Dr Chris Vogel on Challenges and Opportunities in Tidal Stream Energy

In this episode of the Fluid Mechanics 101 Podcast, I discuss challenges and opportunities in Tidal Stream Energy with Dr Chris Vogel. Dr Chris Vogel is a departmental lecturer at the University of Oxford in the Department of Engineering Science. His research focusses on Wind and Tidal Turbine energy extraction.  Some useful timestamps for the discussion are:  02:25 An Introduction to Dr. Chris Vogel and Tidal Stream Energy 06:50 What is tidal range / barrage technology?  12:05 What are tidal stream turbines and what are some of the challenges with this technology?  13:45 What are the different options for installation of tidal stream turbines?  16:40 Some examples of sites where tidal stream turbines are already installed and operational.   18:53 A discussion of challenges faced by tidal stream turbines.  24:00 The effect of blockage on tidal turbine rotor loading and design.  29:47 One of the challenges faces by tidal stream turbines: blade deformation  35:17 Investigating tidal turbine blade deformation with a fluid-structure interaction analysis 41:49 Dr Chris Vogel's roles and resposibilities as a lecturer at the University of Oxford.  46:20 The interface between research groups, academia and industry. How large is the tidal energy community? 54:37 What contribution can tidal stream energy make to a low-carbon electricity network and help to meet climate change targets?  01:00:44 Closing thoughts ============================================   Links and Further Information ============================================  The MeyGen Site in Scotland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MeyGen OpenFAST - An open source wind turbine simulation tool, developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory https://www.nrel.gov/wind/nwtc/openfast.html Dr Chris Vogel's paper on Tidal Turbine Blade Deformation:  F. Zilic, C. Vogel and R. Willden, 'Hydrodynamic analysis of turbine control through blade-deformation', Developments in Renewable Energies Offshore, September 2020. DOI: 10.1201/9781003134572-67 Dr Chris Vogel on Research Gate:  https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christopher_Vogel5 Dr Chris Vogel's Doctoral thesis: http://www2.eng.ox.ac.uk/civil/publications/theses/vogel