Experimentally validated numerical method for the hydrodynamic design of horizontal axis tidal turbines

Although a lot can be learnt from technology transfer from wind turbines and ship propellers, there have been a few experiments investigating marine current turbines. As a result, a study has been carried out on the power, thrust and cavitation characteristics of 1/20th scale model of a possible 16 m diameter horizontal axis tidal turbine. Cavitation tunnel experiments for different blade pitch settings have been compared with simulations based on a developed blade element-momentum theory. This theory has been shown to provide a satisfactory representation of the experimental turbine performance characteristics. As an example application, the developed theory has been used to design possible horizontal axis tidal turbines for the tidal flows around Portland Bill. The results show that there is a clear balance between design loads and optimisation of energy yields.     

波浪冲击过程流场变化特性试验研究

利用瞬态全场测量技术———粒子图像测速(PIV)技术,研究了波浪对透空式建筑物上部结构冲击过程的流场变化特性。通过对采集到的CCD图像互相关分析,直观地显示了波浪冲击作用发生时结构物底面的流场状态,得到瞬间全场流体水质点速度矢量,并且应用概率分析法研究了冲击压力峰值与波浪水质点运动速度之间的关系。     

Numerical study on the flow characteristics of tidal jets induced by a tidal-jet-generator

The flow characteristics of tidal jets induced by a Tidal-Jet Generator (TJG) are investigated using a finite-difference numerical scheme, named Navier–Stokes (NS)–Marker and Cell (MAC)-TIDE, based on the fully 3D NS equations. The TJG is an enclosed rectangular breakwater, which has vertical opening and a large enclosed volume inside. During both phases of tide, strong and uni-directional jets can be obtained locally from the inlet of the TJG, due to the water level difference between the inner and outer sides of TJG.The computed results are extensively compared with three other independently developed numerical models; 3D-ADI, DVM, and CIP-CSF. These models are based on quasi-3D, 2D depth-averaged, and fully 3D NS equations, respectively. It is seen that the present fully 3D numerical model NS–MAC-TIDE can predict the maximum intensity of inlet velocity with higher accuracy than the other numerical models when compared with the empirical function proposed from the experiments. The numerical simulations based on NS–MAC-TIDE can reproduce successfully the processes of generation, development, and dissipation of tidal jets. The effects of gap opening on the main characteristics of the tidal jet flow are assessed. Through numerical assessment, it is also clearly demonstrated that the residual time of a pollutant distributed around the front of the TJG can be decreased by significant amount due to the locally induced tidal jet. The TJG can thus utilize tidal energy for water purification in local marine environment by providing a flushing mechanism.     

Comparative studies reveal variability in the use of tidal stream environments by seabirds

The global increase in tidal stream turbine installations creates a need to identify and mitigate any impacts on seabird populations. Within Scotland, UK, the vulnerability of black guillemots Cepphus grylle and European shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis is dependent on their tendency to exploit microhabitats characterised by fast mean horizontal current speeds (≥2 ms^–1), and tidal states with maximum current speeds, within tidal stream environments. Identifying consistencies in their relative use of different microhabitats (fast versus slow mean horizontal current speeds) and tidal states (increasing/decreasing versus maximum currents) across these habitats could assist risk assessment and mitigation measures at both a regional and development site level. Datasets from shore-based surveys collated across 6 tidal stream environments showed that the probability of detecting foraging black guillemots and European shags tended to be higher in fast and slow microhabitats, respectively. However, differences between microhabitats were reversed and/or marginal in 3 out of the 5 sites used for each species. Differences between tidal states were almost always marginal. These variabilities show that a species' vulnerability could differ greatly among development sites, and environmental impact assessments (EIA) must quantify habitat-use using dedicated and site-specific surveys to reduce uncertainty. However, a greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying variation in the use of tidal stream environments is needed when selecting a suite of potential development sites that reduce the possibility of population-level impacts. The current collection of physical and biological data across tidal stream environments could therefore prove invaluable for the protection of seabird populations.     

