Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 997–1009

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Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

A design methodology for cross flow water turbines

J. Zanette, D. Imbault, A. Tourabi*
Laboratoire Sols, Solides, Structures – Risques (3S-R) Domaine Universitaire, B.P. 53, 38041 Grenoble Cedex 9, France

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This contribution deals with the design of cross flow water turbines. The mechanical stress sustained by
Received 22 January 2009 the blades depends on the basic geometrical specifications of the cross flow water turbine, its rotational
Accepted 18 September 2009 speed, the exact geometry of the blades and the velocity of the upstream water current. During the
Available online 3 November 2009
operation, the blades are submitted to severe cyclic loadings generated by pressure field’s variation as
function of angular position. This paper proposes a simplified design methodology for structural analysis
Keywords:
of cross flow water turbine blades, with quite low computational time. A new trapezoidal-bladed turbine
Renewable energy
obtained from this method promises to be more efficient than the classical designs. Its most distinctive
Cross flow water turbine
Blade geometry characteristic is a variable profiled cross-section area, which should significantly reduce the intensity of
cyclic loadings in the material and improve the turbine’s durability. The advantages of this new geometry
will be compared with three other geometries based on NACA0018 hydrofoil.
Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction in order to ensure appropriate durability and performance of the

The present energetic context leads to the research of renewable
energy sources, alternatives to the use of fossil fuel. The extraction
of kinetic energy from marine or fluvial currents is particularly
interesting [1,2]. The category of water current turbine employed
can be characterised by its rotational axis orientation with regard to
the water flow direction. The Axial Flow Water Turbine (AFWT)
has an axis of rotation parallel to the current direction and its
rotor must be controlled to follow the current direction, in order to
increase the power conversion efficiency. Otherwise, if the
rotational axis is perpendicular to the current, the turbine operates
whatever the flow direction. This category of turbine is known
as Cross Flow Water Turbine (CFWT). This type of turbines has
several advantages, but the design and the prediction of their
hydrodynamic behaviour are more complex [3].
Considering the fluid-structure interaction, the CFWT is
submitted to a severe fatigue loading regime. The blades are
submitted to a complete reversal stress cycle at each revolution.
The intensity of the mechanical cyclic loading determines the
turbine expected life. It is not therefore surprising that the design of
many turbine components is often governed by fatigue rather than
by ultimate loading. The prolonged operation of CFWT leads to
a very high number of cycles under complex mechanical loadings.
The stress distribution and the material fatigue analysis are crucial
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ33 4 76 82 51 47.
E-mail address: Ali.Tourabi@hmg.inpg.fr (A. Tourabi).
turbine.
To limit the fatigue effects and to guarantee a better mechanical
performance of the turbines, it is necessary to imagine an optimal
blade shape, which reduces the intensity of amplitude and mean
stresses in the material. In an ideal situation, an optimal blade
shape would correspond to a constant in time and homogeneous
space repartition of stress. This ideal situation is nevertheless
very difficult to reach. Moreover, the process of blade shape
optimization must keep high hydrodynamic performances to reach
the best turbine energetic efficiency. So, the design of CFWT comes
up against the antagonism between on the one hand the impera-
tives of mechanical resistance and on the other hand those of
power conversion efficiency and manufacturing process. Indeed,
the structural optimization and the hydrodynamical behavior of the
turbines are highly coupled. Thus, the design of CFWT reveals an
intricate coupled problem which has a multidisciplinary character.
To optimize and study the mechanical behavior of turbines,
engineers need to have faithful fluid-structure methods with low
computing costs.
The aim of this paper is to introduce a new method for structural
analysis of CFWT blades. Moreover, an original CFWT geometry,
characterized by blades with variable cross-section area, is intro-
duced and promises to be much more efficient than the classical
CFWT geometries. The new geometry reduces significantly the
intensity range of cyclic loading in the material and improves the
turbine’s durability.
The proposal method corresponds to a non-coupled fluid-
structure approach essentially characterized by two separated

