CFD study of a ducted cross flow turbine concept forhigh efficiency tidal current energy extraction

There is a growing interest in utilizing tidal current energy for power generation which has led to extensive research on this source of renewable energy. The work presented here aims to study the tidal current energy extraction using a cross-flow turbine. The bi-directional flow of tidal currents is used to drive a uni-directional cross-flow turbine. The cross-flow turbine studied is placed in an augmentation channel, having a nozzle and a diffuser. The performance of the device is studied numerically using the commercial ANSYS-CFX code. The internal flow characteristics of the turbine is studied for various cases. Results of the numerical analysis are presented in terms of pressure contours, streaklines, velocity vectors, power coefficient, and performance curves.