Abstract
The objective of this study is to propose a new radial flow turbine for wave energy conversion and to clarify its performance by model testing. The proposed radial turbine has a rotor blade row for uni-directional airflow and two guide vane rows. The guide vane rows are named `floating nozzle' in the study. The guide vane rows slide in an axial direction and work as nozzle in the turbine alternately for bi-directional airflow, so as to rectify bi-directional airflow and to make uni-directional airflow. The rotor with a diameter of 500mm has been manufactured and investigated experimentally under steady flow condition which is generated by a wind tunnel using a piston/cylinder system with a diameter of 1.4m. As a result, it has been found that the peak efficiency of the proposed turbine is approximately 57% and the rotational speed of this turbine is considerably lower than that of Wells turbine.
