• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.247-268
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• 2023

Tidal stream energy extraction remains a site-specific resource due to the "first generation" criteria requiring high-velocity tidal streams. Most studies on tidal energy and turbine blade design heavily focus on installation sites with higher velocity conditions that are non-existent in tropical countries such as the Philippines. To shorten this gap, this review paper tackles tidal turbine design considerations for low-energetic regions such as the tropics. In-depth discussions of operating principles, methods of analysis, and designs of tidal turbine blades are presented. Notable tidal stream projects around the world are also mentioned in the paper. Also, it provides a perspective on the potential of this renewable energy to produce electricity for various sites in the Philippines. Finally, the paper emphasizes the need for new tidal turbine blade designs to be viable in tropical regions, such as the Philippines.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.250-261
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• 2023

In this study, the noise contributions by the duct, stator and rotor, which are the propulsor components, are evaluated to identify the flow noise source in cavitation and non-cavitation conditions on pumpjet propulsion and the noise levels in both conditions are compared. The unsteady incompressible Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equation based on the homogeneous mixture assumption is applied on the suboff submarine hull and pumpjet propeller in the cavitation tunnel, and the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method and Schnerr-Sauer cavitation model are used to describe the two-phase flow. Based on the flow simulation results, the acoustic analogy formulated by Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings (FW-H) equation is applied to predict the underwater radiated noise. The noise contributions are evaluated by using the three types of impermeable integral surface on the duct, stator and rotor, and the two types of permeable integral surface surrounding the propulsor. As a result of noise prediction, the contribution by the stator is insignificant, but it affects the generation of flow noise source due to flow separation in the duct and rotor, and the noise is predominantly radiated into the upward and right where the flow separations are. Also, the noise is radiated into the thrust direction due to pressure fluctuation between suction and pressure sides on the rotor blades, and the it can be seen that the cavitation effect into the noise can be considered through the permeable integral surface.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.442-449
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• 2009

A two-dimensional cross-section analysis program based on the finite element method has been developed for composite blades with solid, thin-walled and compound cross-sections. The weighted-modulus method is introduced to determine the laminated composite material properties. The shear center and the torsion constant for any given section are calculated according to the Trefftz' definition and the St. Venant torsion theory, respectively. The singular value problem of cross-section stiffness properties faced during the section analysis has been solved by performing an eigenvalue analysis to remove the rigid body mode. Numerical results showing the accuracy of the program obtained for stiffness, offset and inertia properties are compared in this analysis. The current analysis results are validated with those obtained by commercial software and published data available in the literature and a good correlation has generally been achieved through a series of validation study.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.39 no.8
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• pp.661-668
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• 2015

We present a design methodology for horizontal-axis tidal turbine blades based on blade element momentum theory, which has been used for aerodynamic design and power-performance analysis in the wind-energy industry. We design a 2-blade-type 1 MW HATT blade, which consists of a single airfoil (S814), and we present the detailed design parameters in this paper. Tidal turbine blades can experience cavitation problems at the blade-tip region, and this should be seriously considered during the early design stage. We perform computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations considering the cavitation model to predict the power performance and to investigate the flow characteristics of the blade. The maximum power coefficient is shown to be about 47 under the condition where TSR = 7, and we observed cavitation on the suction and pressure sides of the blade.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.311-320
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• 2014

Rotor blades are important devices that affect the power performance, efficiency of energy conversion, and loading and dynamic stability of wind turbines. Therefore, considering the characteristics of a wind turbine system is important for achieving optimal blade design. When a design is complete, a design evaluation should be performed to verify the structural integrity of the proposed blade in accordance with international standards or guidelines. This paper presents a detailed exposition of the evaluation items and acceptance criteria required for the design certification of wind turbine blades. It also presents design evaluation results for a 2-MW blade (KR40.1b). Analyses of ultimate strength, buckling stability, and tip displacement were performed using FEM, and Miner's rule was applied to evaluate the fatigue life of the blade. The structural integrity of the KR40.1b blade was found to satisfy the design standards.

