THERMAL SCIENCE

International Scientific Journal

Thermal Science - Online First

Weixing Liu

,

Wanting Hu

,

Ziheng Wang

,

Yurii Korol

,

Chengjiao Sun

,

Haitao Wu

,

Zhihu Yan

,

Zhiyang Zhang

online first only

Hydrodynamic performance study of a vertical-axis bio-inspired tidal current turbine

ABSTRACT
Blades critically influence the energy capture efficiency of tidal flow turbines. In an endeavor to substantially boost the energy performance of tidal current turbines, a vertical-axis bio-inspired blade with a nodular leading edge was designed, based on the humpback whale's pectoral fin, to enhance tidal current turbine performance. The leading edge nodules follow a sine wave pattern. A three-bladed vertical-axis tidal current turbine model incorporating this design was developed. Its hydrodynamic performance was compared to that of a standard three-blade vertical-axis turbine using numerical simulations, with the aim of further and quantifiably improving energy efficiency. The bio-inspired turbine achieved high energy coefficient values. For example, at a tip speed ratio of 2.094, the bio-inspired turbine delivers a 7.12% increase in energy coefficient compared to the standard turbine. Moreover, the bio-inspired turbine demonstrated markedly and consistently higher torque output under low-speed conditions and showcased significantly notable enhanced startup performance.
KEYWORDS
tidal current turbine, bionic blade, humpback whale pectoral fin, hydrodynamic performance, CFD numerical simulation
PAPER SUBMITTED: 2025-07-12
PAPER REVISED: 2025-09-05
PAPER ACCEPTED: 2025-09-16
PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2025-11-08
DOI REFERENCE: https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI250712192L
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Hydrodynamic performance study of a vertical-axis bio-inspired tidal current turbine