Penny Jeffcoate

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Technical Project Manager at SCHOTTEL Marine Technologies

ADCPs are regularly used for resource characterization in wave and tidal energy sites; however, methodologies and best practices are entirely dependent on the site characteristics and the assets available. EMEC have used their widely varied experience at multiple sites and locations to develop a review of methodologies and the pros and cons of diff...

As the tidal energy industry starts to mature towards commercial projects a key focus is on reliable power performance. As for any marine application, fouling poses a potential performance reduction risk for instream turbine deployments. SCHOTTEL HYDRO have developed their current commercial SCHOTTEL Instream Turbines. Four drivetrains with 6.3m r...

Tidal resource assessment for the characterisation of turbine performance or Annual Energy Prediction currently uses the method of bins as recommended by international standards. An alternative method is proposed in this paper and applied to the Sustainable Marine Energy PLAT-I deployment in Connel Sound, Scotland. This method may be suitable for t...

As the tidal energy industry starts to mature towards commercial projects a key focus is on reliable power performance. As for any marine application, fouling poses a potential performance reduction risk for instream turbine deployments. SCHOTTEL HYDRO have developed their current commercial SCHOTTEL Instream Turbines. Four drivetrains with 6.3m ro...

Sustainable Marine Energy’s floating tidal platform PLAT-I 4.63 hosts four SCHOTTEL Hydro Instream Turbines with a 6.3m rotor diameter; the platform has a rated power of 280kW. PLAT-I underwent sea trials from 2017 to 2020, in Scotland and Nova Scotia. During the latest deployment in Grand Passage, Nova Scotia, the platform was operational on both...

Tidal resource assessment for the characterisation of turbine performance or Annual Energy Prediction currently uses the method of bins as recommended by international standards. An alternative method is proposed in this paper and applied to the Sustainable Marine Energy PLAT-I deployment in Connel Sound, Scotland. This method may be suitable for t...

The development of tidal energy converters, and particularly floating tidal energy converters, is an area of increased development in recent years. Testing of a floating tidal energy device over winter 2017/18 led to an opportunity to record and examine strain of a full scale composite turbine blade under operational conditions, with comparison of...

As the tidal energy sector starts to move from demonstration towards first commercial projects a key focus is on reducing the costs. In order to standardize the turbine system SCHOTTEL HYDRO have developed their current commercial 4m SCHOTTEL Instream Turbines (SIT), as well as larger 6.3m diameter rotors which use the same SIT250 drivetrain. The...

estimated and included in the choice of ultimate deployment position. Another advantage of this approach is that it uses freely available data, allowing site assessments to determine project feasibility, without high upfront investment. Freely available astronomic, bathymetric and meteorological data was therefore input into a Delft3D-FM simulation...

Sustainable Marine Energy has had its tidal platform, PLAT-I, installed in Grand Passage, Nova Scotia, Canada, since 2018 to gain further understanding of the system performance. SME has undertaken significant efforts to ensure the SIT turbines, PLAT-I platform, and its mooring system will meet the challenges of the marine environment, as proven by...

PLAT-O #2 is a subsea floating tidal energy generator. A scaled-down physical model of this device was tested at FloWave in steady axial currents of up to 6.2 m/s (full-scale). The platform's motion and mooring tensions were measured to validate a tank-scale numerical model in ProteusDS. In currents above 3.5 m/s (full-scale) the platform with turb...

This paper examines the impact of MetOcean conditions on weather window availability and subsequent maintenance costs for a floating tidal energy converter. Understanding these impacts and costs at the initial planning stage will give a better estimation of project lifetime costs and ensure that these expenses are factored into the site selection m...

This paper examines the impact of MetOcean conditions on weather window availability and duration for tidal energy operations and maintenance. Understanding these impacts at the initial planning stage will give a better estimation of project lifetime costs, and ensure that these costs are factored into the site selection methodology. Several source...

SCHOTTEL HYDRO has developed the SCHOTTEL Instream Turbine (SIT). Four SITs had been mounted on Sustainable Marine Energy's floating surface platform PLAT-I, with a combined platform rated power of 280kW. The PLAT-I platform has been undergoing field performance testing in Scotland to determine the power performance of the individual turbines accor...

Sustainable Marine Energy and SCHOTTEL Hydro have developed a taut-moored mid-water column tidal energy platform, PLAT-O, and a semi-catenary moored floating surface platform, PLAT-I, that each host between two and four turbines. The combined platform rated power is up to 280kW. Each platform is suitable for different environmental conditions, with...

