Professional Documents
Culture Documents
College of Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Department
"Theoretical study about Tidal Energy"
By
Balqees Hmode Abdullah
Supervised by
Asst. Prof. Dr.Mushtaq I. Hasan
Abstract
This article is about tidal power. It describes tidal power
and the various methods of utilizing tidal power to
electricity. It briefly discusses each method generate
and provides details of calculating tidal power generation
and energy most effectively. The paper also focuses
1. Overview:
Tidal power exploits energy drawn from the movement of ocean tides to
produce electricity. There are two scenarios in which tides can be tapped for
energy. The first is in changing sea levels. This phenomenon is responsible for
the advancing and receding tides on shorelines. With the help of turbines,
incoming tides can be manipulated to generate electricity. The second way to
exploit tidal energy is by sinking turbines to the sea floor where fast-flowing
currents turn generator blades much like wind does with a wind turbine.
Tidal energy is considered renewable because the tides move on a predictable,
daily schedule, depending only on the orbits of the Earth, Moon, and Sun, and
are essentially inexhaustible [1]. Though tidal energy is carbon free, it is not
environmentally benign. Concerns over the health of shoreline and aquatic
ecosystems mar this otherwise clean source of energy. Older tidal barrage
technology can devastate fish populations [2].
In the past, large-scale barrage systems dominated the tidal power scene. But
because of increasingly evident unfavorable environmental and economic
drawbacks with this technology, research into the field of tidal power shifted
from barrage systems to tidal current turbines in the last few decades. This
new technology leaves a smaller environmental footprint than tidal barrages,
as turbines are placed in offshore currents avoiding the need to construct dams
to capture the tides along ecologically fragile coastlines. Harnessing tidallydriven coastal currents cannot yet deliver the sheer amount of power that
barrage style facilities can, like at the 240 MW barrage generating station at
La Rance, France [3]. However, the technology is quickly evolving with
numerous test plants popping up around the globe.
Canada hosts two test sites, one tidal barrage and one tidal current power
station. With one new and one old, both a history and a newfound interest in
tidal power is apparent. The Annapolis Royal tidal barrage built in Nova
Scotia's Bay of Fundy in 1984, with its world-famous tides, operates as the
third largest tidal power plant in the world, with 20 MW [4]. The smaller Race
Rocks facility in British Columbia, installed in 2006, uses tidal current
technology to generate 65 kW of power [5]. Studies have estimated a potential
4,000 MW of untapped energy flowing along the coasts of BC [6]. Canada,
and the shores of British Columbia, are home to some of the world's most
attractive locations for tidal power development.
3. Tides:
The interaction of the sun-moon-earth system causes ones of the strangest
phenomena: tides. Tides rise and fall is the product of the gravitational and centrifugal
forces, of primarily the moon with the earth. The gravitational forces maintain the
moon on it is positions with respect to the earth, forcing to pull the earth and the moon
together, see figure 1. The centrifugal forces acts on the opposite direction pulling the
moon away from the earth. These two forces acts together to maintain the equilibrium
between these two masses.
The influence of the sun can be included on the balance of the entire system. The
distance plays an important role on the development of tides. Based on the newton
law, the gravitational force is proportional to the square of the distance of two bodies,
but tidal force is proportional to the cube of the distance. For this reason although the
moon has a much smaller mass than the sun it is much closer to the earth. The moon
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effect is 24 greater than that of the sun on the generation of tides [8].
The gravitational force of attraction of the moon causes that the oceans waters bulge
on the side of the earth that faces the moon. The centrifugal force produce the same
effect but in the opposite side of the earth. On these two sides it can be observe the
maximum amplitudes of the tides (high tides) and on midways of it occur the
minimum amplitudes of the tides (low tides). As the earth rotates these two bulges
travel at the same rate as the earth`s rotation. The moon rotates around the earth with
respect to the sun approximately 29.5 days (lunar month) in the same direction that
the earth rotates every 24 hours. The rotation of the earth with respect to the moon is
approximately 24.48 hours (24 hours and 50 minutes) and is called lunar day. This is
the reason of why the tides advance approximately 50 minutes each day [9].
as the neap tides, see figure 3 [10]. Typically the spring tides range tend to be twice
the neap tides range.