0960-1481/$ – see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.renene.2009.09.014
998 J. Zanette et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 997–1009
Fig. 1. Three CFWT scale models of different concepts: (a) Darrieus 1931 (5), (b) Gorlov 1997 (6), (c) Achard and Maitre 2004 (7).
stages. The first one involves the study of the flow around the
turbine and numerical computation of hydrodynamic cyclic loading
applied to blades. The second step is devoted to the structural
analysis of blades. Concerning the hydrodynamic cyclic loading
calculation, this approach is based on a CFD-macroscopic coupled
2D model proposed by Antheaume et al. [4], supplemented by some
basic assumptions that help to define the 3D pressure field around
the blade. In order to confirm the interest of the new CFWT blade
geometry, this approach will be carried out with a set of four
different geometries of blades based on NACA0018 hydrofoil, which
are made with steel and have almost the same volume. The
mechanical behavior will be simulated by finite element method,
so as to study the properties of the four proposed geometries.
All the aspects of expected lifetime calculation are excluded
from the scope of this study, which is limited to the structural
analysis of blades. However, interpretations based on the ampli-
tude and mean stress levels archived allow to compare qualitatively
the lifetime duration of blades studied.
2. CFWT concept
There are many different concepts of cross flow turbine, origi-
nally developed for wind. Darrieus [5] and Gorlov [6] turbines are
Rotation axis Electric
generator
Ring Transverse
flow
Blade
Turbine
module
Tower
Fig. 2. Concept and main components of CFWT tower.
the most well-known concepts of cross flow turbines (Fig. 1a and b).
In the framework of HARVEST (Hydroliennes à Axe de Rotation
VErtical STabilisé) research program, which gathers four laborato-
ries of the Région Rhône-Alpes (France), we develop a CFWT concept
based on Achard and Maitre [7] turbine (Fig. 1-c). Several turbine
modules are piled up and connected, in a column, by a vertical
rotation axis to extract kinetic energy of marine or fluvial currents
[8,9]. Each column of turbines is supported by a truss structure,
called tower (Fig. 2). One single electric generator is associated to
all turbines of a given tower to ensure the energy conversion. Then,
the towers can be assembled in farms or clusters and anchored on
the seafloor or riverfloor, in order to optimize the global efficiency
[10]. These systems, by their flexibility, offer a lot of interesting and
viable applications (Fig. 3).
The Achard and Maitre turbine (Fig. 1c) is composed of delta
blades, connected to the rotation axis by profiled support arms. The
blades have also profiled cross-sections, with constant area. This
geometry leaves free blade ends, so that they can be equipped with
systems limiting the induced drag associated to them, as winglets
or rings (Fig. 2). Compared with helical shaped Gorlov turbine
(Fig. 1b), the main advantage of Achard and Maitre turbine is to
Fig. 3. Realistic view of a typical cluster constituted by CFWT towers – HARVEST
research program.
 J. Zanette et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 997–1009
Fig. 4. New trapezoidal-bladed CFWT: (a) Turbine, (b) Top view of blade, (c) Perspective view of blade.
equilibrate axial hydrodynamic loading on the blade over one
revolution. In the two last cases, and contrary to Darrieus straight-
bladed turbine (Fig. 1a), the blades could not be completely facing
the water flow, periodically at each revolution, therefore the cyclic
loading are strongly smoothed, the fatigue phenomenon is reduced
and the lifetime of the turbine is increased. The other advantage of
both helical and delta shaped blades is the self-starting without any
extra device.
3. New variable cross-section area trapezoidal-bladed turbine
An overall view of the new variable cross-section area trape-
zoidal-bladed turbine is given on Fig. 4. The blade has a whale’s tail
shaped design. This geometry is defined by the projection of
a trapezoidal-shaped wing on a generating cylinder, which corre-
sponds to the turbine diameter. Contrary to the Achard and Maitre
turbine, the new geometry presents variable profiled cross-section
area. The support arms located in the symmetry plane of the
turbine (plane S – Fig. 4a) have also profiled cross-sections.
The profile of blades and support arms adopted for this study is the
NACA0018.
Under operating conditions, the blades are submitted to a severe
cyclic loading mode of complex bending type. The dangerous
sections are located in the symmetry plane S of the turbine, at the
level of junctions with the support arms. As it will be demonstrated
in Section 6, the whale’s tail shaped blade adopted reduces in an
important way the stresses mean value and the amplitude of cyclic
loading. Consequently, the fatigue phenomenon is reduced and the
lifetime of the turbine is increased.
The choice of a projection mode which allows the construction of
the blade geometry is important. Several methods are available. They
can be more or less appropriate according to the profile used, because
some of them distort the geometry more than others. In order to
preserve the geometrical characteristics of the profile, a radial
projection mode is adopted. In such a method, the initial profile is
projected on a circle, corresponding to turbine diameter, following
the radial direction. Once projected, this method merges the profile
chord with a circle of radius R (the turbine radius). The initial
symmetrical NACA0018 profile is transformed in a dissymmetrical
one, as shown in Fig. 5. The blade geometry can be also considered
from a succession of spaced 2D projected profiles distributed in
a direction parallel to the rotational axis (Fig. 4a). These profiles
correspond to the successive cross-sections of the blade. The
consecutive blade cross-sections are swept towards the relative
downstream direction (Fig. 4c). A blade is swept when each cross-
999
section is shifted parallel to its curvilinear projected chord line, in
a prescribed manner. Backward or forward sweep are possible if the
consecutive blade cross-sections are swept towards the relative
downstream or upstream directions, respectively. The both helical
(Gorlov) and delta (Achard and Maitre) turbines have backward
swept blades. The Darrieus turbine has straight unswept blades.
The Fig. 6 describes the main geometric characteristics param-
eters of the new trapezoidal-bladed turbine. This turbine is defined
by six key parameters: the number of blades N, the turbine radius R,
the turbine height H, the leading edge sweep angle g, the upper
chord length Cu and the lower one Cl. It can also be defined by three
other complementary parameters: the mean chord length
Cm ¼ (Cu þ Cl)/2, the extremities chord ratio L ¼ Cu/Cl and the
solidity S ¼ NCm/R. Note that if Cu ¼ Cl (L ¼ 1), the new trapezoidal-
bladed turbine corresponds to straight-bladed Darrieus turbine if
g ¼ 0 and to Achard and Maitre turbine if g s 0 . The leading edge
sweep angle g is positive for backward sweep and is negative for
forward sweep. The extremities chord ratio L is lower than 1 if the
chord length decreases from the fixed end (cross-section in the
plane S Fig. 4c) to free end. Inversely, this parameter is greater than
1 if the chord length increases from the fixed to free end.
A typical trapezoidal-bladed turbine free of winglets and rings is
presented in Fig. 7. The main geometric characteristics parameters

