Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 23e30

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Influence of a velocity profile & support structure on tidal stream turbine

performance
A. Mason-Jones, D.M. O’Doherty*, C.E. Morris, T. O’Doherty
Cardiff School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Queens Buildings, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: With tidal turbine technology in its infancy prototype devices are likely to be positioned at locations
Received 17 September 2012 where both the local marine environment and vessel navigation are favourable. However, as marine
Accepted 19 October 2012 turbine technology develops toward economic viability there is a propensity for undesirable interactions
Available online 16 November 2012
with local shipping, higher turbulence levels and velocity shear through the water column to occur. The
latter high shear could result from positioning the turbine lower in the water column, perhaps due to
Keywords:
local shipping requirements. This paper helps to elucidate the performance of the tidal turbine and in
CFD
particular the blade forces during rotation within a high shear velocity profile. A velocity profile from
Tidal stream
Blade rotation
ADCP measurements was used as an inlet boundary for CFD analysis. The work shows that the presence
Velocity profile of a suitably positioned stanchion downstream of the turbine will result in reduced performance char-
Seabed acteristics over a complete rotation. However, the amplitude of the characteristics, in particular, the axial
loading increases which would require careful design considerations.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction as a result of a depth-wise velocity profile and the combined

Following the concept/design and site selection phase there are
now a number of commercial tidal stream turbines (TSTs) in the
prototype sea trial phase where performance characteristics are
monitored along with the device and marine environment reci-
procity. Much of this information however is quite naturally
commercially sensitive and therefore not available in the public
domain, and is therefore not available to organisations such as
potential suppliers and research institutions. To meet the needs of
what is potentially a large market and supply chain, a number of
key areas need to be investigated and the findings made publically
accessible. Factors such as physical environment specification,
concept appraisal, performance evaluation, environmental and
economic assessment protocols have been recently covered by the
EquiMar project [1] which was funded by the European Commis-
sion under the 7th Framework Programme. However there is very
little information available on the fluctuating dynamic loads
experienced by marine turbines as a consequence of transient
depth-wise velocity profiles, varying turbulence intensity and
surface waves. This paper is therefore concerned with blade loading
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ44 (0)29 20 874542.
E-mail address: odohertydm@cf.ac.uk (D.M. O’Doherty).
hydrodynamic interaction with a downstream stanchion.
The life cycle of a TST is heavily dependent on the hydrodynamic
interaction and therefore quantifying the loads, including the drag
on the supporting structure, is paramount at the geometric design
and material selection stage. Materials that can adapt to variable
loadings are currently used in the wind industry to reduce blade
fatigue loads and increase annual energy capture. These materials
combined with knowledge on the effect of load phase on turbine
blades has generated a wealth of experimental and theoretical
fatigue damage that can be readily transferred to horizontal axis
tidal stream turbines [2e4]. Moreover, with the expansion of tidal
stream technology into arrays, further research will be needed into
hydrodynamic anomalies due to placement and local bathymetry.
The power extraction in arrays can be influenced by the placement
and rotational direction of the turbines [5,6] as well as losses due to
the drag on the supporting structure [7,8]. Moreover, to appease
environmental concerns regarding the placement of tidal turbine
arrays it is essential to study the wider hydrodynamics and asso-
ciated effects on the surrounding marine environment while
maintaining optimum performance in terms of mechanical energy
extraction and minimising wake interaction. Due to the harsh
environmental operating conditions and limited maintenance
windows there is a need for knowledge derived from prototype
tests and numerical analysis as any unnecessary down time or
unexpected component failures would be costly. The purpose of

