Numerical Simulations in the Design of a New Tension-Tethered Marine Current Turbine

This paper focuses on the applicability of different Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software for the design of marine current turbines. As part of the conceptual design process, Seaplace has carried out a detailed numerical and experimental hydrodynamic program to optimize a new Tension-Tethered Turbine concept for harnessing energy from marine currents. Three different codes have been assessed, based on the demands from each phase: OpenProp, TurbProp, and ANSYS^® CFX^®. The paper provides an extensive summary of the main outcomes from the turbine optimization process to achieve highest efficiencies. A description of the tested geometries and the implementation of TurbProp to account for inline turbine solutions is included. Simulations for the test-model and prototype scales have been performed, with the pressure distributions, flow streamlines and power coefficients presented as primary results. The influence of simulation results on the final turbine configurations is discussed.