The tidal movements can be reflect and restrict by the interruption of masses of land,
the bottom friction can reduce it is velocity and the depth, size and shape of the ocean
basins, bays and estuaries altered the movements of the tidal bulges and generate
different types of tides [8]. There are three types of tides: diurnal, semidiurnal and
mixed, see figure 4 [11].
Diurnal tides (daily) present one single high and low water during a period of a lunar
day of 24 hours and 50 minutes and occur in the Gulf of Mexico, southeast Asia and
the coast of Korea, semidiurnal tides (twice a day) present two high an two low waters
during a lunar day with periods of 12 hours and 50 minutes and is common along the
Atlantic coast of North America and the mixed tides that presents two unequal high
and two unequal lows waters and generally have a periods of 12 hours and 50
minutes. In a lunar month this type of tide that is common on the pacific Ocean coast
of the United states can experience semidiurnal and diurnal tides characteristics. In
1964 Davis classified the tidal ranges as: micro-tidal with tidal range less than 2
meters, meso-tidal with tidal range between 2 and 4 meters and macro-tidal with tidal
range of more than 4 meters [12].
4.1. A barrage: a barrage is a small wall built at the entrance of a gulf in order to
trap water behind it. It will either trap it by keeping it from going into the gulf when
water levels at the sea are high or it will keep water from going into the sea when
water level at the sea is low.
4.2. Turbines: they are the components responsible for converting potential energy
into kinetic energy. They are located in the passageways that the water flows through
when gates of barrage are opened. There are many types of turbines used in tidal
power stations.
A. Bulb turbines: as shown in Fig.7 these are difficult to maintain as water flows
around them and the generator is in water.
B. Rim turbines: as shown in Fig. 8 these are better maintained than the bulb
turbines but are hard to regulate as generator is fixed in barrage.
C. Tabular turbines: as shown in fig.9 these turbines are fixed to long shafts and
thus solve both problems that bulb and rim turbines have as they are easier to
maintain and control.
4.3. Sluices: sluice gates are the ones responsible for the flow of water through the
barrage they could be seen in Fig.6.
4.4. Embankments: they are caissons made out of concrete to prevent water from
flowing at certain parts of the dam and to help maintenance work and electrical wiring
to be connected or used to move equipment or cars over it. These embankments are
shown in Fig.10 [13].
Fig.10: Embankments.
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minimize barrage length. However, this entails blocking the estuary regardless of how
deep it is. This raise the costs considerably. However, a lagoon, for a low cost can
pretty much be built anywhere that there is a high tidal range. The lagoon has
relatively little visual impact, as it is below the high water tide mark and appears like
a normal sea wall at low tide.
The lagoon can be built using loose aggregates found in quarries or demolished
structures. This rubble would be dumped until an impound wall was complete. As
any aggregate can be used, it is possible to restrict construction costs by implementing
the cheapest materials available. This construction technique also has the added
benefit of creating an artificial reef. As well, a calm water lake would be created in
the middle where smaller fish and birds could flourish. Migrating fish can swim
around unimpeded and without the danger of sluices or negotiating turbines [14].
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can damage traditional wind turbine generators, whilst lower velocities are
uneconomic.
Placing turbines in tidal streams is complex, because the machines are large and
disrupt the tide they are trying to harness. The environmental impact could be severe,
depending on the size of the turbine and the site of the tidal stream. Turbines are most
effective in shallow water. This produces more energy and allows ships to navigate
around the turbines. A tidal generator's turbine blades also turn slowly, which helps
marine life avoid getting caught in the system [15].