0960-1481/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2012.10.022
24 A. Mason-Jones et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 23e30
Nomenclature
A swept area, m2
Cp power coefficient, e
P turbine power, W
r turbine radius, m
r density, kg/m3
u angular velocity, rad/s
v upstream reference velocity, m/s
this paper is to investigate the performance of a 10 m diameter TST
during rotation and its interaction with the seabed and down-
stream seabed mounted stanchion. Using a quasi-static method-
ology for the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis the
results will show the resulting torque, power and axial thrust
coefficients for the applied boundary conditions.
2. Acoustic Doppler current profile data
Hydrographic and hydrodynamic high resolution surveys were
undertaken to identify a possible site for installing a TST in the
Severn Estuary. A vessel-mounted Acoustic Doppler Current
Profiler (ADCP) was used to produce detailed current velocity
profiles through the water column and to characterise the flow
regime during the spring ebb tide. The results of these surveys
identified a potential 1 km [2] site approximately 3 nautical miles
south of Stout Point, South Wales, UK.
Fig. 1 gives the velocity profile through the water column
directly upstream of the turbine for a tidal cycle ranging between
slack tide and a High Water Spring (HWS) ebb. A number of the
transects have been removed to give a clearer picture of the velocity
profile as the tide starts to ebb towards peak velocity, in this case
transects 2, 3, 5 and 7. It is clear from Fig. 1 that the rate of shear
across the turbine diameter increases as the maximum tidal
velocity increases.
For maximum power extraction the optimum position for
a turbine is towards the water surface, where the velocity is highest
and the rate of shear across the turbine is lowest. However, this is
prohibitive at this site due to the restrictions imposed by local
shipping requirements.
By knowing the maximum vessel draft within the estuary, it is
possible to determine the optimal hub height for the safe operation
of the tidal stream turbine. For the proposed site, a 10 m diameter
turbine would have to be positioned 10 m from the seabed, clearly
placing the turbine in a high shear region of the flow. Considering
Fig. 1. Velocity profiles for ADCP transects from Severn estuary site.
the profiles given in Fig. 1, the largest difference in the velocity
across the turbine is 0.58 m/s and this occurs at HWS þ 3. The work
presented in this paper therefore focuses on the flow conditions at
this time point. Given that the depth of water at this time was 35 m,
the rotation axis of the turbine would be 25 m below the water
surface. Although this is a site specific restriction it may well apply
to many locations where the siting of arrays of TSTs is suitable and
as such the work presented in this paper has a much wider
application.
As can be seen from Fig. 1, the maximum peak spring ebb tide
velocity at HWS þ 3 is w1.8 m/s toward the water surface. The tidal
velocity for economic energy extraction is typically quoted to be
between 2 m/s and 3 m/s at mean spring tide [9]. For the site in
question the turbine must be located 25 m below the surface and
thus would never see the peak value 1.8 m/s. Although, it is unlikely
that this location would be suitable for energy extraction the ADCP
data has shown that local velocity profiles may vary considerably
from that typically calculated using the 1/7th power law. Therefore
the velocity profiles have been scaled to a maximum velocity of
3.1 m/s (6 knots) to determine, and demonstrate, the effects of
a profiled flow on the power characteristics of a TST while oper-
ating under high stream velocity [10]. Fig. 2 shows a polynomial
curve fit to the ADCP data averaged at w1.6 m bin depths, through
the water column, at HWS þ 3 h during the spring ebb tide. Also
included is the 1/7th power law typically used during site resource
calculations. It is clear that the shear towards the seabed is far
steeper than that represented by the power law. To study the
implications of high shear the results from plug and profiled flows
were compared by examining the resulting performance of the TST
under both conditions, using CFD.
3. CFD modelling
To assess the influence of the rate of shear across the turbine
diameter, a series of CFD models of the turbine when subjected to
either a plug flow or a profiled high shear flow, were undertaken. In
particular in the first stage of the study, the turbine without any
supporting structure was modelled, whilst in the second stage the
effects of different supporting structures on the power character-
istics of the TST were analysed.
The modelling discussed in this paper used ANSYS Fluent and
the Reynolds Averaged NaviereStokes (NeS RANS) equations to
relate the Reynolds Stresses to the mean velocity gradients. To close
the equations the Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) was used as the
viscous model [11].
0
ADCP curve fit
-5 Raw site data
1/7th power law at 1.79m/s
-10
Plug flow at 1.79 m/s
Water depth (m)
-15
-20
-25
-30
-35
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75 2
Current velocity U (m/s)
Fig. 2. CFD upstream velocity profile with 1/7th power law and plug profiles.
 A. Mason-Jones et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 23e30
3.1. Performance characteristics of turbine without stanchion
The operational performance characteristics of the TST without
the stanchion were obtained using a series of quasi-static CFD
models, using techniques published previously [12]. In summary
