@misc{13318,
  author = {Dave Culley and Simon Funke and Stephan Kramer and Matthew Piggott},
  title = {Tidal stream resource assessment through optimisation of array design with quantification of uncertainty},
  abstract = {As the number of tidal stream turbines within an array increases, so the effects of                                                                                                                                                            that array on the flow, environment, and on the objective measures (such as                                                                                                                                                                    energy yield or financial profit) begin to suffer the effects of                                                                                                                                                                               diminishing increases. In addition, it has been demonstrated that                                                                                                                                                                              optimising the layout of individual                                                                                                                                                                                                            turbines within an array -- micro-siting -- facilitates significantly increased energy                                                                                                                                                         harvest for a given number of turbines in a given area, as compared to a {\textquoteleft}human{\textquoteright}s                                                                                                                                                              best attempt{\textquoteright} design. The optimal micro-siting design of an array, and therefore                                                                                                                                              an accurate forecast of the yield of that array, must be found as the product of an                                                                                                                                                            optimisation exercise which may incorporate turbine parameters, local bathymetry and                                                                                                                                                           a host of other practical, physical, legal, financial or environmental constraints.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The number of turbines within an array proposed for a given site has                                                                                                                                                                  an even greater effect on the yield of that array and is consequently a problem                                                                                                                                                                of critical importance. Like the micro-siting design, this also cannot be                                                                                                                                                                      solved directly but must be approached through a process of iterative                                                                                                                                                                          optimisation. Consequently, only through determining the optimal number of turbines                                                                                                                                                            and their arrangement, can a reliable estimate of the accessible tidal                                                                                                                                                                         resource on a site be made.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Having determined the optimal array design it is imperative that the sensitivity                                                                                                                                                               of the design to the modelling assumptions can be quantified and fully understood. In this paper                                                                                                                                               a framework for the design of tidal turbine arrays (both size and micro-siting) is presented                                                                                                                                                   with functionality to measure the sensitivity of the objective function with respect to the                                                                                                                                                    modelling parameters.},
  year = {2015},
  journal = {European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference},
}