Practical considerations on transient performance of an impulse turbine for wave energy conversion

Abstract

The performance prediction of an impulse turbine in oscillating water column (OWC) needs to consider an unsteady inflow condition because ocean wave energy continuous to change. This paper proposed a practical method to predict an impulse turbine performance with an unsteady inflow conditions. The proposed method predict unsteady performance using steady performance data, which obtained by computation fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis for various rpms and inflow conditions. The unsteady performance was obtained by solving the Newton’s 2nd law of motion equation with the steady performance data. The stopping mode also added to the method. The predicted revolution speed was compared with the experimental data. The effect of an inflow amplitude, a torque loss and a moment of inertia was observed.