Study of an impulse turbine for wave power conversion: effects of Reynolds number and hub-to-tip ratio on performance

The objective of this paper is to report the effects of Reynolds number and hub-to-tip ratio on the performance of the impulse turbine for wave energy conversion. The turbine was investigated experimentally under steady and sinusoidally oscillating flow conditions by model testing. As a result, it was found that the critical value of Reynolds number and the optimum hub-to-tip ratio am approximately 4.0 X [10.sup.4] and O. 7, respectively: Furthermore, their effect on starting characteristics have been clarified.