This paper investigates three load control methods for a marine current energy converter using a vertical axis current turbine (VACT) mounted on a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). The three cases are; a fixed AC load, a fixed pulse width modulated (PWM) DC load and DC bus voltage control of a DC load. Experimental results show that the DC bus voltage control reduces the variations of rotational speed by a factor of 3.5 at the cost of slightly increased losses in the generator and transmission lines. For all three cases, the tip speed ratio \(\lambda\) can be kept close to the expected \(\lambda_{opt}\). The power coefficient is estimated to be 0.36 at \(\lambda_{opt}\); however, for all three cases, the average extracted power was about \(\sim 19\)\%. A maximum power point tracking (MPPT) system, with or without water velocity measurement, could increase the average extracted power.

If a turbine loses its electrical load, it will rotate freely and increase speed, eventually achieving that rotational speed which produces zero net torque. This is known as a runaway situation. Unlike many other types of turbine, a marine current turbine will typically overshoot the final runaway speed before slowing down and settling at the runaway speed. Since the hydrodynamic forces acting on the turbine are dependent on rotational speed and acceleration, turbine behaviour during runaway becomes important for load analyses during turbine design. In this article, we consider analytical and numerical models of marine current turbine runaway behaviour in one dimension. The analytical model is found not to capture the overshoot phenomenon, while still providing useful estimates of acceleration at the onset of runaway. The numerical model incorporates turbine wake build-up and predicts a rotational speed overshoot. The predictions of the models are compared against measurements of runaway of a marine current turbine. The models are also used to recreate previously-published results for a tidal turbine and applied to a wind turbine. It is found that both models provide reasonable estimates of maximum accelerations. The numerical model is found to capture the speed overshoot well.