An optimal tuning strategy for tidal turbines.

Area of Science:

• Renewable Energy Engineering
• Fluid Dynamics
• Ocean Engineering

Background:

• Tidal turbine array performance is sensitive to tuning strategies.
• Maximizing instantaneous output ('impatient tuning') is suboptimal for tidal arrays.
• Existing 'patient tuning' maximizes average power over a tidal cycle.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a novel 'smart patient tuning strategy' for tidal turbine arrays.
• To compare the performance of the smart strategy against impatient and existing patient strategies.
• To analyze the impact on power output, structural loads, and environmental flow reduction.

Main Methods:

• Simulation and analysis of different tidal turbine tuning strategies in channel arrays.
• Development of a 'smart patient tuning strategy' that strategically forgoes early generation for later gains.
• Comparative assessment of power output, structural loads, and flow characteristics.

Main Results:

• The smart patient tuning strategy increased array output by up to 35% over the existing patient strategy.
• This strategy can achieve higher power output without increasing maximum structural loads.
• Counterintuitively, power capping can sometimes increase average turbine output by limiting loads.

Conclusions:

• The smart patient tuning strategy offers significant improvements in energy extraction for tidal turbine arrays.
• Optimizing tuning over the entire tidal cycle is crucial for maximizing efficiency and minimizing negative impacts.
• Further research into load-limiting strategies may reveal additional benefits for turbine performance.