of this turbine are: N ¼ 3, R ¼ 250 mm, H ¼ 500 mm, g ¼ 30 ,
Cu ¼ 61.1 mm and Cl ¼ 122.2 mm.
To characterize the operating conditions of CFWT the tip flow
speed ratio l ¼ uR/V0 is often used, where u denotes the turbine
angular velocity and V0 denotes the incident current velocity.
Y
Initial NACA0018 profile
C (Chord length)
x
R Projected
(Turbine radius) NACA0018
profile
0
Fig. 5. Radial projection mode of NACA0018 profile. The deformation of the projected
profile was excessively exaggerated. Indeed, for readability reason, it was adopted
a very weak radius value R with respect to the chord length C.
1000 J. Zanette et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 997–1009
Fig. 6. Main geometric characteristics parameters of the trapezoidal-bladed turbine: (a) Perspective view of blade, (b) Top view of blade.
4. CFWT existing hydrodynamic models
CFWTs have been studied by various researchers using modern
analysis technics [3]. Although these turbines are relatively simple
devices with fixed geometry blades rotating about a vertical axis,
the surrounding flow is complex. As the turbine rotates, the blade
elements encounter their own wakes and those generated by other
elements. The hydrofoil experiences a variation of incidence
according to an alternating rule, involving strong unsteady effects
in the flow field. The most important of them consists in a contin-
uous dynamic stall of the flow which influences the performance of
the turbine. These combined features make the analysis of rotor
hydrodynamics a challenging task.
Since 1970, several fluid dynamic prediction models have been
created to simulate its behaviour. According to Islam et al. [11],
these models can be classified into three categories: momentum,
vortex and cascade.
The momentum models, which are based upon equating the
forces on the rotor blade to the change in streamwise momentum
through the rotor, need less computation time. Indeed, these
approaches can predict the general performance of the rotor and
Fig. 7. Typical trapezoidal-bladed turbine: N ¼ 3, R ¼ 250 mm, H ¼ 500 mm, g ¼ 30 ,
Cu ¼ 61.1 mm and Cl ¼ 122.2 mm (Cm ¼ 91.7 mm, L ¼ 0.5, S ¼ 1.1).
their relatively low computational cost makes them a useful
practical tool for design. They are all stationary models and take
into account the time-averaged cumulative effects of the rotating
blades. The main drawback of these models is that they become
invalid for large values of tip flow speed ratios and also for high
rotor solidities because the momentum equations in these partic-
ular cases are inadequate. So, these approaches are more appro-
priated for air-flow applications, characterized by relatively low
values of solidity, unlike the case of water turbines.
On the other hand, the vortex modelling method, which is based
upon vortex representations of the blades and their wakes, is more
accurate. The turbine blades are represented by bound or lifting-
line vortices whose strengths are determined using airfoil coeffi-
cient datasets and calculated relative flow velocity and angle of
attack. This method is able to predict the instantaneous forces on
the blades and others details of the flow field. Over the years,
several approaches based on this concept have been developed, as
for example the classic free vortex model proposed by Strickland
et al. [12], the vortex method combined with finite element analysis
proposed by Ponta and Jacovkis [13] and a potential flow 2-D vortex
panel model proposed by Wang et al. [14]. The main disadvantage
of vortex model is the high cost in computing time.
In the cascade models, the blade airfoils are assumed to be
positioned in a plane surface with the blade interspace is equal to
the turbine circumferential distance divided by the number of
blades. The relationship between the wake velocity and the free
stream velocity is established by using Bernoulli’s equation while
the induced velocity is related to the wake velocity through
a particular semi-empirical expression. The cascade model can
predict the overall values of both low and high solidity turbines
quite well, taking reasonable computation time.
5. Non-coupled fluid-structure approach adopted
The proposed non-coupled fluid-structure approach is intended
for providing a sufficiently accurate and less sophisticated method
to analyze the mechanical behavior of the CFWT turbines. This
approach is characterized by a non-coupled analysis of hydrody-
namic and structural effects. Concerning the hydrodynamic
loadings calculation, this approach is based on a two-dimensional
CFD-Macroscopic Coupled (CFDMC) model proposed by
Antheaume et al. [4]. The implementation of the CFDMC model is
done by using the commercial code FLUENT. A set of basic
assumptions then allows to define the 3D pressure field around
a blade. The three-dimensional structural analysis of blades is done
by using the finite element code ABAQUS. The key point of this
approach is the set of basic assumptions that simplifies
the hydrodynamic process and optimize the computing time cost.
 J. Zanette et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 997–1009 1001

