Producing electricity from marine renewable resources is a research area that develops continuously. The field of tidal energy is on the edge to progress from the prototype stage to the commercial stage. However, tidal resource characterization, and the effect of tidal turbines on the flow, is still an ongoing research area in which this thesis aims to contribute. In this thesis, measurements of flow velocities have been performed at three kinds of sites. Firstly, a tidal site has been investigated for its resource potential in a fjord in Norway. Measurements have been performed with an acoustic Doppler current profiler to map the spatial and temporal characteristics of the flow. Results show that currents are in the order of 2 m/s in the center of the channel. Furthermore, the flow is highly bi-directional between ebb and flood flows. The site thus has potential for in-stream energy conversion. Secondly, a river site serves as an experimental site for a marine current energy converter that has been designed at Uppsala University and deployed in Dalälven, Söderfors. The flow rate at the site is regulated by an upstream hydro power plant, making the site suitable for experiments on the performance of the vertical axis turbine in a natural environment. The turbine was run in steady discharge flows and measurements were performed to characterize the extent of the wake. Lastly, at an ocean current site, the effect that transiting ferries may have on submerged devices was investigated. Measurements were conducted with two sonar systems to obtain an underwater view of the wake caused by a propeller and a water jet thruster respectively. Furthermore, the variability of the intermittent renewable sources wind, solar, wave and tidal energy was investigated for the Nordic countries. All of the sources have distinctly different variability features, which is advantageous when combining power generated from them and introducing it on the electricity grid. Tidal variability is mainly due to four aspects: the tidal regime, the tidal cycle, local bathymetry causing turbulence, asymmetries etc. and weather effects. Models of power output from the four sources was set up and combined in different energy mixes for a “highly renewable” and a “fully renewable” scenario. By separating the resulting power time series into different frequency bands (long-, mid-, mid/short-, and short-term components) it was possible to minimize the variability on different time scales. It was concluded that a wise combination of intermittent renewable sources may lower the variability on short and long time scales, but increase the variability on mid and mid/short time scales. The tidal power variability in Norway was then investigated separately. The predictability of tidal currents has great advantages when planning electricity availability from tidal farms. However, the continuously varying tide from maximum power output to minimum output several times per day increases the demand for backup power or storage. The phase shift between tidal sites introduces a smoothing effect on hourly basis but the tidal cycle, with spring and neap tide simultaneously in large areas, will inevitably affect the power availability.

Suitable locations for marine current power generation were scouted. The specific turbines considered in this project are vertical axis turbines and require an water velocity of 0.8 m/s to start and has a system efficiency of 20%. In the beginning of the project focus was directed towards areas along Florida's coastal line with high water velocities tapping into the Gulf Stream. Data found the velocities did not meet the water speed requirements. Following this observation, it was decided to discontinue further research in the Florida region and divert the attention towards waters in Alaska. There current velocities were found to be significantly higher. Because velocities vary over time marine current power is not relevant in Alaska, but rather the closely related technology tidal power. Two areas in Alaska distinguished themselves, Cook Inlet and Aleutian Islands.Potential power and annual energy extraction were estimated for turbine stations at each site. A battery energy storage system was implemented to counteract varying water velocities. The most promising site could steadily deliver 269 kW and an annual energy production of 2.44 GWh per turbine.

L’environnement opérationnel des pales et des structures porteuses des hydroliennes est de nature incertaine, compte tenu de la variabilité de l’écoulement (turbulence, sillage, houle, courants. . .). Ces éléments structuraux subissent donc des états de contraintes multiaxiaux complexes avec des fortes variations temporelles à caractère aléatoire. Ainsi, le dimensionnement basé sur des critères statiques déterministes apparaît insuffisant pour tenir compte de la complexité de l’histoire du chargement mécanique et de sa variabilité.Ce travail vise à établir des méthodes de dimensionnement adaptées à cette situation, pour la conception de structures hydroliennes aux risques et aux coûts maîtrisés. La démarche adoptée repose sur la description de l’écoulement et de ses grandeurs statistiques, afin de caractériser les efforts exercés sur l’hydrolienne et les contraintes mécaniques extrêmes en pied de pale. / The operating environment of tidal turbines blades and body is uncertain, due to the flow variability (turbulence,wake, tide, streams...). These structural elements then undergo strongly time-varying complex multi-axial random stress states. A design based on static and deterministic criteria thus appears insufficient to take the complexity and the variability of the mechanical loading into account. This work aims at setting sizing methods that are adapted to this situation, in order to design tidal turbines with mastered risks and costs. The proposed method lies on a statistical description of the flow, in order to characterize the load of the turbine and the extreme mechanical stresses at the blade foot.

