Bushra Chowdhury
Research Mentor(s): Michael Bernitsas
Mentor Department: Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering
Authors:
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 60
Abstract
My research is based on the VIVACE converter that captures renewable hydrokinetic energy from currents or tides which force cylinders to move in patterns which mimic fish body undulation. It based on research conducted in the Marine Renewable Energy laboratory (MRELab) directed by Prof. Michael Bernitsas, and in his work, he also makes sure to keep it eco-friendly with no contamination and avoid disturbance of natural habitats during the process. At a very high level, it works by converting hydrokinetic energy into mechanical energy. Regular turbines require 4 knots to operate while most ocean currents and tides and rivers flows are usually slower than 2 or 3 knots. However, the initial problem we are facing is that among the four cylinders of the Vivac, back two of them remain static, and the first two cylinders need more observation and analysis as well. My role in this research is to simulate and animate one set of parameters at all flow speeds (from 0.1 to 1.5m/s every 0.1 m/s) on the first two cylinders. After that analyze post-process data, compare CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) results to experiments, and investigate interactions between shear layers, vortices, and bodies to explain bifurcations and bistabilities. With all of these computations and comparisons considering different factors, it will be possible to improve the design. Keywords: hydrokinetic energy, flow speed, Vivac converter, renewable energy.
