着底式潮流発電装置の開発

抄録

This paper presents the results on R&D of a bottom-mounted tidal current turbine system including concept and preliminary designs and element technology developments. On the design of the turbine blade, CFD simulation and tank experiment are carried out to evaluate the hydrodynamic performance. A full scale blade test is performed to prove that the strength of the blade is sufficient. On the design of the drivetrain, appropriate devices are selected in order to be operated safely. Considering the work vessels that can be used in Japan, special effort is paid to reduce the weight of the nacelle by increasing the voltage of the generator and moving the converter from the nacelle to the land. Performance and endurance tests are carried out on the seals for main shaft, pitch shaft and yaw shaft and it is confirmed that the leakage rate and the material durability satisfy the design criteria. The effect of biofouling on the performance of the heat exchanger is experimentally investigated, showing that the cooling capacity drops to 60% for a bare device, and 30% for that with anti-fouling coating.