Improved materials for energy generation through advanced tidal device technology design (TidalDesign)

The overall aim of this project is to combine component design and materials research to improve the performance of the G-TT tidal stream device, a novel concept in generating energy from tidal streams. The project will create lighter and more reliable turbines and demonstrate their commercial viability via a prototype. G-TT’s novel concept, innovated in the UK is distinct from existing run-of-river and tidal stream devices in that it causes the inflowing water to rotate, whereby the device’s specially designed turbine then captures the rotational kinetic energy. TidalDesign project seeks to research and select from advanced lightweight materials (High strength steels, light alloys (Al, and Ti) and composites) for this novel design to stream tidal energy. The target is therefore to combine an innovative component design (vortical flow turbine) and materials selection for creating lighter but durable turbines to demonstrate as a prototype that can ultimately reach commercial scale. The operating conditions require that the turbines have adequate fatigue and impact resistance, and that they do not break. Driven by the need for high energy efficiency, lighter structures with adequate integrity hence present potential opportunities thus have been the subject of some research and applied in other industry sectors, notably wind power and marine. It is hence the aim of this project to select materials and develop turbine blades that are suitable for industrial application and which have been validated as a result of testing within this project. The project will build on the findings of the small scale tests by examining application of the blade materials developed in the programme to larger scale prototype components