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Title: The transport of suspended sediment in the wake of a marine hydrokinetic turbine: Simulations via a validated Discrete Random Walk (DRW) model

Journal Article · · Ocean Engineering
 [1];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

The interaction of sediment with Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) Turbines is studied via turbulent flow simulation coupled with a model for particle dynamics. The Discrete Random Walk (DRW) model is commonly used for simulations of particle dispersion in environmental flows. A method to improve the accuracy of the DRW model in conjunction with RANS simulations of the flow around MHK turbines is presented. A key issues for the use of the DRW model in marine applications is identified, finding the right characteristic eddy lifetime scale, and a simple methodology based on G.I. Taylor's classical dispersion theory is develop to calibrate this physical model parameter. The model is validated against experiments in the literature and the physics of suspended sediment transport in the wake of an MHK turbine is studied with this improved method. The qualitative changes observed in the particle trajectories agree well with theoretical and empirical observations and the quantitive trends allow for comparison of multiple particle cases under different flow conditions, confirming that this implementation of CFD can become a powerful tool to select the most challenging cases, among the thousands of potential studies on the environmental effects of MHK energy, for further study with experiments and pilot projects.

Research Organization:
Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Water Power Technologies Office
Grant/Contract Number:
FG36-08GO18179
OSTI ID:
1534206
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1416665
Journal Information:
Ocean Engineering, Vol. 129; ISSN 0029-8018
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 12 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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