Hydrodynamic Parameter Estimation of A 20kW Floating Kuroshio Turbine Operating in Steady State

The Kuroshio flows with a stable speed (1.0 ~ 1.5 m/s) and direction off the east Taiwan coast. The National Taiwan University (NTU) group developed a 20kW floating-type Kuroshio turbine (FKT) in 2021. The FKT is anchored on the seafloor and floating under the sea surface to utilize the higher current speed on the surface. A physics-based and modular mathematical model is developed to provide dynamic simulation results for the FKT system design and deployment. The usefulness of the mathematical model is in the ability to model the FKT dynamics accurately. A ship towing test was carried out in 2021 to collect FKT data in the current. An estimator based on the EnKF framework was developed to estimate hydrodynamic parameters based on the towing test data. The FKT force/moment balance equations are derived. The estimated thrust coefficients versus tip speed ratio are consistent with results from the towing tests.