IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v46y2012i1p393-404.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Design and optimization for strength and integrity of tidal turbine rotor blades

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Pengfei
  • Veitch, Brian

Abstract

Tidal turbine rotor blade fractures and failures have resulted in substantial damage and hence cost of repair and recovery. The present work presents a rotor blade design and optimization method to address the blade structural strength design problem. The generic procedure is applicable to both turbine rotors and propellers. The optimization method seeks an optimum blade thickness distribution across the span with a prescribed constant safety factor for all the blade sections. This optimization procedure serves two purposes: while maintaining the required structural strength and integrity for an ultimate inflow speed, it aims to reduce the material to a minimum and to maintain power generation efficiency or improve the hydrodynamic efficiency. The value of the chosen minimum safety factor depends on the actual working conditions of the turbine in which the sectional peak loading and frequency are used: the harsher the environment, the larger the required safety factor. An engineering software tool with both hydrodynamic and structural capabilities was required to predict the instantaneous loading acting on all the blade sections, as well as the strength of a local blade section with a given blade geometry and chosen material. A time-domain, 3D unsteady panel method was then implemented based on a marine propeller software tool and used to perform the optimization. A 3-blade 20-m tidal turbine that was prototyped in parallel with the current work for the Bay of Fundy was used as an example for optimization. The optimum thickness distribution for a required safety factor at the ultimate possible inflow speed resulted in 37.6% saving in blade material. The blade thickness and distribution as a function of a maximum inflow speed of 6 m/s is also presented. The blade material used in the example was taken as nickel–aluminium–bronze (NAB) but the procedure was developed to be applicable to propeller or turbine blades of basically any material.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Pengfei & Veitch, Brian, 2012. "Design and optimization for strength and integrity of tidal turbine rotor blades," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 393-404.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:46:y:2012:i:1:p:393-404
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2012.08.011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544212006238
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2012.08.011?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bahaj, A.S. & Molland, A.F. & Chaplin, J.R. & Batten, W.M.J., 2007. "Power and thrust measurements of marine current turbines under various hydrodynamic flow conditions in a cavitation tunnel and a towing tank," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 407-426.
    2. Liu, Pengfei, 2010. "A computational hydrodynamics method for horizontal axis turbine – Panel method modeling migration from propulsion to turbine energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 2843-2851.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zeiner-Gundersen, Dag Herman, 2014. "A vertical axis hydrodynamic turbine with flexible foils, passive pitching, and low tip speed ratio achieves near constant RPM," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 297-304.
    2. Milne, I.A. & Day, A.H. & Sharma, R.N. & Flay, R.G.J., 2015. "Blade loading on tidal turbines for uniform unsteady flow," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 338-350.
    3. Zeiner-Gundersen, Dag Herman, 2015. "A novel flexible foil vertical axis turbine for river, ocean, and tidal applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 60-66.
    4. Zhang, Jisheng & Liu, Siyuan & Guo, Yakun & Sun, Ke & Guan, Dawei, 2022. "Performance of a bidirectional horizontal-axis tidal turbine with passive flow control devices," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 997-1008.
    5. Lam, Wei-Haur & Bhatia, Aalisha, 2013. "Folding tidal turbine as an innovative concept toward the new era of turbines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 463-473.
    6. Murray, Robynne E. & Ordonez-Sanchez, Stephanie & Porter, Kate E. & Doman, Darrel A. & Pegg, Michael J. & Johnstone, Cameron M., 2018. "Towing tank testing of passively adaptive composite tidal turbine blades and comparison to design tool," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 116(PA), pages 202-214.
    7. Attukur Nandagopal, Rajaram & Narasimalu, Srikanth, 2020. "Multi-objective optimization of hydrofoil geometry used in horizontal axis tidal turbine blade designed for operation in tropical conditions of South East Asia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 166-180.
    8. Thiébaut, Maxime & Filipot, Jean-François & Maisondieu, Christophe & Damblans, Guillaume & Duarte, Rui & Droniou, Eloi & Chaplain, Nicolas & Guillou, Sylvain, 2020. "A comprehensive assessment of turbulence at a tidal-stream energy site influenced by wind-generated ocean waves," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    9. Xu, Jian & Wang, Longyan & Yuan, Jianping & Shi, Jiali & Wang, Zilu & Zhang, Bowen & Luo, Zhaohui & Tan, Andy C.C., 2023. "A cost-effective CNN-BEM coupling framework for design optimization of horizontal axis tidal turbine blades," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    10. Clark, Caitlyn E. & DuPont, Bryony, 2018. "Reliability-based design optimization in offshore renewable energy systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 390-400.
    11. Yazicioglu, Hasan & Tunc, K.M. Murat & Ozbek, Muammer & Kara, Tolga, 2016. "Simulation of electricity generation by marine current turbines at Istanbul Bosphorus Strait," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 41-50.