Sustainable Marine Energy have developed a floating surface platform that hosts four SCHOTTEL Hydro Instream Turbines, with a combined platform rated power of 280kW. The PLAT-I platform has been undergoing Sea Acceptance Tests (SATs) in Scotland to determine performance across the range of operational modes. A numerical method for the evaluation of...

The first aim of the research presented here is to examine the effect of turbine control by comparing a passive open-loop control strategy with a constant rotational speed proportional–integral–derivative (PID) feedback loop control applied to the same experimental turbine. The second aim is to evaluate the effect of unsteady inflow on turbine perf...

Sustainable Marine Energy and SCHOTTEL Hydro have developed a floating surface platform that hosts four turbines, with a combined platform rated power of up to 280kW. The PLAT-I platform has been tank tested at FloWave to determine the performance in operating and parked conditions. The results show that the load exerted on the upstream mooring lin...

The motion and mooring tensions of a scaled-down PLAT-O#2 physical model were measured in axial currents at FloWave, Edinburgh. At high flows, the platform 'squats' – moves in an arc motion along the upstream lines and about their anchors – to a stable lower depth. The compliance improves load share and survivability in extreme seas. To further inv...

Figures for Article - Flow Due to Multiple Jets Downstream of a Barrage: Experiments, 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics, and Depth-Averaged Modeling

High energy tidal stream sites exert large loads on offshore structures, due to the relationship between velocity and the high density of seawater and the resulting hydrodynamic forces. Tidal turbine support structures must withstand high loads to harness the most lucrative tidal sites. Traditional monopile or jacket structures require substantial...

Computational simulations are traditionally used in accompaniment with tank testing to verify the performance of a rotor or support structure. Sustainable Marine Energy's second generation platform PLAT-O#2 has been tested at 1/17 scale at FloWave and using ProteusDS software to predict it's performance in both operating and line failure conditions...

In this paper, the flow and bed shear stresses downstream of a tidal barrage, with open ducts and with swirl created by stators and rotors, are investigated experimentally. The wake created by open ducts is significantly three-dimensional within 20-duct diameters (20D) from the barrage. Within 20D of the barrage, the duct blockage and swirl also af...

Queen's University Belfast and Wave Barrier Ltd have developed a tidal testing platform to test hydrokinetic turbines at medium scale. Multiple turbines can be pushed through still water conditions, in steady-state pushing tests. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the interactions between two identical, mono-strut, horizontal axis tidal turbine...

Same scale tests in steady and tidal conditions are scarce, particularly at full-scale. SCHOTTEL’s full-scale SIT 4m turbine has been tested in previously published steady pushing tests and tidal moored tests. This paper presents a comparison between the power and thrust output and performance for each test condition. Though there is a significant...

This paper presents the results of testing a horizontal axis tidal turbine in a towing tank. The Queen’s University Belfast turbine has 1.5m diameter and was installed in the CNR-INSEAN towing tank which is 13.5m x 6.5m x 460m. With these towing tests it was possible to assess the performance of a tidal turbine under steady idealised flow condition...

Field testing studies are required for tidal turbine device developers to determine the performance of their turbines in tidal flows. Full-scale testing of the SCHOTTEL tidal turbine has been conducted at Queen’s University Belfast’s tidal site at Strangford Lough, NI. The device was mounted on a floating barge. Testing was conducted over 48 days,...

Tidal turbines have been tested extensively at many scales in steady state flow. Testing medium- or full-scale devices in turbulent flow has been less thoroughly examined. The differences between turbine performances in these two different states are needed for testing method verification and numerical model validation. The work in this paper docum...

The study outlined in Testing Tidal Turbines Part 1 explains the variation in performance betweenturbines operating in steady and turbulent flow conditions. However, the impact of turbulence ondevices is generally not well understood. Furthermore, the turbulence characteristics of high velocitymarine currents have not been extensively studied. Ther...

The flow through and downstream of a row of seven open draft tubes in a barrage has been investigated through laboratory experiments in a wide flume, a three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics simulation, and a two-dimensional depth-averaged computation. Agreement between the experiments and the 3D modeling is shown to be good, including...

Tidal schemes such as the Mersey Barrage are being considered for UK energy generation, because barrage electricity generation is renewable, reliable and predictable and creates no toxic by-products. A key problem perceived to arise from barrages is the detrimental environmental impact, which may include changes in water levels, which affects speci...