the CFD domain was defined as a rectangular (sea) domain with
a depth of 35 m, which approximated to the tidal height at
HWS þ 3 h, and a downstream length of 400 m to ensure the
turbine was fully isolated from any boundary effects. The turbine
was located 100 m downstream from the inlet boundary such that
its rotational axis was set at 25 m below the water surface due to
the shipping restrictions previously discussed. An axial aligned
cylindrical domain (turbine) was subtracted from the rectangular
domain to form a Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) with a non-
conformal interface between the sea and turbine volumes which
allowed the turbine to be rotated [13]. To limit poor numerical
diffusion near the non-conformal interface and the tips of each
blade, a clearance of 50% of blade length was used. The upstream
and downstream edge lengths for each blade surface were
modelled with a defined cell spacing of 20-30-20-50 which gave
the preferred balance between numerical solution time and grid
dependency. A quad meshing scheme was applied to the sea
channel which incorporated w90k cells. Given the complex shape
of the blades and geometry between the blades and the hub, the
MRF volume was meshed with a tetrahedral hybrid scheme,
incorporating w1.75 million cells (Fig. 3).
The seabed of the channel was modelled using the no-slip
boundary condition, while zero-shear was applied to the side and
surface boundaries. In order to maintain an economical computa-
tional model, free surface interaction between the water and air
was not included. For all the CFD models a water density of 1025 kg/
m3 and a viscosity of 0.00111 kg/ms were used. A turbulence
intensity of 5% was applied to the velocity-inlet boundary. Previous
studies have validated this approach by comparing the predicted
turbine characteristics with those determined from an experi-
mental model [14].
To model the upstream flow regime, the scaled bin depth
averaged ADCP measurements were applied to a velocity-inlet
boundary with a peak near surface velocity of 3.1 m/s and an
average depth-wise velocity of 2.24 m/s [15]. The current velocity
differential across the turbine diameter was 37.5% with a peak of
2.4 m/s at the top and a minimum of 1.5 m/s at the bottom of the
turbine’s swept area. The transverse velocity profile at the velocity-
inlet was maintained constant.
Fig. 4 shows the power and torque curves for the TST positioned
25 m below the water surface when subject to a plug or profiled
tidal flow against Tip Speed Ratio (TSR). This illustrates the large
drop off in power extracted due to the lower average velocity across
the TST diameter at that depth. This indicates that the power
coefficient (Cp) of the TST is affected by the upstream reference
velocity, since Cp ¼ P/0.5rAv3. Fig. 5 shows the variation in Cp with
Fig. 3. Meshing scheme in MRF and over blade.
25
different upstream velocities. When considering a plug flow the
reference upstream velocity is constant at 3.1 m/s giving a Cp at
peak power of 0.4. However, for the profiled flow the reference
upstream velocity is harder to define. If the peak upstream tidal
velocity (3.1 m/s) is used as the reference upstream velocity, Cp at
peak power falls to 0.12. However if the average flow velocity across
the turbine diameter is used in the calculation, Cp at peak power is
now 0.34. This clearly illustrates the need to clarify the operational
boundaries to which the TST is matched and how its performance is
monitored during operation.
3.2. Normalised power attenuation through a water column
The study was expanded to include the variation in power if the
turbine was actually located at different depths through the water
column. Since the CFD model of the TST occupies a cylindrical MRF
that slightly extends its diameter, gaps are left between the water
and seabed boundaries. In reality if the turbine were to be posi-
tioned too high in the water column the turbine blades would start
to break the water surface, in this case starting at a depth of 5 m.
Any higher than this the turbine would be operating in partial
submersion. With increasing depth, in this case below 30 m, the
turbine would make contact with the seabed. Fig. 6 shows the
normalised power through the water column for both the profiled
flow and the plug flow scenario; each point represents the rotation
centre of the TST as it is theoretically lowered through the water
column.
Fig. 6 clearly shows that the power predicted with the profiled
flow never matches the power predicted with the plug flow so that
even if the turbine was placed at its highest possible position within
the water column, the power extracted by the TST in the profiled
flow would only be 0.65 of that for the same turbine in a plug flow.
Another factor affecting the performance of a TST is the means by
which it is fixed to the seabed.
4. Turbine stanchion geometry
In the majority of cases for the deployment of TSTs a supporting
structure will be required, the exception being those tethered to the
seabed etc. Prior to determining the effects of a stanchion on a TST
performance an assessment of the section profile of the stanchion
was undertaken and compared with a TST with no stanchion in
a plug flow.
4.1. Plug flow e stanchion selection
Five basic geometric shapes were chosen to study the interac-
tion of the turbine with a single stanchion through the full 35 m
depth of the CFD domain. Each of the stanchion geometries was
restricted such that the cross-sectional dimension was the same as
the nacelle diameter. Whilst this may not be practical, in
26 A. Mason-Jones et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 23e30

