2022 article
Demonstration of a Towed Coaxial Turbine Subscale Prototype for Hydrokinetic Energy Harvesting in Skew
2022 OCEANS HAMPTON ROADS.
author keywords: Ocean energy; Dual rotor; Coaxial turbine; Hydrokinetic energy; Blade-element momentum; Skew; Tethered energy devices
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
(Web of Science)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: March 13, 2023
The immense potential for ocean current energy harvesting is being actively explored by researchers, exhibiting the importance of the marine hydrokinetic industry. This paper presents a towed dual rotor coaxial turbine prototype built to demonstrate the ability of tethered, underwater, hydrokinetic devices to harvest energy from ocean currents. A sub-scale test article was developed to measure fluid power conversion and serve as a platform for operational feasibility in open-water testing. Tow testing of this article was done in the freshwaters of Lake Norman in North Carolina at three tow speeds: 1 m/s, 1.25 m/s and 1.5 m/s. Preliminary results demonstrate the ability to extract power, system robustness, waterproofing capabilities, and illuminates the nuances and non-linearities unique to the tethered coaxial turbine system.