基于PIV技术不同形式防波堤周围涡旋场特性研究

利用PIV技术,基于模型实验,对规则波作用下防波堤周围的速度流场及其涡流特性进行了实验研究,获得了规则波流场的瞬时速度分布。通过对不同型式防波堤在不同的水力条件下的波浪流场实验数据的分析,定量地研究了防波堤堤身水域的涡旋流场的水力特性。     

Geostrophic flow disturbances generated by inhomogeneities of the gravitational field

A theoretical problem of linear stationary disturbances of the background geostrophic flow of a stratified rotating medium (atmosphere) that are induced by inhomogeneities of the gravitational field is considered. There is a common belief that such inhomogeneities may only somewhat deform (distort) the state of hydrostatic equilibrium, but cannot affect the dynamics of the flow in the atmosphere. Generally, the problem statement is different for the processes over a solid surface and a water surface, because a water surface (the lower boundary condition for the atmosphere) is deformed by inhomogeneities of the gravitational field. The problem of disturbances over a water surface has been considered in recent papers of the authors; in this paper, the results are developed and significantly revised. The emphasis is on disturbances over a flat horizontal surface, which were not examined before. From the analytical solutions, it follows that the influence of inhomogeneities of the gravitational field on the atmospheric flows may be significant in some cases. Physical generation mechanisms of disturbances are analyzed.     

Particle dynamics as controlled by the flow field of the eastern equatorial Pacific

Profiles made during the JGOFS EgPac October 1992 time series cruise to the equator with a Large Aggregate Profiling System (LAPS) recorded the concentration and size distribution of particles in the marine snow size range ( > 0.5 mm diameter). Profiles were made routinely at local midnight during the twenty day occupation of the time series station on the equator. The LAPS data set, when combined with the CTD/transmissometer data set from the EgPac program's intensive profiling operation, reveals a complex dynamic of particle production and aggregation driven by the equatorial flow field.During the cruise, the influence of the passage of a Tropical Instability Wave (TIW) was observed in the transmissometer/aggregate and temperature/salinity data sets. A peak in particle production rate occurred in conjunction with the maximum shoaling of the thermocline and a minimum in the aggregate volume concentration. Subsequently, the particle load in the surface water increased followed by an increase in the aggregate abundance. Quasi -oligotrophic conditions on the equator (subsurface particle and aggregate maxima and decreased particle production rates) toward the end of the time series corresponded to the appearance of stratified low salinity water characteristic of more northerly conditions.The variations in temperature and salinity fields are ascribed to the passage of a TIW; in sequence: the trailing edge, the northwestward-flowing cool cusp water and the convergent front. Current meters at the equator recorded a rotational flow at 80 m, with a shift from southeastward to northeastward flow during this sequence. A simple conceptual model of meridional flow field is presented in which poleward transport of the upwelled water from the equator returns at shallow depths to mix with the EUC. The signature of this return flow is reflected in the decrease in the vertical gradients of nutrients and oxygen at the equator with respect to the poleward gradients, and a subsurface particle maximum below the EUC. The flow field's effect on the distribution of particles is reflected in the meridional pattern of the sediment accumulation rate (Murray and Leinen, 1996). The return flow of particles to the equator is reflected in the maximum in accumulation rate near the equator. The longterm influence of TIW's is reflected in the asymmetry of the accumulation rates across the equator as described by Murray and Leinen (1996), with the maximum accumulation rate found south of the equator, a local minimum in accumulation rate at approximately 2°N, and a local maximum near 4°N.     

直立式防波堤口门区海啸局部冲刷规律实验研究

海啸作为世界上最严重的自然灾害之一,其巨大的破坏力使得近海建筑物遭受了严重的损害。基于波浪水槽实验,开展海啸波作用下不同口门距离的防波堤局部冲刷机理实验研究。实验结果表明,在海啸波越顶水流产生的水跌以及海啸波通过防波堤口门时产生的扰流共同作用下,口门中心线处产生明显的局部冲刷坑,随着口门距离的增加,防波堤局部冲刷先加剧后减弱。建立防波堤局部最大冲刷深度与海啸波波高、防波堤宽度及出水高度、口门间距的关系式,揭示了最大局部冲刷深度与海啸波波高、防波堤尺寸、口门距离的内在关系。     

Remote sensing observations of biological material by LANDSAT along a tidal thermal front and their relevancy to the available field data

Two images recorded on two successive summer days by LANDSAT satellite over the western approaches to the English Channel show bright pattern of complex shape the origin of which is puzzling. Among the wavelength bands available on LANDSAT's multispectral scanner, these patterns are apparent only in the green region of the spectrum, and they are located towards the stratified side of a well marked tidal thermal front. Spectral signature analysis and available knowledge on hydrography and plankton in the area are used to derive a proposed interpretation. Phytoplankton would accordingly be the best candidate for being responsible for the observed patterns.     