Power (plug) Power (profile) Torque (plug) Torque (profile) 1

500 300 0.9
450 0.8

Normalised power
250
400
0.7

Torque (kNm)
350
Power (kW)

200
0.6

Seabed
300
250 150 0.5
200 0.4
100
150
0.3
100 50
50
0.2
Site turbine rotation centre (profiled flow)
0 0 0.1 Turbine rotation centre (plug flow)
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 0
TSR
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Fig. 4. Power and torque curves for plug (Uplug ¼ 3.1 m/s) and profiled flows Water depth (m)
(Uave ¼ 2.2 m/s over turbine).
Fig. 6. Normalised power attenuation through water column for site CFD model with
plug and profiled upstream velocity profiles.

a structural sense, it clearly shows the effect of the stanchion shape.

Fig. 7 gives the axial wake velocity presented as path-lines around
optimal design in terms of low axial thrust and peak power is for
the surface of a hydrofoil, elliptical, circular, diamond and square
the turbine mounted on either an elliptical or hydrofoil stanchion.
aligned stanchion cross sections. The figures are ordered with
However, in choosing the optimal stanchion design, the cost of
increasing effect on axial thrust and attenuation of the generated
manufacture also needs to be considered and therefore a compro-
power. From Fig. 7 the hydrofoil and ellipse stanchion cross sections
mise between the hydrodynamic properties of the stanchion
produce the least amount of downstream disturbance with the
geometry, the cost of manufacture and efficiency of the system may
path-lines following the contours of the geometry. Further down-
be required. Since a circular stanchion would be easier to manu-
stream the wake also remains stable. The circular cross section is
facture when compared to that of the elliptical and hydrofoil
the next in the series with moderate downstream disturbance.
stanchions, the circular stanchion has been chosen as a compro-
Some vortex shedding is apparent and eddy mixing in the near
mise between the various factors and hence used in determining
downstream vicinity on the stanchion. Finally, as would be ex-
the cyclic loading that the TST blades will be subjected to over
pected, high vortex shedding and eddy mixing is observed in the
a period of time. Furthermore, the work presented in this paper is
downstream wakes of the diamond and square cross sections. The
focused at the TSR which equates to the peak Cp at the peak velocity
histograms in Fig. 8 give the calculated power generation from the
profile during a tidal cycle. Initially the turbine without a stanchion
turbine and axial thrust loads for each of the stanchion cross
was studied to provide a reference set of data for the turbine.
sections. Clearly with the presence of a hydrofoil shaped stanchion
To study the cyclic loading effects, a series of steady-state
there is a drop in the power generated, even with the relatively
models each with the turbine advanced in a clockwise direction
undisturbed resulting wake. However, it is clear from Fig. 8 that the
were analysed, with the rotational speed of the turbine kept
square section has a drop of approximately 130 kW (or 26%) due to
constant at 1.47 rad/s throughout the rotation cycle.
the hydrodynamic interaction with the stanchion.
To determining the effects of a stanchion on a TST’s perfor-
4.2. Profiled flow e turbine without a stanchion
mance, each of the stanchions discussed earlier were incorporated
into the turbine module such that there was a distance of 2 hub
As can be seen from Fig. 11, the torque generated by blade 1 (B1),
diameters between the rear of the turbine blades and the surface of
blade 2 (B2) and blade 3 (B3) varies as the blades move between the
the stanchion (Fig. 9). This distance has been shown to provide
higher velocity water at the top of the turbine and slower velocities
a small interaction between the blades and stanchion relative to
towards the seabed. Clearly, as the turbine is rotated through one
a hub diameter [16]. The axial thrust on the stanchion is compared
revolution the cyclic shape of each curve is symmetrical following
to that generated on the turbine alone or the combined turbine and
a sinusoidal pattern. Similar curves are observed for the power and
stanchion in Fig. 10.
the axial thrust.
When comparing these data with the power generated by the
Intuitively, the maximum torque and hence power, since power
combined turbine and stanchion, it can clearly be seen that the
is the product of torque and angular velocity, should occur at
0 (Top Dead Centre) since at this point in the rotational cycle each
blade would be subjected to the maximum velocity at that depth
0.45 Profile flow (Umax) Plug flow Profile flow (Uave across turbine) followed by a minimum at 180 . However, this clearly does not
0.4 happen and if blade B1 is considered, it can be seen that the
0.35 maximum torque occurs at 288 (72 lag) and the minimum at 115 .
0.3 This phase shift is due to the interaction of the downstream wake
0.25
vortex with the velocity field upstream and downstream of the TST.
Cp