20 2.5

15 Fn a 2 Ft b
10
1.5
5
1
0
0.5
-5
0
-10
-0.5
-15
Experimental data Experimental data
CFDMC model CFDMC model
-20 -1

-25 -1.5
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360 405 450 0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360 405 450
Angular position (°) Angular position (°)

Fig. 8. Comparison of experimental data obtained by Strickland et al. [12] and CFDMC model predictions: non-dimensional normal (a) and tangential (b) forces against the angular
position after the third revolution.

As we will see below, this approach maximizes the resultant force
applied to blade and can be considered as an upper bound,
providing a critical case for mechanical analysis. Some hints will be
given in the next sections about the CFDMC model, for further
details concerning this model refer to the study cited above.
5.1. The CFDMC model
The CFDMC model is based on a technique similar to the one
developed by Zori and Rajagopalan [15]. The turbine perturbation
on the incoming free flow is modeled in a similar manner to that of
Virtual Blade Model (VBM), often used for simulating the helicopter
rotor system [16–18]. The effect of the turbine on the flow field is
modeled through local source terms in the momentum equations
placed in a volume swept by the blades. For the Darrieus turbine,
the swept volume is an annular cylinder of blade thickness,
centered on the turbine axis of rotation. The local momentum
source term is calculated using the Blade Element Theory, requiring
the aerodynamic lift and drag coefficients of the blade. This
calculation is based on the local velocity magnitude, angle of attack
and Reynolds number of a virtual blade section as it passes through
a computational cell inside the volume swept. The source term
corresponds to the inner or microscopic part of the solution. The
macroscopic flow field is solved with the commercial code Fluent
using a k–3 turbulence model and a steady state formulation. To
achieve the local steady state source terms, the instantaneous lift
and drag forces are time-averaged and cell volume-weighted. Then,
the convergence towards the steady state solution is obtained
through a repeated iterative procedure.
5.2. Validation of the CFDMC model
In order to validate the CFDMC model, the forces predicted were
compared to experimental data obtained by Strickland et al. [12].
The case simulated is an experimental test on a NACA0012 two-
bladed Darrieus rotor. The normal Fn and tangential Ft forces acting
on the blade were measured as function of time, using a strain
gauges arrangement. The test conditions can be characterized by
the following quantities: the tip wind speed ratio l ¼ 5, the blade
Reynold’s number ReC ¼ 40,000 (ReC ¼ CV0/n, where n denotes the
kinematical viscosity) and the chord-radius ratio C/R ¼ 0.15. The
Fig. 8 shows the non-dimensional normal Fn and tangential Ft
forces of the blade section against the angular position, after the
third revolution, comparing experimental data and CFDMC model
predictions. Considering r the fluid density, V0 the upstream flow
velocity and Sref ¼ 2RH the flow cross-section through the turbine,
these forces are:
Fn Ft
Fn ¼ 1
; Ft ¼ 1
(1)
2
r V02 Sref 2
r V02 Sref

