Abstract
Few numerical studies have been carried out on the RM1 tidal turbine to fully characterize the wake and analyze geometric modifications that could enhance power production and wake recovery. Javaherchi et al. compared the Rotating Reference Frame (RRF) and Blade Element Method (BEM) models and found their limitations for different TSR ranges. Niebuhr et al. validated their numerical model with experimental data, and evaluated various turbulence models, boundary conditions, and rotor modeling techniques using Siemens STAR-CCM+. In this study, the turbine analyzed consisted of a scaled model of the DOE RM1 turbine, a dual-rotor axial flow marine turbine with counter-rotating rotors, each with a diameter of ??=0.5 m. The simulations were carried out using the unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (URANS) Shear Stress Transport (SST) ?−? turbulence model and the sliding mesh technique. Numerical results of turbine performance and wake evolution were compared and validated against experimental and numerical data. Finally, three lateral spacings between rotors’ centerlines were studied to evaluate the relationship between this spacing and the overall power production.