A tool for simulating collision probabilities of animals with marine renewable energy devices
Journal article, 2017

The mathematical problem of establishing a collision probability distribution is often not trivial. The shape and motion of the animal as well as of the the device must be evaluated in a four-dimensional space (3D motion over time). Earlier work on wind and tidal turbines was limited to a simplified two-dimensional representation, which cannot be applied to many new structures. We present a numerical algorithm to obtain such probability distributions using transient, three-dimensional numerical simulations. The method is demonstrated using a sub-surface tidal kite as an example. Necessary pre- and post-processing of the data created by the model is explained, numerical details and potential issues and limitations in the application of resulting probability distributions are highlighted.

Author

Pal Schmitt

Queen's University Belfast

Ross Culloch

Queen's University Belfast

Lilian Lieber

Queen's University Belfast

Sverker Molander

Chalmers, Energy and Environment, Environmental Systems Analysis

Linus Hammar

The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management

Louise Kregting

Queen's University Belfast

PLoS ONE

1932-6203 (ISSN) 19326203 (eISSN)

Vol. 12 11 e0188780

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Subject Categories

Ecology

Energy Systems

Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources

Environmental Sciences

Areas of Advance

Energy

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0188780

More information

Latest update

6/12/2018