ORCID
- Lilian Lieber: 0000-0002-4833-9594
- Danny Coles: 0000-0002-5676-4849
- Alex Nimmo Smith: 0000-0003-3108-9231
Abstract
Ocean energy extraction is on the rise. While tides are the most predictable amongst marine renewable resources, turbulent and complex flows still challenge reliable tidal stream energy extraction and there is also uncertainty in how devices change the natural environment. To ensure the long-term integrity of emergent floating tidal turbine technologies, advances in field measurements are required to capture multiscale, real-world flow interactions. Here we use aerial drones and acoustic profiling transects to quantify the site- and scale-dependent complexities of actual turbulent flows around an idled, utility-scale floating tidal turbine (20 m rotor diameter, D). The combined spatial resolution of our baseline measurements is sufficiently high to quantify sheared, turbulent inflow conditions (reversed shear profiles, turbulence intensity >20%, and turbulence length scales > 0.4D). We also detect downstream velocity deficits (approaching 20% at 4D) and trace the far-wake propagation using acoustic backscattering techniques in excess of 30D. Addressing the energy-environment nexus, our oceanographic lens on flow characterisation will help to validate multiscale flow physics around offshore energy platforms that have thus far only been simulated.
DOI Link
Publication Date
2024-09-20
Publication Title
Nature Communications
Volume
15
Issue
1
ISSN
2041-1723
Acceptance Date
2024-09-13
Deposit Date
2024-10-09
Funding
L.L. acknowledges the Supergen ORE Hub ECR Research Fund and the EPSRC for funding this project. The authors wish to thank the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) for their guidance and financial support for this project and gratefully acknowledge Catherine Tait and Ana Couto for joining the surveys. Thanks to James Waggitt as the dedicated seabird observer. The authors thank Orbital Marine Power for their in-kind contributions. L.L. acknowledges additional support provided by the Bryden Centre (2017-2022), which was supported by the European Union\u2019s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). D.C. acknowledges the financial support of the Tidal Stream Industry Energiser project (TIGER), which is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg France (Channel) England Programme.
Additional Links
Recommended Citation
Lieber, L., Fraser, S., Coles, D., & Nimmo Smith, A. (2024) 'Sheared turbulent flows and wake dynamics of an idled floating tidal turbine', Nature Communications, 15(1). Available at: 10.1038/s41467-024-52578-x
