EAGER: Sediment Transport in the Wake of a Marine HydroKinetic Turbine

海洋水动力（MHK）能源是一种尚未开发的具有巨大潜力的可再生能源。自由流的能量回收&amp；#64258；河流、潮汐通道和洋流等水流最终可能会产生重大影响。我们不能为美国的力量做出贡献，但我们目前对如何以环保的方式回收这些能源缺乏了解。由于资源的高度集中性质和大多数（如果不是全部的话）高能量密度地点的环境敏感性，MHK能源的成功回收关键取决于寻找最紧迫的环境问题的答案。Speci& # 64257;目前，我们还不了解MHK设备的操作如何改变本地的&amp；#64258；现在的环境和由此产生的泥沙动力学，我们也没有方法来量化这些影响。海&amp；#64258；涡轮机或其支撑结构的尾流所产生的沉积物可能会改变底栖生物生态系统的特征。沉积物的再悬浮可能会重新引入原本从自由流中沉淀出来的污染物，并且动量会下降。在涡轮机的尾迹中，城市可能会导致增强的沉积。为了使海洋流体动力学成为美国和世界其他地区可行的能源，我们必须了解这些设备对环境的影响。在这个EAGER项目中，实验室规模的示范实验将在MHK涡轮机模型上进行，以模拟目前正在评估MHK能量回收的不同环境。UMD开发的一种新型两相粒子图像测速（PIV）技术将用于量化载体的悬浮载荷动力学。液体和沉淀物颗粒。床pro& # 64257;凌将用于评估当地侵蚀和沉积的变化。pi的长期目标是表征和量化两相电流。海洋之间相互作用的低物理&amp；#64258；恶劣的地球物理环境和MHK涡轮的尾迹，带有规格&amp；#64257；C对沉积物再分配的兴趣。智力价值这项工作的智力价值在于非平衡泥沙动力学的基本性质，这种动力学是由于复杂的[amp；#64258；以高水平的湍流和涡度为特征。首先，pi将在实验室规模的实验中量化MHK涡轮机近尾迹对沉积物抬升和运输的影响，主要目的是产生演示数据，说明该设施和技术的能力和效用。基于对相关&amp；#64258；通过这些实验获得的低物理特性，pi将开始对缩放条件和建模进行初步调查，这将允许创建由MHK引起的沉积物运输的新模型。噢,# 64257;高龄。更广泛的影响这项工作的更广泛的影响将扩展到教育和工业领域。拟议的研究将使MHK能源得到公平、及时和有效的评估&amp；#64257；客户的态度，在广泛的潜在的操作地点和条件。因此，它可能为一种新的能源打开大门，这种能源可能会迅速影响美国可再生能源的生产比例，取代不可再生能源和污染能源。

Marine HydroKinetic (MHK) energy is a largely undeveloped renewable energy source with great potential. Energy recovery from freestream flows such as rivers, tidal passages, and ocean currents may eventually make a significant contribution to U.S. power, but we currently lack understanding of how to recover this energy in an environmentally-safe way. Because of the highly concentrated nature of the resource and the environmental sensitivity of most, if not all, of the high-energy-density sites, successful recovery of MHK energy depends critically on finding answers to the most pressing environmental concerns. Specifically, we do not yet understand how the operation of MHK devices alters the local flow environment and resulting sediment dynamics, nor do we have the methods to quantify these effects. Redistribution of sea floor sediment by the wake of the turbine or its support structure could potentially change the character of the benthic ecosystem. Resuspension of sediment may reintroduce contaminants that had otherwise settled out of the freestream, and the momentum deficit in the wake of the turbine could lead to enhanced deposition. For marine hydrokinetics to become a viable energy resource in the U.S. and the rest of the world, we must understand the environmental effects of these devices.In this EAGER project, Laboratory-scale demonstration experiments will be performed on models of MHK turbines to model the different environments where MHK energy recovery is currently being evaluated. A novel two-phase particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique developed at UMD will be used to quantify the suspended load dynamics of both the carrier fluid and the sediment particles. Bed profiling will be used to assess changes in the local erosion and deposition. The long-term of the PIs is to characterize and quantify the two-phase flow-physics of the interaction between the sea floor geophysical environment and the wake of an MHK turbine, with a specific interest in the redistribution of sediment.Intellectual MeritThe intellectual merit of this work lies in the fundamental nature of non-equilibrium sediment dynamics that occur as a result of a complex flow characterized by high levels of turbulence and vorticity. First, the PIs will quantify the effect of the near wake of a MHK turbine on sediment uplift and transport in laboratory-scale experiments, primarily with the goal to produce demonstration data that illustrates the capabilities and utility of the facility and techniques. Based on the enhanced understanding of the relevant flow-physics gained through these experiments, the PIs will start the initial investigations of the scaling conditions and modeling that will allow the creation of new models for sediment transport induced by MHK flow fields.Broader ImpactsThe broader impacts of this work will extend to both the educational and industrial arenas. The proposed research will enable MHK energy to be assessed in a fair, timely and efficient manner, over a broad range of potential operational sites and conditions. Thus, it could open the doors to a new source that could quickly impact the percentage of renewable energy produced in the United States, displacing non-renewable and polluting sources.