Fig. 12 shows path-lines released from a horizontal plane 28 m

0.2
below the surface boundary and from the surface of B1 while
0.15
positioned at a rotation angle of 315 . Since the turbine is posi-
0.1
tioned with its rotational axis 10 m from the seabed the velocity of
0.05 the water between the seabed and the turbine increases due the
0 natural flow restriction. For the given set of conditions at approx-
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
imately 8 m downstream of the turbine the path-lines generated on
TSR
the 28 m depth horizontal plane rise and contact the wake gener-
Fig. 5. Dependency of power coefficient on upstream flow definition. ated by B3 causing an upward swell and an increase in the
 A. Mason-Jones et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 23e30
Fig. 7. Path-lines for various stanchion cross sections in a plug flow.
corresponding vortex radius. Depending on the rotational direction
of the turbine the upward flow of water, indicated by the rising
path-lines along the 28 m depth plane, can either increase or
decrease the downstream blade vortex radius as measured from
the rotational axis of the turbine. This can be seen to occur at
approximately 9 m downstream as the up flow path-lines interact
with those generated from the trailing edge as B1 advances in
a clockwise direction. At the same rotational angle as B1 the vortex
radius generated by B3 is deflected upwards by the up flow and
wake of B1, thereby forming an asymmetric wake.
The increased vortex radius between 0 and approximately 110
directly influences the velocity field upstream of the turbine. On the
right hand side of the turbine, Fig. 12a the path-lines can be seen to
pass over the raised vortex, whereas on the left hand side, Fig. 12b,
they pass beneath the vortex but with less variance to their original
path indicating that the asymmetry of the wake on the right hand
side has an influences on the upstream water velocity.
The magnitude and shape of the curves discussed in this paper
are in agreement with the work of Batten et al. [17] who used
600
Power (kW) : Axial thrust (kN)
Power
500 Axial thrust
400
300
200
100
0
none ellipse hydrofoil circular diamond square
Type of stanchion section
Fig. 8. Effect of stanchion geometry on turbine power extraction and axial thrust.
27
a 1/7th power law to assess the rotational characteristics of a three
bladed turbine. However, the phase angle is different between the
work discussed in this paper and that presented by Batten et al. A
possible explanation for this is the difference between the
numerical models used since Batten et al. used Blade Element
Momentum (BEM) as the basis of their analysis. This could limit the
downstream effects of the wake interaction which is not neces-
sarily the case for the CFD model.
4.3. Profiled flow e turbine with a stanchion
As can be seen from Fig. 11, the torque generated by the three
blades B1, B2 and B3, once again varies as the blades move between
the higher velocity water at the top of the turbine and slower
velocities towards the seabed. As the TST is rotated through one
revolution a cyclic shape is once again formed, however the sinu-
soidal pattern that was previously observed is now interrupted at
180 and 0 .
With the stanchion in place, a phase angle lag of 96 moves the
maximum torque for B1 to approximately 264 and the minimum
to an angle of around 130 with a phase angle of 50 . The reason for
the phase shift from top dead centre is once again due to the
downstream wake effects previously described.
Fig. 9. Geometry of turbine and circular stanchion.
28
Fig. 10. Turbine and stanchion axial thrust variation with stanchion geometry.
There is also a decrease in velocity between the turbine and the
upstream edge of the stanchion. With a distance of 2 m down-
stream, the velocity at the central distance between the rear of the
hub and front edge of the stanchion was reduced from an average
upstream velocity of 2.2 m/s to 1.2 m/s.
For just the turbine, the total power extracted by the turbine was
144 kW. However when the stanchion is added, the total power
extracted was 128 kW giving a power reduction of 16 kW. Similarly
the maximum axial thrust load decreased by 17 kN when the
stanchion was included (157 kN for the isolated turbine and 139 kN