• Journal of Wind Energy
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.13-21
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• 2022

When a wind turbine is designed, the dynamic stability of the system as well as the dynamic characteristics of the main components such as blades, hub, main shaft and tower must be evaluated. In particular, the natural frequencies of a blade, as a main load-generating component, need to be measured and assessed by component level testing. In conventional practice, the natural frequencies of a blade are determined as the measured frequencies near the reference frequencies provided by FE analysis results. But the reference frequencies are also uncertain since designers have difficulty distinguishing the torsional mode shape among the analysis results due to the complexity of its mode shape. So, in conventional practice, the determination of a measured torsional frequency inevitably contains uncertainty. Therefore, a novel method to definitely determine the torsional frequencies from the experimental data itself is necessary. In this paper, a new methodology to measure the torsional frequency of a blade was studied from the perspective of a modal test procedure, data processing method and mode determination logic. Finally, the validity of the method that can measure torsional frequency without reference FE analysis results was verified by applying it to an actual large wind turbine blade

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.47 no.8
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• pp.582-589
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• 2019

The dynamic balancing test of helicopter main rotor blades is a blade rotation test conducted on the ground to make the track of each blade and the load on each pitch rod to a similar level before the flight tests. The purpose of the test is to reduce the vibration occurring on main rotor system as a result of dissimilarity of each blade. The RTB test has been performed for a long period at Whirl Tower Test Facility located in Goheung Flight Centre, accumulating its data. As the amount of the results has become increasingly enormous the needs for the development of database system has been raised to manage the data with effective method. This research aimed to describe the development of Dynamic-Balancing Database System for the RTB test results. For the design of the database system the informations of RTB test results have been categorized into properties, connecting each others according to its logical meaning, and comprised into a database system with relational elements. It has been shown in this paper that the Dynamic Balancing database system enables to effectively accumulate the RTB test data and to be utilized for the data analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.77-83
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• 2002

A computational study on the performance prediction of a two-stage axial compressor has been performed. A quasi-steady mixing-plane method is used on the rotor/stator interface to simulate the unsteady interaction phenomena. Detail flow mechanisms, for example, choke, stall, shock/boundary interaction, etc., have been observed and discussed in conjunction with performance characteristics. Calculational data agree reasonably well with the experimental data in terms of the performance characteristics showing the applicability of computational methods to the design validation of multistage axial compressors instead of experimental methods. But it is found that the stall margin of the original compressor was rather small, thus the design modification adopting a simple 1D/2D method has been conducted and its corresponding computations are also carried out. As a result of the redesign process, the stall margin becomes wide enough, but the overall performance is unsatisfactory, therefore, it seems that the redesign of the blades using 3-D methods is needed in the future work.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.142-149
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• 2004

This paper presents a neural network controller of a grid-connected wind energy conversion system for extracting maximum power from wind and a power controller to transfer the maximum power extracted into a utility grid. It discusses the modeling and simulation of the wind energy conversion system with the controllers, which consists of an induction generator, a transformer, a link of a rectifier, and an inverter. The paper describes tile drive train model, induction generator model and grid-interface model for dynamics analysis. Maximum power extraction is achieved by controlling the pitch angle of the rotor blades by a neural network controller. Pitch control method is mechanically complicated, but the control performance is better than that of the stall regulation. The simulation results performed on MATLAB show the variation of the generator torque, the generator rotor speed, the pitch angle, and real/reactive power injected into the grid, etc. Based on the simulation results, the effectiveness of the proposed controllers is verified.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.17-27
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• 2017

The treatment of rotor wake has been a critical issue in the field of the rotor aerodynamics. This paper presents a new free wake model for the unsteady analysis for a wind turbine. A blade-wake-tower interaction is major source of unsteady aerodynamic loading and noise on the wind turbine. However, this interaction can not be considered in conventional free wake model. Thus, the free wake model named Finite Vortex Element (FVE hereafter) was devised in order to consider the interaction effects. In this new free wake model, the wake-tower interaction was described by dividing one vortex filament into two vortex filaments, when the vortex filament collided with a tower. Each divided vortex filaments were remodeled to make vortex ring and horseshoe vortex to satisfy Kelvin's circulation theorem and Helmholtz's vortex theorem. This model was then used to predict aerodynamic load and wake geometry for the horizontal axis wind turbine. The results of the FVE model were compared with those of the conventional free wake model and the experimental results of SNU wind tunnel test and NREL wind tunnel test under various inflow velocity and yaw condition. The result of the FVE model showed better correlation with experimental data. It was certain that the tower interaction has a strong effect on the unsteady aerodynamic load of blades. Thus, the tower interaction needs to be taken into account for the unsteady load prediction. As a result, this research shows a potential of the FVE for an efficient and versatile numerical tool for unsteady loading analysis of a wind turbine.