Fig. 9. Typical result of computation of straight-bladed Darrieus turbine pressure fields: (a) Forces obtained by the CFDMC model, (b) Their corresponding pressure fields.
1002 J. Zanette et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 997–1009

Fig. 10. The pressure field doesn’t change with the chord length.

The prediction of CFDMC model shows good agreement with the

experiment data concerning the instantaneous normal blade force
(Fig. 8a). However, the predicted of the instantaneous tangential
Fig. 11. Pressure field around a swept blade: the Darrieus straight blade pressure fields
blade force exhibits some differences compared to experimental
(on top) are associated to each cross-section of the swept blade.
data (Fig. 8b). Typically, the tangential force is an order of magni-
tude smaller than the normal force. Consequently, the measure
of tangential force is more difficult and is much more subject to
experimental error and extraneous noise. To give an estimation of
distribution of simple and double layer. The boundary conditions
measurement accuracy, the Fig. 8 shows the standard deviations
(sliding condition on the blade) led to an integral equation at the
defined by Strickland et al. [12], on some measures of normal and
borders. The problem can be discretized and the solution is found
tangential forces. Furthermore, the critical force for structural
by solving the linear system of equations associated. The rigorous
analysis corresponds to normal force Fn , which is well predicted by
Joukowsky condition is satisfied (unsteady pressures equality at
the CFDMC model. The tangential force Ft is the driving force that
the trailing edge). The dynamical boundary condition of zero
creates the turbine torque, its influence is minor on the mechanical
pressure difference across the wake (behind the blades) is
loading of blades.
realized by shedding ring vortices from the trailing edge. These
From these plots, the minimum value of Ft and the zero value of
rings are supposed to move on a simplified surface that represents
Fn occur at an angle slightly greater than 0 instead of 0 . Moreover,
the wake.
both forces are not symmetrical around a line passing through the
As the problem remains subcavitant, a singularity method with
center of turbine and parallel to flow direction. This is reflected on
constant distribution on wet surfaces (first order method) is used,
Fig. 8a and b by a slight asymmetry of curves around the angular
coupled to a method of minimization. The principle consists in
position 90 and 270 . These phenomena occur because the
satisfying the boundary conditions, in an exact way at the points of
upstream velocity is distorted by the turbine, generating a local
control and in an optimal way on surfaces between the points
lateral flow.
of control. The variation obtained on the boundary conditions,
integrated on total surface, gives an overall estimate of the error
5.3. Obtaining the Darrieus turbine pressure fields introduced by the discretization. This difference is characterized by
the value of the leak flow rate. The leak flow rate being directly
To obtain the pressure fields associated to the forces predicted related to the gradient of the singularities, the results obtained are
by the CFDMC model, a method proposed by Pellone [19], based on good, given that the average gradient relating to two consecutive
a surface singularity distribution, is employed. The blades are densities is as small as possible.
considered as subcavitating thin structures and a non-linear The straight-bladed Darrieus turbine pressure fields corre-
calculation of the flow around the profiles is performed. sponding to a symmetric unitary chord length profile are computed
The fluid is considered perfect and the flow irrotational. Then, for the maximum power generation condition. The flow is
the velocity potential in any point of space is generated by a mixed considered 2D (the flow velocity along the span direction is

Fig. 12. Four meshed blade geometries.

