Performance Estimation of Ducted and Bare Tidal Turbines using CFD
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of flow contraction created by a duct on the power generation of a tidal turbine prototype. As a preliminary step in the development of a full-scale floating bridge-type ducted turbine, aimed at shallow near-shore locations subject to tidal currents with moderate energy densities, numerical simulations were carried out using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). These simulations were executed considering three cases: i) bare turbine (BT), ii) bare duct (BD) and iii) ducted turbine (DT). The steady-state RANS equations and the Shear Stress Transport turbulence model were chosen for all cases. The results for the bare turbine model (in terms of power, power coefficient, and pressure coefficient around the blades) correlate well with the available experimental data at tidal current speeds of 0.8-1.7 m/s. This correlation supports validating the reliability of the adopted numerical strategy. The results for the DT model suggest that adding a duct to the turbine under consideration (which was not originally designed/optimized to operate inside a duct) improves the system's power generation. In the present case, the power generation was increased by 38-53%.
Source: EPJ Web of Conferences
Institution: University of Minho
Language: English
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7202250302