Experimental Study on the Effect of Single Flow Disturber on the Performance of the Straight-Bladed Hydrokinetic Turbine at Low Current Speed

Indonesian Marine Energy Association 2014 provided the results of ratifying the potential of ocean current energy in Indonesia of 17,989 MW. The amount is quite large for the results of several potential points in the territory of Indonesia. However, the potential of ocean currents in Indonesia has not been utilized optimally, even though the current turbine technology is developing rapidly in the world. The existing turbine technology that is already available worldwide cannot be applied directly in Indonesia. This is because the water condition in Indonesia is classified as low-speed current, unlike some countries in the world which are classified as high-speed current. Therefore, a turbine that can work in the condition of the territorial waters in Indonesia, in general, with a low current speed is needed. The turbine technology used in this study consists of turbine A (without a flow disturber) and turbine B (with a single flow disturber). The purpose of this study was to determine the increase in turbine performance at low current speeds. The method used in this study was an in-situ experiment because it was closer to the actual conditions. The results obtained from this study indicated that the addition of a single flow disturber could increase turbine performance at all variations of current speed, namely 0.4, 0.88, and 1 m/s. The most exciting result was that under the low current speed of 0.4 m/s, adding a single flow disturber could increase the ability to self-start from 0 rpm to 7.180 rpm and efficiency from 0 to 4%. In addition, at a current speed of 0.88 m/s with the addition of a single flow disturber, it could increase efficiency from 10.8% to 11.1%. At a current speed of 1 m/s with the addition of a single flow disturber, it could increase efficiency from 16.6% to 18%. That is, turbine B (with a single flow disturber) is very suitable to be applied in the territorial waters of Indonesia, which tend to have low current velocity.