The transient interaction between tidal currents and the rotation of a horizontal axis turbine rotor have the potential to induce high asymmetric loadings, which are subsequently transmitted to the drive shaft and potentially high speed drive train components. To mitigate the potential for early component failure, analysis of asymmetric loading on marine turbines is fundamental to the design process. To investigate these loads a turbine mounted on a circular stanchion has been used to highlight the effects of introducing more realistic boundary conditions. Depending on their wavelength, waves can also have a significant effect on the overall design decisions and placement of devices. Thrust loading and bending moments applied to the drive shaft can be of the order of hundreds of kN and kNm respectively.Knowledge of the flow regime can allow designers to evaluate material selection for components and incorporate some deformation capability of the turbine blades to increase the power output and potentially alleviate some of the stress distribution through key structural points. The resulting data can then be used to estimate component life via fatigue prediction.This paper includes a multi-physics approach to modelling tidal energy devices and the potential for modelling to inform device condition monitoring

The flow developed on a tidal site can be characterized by combinations of turbulence, shear flows, and waves. Horizontal-axis tidal turbines are therefore subjected to dynamic loadings that may compromise the working life of the rotor and drive train components. To this end, a series of experiments were carried out using a 0.9 m horizontal-axis tidal turbine in a tow tank facility. The experiments included two types of regular waveforms, one of them simulating an extreme wave case, the other simulating a more moderate wave case. The second regular wave was designed to match the peak period and significant wave height of an irregular wave which was also tested. Measurements of torque, thrust, and blade-bending moments were taken during the testing campaign. Speed and torque control strategies were implemented for a range of operational points to investigate the influence that a control mode had in the performance of a tidal stream turbine. The results showed similar average power and thrust values were not affected by the control strategy, nor the influence of either the regular or irregular wave cases. However, it was observed that using torque control resulted in an increase of thrust and blade root bending moment fluctuations per wave period. The increase in fluctuations was in the order of 40% when compared to the speed control cases.

Marine renewables represent a promising and innovative alternative source for satisfying the energy demands of growing populations while reducing the consumption of fossil fuels. Most technological advancements and energy yield assessments have focused on promoting the use of kinetic energy from tidal streams with flow velocities higher than 2.0 m s⁻¹. However, slower-moving flows from ocean currents are recently explored due to their nearly continuous and unidirectional seasonal flows. In this study, the potential of the Yucatan Current was analysed at nearshore sites over the insular shelf of Cozumel Island in the Mexican Caribbean. Field measurements were undertaken using a vessel-mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) to analyse the spatial distribution of flow velocities, along with Conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profiles as well as data gathering of bathymetry and water elevations. Northward directed flow velocities were identified, with increasing velocities just before the end of the strait of the Cozumel Channel, where average velocities in the region of 0.88–1.04 m s⁻¹ were recorded. An estimation of power delivery using horizontal axis turbines was undertaken with Blade Element Momentum theory. It was estimated that nearly 3.2 MW could be supplied to Cozumel Island, amounting to about 10% of its electricity consumption.