Tidal Turbine Testing - Strangford 2018

Description

The TTT turbines are back in Strangford Lough! To maximise the power density of tidal platforms, the near-filed interaction of devices must be understood. In-line and in-plane interactions and their significance will facilitate multi-turbine platform developers to optimise their designs.

This on-going research is using two 1.5m diameter tidal turbines and a range of acoustic Doppler instruments (ADP and ADVs). The research platform was designed and commissioned by QUB with the support of Cuan Marine Services (CMS) Ltd. The platform enables the turbines to be located within a working area enabling up to 2.5D in-plane spacing and 4D in-line spacing. The onset flow is captured upstream of the platform and for each turbine. This versatile setup will aid the research team in determining the special and temporal relationship between near-proximity turbines in the marine environment.

The research is being undertaken by QUB’s Marine Energy Research Group with industry partners Applied Renewable Research (ARR) Ltd, CNR-INSEAN, OceanEnergy, Sustainable Marine Energy (SME) and Schottel Hydro.