for the turbine plus stanchion).
4.4. Profiled flow e combined performance curves with and
without stanchion
For clarity only the curves for blade B1 are discussed since
blades B2 and B3 follow the same pattern 120 and 240 in advance.
Figs. 11, 13 and 14 compare the torque, power and axial load curves
for B1, B2 and B3 respectively. In Fig. 11 the torque generated
through 360 for B1 is highlighted for both cases. It is very apparent
from this figure that the stanchion has a significant impact on the
hydrodynamic performance of the TST when the torque curves are
compared. Moreover, the shape of the torque curve indicates the
level of interaction between the stanchion and the TST blades, most
notably at rotation angles of 0 and 180 . As B1 passes in front of the
stanchion at 180 a small deviation in the curve can be seen, also
annotated by point A. This feature is not shown on the torque
curves for B2 and B3 because of insufficient time step resolution.
36
34
32
Torque (kNm)
30
28
26
24
22
20
0 45 90
Fig. 11. Torque variation for B1, B2 and B3 with and without a circular stanchion.
A. Mason-Jones et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 23e30
The 120 angle between the blades and the angles chosen for each
of the steady-state models resulted in the omission of this feature.
Within the last ¼ of the rotation cycle starting at an angle of 288
the torque curve decreases sharply toward a minimum at 360 and
a value of 29.1 kNm.
These features are also seen in the power curves, Fig. 13, which
shows the peak power extraction once again occurring between
270 and 315 with a minimum between 90 and 135 . When the
stanchion is included, the power extracted by B1 is reduced
throughout the 360 rotation with a reduction in peak extraction to
48.6 kW from 52.3 kW. The minimum power output from the
isolated turbine is approximately 44.9 kW giving a power fluctua-
tion of around 7.4 kW. With a minimum power extraction of
37.1 kW for the turbine and stanchion the peak power fluctuation is
increased by 54% to 11.4 kW. By adding in the output from B2 and
B3 the power fluctuation experienced by the generator is however
smoothed out. The maximum and minimum shaft power delivered
to the motor are 145 kW and 144 kW with a 0.5% variance.
One interesting feature in the axial thrust curve when the
stanchion is included, Fig. 14 is the relatively flat portion of the
curve between 0 and 180 and the sudden rise again towards peak
power extraction. The relatively flat portion coincides with the
portion of the rotation cycle where the minimum flow velocity
occurs. At around 180 the axial load drops again as the blade
passes in front of the stanchion. If this phenomenon truly repre-
sents a physical feature of the operation of the TST under such
operational conditions then further work is required involving
physical measurement as well as further modelling. Although not
included in this study, it should be noted that the distance between
the passing blades and the stanchion could be varied to limit some
of the differences discussed and should be the focus of future
studies. Also by reducing the distance between the passing blades
and stanchion there will be a reduction in the power extraction, but
an increase in the axial load, due to the hydrodynamic interference
[16].
Figs. 11, 13 and 14 also show that the stanchion increases the
magnitude between the maximum and minimum performance
characteristics of the TST increasing problems associated with
cyclic power generation and axial thrust loading.
With the stanchion positioned 2 m downstream of the TST the
torque difference generated at peak and minimum power extrac-
tion was 5 kNm without a stanchion and 7.7 kNm with a stanchion.
The peak and minimum differential in power at the same points in
the rotational cycle were 7.3 kW and 11 kW. Finally, the turbine
axial thrust load differential was 1.4 kN and 4.6 kN for the two
examples of with and without a circular stanchion, respectively.
B1 no stanchion
B2 no stanchion (+ 120 deg)
B3 no stanchion ( + 240 deg)
B1 with stanchion
B2 with stanchion (+120 deg)
A B3 with stanchion (+240 deg)
135 180 225 270 315 360
Rotation angle (deg)
 A. Mason-Jones et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 23e30 29

