Flow Analysis of a Rotating Tidal Turbine Blade using a Dynamic Mesh

The fight against global warming is ongoing, with nations setting forth ambitious goals in reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), both on a national and on a joint international scale. This factor among others is resulting in new power production strategies that focus on renewable energy sources. The ocean is one of those resources with a number of developers trying to develop a technology that will result in the most cost-effective utilization of that resource. Valorka.ehf is an Icelandic company that is developing a new device that utilizes the ocean currents to create power. To support the development of Valorka, a numerical model was built using OpenFOAM. This model consists of a flat plate rotating in a channel, with the model using a dynamic mesh to account for the rotation. This model is supposed to be a startup point of a more complicated model that can be used in the future. The results of the numerical model are compared to measurements that were designed specifically for this project. Also an optimum dimensionless velocity for different blade sizes was found, to confirm if different scales of blade sizes affect the relations found using dimensional analysis. Future work such as blade optimization and 3D modelling is achievable using this model.Orkurannsóknasjóður Landsvirkjuna