Abstract
The Oscillating Water Column system (OWC) is considered as interesting concept for ocean wave energy extraction. Several kinds of air turbines have been envisaged for pneumatic energy conversion to mechanical energy. The Wells turbine has been used widely in OWC plants. However an alternative self-rectifying turbine called Impulse turbine has gained more attention last years. In the present study, we are interested in the radial version of the Impulse turbine, which was initially proposed by McCormick.
This numerical study is aimed to improve the understanding of the local flow behaviour inside a radial version of the Impulse turbine and the prediction of its performances. The research work has been carried out using FLUENT® code. Model validation has been conducted through a comparison with experimental results available in the literature. It is planed that this model will be exploited next in the design and the optimisation stages of a high performances radial Impulse turbine project for an OWC of 250 kW.