwater Mooring Platforms |
| title_fullStr | Design and Numerical Simulations of a Flow Induced Vibration Energy Converter for Underwater Mooring Platforms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Design and Numerical Simulations of a Flow Induced Vibration Energy Converter for Underwater Mooring Platforms |
| title_short | Design and Numerical Simulations of a Flow Induced Vibration Energy Converter for Underwater Mooring Platforms |
| title_sort | design and numerical simulations of a flow induced vibration energy converter for underwater mooring platforms |
| topic | underwater mooring platforms (UMPs) energy conversion flow induced vibration vortex induced vibration computational fluid dynamics (CFD) ocean current energy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/9/1427 |
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