 J. Zanette et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 997–1009 1003

Table 1 Reynolds’s number. Consequently, only the profile shape has an

Characteristics of blades studied.
V(mm3) US/CCR BS/CCR US/DCR
261736 261756 271923
DV Ref. 0% þ4%
g 0 30 7
L 1.0 1.0 0.5
negligible) and the blade is modeled by NACA0018 cross-section,
represented by 200 facets. One pressure field is calculated for each
2 and it is composed by 200 values (each one associated to one
facet). A typical result is given on Fig. 9 displaying the forces
obtained by the CFDMC model for 8 angular positions (Fig. 9a) and
their corresponding pressure fields (Fig. 9b).
5.4. Complementary basic assumptions for swept and variable
cross-section area blades
As discussed above in Section 5.3, the forces predicted by the
CFDMC model are converted in pressure fields corresponding to
a symmetric unitary chord length profile by a method based on
a surface singularity distribution. As the flow is considered 2D
(the flow velocity along the span direction is negligible), only
straight-bladed Darrieus turbine pressure fields can be obtained,
i.e. neither sweep nor chord length variation can be taken into
account.
To deal with this limitation, three complementary basic
hypotheses based on geometrical considerations are introduced.
The first assumption is related to the influence of the radial projec-
tion adopted to define the turbine geometry, while the others
allow considering the influence of the chord ratio and the sweep
angle:
1. The small deformations generated by the radial projection is
neglected and does not affect the profile’s aerodynamic lift and
drag coefficients (Fig. 5). So, the loading on an initial symmetric
profile and on a projected one are the same.
2. The resultant force of a cross-section is proportional to the
chord length. This hypothesis is connected with the theoretical
considerations adopted to obtain the pressure field. The
method developed by Pellone [19] is independent of the
influence in the determination of the pressure fields. Moreover,
BS/DCR when the chord changes, the profile remains homothetic,
271945
without distortion. So, the pressure field is considered inde-
pendent of the chord length, as presented in Fig. 10. However,
þ4%
30 as the cross-section perimeter is proportional to the chord
0.5 length, a linear variation of the resultant force with the chord
length is expected.
3. The pressure field associated to a given cross-section of swept
blade depends on the angular position of its middle chord point
during functioning. This assumption allows to construct the
3D pressure field around a swept blade based on the 2D pres-
sure fields obtained through the previous procedure for
a Darrieus straight blade. Indeed, the previous procedure
provides a 2D pressure field for each angular position q of the
Darrieus straight blade, during functioning (cf. top part of
Fig. 11). Let’s consider a swept blade situated at a given time at
a given angular position q0, which corresponds to the middle
chord point of the cross-section situated at the fixed end
of the blade (Fig. 11). The pressure field corresponding to
a current cross-section of ordinate z is defined by the angular
position q, as:
2z
q ¼ q0  g (2)
H
where H is the turbine height and g is the blade swept angle. If the
angular position of the cross-section doesn’t correspond exactly to
a pressure field at an angle calculated by the CFDMC model, a linear
interpolation is performed.
Note that this technique doesn’t take into account the influence
of the adjacent cross-sections along the span direction z. Variable
chord or swept blade is loaded taken into account only chord length
and angular position parameters for each of the successive cross-
sections. From the hydrodynamic point of view, a chord length
variation or sweep change the blade circulation (integral of velocity
on a closed curve surrounding an airfoil section in a plane normal to
the spanwise direction) distribution along the span. This modifi-
cation affects the pressure field and, consequently, the hydrody-
namic loading around the blade. However, Vad [20] has
demonstrated that the sweep and/or the chord length variation
cause local unloading of the blade. The author proposes a law

a 90
b
90
Mx US/CCR Mx US/DCR Mx BS/CCR Mx BS/DCR
My US/CCR My US/DCR My BS/CCR My BS/DCR
Mz US/CCR Mz US/DCR Mz BS/CCR Mz BS/DCR
60 60
Moment (Nm)

30 30

0 0

-30 -30

-60 -60

Moment (Nm)
-90 Mx US/CCR Mx US/DCR Mx BS/CCR Mx BS/DCR
-90
My US/CCR My US/DCR My BS/CCR My BS/DCR
Mz US/CCR Mz US/DCR Mz BS/CCR Mz BS/DCR

-120 -120
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360 0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360
Angular position of fixed end middle chord point (°) Angular position of fixed end middle chord point (° )

Fig. 13. Moment generates by only hydrodynamic loading (a) and including centrifugal force (b) for the half-height blade.
1004 J. Zanette et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 997–1009

