Kinetic Energy Analysis

Welcome

The Project

Alaska has many remote villages that rely on shipments of diesel to survive the winter. These shipments travel great lengths over land sea and air. This causes the cost of electricity to be astronomical! To combat the coast of importing fuel and decrease the dependence and need of diesel the Alaska Center for Energy and power are investigating the use of hydro-kinetic turbines. These turbines unlike a dam have minimal impact on the surrounding environment. These turbines much like a wind turbine are powered by the flow of the river. Over 200 remote Alaska villages are located near river that could potential benefit from this technology.  

Test Location

The Tanana river near Nenana Alaska was selected as an accurate representation of an "Alaskan river." The river is sediment laden and frequently contains debris. These conditions can cause damage to the hydro-kinetic turbine and render the turbine ineffective. To keep the turbine functioning a River Debris Diversion Platform (RDDP) is placed upstream of the turbine to divert any oncoming debris. The addition of the RDDP while keeping the turbine functional also causes an increase in turbulence in the flow field. The effects of the turbulence are yet to be fully defined.

Prior to testing the turbine in the river, the average flow velocity and the turbulent kinetic energy were measured along a section of the river to determine the best location to deploy the turbine. The velocity measurements can then be used to estimate the power using the formula $$\frac{P}{A}= 1/2 ρ{v}^{3}$$
(1)

Data Collection Methods

Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler  (ADCP)
Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV)
(2)

Both devices use a pulse of sound to measure the velocity of the water.

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