Este trabalho quantifica o potencial de extração de energias marinhas associadas a ondas e correntes na região de São Sebastião, identificando locais mais adequados para tal extração. Para isso, se utiliza o modelo University of Miami Wave Model (UMWM) para simulação de ondas e o Stevens Estuarine and Coastal Ocean Model (sECOM) para simulação de correntes, analisando o período de julho de 2016 a junho de 2017. A região imediatamente ao largo da Ilha de São Sebastião apresenta um dos maiores potenciais do Estado de São Paulo para extração de energia marinha, com intensidade média anual do fluxo de energia de ondas de 22,3 kW/m e de densidade de potência de correntes de até 473,2 W/m2. Outro ponto com potencial de extração de energia das correntes está situado no interior do Canal de São Sebastião, com valor médio de 370,0 W/m2. / This research quantifies the potential of marine energy due to wave and currents in the Sao Sebastiao region, identifying the most suitable sites for such extraction. For this purpose, it is used the University of Miami Wave Model (UMWM) for wave simulation and the Stevens Estuarine and Coastal Ocean Model (sECOM) for current simulation, analyzing the period from July 2016 to June 2017. The region near the offshore side of the Sao Sebastiao Island shows one of the greatest potential in the State of Sao Paulo for marine energy extraction, with the average annual wave energy flux of 22.3 kW/m and mean current power density of up to 473.2 W/m2. Another point with potential of energy extraction from currents is located within the Sao Sebastiao Channel with the average value of 370.0 W/m2.

The focus of this thesis is research on the performance of very low speed direct drive permanent magnet generators for energy conversion from marine and tidal currents. Various aspects involved in the design of these generators and their electromagnetic modelling using the finite element simulations are presented. For a detailed study, a 5 kW prototype generator has been designed and constructed based on finite element based simulations. Several experiments were conducted on the prototype generator. The experimental results were compared with the corresponding case simulations on the designed generator. The differences between the results predicted by the simulations and those predicted by the measurements were less than 10%. The part and overload performance of the generator has been investigated and it is found from both simulations and measurements that the generator is capable to efficiently operate at varying speeds. The tests on the experimental generator were made for speeds between 2 and 16 rpm and for load variations of 0.5 to 2 per unit. In this thesis it is shown that it is possible to design a very low speed direct drive generator for more or less any given marine current site and this is beneficial for projects aiming to develop a technical and economical viable marine current energy conversion system.

Two computationally fast fluid mechanical models for vertical axis turbines are the streamtube and the vortex model. The streamtube model is the fastest, allowing three-dimensional modeling of the turbine, but lacks a proper time-dependent description of the flow through the turbine. The vortex model used is two-dimensional, but gives a more complete time-dependent description of the flow. Effects of a velocity profile and the inclusion of struts have been investigated with the streamtube model. Simulations with an inhomogeneous velocity profile predict that the power coefficient of a vertical axis turbine is relatively insensitive to the velocity profile. For the struts, structural mechanic loads have been computed and the calculations show that if turbines are designed for high flow velocities, additional struts are required, reducing the efficiency for lower flow velocities.Turbines in channels and turbine arrays have been studied with the vortex model. The channel study shows that smaller channels give higher power coefficients and convergence is obtained in fewer time steps. Simulations on a turbine array were performed on five turbines in a row and in a zigzag configuration, where better performance is predicted for the row configuration. The row configuration was extended to ten turbines and it has been shown that the turbine spacing needs to be increased if the misalignment in flow direction is large.A control system for the turbine with only the rotational velocity as input has been studied using the vortex model coupled with an electrical model. According to simulations, this system can obtain power coefficients close to the theoretical peak values. This control system study has been extended to a turbine farm. Individual control of each turbine has been compared to a less costly control system where all turbines are connected to a mutual DC bus through passive rectifiers. The individual control performs best for aerodynamically independent turbines, but for aerodynamically coupled turbines, the results show that a mutual DC bus can be a viable option.Finally, an implementation of the fast multipole method has been made on a graphics processing unit (GPU) and the performance gain from this platform is demonstrated.