Fig. 14. Envelope of szz on internal and external faces of the US/CCR blade. For the hydrodynamic loading: (a) Maximal external, (b) Maximal internal, (c) Minimal external,
(d) Minimal internal. And Including centrifugal force: (e) Maximal external, (f) Maximal internal, (g) Minimal external, (h) Minimal internal.

which expresses the ratio between lift coefficient of swept airfoil
section and that of an unswept 2D airfoil, function of the leading
edge sweep and trailing edge sweep angles. He explains the
reduction of lift coefficient by resolving the flow into components,
parallel and perpendicular to the leading edge or the trailing
edge lines and noticing that only the perpendicular component
contributes to the lift. So, it can be concluded that the
method proposed here to load the swept and/or variable cross-
section area blades maximizes the resultant force and can be
considered as an upper bound, providing a critical case for
mechanical analysis.
For any sweep angle g and any extremities chord ratio L, if the
blades have the same mean chord length Cm and if their chord
variation is linear, the three assumptions discussed above lead to

Fig. 15. Envelope of szz on internal and external faces of the BS/CCR blade. For the hydrodynamic loading: (a) Maximal external, (b) Maximal internal, (c) Minimal external,
(d) Minimal internal. And Including centrifugal force: (e) Maximal external, (f) Maximal internal, (g) Minimal external, (h) Minimal internal.
 J. Zanette et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 997–1009 1005

Fig. 16. Envelope of szz on internal and external faces of the US/DCR blade. For the hydrodynamic loading: (a) Maximal external, (b) Maximal internal, (c) Minimal external,
(d) Minimal internal. And Including centrifugal force: (e) Maximal external, (f) Maximal internal, (g) Minimal external, (h) Minimal internal.

the same averaged torque and, consequently, the same power
conversion efficiency. This property is mainly the consequence of
neglecting the flow along the span direction. Thus, the proposed
approach is not suitable for study the hydrodynamic and energetic
efficiencies of a given turbine geometry. However, it is a useful
relevant tool to investigate the mechanical behavior and the
strength dimensioning of turbine’s blades, with quite low compu-
tational time.
6. Structural analysis of the blades
6.1. The four blade geometries studied and their finite element models
A study of different turbine geometries based on NACA0018 is
performed, in order to investigate the influence of the sweep, the
extremities chord ratio and their combination on mechanical
behavior. The trapezoidal-bladed turbine is composed by two

Fig. 17. Envelope of szz on internal and external faces of the BS/DCR blade. For the hydrodynamic loading: (a) Maximal external, (b) Maximal internal, (c) Minimal external,
(d) Minimal internal. And Including centrifugal force: (e) Maximal external, (f) Maximal internal, (g) Minimal external, (h) Minimal internal.
1006 J. Zanette et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 997–1009

a b

Fig. 18. Fatigue properties of metallic materials: (a) Stress cycle definition, (b) Typical SN curve and influence of stress amplitude sazz and mean stress sm
zz on fatigue life N.