Fig. 12. Path-lines for turbine only.

60

55

50
B1 no stanchion
45
Power (kW)

B2 no stanchion (+120 deg)

B3 no stanchion (+240 deg)
40
B1 with stanchion
35 B2 with stanchion (+120 deg)
B3 with stanchion (+240 deg)
30

25

20
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360
Rotation angle (deg)

Fig. 13. Power variation for B1, B2 and B3 with and without a circular stanchion.

54

53

52
B1 with stanchion
51
Axial load (kN)

B2 with stanchion (+120 deg)

50
B3 with stanchion (+240 deg)
49
B1 no stanchion
48
B2 no stanchion (+120 deg)
47 B3 no stanchion (+240 deg)
46

45

44
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360

Rotation angle (deg)

Fig. 14. Axial load variation for B1, B2 and B3 with and without a circular stanchion.

5. Conclusions
By placing the 10 m diameter three bladed turbine in a high
velocity shear environment at a depth of 35 m, the cyclic torque,
power and axial thrust curves were shown to be similar to those
presented in literature. However, it was shown that the point of
peak power extraction, through a rotational cycle, was advanced
from TDC while rotating in a clockwise direction. With the addition
of a stanchion the amplitudes of the peak torque, power and axial
thrust were shown to increase but with reduced average values
over a rotation cycle. Via the use of quasi-static CFD models the
combined effect of both the introduction of a stanchion and
upstream velocity profile gave an insight to their influence on the
magnitude of the asymmetry in the wake and the cyclic hydrody-
namic power extraction and thrust loads. The placement of a tidal
turbine in a high velocity shearing flow will clearly result in
asymmetric loading. The work presented in this paper has also
shown that the loading, over a complete rotation cycle, is even
30 A. Mason-Jones et al. / Renewable Energy 52 (2013) 23e30
more complicated and compounded by larger amplitudes, with the
presence of a stanchion leading to the need for thorough design
considerations.
Acknowledgements
This work was undertaken as part of the Low Carbon Research
Institute (LCRI) Marine Consortium (www.lcrimarine.org). The
authors wish to acknowledge the financial support of the Welsh
Assembly Government, The Higher Education Funding Council for
Wales, the Welsh European Funding Office, and the European
Regional Development Fund Convergence Programme.
References
[1] on behalf of the EquiMar project consortium. In: Ingram D, Smith G, Bit-
tencout-Ferreira C, Smith H, editors. Protocols for the equitable assessment of
marine energy converters. Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JL, United
Kingdom: The Institute for Energy Systems, School of Engineering, The
University of Edinburgh, ISBN 978-0-9508920-3-0; 2011.