Ces travaux de thèse concernent l’étude de l’ensemble de la chaîne de puissance d’un système hydrolien utilisant des systèmes de stockage d’énergie pour améliorer la qualité de la puissance produite et la capacité de gestion des échanges d’énergie. Dans un premier temps, les différentes technologies de stockage d’énergie et leurs applications pour lisser les fluctuations de la puissance produite par le système hydrolien sont étudiées et comparées. Ensuite, une stratégie de lissage des fluctuations de la puissance, dues à l’effet de houle (fluctuations de courte durée), est proposée : elle associe une stratégie MPPT avec filtrage (au niveau de la génératrice) à l’utilisation de supercondensateurs pour lisser la puissance injectée au réseau. Puis il est proposé d’utiliser des batteries à circulation d’électrolyte pour la gestion quotidienne de la puissance d’une hydrolienne dans le contexte d’un réseau électrique isolé. Un système hybride hydrolien/batteries/diesel est étudié pour deux configurations simples : le cas d’une alimentation avec une hydrolienne comme sources principales et le cas où les générateurs diesels sont considérés comme sources dominantes. Enfin, des stratégies de limitation de puissance basées sur le défluxage de la génératrice pour contrôler la puissance de l’hydrolienne dans le cas de vitesses de courants marins élevées sont proposées. Dans ce contexte, le contrôle à puissance constante et à puissance maximale en cours de défluxage sont comparés. L’influence des paramètres de la génératrice sur les caractéristiques de fonctionnement commun de la turbine et la génératrice est également étudiée. / This PhD thesis models the whole power chain of a marine current turbine (MCT) system and investigates the use of energy storage devices to improve power quality and energy management capability. First, various energy storage technologies concerning their applications to address the power fluctuation phenomena in tidal current generation system are reviewed and compared. Then, a two-stage power smoothing control strategy for compensating swell-induced short-time fluctuations is proposed. The proposed control strategy uses a modified MPPT with filter strategy on the generator-side and supercapacitors on the grid-side for injecting a smoothed power to the grid. Afterwards, a flow battery system for daily energy management of a hybrid MCT/battery/diesel system is proposed. The MCT dominant power supply case and an island power supply (with diesel generators as the main source) are investigated. Finally, power limitation controls with a robust flux-weakening strategy for a PMSG-based non-pitchable MCT system are proposed for over-rated marine current speed periods. In this context, the constant power control and maximum power control modes at the flux-weakening stage are compared; and the influence of the generator parameters on the joint operating characteristics of the turbine and generator are also discussed.

The predictable nature of the tides offers a regular, reliable source of renewable energy that can be harnessed using tidal stream turbines (TSTs). The UK's practically extractable tidal stream energy resource has the potential to supply around 7 % of the country's annual electricity demand. As of 2016, the world's first commercial scale arrays have been deployed around the UK and France. The harsh nature of the marine operating environment poses a number of engineering challenges, where the optimal turbine design solution remains under investigation. In this thesis, a numerical model is developed to assess the power production and hydrodynamic behaviour of horizontal axis tidal turbines. The developed model builds upon well established and computationally efficient Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEMT) method for modern three-bladed wind turbines. The main novel contribution of this thesis is extending the application to an alternative design of a ducted, high solidity and open centre TST. A validation study using measurements from multiple different scale model experimental tank tests has proven the applicability of the model and suitability of the imposed correction factors. The analytical modifications to account for ducted flow were subsequently indirectly verified, where predictions of turbine power and axial thrust forces under optimal operating speeds were within 2 % of those using more advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods. This thesis presents a commercial application case of two turbines designed by OpenHydro, examining the BEMT performance with a sophisticated blade resolved CFD study. A comparison of results finds that the model is capable of predicting the average peak power to within 12 %, however it under predicts thrust levels by an average of 35 %. This study concludes that the model is applicable to ducted turbine configurations, but is limited in capturing the complex flow interactions towards the open centre, which requires further investigation. The computational efficiency of the newly developed model allowed a structural analysis of the composite blades, thus demonstrating it is suitable to effectively evaluate engineering applications. Stresses are seen to be dominated by flap-wise bending moments, which peak at the mid-length of the blade. This tool will further enable EDF to perform third party assessments of the different turbine designs, to aid decision making for future projects.

