As global energy consumption continues to increase, the negative impact of global warming also grows. Therefore, eco-friendly energy policy is being established all over the world. Korea’s energy consumption problems are further complicated by the country’s high dependence on energy sourced overseas. Korean energy policy is evolving rapidly to address these problems. Korea has begun to phase out nuclear power and is focusing on developing new sources of renewable energy. So there has been substantial interest in the development of ocean energy. Of all ocean energy technologies, tidal current energy is the closest to the commercialization. Especially, the southwestern coast of Korea is the most promising candidate site for the development of tidal current energy owing to the abundant tidal current energy resource. Meanwhile, ocean energy policy is an important factor in determining the development of ocean energy. Thus, this paper presents the overview of the current status of policy and technology for the tidal current energy system in Korea. These policies explained in this paper can provide significant interest and motivation for the use of tidal current energy resources.

Unavoidable tip clearance between blade tip and casing shroud plays an important role in the performance and characteristics of a tidal propeller turbine. In this work, the tip-leakage vortex (TLV) induced in the end-wall region was numerically illustrated by using the shear-stress transport (SST) k–ω turbulence model at various flow conditions and different tip-clearance sizes (TCSs). The swirling strength criterion was employed to visualize the tip-leakage vortex trajectory and investigate vortex evolution according to clearance size change. Although TLV occurs in both design and off-design conditions, vortex intensity develops strongly under excess flow rate with increased tip gap. The extreme influence of TCS on the turbine’s generated power and efficiency was predicted in steady simulations for four TCS cases, namely, δ = 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, and 0.75%. With the extension of the tip gap, turbine performance was drastically reduced because of vigorous turbulent leakage flow combined with considerable volumetric loss. The effect of TCS on pressure fluctuation intensity were also explored on the basis of the transient simulation statistic. Maximal pressure variation amplitude and dominant frequency were presented in spectrum analysis utilizing fast Fourier transform.

Ko, D.H.; Park, J.-S., and Lee, K.-S., 2018. Assessment of tidal current energy potential at Uldolmok in the southwestern coast of Korea. In: Shim, J.-S.; Chun, I., and Lim, H.S. (eds.), Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2018 (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, pp. 1301–1305. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Quantitative assessment for the tidal current energy potential and marine conditions should be preceded to construct the optimal tidal energy farm. Assessment of tidal energy resource at Uldolmok which is the optimal candidate sites for tidal energy farm was carried out. In order to collect the field data, static survey using ADCP(Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) was conducted and harmonic analysis was done to predict the annual tidal current. As a result, the dominant direction of ebb current was southeast and flood current was northwest. The maximum ebb current speed was about 4.09 m/s. While, annual power density...

Many mathematical models have been proposed to estimate vertical tidal current profiles. However, as previous studies have shown that tidal current energy sites have different characteristics in their vertical tidal current profiles, it is necessary to estimate the profiles from field-measured data for practical purposes. In this study, we measured layered tidal currents over two months using an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) to analyze the characteristics of vertical tidal current profiles at the Jangjuk Strait, a candidate site for tidal current energy. As a result, the power law parameter $\alpha$ and bed roughness $\beta$ were estimated as 4.51–12.41 and 0.38–0.42, respectively. Additionally, the maximum roughness length representing seabed roughness in the logarithmic profile was estimated as 0.221 m, and the estimated friction velocity was 0.038–0.194 m/s. Furthermore, a high correlation was observed between the depth-averaged tidal current velocity and friction velocities at all sites during flood and ebb tide conditions. A high correlation was also found between the bed roughness, roughness length, and power law exponent at relatively deeper sites. Tidal current energy sites display distinct characteristics compared to other sea areas. Therefore, it is essential to account for field conditions when conducting numerical modeling and design.

This study analyzes the dynamic response of a floating dual vertical-axis tidal turbine platform under extreme environmental loads, focusing on two different mooring systems as follows: taut and catenary. The analysis assumes a non-operational turbine state where power generation is stopped, and the vertical turbines are lifted for structural protection. Using time-domain simulations via OrcaFlex 11.4, the floating platform’s motion and mooring line effective tensions are evaluated under high waves, strong wind, and current loads. The results reveal that sway and heave motions are significantly influenced by wave excitation, with the catenary system exhibiting larger responses due to mooring system features, while the taut system experiences higher mooring effective tension but shows more restrained motion. Notably, in the roll direction, both systems exhibit peak frequencies unrelated to the wave spectrum, attributed instead to resonance with the system’s natural frequencies—0.12438 Hz for taut and 0.07332 Hz for catenary. Additionally, the failure scenario of ML02 (Mooring Line 02) and the application of dynamic power cables to the floating platform are analyzed. The results demonstrate that under non-operational and extreme load conditions, mooring system type plays a main role in determining platform stability and structural safety. This comparative analysis offers valuable insights for selecting and designing mooring configurations optimized for reliability in extreme environmental conditions.