A global approach for the design of a Rim-Driven marine turbine generator for sail boat

Development of new ways to provide clean onboard electric energy is a key feature for the sailing boat industry and sail race teams. This is why marine turbines (MT), are considered to provide onboard energy. These turbines can be used to harness kinetic energy of the water flow related to the ship motion. In this paper we propose to study an unconventional design of such a turbine where the electrical generator is located in the periphery of the blades and where the magnetic gap is water filled. This kind of solution called “RIM DRIVEN” structure allows to increase the compactness and the robustness of the system. Due to the strong interaction of the multi physical phenomena, an electromagnetic model and a thermal model of the PM generator are associated with a hydrodynamic model of the blades and of the water flow in the underwater air gap. These models are used in a global coupled design approach in order to optimize, under constraints, the global efficiency of the system. This solution allows to optimize the system design.