Loadings on a tidal stream turbine during installation using CFD modelling

Deploying a tidal stream turbine is a process which must be made more economic if tidal stream energy is to become a competitive and viable option. Significant costs arise from the installation process itself along with subsequent removal as part of the maintenance cycle. Currently the marine renewable industry largely relies on the use of offshore construction vessels from the oil & gas sector which can cost in the region of £125k per day. Downtime cost is also significant whilst waiting for favourable conditions in which to carry out the removal and/or installation process.
CFD modelling has been used to assess the loadings on the nacelle of a horizontal axis tidal stream turbine associated with its installation at the slack period of a neap tide. The CFD code used for this assessment is avaialble. It can be run using ANSYS.