    12. Calero Quesada, María Concepción & García Lafuente, Jesús & Sánchez Garrido, José Carlos & Sammartino, Simone & Delgado, Javier, 2014. "Energy of marine currents in the Strait of Gibraltar and its potential as a renewable energy resource," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 98-109.
    13. Lam, Raymond & Dubon, Sergio Lopez & Sellar, Brian & Vogel, Christopher & Davey, Thomas & Steynor, Jeffrey, 2023. "Temporal and spatial characterisation of tidal blade load variation for structural fatigue testing," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 665-678.
    14. Liu, Pengfei & Bose, Neil & Chen, Keqiang & Xu, Yiyi, 2018. "Development and optimization of dual-mode propellers for renewable energy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 566-576.
    15. Li, Wei & Zhou, Hongbin & Liu, Hongwei & Lin, Yonggang & Xu, Quankun, 2016. "Review on the blade design technologies of tidal current turbine," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 414-422.
    16. Liu, Penfei & Bose, Neil & Frost, Rowan & Macfarlane, Gregor & Lilienthal, Tim & Penesis, Irene & Windsor, Fraser & Thomas, Giles, 2014. "Model testing of a series of bi-directional tidal turbine rotors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 397-410.
    17. Milne, I.A. & Day, A.H. & Sharma, R.N. & Flay, R.G.J., 2016. "The characterisation of the hydrodynamic loads on tidal turbines due to turbulence," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 851-864.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tian, Wenlong & VanZwieten, James H. & Pyakurel, Parakram & Li, Yanjun, 2016. "Influences of yaw angle and turbulence intensity on the performance of a 20 kW in-stream hydrokinetic turbine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 104-116.
    2. Liu, Penfei & Bose, Neil & Frost, Rowan & Macfarlane, Gregor & Lilienthal, Tim & Penesis, Irene & Windsor, Fraser & Thomas, Giles, 2014. "Model testing of a series of bi-directional tidal turbine rotors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 397-410.
    3. Ahmadian, Reza & Falconer, Roger A., 2012. "Assessment of array shape of tidal stream turbines on hydro-environmental impacts and power output," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 318-327.
    4. Ramos, V. & Carballo, R. & Álvarez, M. & Sánchez, M. & Iglesias, G., 2013. "Assessment of the impacts of tidal stream energy through high-resolution numerical modeling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 541-554.
    5. Li, Wei & Zhou, Hongbin & Liu, Hongwei & Lin, Yonggang & Xu, Quankun, 2016. "Review on the blade design technologies of tidal current turbine," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 414-422.
    6. Ramos, V. & Carballo, R. & Álvarez, M. & Sánchez, M. & Iglesias, G., 2014. "A port towards energy self-sufficiency using tidal stream power," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 432-444.
    7. Liu, Pengfei & Bose, Neil, 2012. "Prototyping a series of bi-directional horizontal axis tidal turbines for optimum energy conversion," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 50-66.
    8. Liu, Pengfei & Bose, Neil & Chen, Keqiang & Xu, Yiyi, 2018. "Development and optimization of dual-mode propellers for renewable energy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 566-576.
    9. Moreau, Martin & Germain, Grégory & Maurice, Guillaume, 2023. "Experimental performance and wake study of a ducted twin vertical axis turbine in ebb and flood tide currents at a 1/20th scale," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 318-333.
    10. Liu, Pengfei, 2015. "WIG (wing-in-ground) effect dual-foil turbine for high renewable energy performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 366-378.
    11. Vinod, Ashwin & Han, Cong & Banerjee, Arindam, 2021. "Tidal turbine performance and near-wake characteristics in a sheared turbulent inflow," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 840-852.
    12. Goundar, Jai N. & Ahmed, M. Rafiuddin, 2014. "Marine current energy resource assessment and design of a marine current turbine for Fiji," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 14-22.
    13. Li, Binghui & de Queiroz, Anderson Rodrigo & DeCarolis, Joseph F. & Bane, John & He, Ruoying & Keeler, Andrew G. & Neary, Vincent S., 2017. "The economics of electricity generation from Gulf Stream currents," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 649-658.
    14. Liu, Hong-wei & Ma, Shun & Li, Wei & Gu, Hai-gang & Lin, Yong-gang & Sun, Xiao-jing, 2011. "A review on the development of tidal current energy in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 1141-1146, February.
    15. Chen, Falin, 2010. "Kuroshio power plant development plan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 2655-2668, December.
    16. Shen, Xin & Chen, Jin-Ge & Zhu, Xiao-Cheng & Liu, Peng-Yin & Du, Zhao-Hui, 2015. "Multi-objective optimization of wind turbine blades using lifting surface method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(P1), pages 1111-1121.
    17. Kim, Seung-Jun & Singh, Patrick Mark & Hyun, Beom-Soo & Lee, Young-Ho & Choi, Young-Do, 2017. "A study on the floating bridge type horizontal axis tidal current turbine for energy independent islands in Korea," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 35-43.
    18. Patel, Vimal & Eldho, T.I. & Prabhu, S.V., 2019. "Velocity and performance correction methodology for hydrokinetic turbines experimented with different geometry of the channel," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 1300-1317.
    19. Maduka, Maduka & Li, Chi Wai, 2022. "Experimental evaluation of power performance and wake characteristics of twin flanged duct turbines in tandem under bi-directional tidal flows," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 1543-1567.
    20. Tian, Wenlong & Ni, Xiwen & Mao, Zhaoyong & Zhang, Tianqi, 2020. "Influence of surface waves on the hydrodynamic performance of a horizontal axis ocean current turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 37-48.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:46:y:2012:i:1:p:393-404. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.