Improved Structure and Fabrication of Large, High-Power KHPS Rotors, Final Scientific/Technical Report

The research, development, deployment and demonstration (RDD&D) conducted under this US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Water Power Program (AWPP) project has significantly contributed to advancing the design and construction of stronger, larger, and higher-capacity composite turbine blades for use in the nascent Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) renewable energy industry. MHK turbines convert energy from water current resources, including tidal and river flows, into electricity. Specifically, Verdant Power, Inc, working in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and the University of Minnesota (UMN) St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL), among other partners, used evolving Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) models and techniques to improve the structure and fabrication of large, high-power composite Kinetic Hydropower System (KHPS) rotor blades. The execution of the project was organized by a series of ten tasks with the objectives to: design; analyze; develop for manufacture and fabricate; and thoroughly test, in the lab and at full scale in the water, the improved KHPS rotor blade.  Pub No. DE20131084212 www.ntis.gov