Research and tests on hydrodynamic performance of a seabed seated horizontal axis tidal turbine

Study of this article was conducted on horizontal axis tidal turbines in a demonstration project of a 500kW ocean energy independent power supply system. Considering the depth of the sea site where the turbines would be deployed, seabed seated supporting structure was adopted in construction of two turbine units. As a typical tidal current energy resource zone in North part of China, the flow velocity of the sea area is relatively low for exploitation. In order to extract energy from tidal current with high efficiency and easy to start running, special structure of the turbines and optimized control technology should be adopted. In this article, theoretical analysis was conducted on the rotor and blades´ foils of the turbine and numerical simulation on hydrodynamic performances of various turbine blades and hydrofoils was made by using software FLUENT. Then scale model tests of the turbines were performed in a flume to validate the analysis and simulation results. By adopting blade pitch angle adjusting technology with maximum power point tracking control, the turbines can easily start running in low speed current, revers blade direction and work with highest efficiency.