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6.1. Ebb generation: Incoming water (flood tide) is allowed to flow freely to fill
the basin until high tide, then the sluices are close and water are retained on one side
of the barrage. When level of the water outside of the barrage decreased (ebb tide)
sufficiently to create a hydrostatic head between the open waters and tide basin, the
sluices are open and water flows through the turbines and generate electricity [16].
6.2. Flood generation: During the flood tide the sluices gates and low-head
turbines are kept closed to allow the water level outside of the barrage to increase.
Once a hydrostatic head is created the sluices gates are opened and the water flows
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through the turbines into the basin. This mode is less efficient than the ebb generation
[8,17].
6.3. Two ways generation: This mode permits to generate electricity using the
ebb generation and the flood tide. The main problem with this type mode is that the
turbines must work both ways, when water enters or exits the basin. This requires
move expensive turbines and at this time computer simulations do not indicate that
this mode increases significantly the energy production [17].
6.4. Pumping: On the ebb generation the hydrostatic head can be increases
reversing the power and turning the turbine-generation into a pump motor. During the
generation the energy that was use is returned [17].
Fig.14: Power output of two way single basin tidal power station with pumping [12].
6.5. Double basin: All of the modes discuss above use one tide basin. Using tow
basins, the turbines are placed between the basins. The main basin will going to use
the ebb generation mode to operate and pump water with part of the energy that is
generated to and from the second basin to generated electricity continuously. This has
the disadvantage that is very expensive [17].
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7. Energy of Tides:
The energy of the tide wave contains two components namely, potential and kinetic.
The potential energy is the work done in lifting the mass of water above the ocean
surface. This energy can be calculated as:
= 0.52
Where E is the energy, g is acceleration of gravity, is the sea water density, which
it`s mass per unit volume, A is the sea area under consideration, z is a vertical
coordinate of the ocean surface and h is the tide amplitude. Taking an average
g = 10.15 KN 3 for sea water, one can obtain for a tide cycle per square meter
of
ocean
surface:
= 1.42 , = 5.042 ,
The kinetic energy T of the water mass m is its capacity to do work by virtue of it`s
velocity V. It is defined by = 0.5 2 . The total tide energy equals the sum of
it`s potential and kinetic energy components.
Knowledge of the potential energy of the tide is important for designing conventional
tidal power plants using water dams for creating artificial upstream water heads. Such
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power plants exploit the potential energy of vertical rise and fall of the water. In
contrast, the kinetic energy of the tide has to be known in order to design floating or
other types of tidal power plants which harness energy from tidal currents or
horizontal water Sows induced by tides. They do not involve installation of water
dams [18].
(3
) =3000
=
=
10
= 2
10
10
1025.1
.
P.E. = 2
=4.5
10
1025.1
1012
. 1
10
Now we have 2 high tides and 2 low tides every day. At low tide the potential energy
is zero.
1012
2.
1012
Thus the mean power generation potential=energy generation potential / time in 1 day
Power =
1012
6400
=104MW.
Assuming the power conversion efficiency to be 30% : The daily-average power
generated = 104
30 = 31
. .
Because the available power varies with the square of the tidal range, a barrage is
placed in a location with a very high-amplitude tides. Suitable locations are found in
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The plant site features an average tidal range of 8.2m, the highest in France.
Electricity is fed into the 225kV national transmission network serving the needs of
approximately 130,000 households every year.
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Fish may move through sluices safely, but when these are closed, fish will see
turbines and attempt to swim through them. Also, some fish will be unable to escape
the water speed near a turbine and will be sucked through [22].
*Fish Mortality:
There are two categories of threats to fish
*Direct: injury and mortality due to blade strike and water conditions (for example
water pressure) resulting in damage or disorientation.
*Indirect: loss and degradation of habitat which may be important for feeding and
spawning; and disruption to movement (such as completion of migration).
