Investigation of flow around flexible bodies

• Main Author: Lee, Yuan Long
• Other Authors: Chan Weng Kong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/68007
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Renewable and clean energy have an added significance today. However, existing renewable and clean energy have their limitations. Among the various renewable and clean energy, the focus of this final year project is on hydro-kinetic energy. As such, this project aims to investigate the effect of vortex shedding as a potential source of hydro-kinetic energy that has minimal impact on marine life and the environment. Hydro-kinetic energy generated by vortex shedding is then harvested by converting it to electrical energy for use. Four methods to harvest hydro-kinetic energy were designed based on the principle of electromagnetic induction and the piezoelectric effect. The chosen design involves making use of vortex shedding over a cylinder to generate vertical motion of a thin bar to strike a piezoelement to induce the piezoelectric effect. The components for the chosen method were fabricated and purchased and two experiments were carried out. The first experiment aims to prove the feasibility of utilizing vortex shedding to generate hydro-kinetic energy. Different parameters such as the position of the cylinder and the extent of compression of springs were considered and varied. The resultant motion of the thin bar for different combinations of the parameters was recorded and analyzed to determine the ideal combinations of the different parameters to generate hydro-kinetic energy. The objective of the second experiment is to measure the rate of conversion of hydro-kinetic energy to electrical energy via the piezoelectric effect. Based on the results of the first experiment, specific combinations of the different parameters were used to measure the rate of conversion of hydro-kinetic energy to electrical energy by using a capacitor. Even though the energy output is small, the results proved the viability of utilizing vortex shedding as a source of hydro-kinetic energy. Despite the relative success, more study must be done to assess the practicality of using vortex shedding as a source of hydro-kinetic energy and this project seeks to provide a platform for future work to be done.