Hydroelastic modeling of flexible Marine Hydrokinetic turbine blades considering torsion and bending moments

Despite recent advances in marine hydrokinetic (MHK) turbine technology, they have not achieved the same technological readiness level (TRL) as peer renewable technologies such as wind turbines. Greater knowledge of MHK turbine blades’ hydroelastic behavior can improve their TRL to lower their levelized cost of energy for utility-scale deployment. Herein, we develop and validate a hydroelasticity model to account for the flexible nature of composite blades that are commonly utilized in MHK turbines due to their favorable strength-to-weight ratio and fatigue resistance. The hydroelasticity module is developed (a) based on the aeroelasticity model of Kallesøe (Wind Energy, 2007), (b) within a fluid-structure interaction algorithm of a computational fluid dynamics model known as the virtual flow simulator (VFS) code, and (c) with a specific emphasis on the incorporation of both the blade bending and torsional moments.