Abstract
In the response of the increasing energy demand and the global trend in renewable energy development, Kuroshio energy harvesting becomes an important issue of Taiwan. In this study,
the feasibility of nozzle-diffuser duct as a Kuroshio energy harvester is investigated. The computation fluid dynamics (CFD) software ANSYS-Fluent was used to calculate the drag and added mass of the duct. The simulation of single duct anchored on the seabed under normal and storm waves was established by Orcaflex. Under normal wave condition, the high Power Take Off (PTO) was assured when the duct siting near free surface location. However, the duct must be sink to deeper location (100 m below sea surface) to avoid the assaulting of Typhoon wave action. The PTO of the proposed nozzle-diffuser duct is 15 kW if the Kuroshio speed is 1.0 m / s. To implement a Mega PTO system, 66 ducts are needed and a suitable platform is needed to carry as many ducts as possible.