Sediment Transport, Complex Topography, and Hydrokinetic Turbines: Bedform Dynamics, Local Scour, and the Effect on Turbine Performance.

Abstract:

Multi-scale experiments on the interactions between axial-flow marine hydrokinetic (MHK) turbines, sediment transport and complex channel topography were performed at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL), University of Minnesota. Model axial-flow three-bladed turbines (rotor diameters, d_T = 0.15m and 0.5m) were installed in open channel flumes with both erodible and non-erodible substrates. In erodible channels, device-induced local scour was monitored over several hydraulic conditions (clear water vs. live bedload transport) and material sizes. Synchronous velocity, bed elevation and turbine performance measurements provide an indication into the effect channel topography has on device performance. A novel data acquisition imaging system provided methods for monitoring the dynamics of bedform transport as they approached and migrated past an operating axial-flow turbine. Experiments were also performed in a realistic meandering outdoor research channel with active sediment transport to investigate MHK turbine interactions with bedform migration and turbulent flow in asymmetric channels, providing new insight into turbine-sediment interactions and turbine wake behavior in curving channels. Results provide the foundation for investigating advanced turbine control strategies for optimal power production in non-stationary environments, while also providing robust data for computational model validation enabling further investigations into the interactions between energy conversion devices and the physical environment.