[2] Nicholls-Lee RF, Turnock SR, Boyd SW. Performance prediction of a free stream
tidal turbine with composite bend-twist coupled blades. In: 2nd international
conference on ocean energy (ICOE 2008). Brest, France, http://eprints.soton.ac.
uk/66466/1/ICOE_2008_paper_corrected.pdf; 26th Sept. 2011.
[3] White DL, Musial WD. The effect of load phase angle on wind turbine blade
fatigue damage. In: Presented at the 42nd AIAA aerospace sciences meeting
and exhibition. Reno, Nevada: National Renewable Energy Laboratory; 2004.
NREL/CP-500e34837.
[4] Jorgensen ER, Borum KK, McGugan M, Thomsen CL, Jensen FM, Debel CP, et al.
Full scale testing of wind turbine blade to failure e flapwise loading. Riso
National Laboratory, Roskilde. June 2004. Riso-R-1392(EN). http://130.226.56.
153/rispubl/VEA/veapdf/ris-r-1392.pdf [30th Sept. 2011].
[5] O’Doherty DM, Mason-Jones A, Morris CE, O’Doherty T, Byrne CB, Prickett PW,
et al. Interaction of marine turbines in close proximity. In: 9th European wave
and tidal energy conference; 2011.
[6] Mycek P, Gaurier B, Germain G, Pinon G, Rivoalen E. Numerical and experi-
mental study of the interaction between two marine current turbines. In: 9th
European wave and tidal energy conference; 2011.
[7] Vennell R. The energetics of large tidal turbine arrays. Renewable Energy
2012;48:210e9.
[8] Garrett C, Cummins P. Limits to tidal current power. Renewable Energy 2008;
33:2485e90.
[9] Black and Veatch e Phase II UK. Tidal stream energy resource assessment.
Carbon trust; 2005.
[10] Mason-Jones A. Performance assessment of a horizontal axis tidal turbine in
a high velocity shear environment. PhD thesis, Cardiff University, UK; 2010.
[11] Fluent Inc.. Fluent documentation; 2006.
[12] Mason-Jones A, O’Doherty DM, Morris CE, O’Doherty T, Byrne CB, Owen I, et al.
Non-dimensional scaling of tidal stream turbines. Energy 2012. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy. 2012.05.010.
[13] Mason-Jones A, Evans PS, Wooldridge CF, O’Doherty DM, O’Doherty T, Fryett I.
The use of ADCP data from the inner bristol channel, UK and CFD to study
power attenuation effects on HATT performance. Liverpool: Hydro8; 2008.
[14] O’Doherty T, Mason-Jones A, O’Doherty DM, Byrne CB, Owen I, Wang YX.
Experimental and computational analysis of a model horizontal axis tidal
turbine. In: 8th EWTEC; 2009. Uppsala.
[15] Mason-Jones A, Evans PS, O’Doherty T, O’Doherty DM. Characterisation of
a tidal stream turbine design using CFD and ADCP. In: World renewable
energy conference; 2008. Glasgow.
[16] Williams GE. The importance of tidal directionality. MSc thesis, Cardiff
University, UK; 2011.
[17] Batten WMJ, Bahaj AS, Molland AF, Chaplin JR. The prediction of the hydro-
dynamic performance of marine current turbine. Renewable Energy 2008;
33(5). ISSN: 0960-148.1:1085e96.