Modeling Flows for Assessing Tidal Energy Generation Potential

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dc.contributor.authorSpurlock, Derek Scotten
dc.contributor.committeechairDiplas, Panayiotisen
dc.contributor.committeememberCox, William E.en
dc.contributor.committeememberGutierrez, Marte S.en
dc.contributor.departmentCivil Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:45:46Zen
dc.date.adate2008-10-07en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:45:46Zen
dc.date.issued2008-09-12en
dc.date.rdate2008-10-07en
dc.date.sdate2008-09-21en
dc.description.abstractTidal energy is a clean, sustainable, reliable, predictable source of energy. Recent developments in underwater turbines have made harvesting tidal energy feasible. Determining the power potential available in a given water body can be accomplished by using numerical hydraulic models to predict the flow velocity at a location of interest. The East River in Manhattan has been used here in an effort to develop a modeling methodology for assessing the power potential of a site. Two two-dimensional CFD models, FESWMS and TUFLOW, as well as one one-dimensional model, HEC-RAS, are used to analyze flows in the East River. Comparisons are made between the models and TUFLOW proves to best represent flows in the East River. HEC-RAS provides accurate results; however, the one-dimensional results lack the necessary detail of a two-dimensional model. FESWMS cannot produce results that mimic actual flow conditions in the East River. Using the TUFLOW model, power and energy estimates are made. These estimates show that a two-dimensional model, such as TUFLOW, can be a great tool for engineers and planners developing tidal energy projects. Using the results of this work, a methodology is developed to assess power potential at other sites using publicly available data.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-09212008-134411en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-09212008-134411/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/35140en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartD_Spurlock_Thesis.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjecttidal energyen
dc.subjecteast riveren
dc.subjecthydraulic modelen
dc.titleModeling Flows for Assessing Tidal Energy Generation Potentialen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineCivil Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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