Modeling approach for hydrokinetic turbine

Given the interest in renewable energy, various types of production of this kind of energy are in study. In the present, we are interested in harnessing marine energy currents, especially the hydro-kinetic turbines with horizontal axis. The density of water is 832 times greater than air one and underwater currents are also more powerful than the wind, the electric power supplied by a hydroelectric turbine is much greater than that provided by a wind turbine. In this fact water turbines are smaller than wind turbines. The aim of the present work is to calculate the hydrodynamic loads, estimate the energetic performance and determine the blade optimal parameters for a turbine. The motion of the rotor produces a three dimensional flow, which make the modeling task complicated. Two hydrodynamic theories are combined “Blade Element Method” and “the axial momentum theory” in order to find all essential parameters for sizing blades. The equations obtained are solved by using an iterative algorithm in order to obtain the hydrodynamic loads and torque. Computations were accomplished for a NACA4415 profile.