This work investigated an air turbine with self-pitch-controlled blades operating in the airflow generated by an oscillating water column (OWC) under irregular wave conditions to determine turbine performance and identify the optimum blade pitch angle setting. Rotor models with fixed blades were tested under steady flow conditions. The running and starting characteristics of the turbine under irregular wave conditions were determined from a computer simulation that modeled both the turbine and the air chamber. The performance of the air turbine was evaluated and the optimum rotor blade limit was found to be about 10°.
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.Copyright © 2001
by ASME
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