Transient wind drift currents in a tidal inlet: Theoretical analysis of Ekman drift current and field experiments in Suonada,the Seto Inland Sea

Time-dependent wind drift currents in a basin with finite depth have been solved analytically in order to understand their fundamental behavior in coastal waters. The drift currents due to the land/sea breeze, as a typical example of time-dependent winds, have been examined with attention to the manner of their oscillation in their vertical profiles. The theoretical analysis indicates that the drift current due to the land/sea breeze might be amplified effectively around the southern part of Japan, where the oscillating period of the wind is near to the inertial period. The analysis of the physical process of the drift current reveals the following two important aspects: the Ekman boundary layer in a rotating frame is physically consistent with the Stokes boundary layer due to oscillating currents in an inertial frame, and so the inertial motion due to the wind is dispersed to the deeper level by the vertical viscosity in a rotating frame. The harmonic analysis was performed for the residual data after removal of the four main tidal constituents, M2, S2, K1 and O1, from the raw data observed in Suonada sound, the Seto Inland Sea. The feature of the analytically solved drift currents corresponded well to the observed picture. The vertical viscosity in this field has been estimated at 10⁻³ m²/s by adjusting the harmonically analytical result of the observed data to the vertical profile of the analytically solved drift current.     

Responses of phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria in the northwest subarctic Pacific to in situ iron fertilization as estimated by HPLC pigment analysis and flow cytometry

To verify the hypothesis that the growth of phytoplankton in the Western Subarctic Gyre (WSG), which is located in the northwest subarctic Pacific, is suppressed by low iron (Fe) availability, an in situ Fe fertilization experiment was carried out in the summer of 2001. Changes over time in the abundance and community structure of phytoplankton were examined inside and outside an Fe patch using phytoplankton pigment markers analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and flow cytometry (FCM). In addition, the abundance of heterotrophic bacteria was also investigated by FCM. The chlorophyll a concentration was initially ca. 0.9 μg l⁻¹ in the surface mixed layer where diatoms and chlorophyll b-containing green algae (prasinophytes and chlorophytes) were predominant in the chlorophyll biomass. After the iron enrichment, the chlorophyll a concentration increased up to 9.1 μg l⁻¹ in the upper 10 m inside the Fe patch on Day 13. At the same time, the concentration of fucoxanthin (a diatom marker) increased 45-fold in the Fe patch, and diatoms accounted for a maximum 69% of the chlorophyll biomass. This result was consistent with a microscopic observation showing that the diatom Chaetoceros debilis had bloomed inside the Fe patch. However, chlorophyllide a concentrations also increased in the Fe patch with time, and reached a maximum of 2.2 μg l⁻¹ at 5 m depth on Day 13, suggesting that a marked abundance of senescent algal cells existed at the end of the experiment. The concentration of peridinin (a dinoflagellate marker) also reached a maximum 24-fold, and dinoflagellates had contributed significantly (>15%) to the chlorophyll biomass inside the Fe patch by the end of the experiment. Concentrations of 19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin (a prymnesiophyte marker), 19′-butanoyloxyfucoxanthin (a pelagophyte marker), and alloxanthin (a cryptophyte marker) were only incremented a few-fold increment inside the Fe patch. On the contrary, chlorophyll b concentration reduced to almost half of the initial level in the upper 10 m water column inside the Fe patch at the end of the experiment. A decrease with time in the abundance of eukaryotic ultraphytoplankton (<ca. 5 μm in size), in which chlorophyll b-containing green algae were possibly included was also observed by FCM. Overall, our results indicate that Fe supply can dramatically alter the abundance and community structure of phytoplankton in the WSG. On the other hand, cell density of heterotrophic bacteria inside the Fe patch was maximum at only ca. 1.5-fold higher than that outside the Fe patch. This indicates that heterotrophic bacteria abundance was little respondent to the Fe enrichment.