The Savonius turbine is a self-starting vertical axis turbine that has a few advantages compared to other vertical axis turbines such as lower cost, lower noise and is relatively easy to manufacture. This turbine does however have a lower efficiency and is therefore less used in the electricity production than other turbines.  This thesis is trying to tackle this problem with the use of 2D CFD-simulations of flow directors to modify the flow through the turbine to increase the efficiency. The focus during this project is to use this turbine as a Marine Current Turbine (MCT) in unidirectional flows. The turbine was based on a turbine design from a previous study at Uppsala University. The design of the flow directors was modeled with the intention to increase the available pressure drop from the front to the back of the turbine and therefore increase the velocity through the turbine. The flow directors comprised of two arcs on each side of the turbine so that they resembled a Venturi-tunnel, with a funnel in the front and a diffuser at the back. A validation of the domain dimensions and mesh-size was conducted and after this the different parameters of the flow directors were varied one at a time with the best value of a given parameter being kept for the latter simulations. At the end, the rotational velocity of the turbine was varied to find how sensitive the power output was based on this factor. This study concluded that an increase in the power coefficient of about 3,2 times was achievable compared to the same turbine in free flow. However, this needs to be further investigated and validated in real world tests as this study was conducted using 2D-simulations and other effects may influence the results in the real world. / <p>This project was conducted within Stand up for wind and Stand up for energy.</p>

L'amélioration des performances des chaînes de conversion dédiées à la récupération d'énergie par les hydroliennes est un point particulièrement important pour rendre cette ressource économiquement attractive. La minimisation du coût de l'énergie produite passe nécessairement par une amélioration des performances de la chaîne de conversion électromécanique et une réduction des coûts de maintenance et de production des éléments la constituant. Dans ce contexte particulier, les génératrices à aimants permanents apparaissent particulièrement intéressantes dans la mesure où elles sont bien adaptées à un fonctionnement à basse vitesse et à fort couple. Ceci permet d'éliminer des systèmes mécaniques très complexes, encombrants et exigeants en maintenance, tels que le multiplicateur de vitesse et/ou le système d'orientation des pales. L'objectif de cette thèse est d’explorer un certain nombre de pistes concernant les outils, les concepts et les règles de conception à mettre en oeuvre pour dimensionner une génératrice associée en entraînement direct à une turbine hydrolienne à pas fixe. Les outils mis au point dans ces travaux englobent des modèles multi-physiques intégrés dans une démarche de conception qui se veut la plus globale possible. Cette méthodologie tient compte de la caractéristique de la ressource (courants de marées), de celle de la turbine (hélice), des spécifications de la génératrice à aimants permanents, de la mise en oeuvre d’une stratégie de pilotage associant MPPT et limitation de puissance par défluxage à fort courants de marées, en plus des contraintes liées au convertisseur. L'environnement de conception développé est basé sur un couplage des modèles dans une procédure d'optimisation. Les résultats obtenus mettent en lumière les points clés associés au développement d’une telle génératrice pour un contexte hydrolien. / The improvements of marine current turbines drive train are key features to ensure safe operation and to make tidal energy resource cost-attractive. In this context, eliminating mechanical systems that demand high-level of maintenance can be an interesting way to improve the global behavior of tidal turbines. For that purposes, the presented studies focus on design methodologies and concepts of direct-driven generators associated with fixed-pitch turbines. The proposed designs are based on multiphysics models of the generator that are integrated in an optimization process taking into account the drive train environment. For these reasons, several models have been integrated into a global design strategy in order to find solutions that improve marine current turbines performances. This strategy is based on the use of an optimization process that combines electromagnetic model, thermal model, turbine performances model, and tidal resource velocity profile. This methodology integrates also an efficient control strategy based on a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) approach at low tidal speed and a flux-weakening power limitation control at high tidal speed. This control at high tidal velocities is in this work achieved by considering only the generator electrical control without using blade pitching systems. The obtained results highlight trends that could lead to an improvement of the design and they help designers to set relevant technological choices in order to ensure significant cost reduction and highly improve the reliability of marine current turbines.