Mortality due to blade strike is the most studied source of fish mortality. Estimates
depend on the type and operation of a turbine, and species of fish. In order to reduce
levels of blade strike, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) produced a set of
criteria for the design of fish-friendly turbines. These criteria are based on an
extensive literature review of studies on single fish passage through turbines at hydropower schemes. In recent years, levels of survival greater than 90% have been
achieved. While high survivability is possible, no field trials of turbines in an
estuarine environment have been carried out. In addition, most studies of fish
mortality have been carried out on small-sized salmon, a notoriously robust species;
therefore reports of negligible mortality levels may not be applicable to the diversity
of fish, crustacean and invertebrate species common in estuaries such as adult salmon,
shad, flounder, brown shrimp. In addition, estimates of fish mortality are based on
fish making a single pass through a turbine: fish living in an estuary may make
multiple passes in a day, increasing their risk of mortality.
Less studied is mortality due to sub-lethal injuries, predation or indirect impacts.
During turbine passage, blade strike and hydraulic conditions can result in injuries
(for example scale loss, eye loss or abrasions) which may not cause immediate
mortality, but will reduce survival through disease or decreased fitness. Fish
commonly suffer disorientation during turbine passage which increases predation risk
by other fish, fish-eating birds and aquatic mammals; this has been observed at La
Rance. In a recent study, mortality because of predation of juvenile salmon was found
to account for between 46-70% of total mortality, indicating it is potentially a
considerable source of mortality. However, at present studies on mortality levels due
to predation pressure and sub-lethal injuries are limited [23].
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Canadian government published guidelines for the testing of these turbines. The
report comments that mortality, although easy to define and measure, is simply one
way to evaluate the biological effectiveness of a turbine yet the majority of studies
focus only on mortality as an endpoint. It suggests that a suite of endpoints should
be examined which incorporate relevant metrics that have the potential to influence
long-term survival, health, condition and fitness [23].
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14. Conclusion:
Tidal power has the potential to generate significant amounts of electricity at certain
sites around the world. Although our entire electricity needs could never be met by
tidal power alone, it can be a valuable source of renewable energy to an electrical
system. The negative environmental impacts of tidal barrages are probably much
smaller than those of other sources of electricity, but are not well understood at this
time. The technology required for tidal power is well developed, and the main barrier
to increased use of the tides is that of construction costs. The future costs of other
sources of electricity, and concern over their environmental impacts, will ultimately
determine whether humankind extensively harnesses the gravitational power of the
moon [13].
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References:
1. Charlier. 2003. Sustainable Co-Generation from the tides: A Review.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.
2. Clark, Nigel. 2006. Tidal barrages and birds. British Ornithologists'
Union, Ibis.
3. Aubrecht, Gordon. 2006. Energy: Physical, Environmental, and Social
Impact. Third Edition. Pearson Education Inc. San Francisco, CA.
4. Pontes and Falcao. 2001. Ocean Energies: Resources and Utilization.
5. Aquatic Renewable Energy Technologies (AquaRET). 2006.
6. Nicholls-Lee, R.F., S.R. Turnock. 2008. Tidal energy extraction:
renewable, sustainable and predictable.
7. Clark, P. , R. Klossner, L. Kologe. 2003. Tidal Energy.
8. R.H.Charlier, J.R. Justus."Ocean Engines: Environmental, Economic
and Technological Aspects of Alternatives Power Sources", Elsevier
1993.
9. U.S. Department of Commerce, "Tide and Current Glossary" National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, January 2000.
10. P. Clark, R. Klossner, L. Kologe, "Tidal Energy", Final Project,
November 2003.
11. G. Hagerman, B. Polgye, "Methology for Estimating Tidal Current
Energy Resources and Power Production by Tidal In-stream Energy
Conversion (TISEC) Devices EPRI, September 2006.
12. K. Lyon, M. Rayner "Fact sheet 10: Tidal Energy", Australian
Institute of Energy Murdoch University, Australia, 2004.
13. Sh. Masuod, M. Amer, M. Samir, "Tidal Power Generation Systems",
Engineering Department, The American University in Cairo, Spring
2001.
14. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_power.
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