Hydrodynamic Performance of a Current Energy Generator Based on WIG

Abstract

The hydrodynamic performance of a novel current energy generator is studied with consideration of the effect of Wing in Ground (WIG) by Star CCM+. The pitch and heave motions of a turbine with a 2D single oscillating wing and two parallelized oscillating wings in uniform flow are simulated, and the numerical results including the lift force, drag force and moment coefficients of the hydrofoil are calculated to analyze the hydrodynamic performance of the generator. First, the convergence studies with respect to the mesh and time step are firstly carried out by compared with the published data. Secondly, the hydrodynamic performance of the WIG-based current energy extraction is investigated, and a good performance of the current energy extraction is confirmed. Finally, the effect of boundary conditions of wing and wall on the performance of the current energy generator is investigated.