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CFD-based design optimization of a 5 kW ducted hydrokinetic turbine with practical constraints

Author

Listed:
  • Park, Jeongbin
  • Mangano, Marco
  • Seraj, Sabet
  • Pacini, Bernardo
  • Liao, Yingqian
  • Knight, Bradford G.
  • Naik, Kartik
  • Maki, Kevin J.
  • Martins, Joaquim R.R.A.
  • Sun, Jing
  • Pan, Yulin

Abstract

Ducted hydrokinetic turbines enhance energy-harvesting efficiency by better conditioning the flow to the blades, which may yield higher power output than conventional freestream turbines for the same reference area. In this work, we present a ducted hydrokinetic turbine design obtained by simultaneously optimizing the duct, blade, and hub geometries. Our optimization framework combines a CFD solver, an adjoint solver, and a gradient-based optimizer to efficiently explore a large design space, together with a feature-based parametrization method to handle the complex geometry. Practical geometrical constraints ensure the manufacturability of the duct in terms of a minimum thickness and the housing of a 5kW generator within the hub. The optimization converges to a short, thin duct with a rounded leading edge and an elongated hub protruding the duct inlet. The optimized ducted turbine achieves up to 50% efficiency when evaluated by RANS/URANS solvers despite a bulky hub, outperforming the 45% efficiency of the freestream Bahaj turbine featuring the same hub. This work showcases the effectiveness of CFD-based optimization in advancing ducted turbine designs and demonstrates the hydrodynamic benefits of a ducted configuration, paving the way for future research and real-world applications.

Suggested Citation

  • Park, Jeongbin & Mangano, Marco & Seraj, Sabet & Pacini, Bernardo & Liao, Yingqian & Knight, Bradford G. & Naik, Kartik & Maki, Kevin J. & Martins, Joaquim R.R.A. & Sun, Jing & Pan, Yulin, 2026. "CFD-based design optimization of a 5 kW ducted hydrokinetic turbine with practical constraints," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(PE).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:256:y:2026:i:pe:s0960148125019688
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.124304
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    References listed on IDEAS

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