Authors: M. Vieira, A. Ribeiro, A. Sarmento, L. Reis

The working principle of the Wells turbine, used in the ocean energy extraction, can sometimes lead to stall in the turbine and stators’ blades, which represents an unintended action as it creates potentially damaging conditions to the mechanical components, moreover reducing the efficiency of the take-off system. This work focuses on the cracking damage caused to the guide vanes due to the loading from turbulent air flow as a result of turbine stall. Strain gauges and pressure sensors were used to evaluate the loading profile in real-sea working conditions. The appearance of cracks seems to have been caused by mistakes taken at both design and manufacturing phases. The lack of an active control strategy on the power plant resulted in consistent turbine stall, thus contributing to the excessive loadings that the blades are subjected to.

M. Vieira ¹ | A. Ribeiro² |A. Sarmento^1,3 | L. Reis ¹
1 ICEMS, Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa
2 IDMEC, Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa
3 WavEC – Offshore Renewables