Numerical Predictions and Experimental Verifications for the Hydrodynamic Performance of Horizontal Axis Marine Current Turbine

This paper presents the numerical predictions of 3D CFD rotor computations of an 800mm diameter model of marine current turbine (MCT). In the paper CFD is applied to a rotor at stationary hydrodynamic conditions Simulations from the numerical prediction are compared with experimental measurements of the model of MCT which is experimented on in a cavitation tunnel and a towing tank. The experimental data includes measurements of power and thrust generated by the turbine, in both a cavitation tunnel and a towing tank, for a series of blade pitch settings and speeds. The numerical predictions show similar results and provide a satisfactory representation of the experimental turbine performance.