Performance comparison of turbines for wave power conversion

The objective of this paper is to compare the performances of bi-directiona l turbines under irregular wave condition, which could be used for wave pow er conversion in the near future. The overall performances in connection wi th the behavior of oscillating water columns have been evaluated numericall y. The types of turbine included in the paper are as follows (a) Wells turbine with guide vanes (WTGV); (b) turbine with self-pitch-controlled blades (TSCB); (c) biplane Wells turbine with guide vanes (BWGV); (d) impulse turbine with self-pitch-control led guide vanes (ISGV), and (e) impulse turbine with fixed guide vanes (IFGV). In the study, the experimental investigations were carried out to clarify t he performance under steady flow condition and then the numerical simulatio n was used for predicting the performance of the turbine under irregular wa ve condition, which typically occurs in the sea. As a result, it is found t hat the running and starting characteristics of the impulse type turbines c ould be superior to those of the Wells turbine under irregular wave conditi on. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques, et medicales Elsevier SAS.