principal parts: the blades and the support arms, as shown in Fig. 4.
Herein, only the blades are analyzed, represented by a symmetric
half-height blade (Fig. 7). Because of the symmetry, the support
arms works basically in axial traction-compression and are less
critical mechanically.
The subject of the present investigation is four geometries,
either unswept (US) or backward swept (BS), and either of constant
chord ratio (CCR) or decreasing chord ratio (DCR). The different
blades have been labeled as shown in Fig. 12, in same way as the
notation adopted by Vad [20]. BS/CCR and BS/DCR are swept
backward. The chord decreases linearly along the span in the cases
of US/DCR and BS/DCR.
The mechanical behavior has been simulated by the commercial
finite element code ABAQUS. The whole blades are made with steel
(E ¼ 200 GPa and n ¼ 0.3) and almost have the same volume. Each
symmetric half-height blade is constituted by about 35,000 para-
bolic fully integrated solid elements (C3D20), as presented in
Fig. 12. A fine mesh is employed to impose the pressure field,
previously computed, along the blade walls, with a satisfactory
accuracy. The translational displacements of all nodes at the fixed
end of half-height blades are constrained. The Reynolds’s number
(ReC ¼ CmV0/n) calculated with the mean chord length
(Cm ¼ 91.7 mm), the reference velocity (V0 ¼ 3 m/s) and the kine-
matical viscosity of water (n ¼ 10–6 m2/s) is equal to 275,000. The
tip flow speed ratio (l ¼ uR/V0) in the maximum power generation
condition is equal 2.5, obtained with rotational velocity u ¼ 30 rad/
s and turbine radius R ¼ 250 mm.
The turbines studied have some common geometrical repre-
sentative parameters: N ¼ 3, R ¼ 250 mm, H ¼ 500 mm,
Cm ¼ 91.7 mm and S ¼ 1.1. The volume V, the volume variation DV,
the leading edge sweep angle g and the extremities chord ratio L
associated to each blade are available in Table 1.
The 3D pressure field corresponding to a given angular position
is applied at all lateral blade walls. One 3D pressure field, which
takes into account the hydrodynamic influence of the three blades
of turbine, is calculated for each 10 . A set of two calculations was
carried out considering in the first one only the hydrodynamic
loading and in the second one the hydrodynamic loading including
the centrifugal force. So, for each geometry, 72 elastic linear anal-
ysis are performed to predict the mechanical stress states over a full
revolution.
Fig. 13 shows the three moment’s components generated by the
pressure field about the base point, which corresponds to the
middle chord point of the fixed end (origin of the coordinate system
represented in Fig. 12), for both only hydrodynamic loading
(Fig. 13a) and including centrifugal force (Fig. 13b), respectively. It
can be noted that the tangential bending moment Mx is predomi-
nant over the others components. The addition of the centrifugal
force in the analysis translates the plots Mx towards lower values
and increases the bending level of the blade in the radial direction
towards the outside of the turbine.
6.2. Computational results and discussion
To compare the mechanical performances of the turbines
studied, some computational results are presented.
The mechanical analysis indicates that the stress tensor compo-
nent szz (along the span direction) is the most critical one. This result

Fig. 19. Envelope on internal and external faces of the US/CCR blade of mean stress sm a
zz : (a) external, (b) internal; and stress amplitude szz : (c) external, (d) internal.
 J. Zanette et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 997–1009
Fig. 20. Envelope on internal and external faces of the BS/CCR blade of mean stress sm
zz : (a) external, (b) internal; and stress amplitude szz : (c) external, (d) internal.
is consistent, because the stress szz is generated principally by the
tangential bending moment Mx, predominant over the others (Fig.13).
The maximal and minimal envelopes of the normal stress
component szz over one revolution, noted CsmaxzzD and CsminzzD
respectively, are shown in Figs. 14–17 for both only hydrodynamic
loading and including centrifugal force. The envelope represents
the higher and the lower stress values corresponding to each finite
element over a full revolution. These stress distributions corre-
spond on average to the angular positions of the extremums of Mx.
Taking the US/CCR blade as reference (Fig. 14), it can be observed
in Fig. 15 that the sweep increases the value of stress concentration
at the blade fixed end. On the contrary, as it can be observed in
Fig. 16, for US/DCR blade, the chord length variation reduces in an
important way the stresses, dividing the values by more than 2.5 in
comparison with the US/CCR blade.
Combining the sweep and the chord length variation, as shown
in Fig. 17 for BS/DCR blade, the stress values remain close to those
corresponding to US/DCR blade. Taking the BS/CCR blade as refer-
ence (Fig. 15), the BS/DCR blade geometry (Fig. 17) allows to divide
the stress values by about 3 times. This result is promising and
confirms the interest of trapezoidal-bladed CFWT.
The Fig. 18 shows the typical fatigue properties of metallic
materials. A stress cycle can be characterized by the maximal and
minimal stress values smax zz and smin
zz , respectively. Instead of szz
max
min
and szz , a second equivalent definition is given by a stress
amplitude sazz and a mean stress sm zz (Fig. 18a). For a given mean
stress smin
zz the corresponding SN curve provides the stress ampli-
tude sazz as function of the number of cycles to fail N. The fatigue life
of the material increases when the stress amplitude decreases
(Fig. 18b). Moreover, for a given stress amplitude (sa1zz for example),
Fig. 21. Envelope on internal and external faces of the US/DCR blade of mean stress sm
zz : (a) external, (b) internal; and stress amplitude szz : (c) external, (d) internal.
1007
a
the fatigue life of the material increases when the mean stress
decreases. A compressive mean stress (sm1 zz , for example) tends to
lengthen the fatigue life as compared to the fully reversed (zero
mean stress) loading case. This physical phenomenon can be
explained by the existence of small cracks, which are opened and
grow faster in the case of tensile stress field and are closed in the
case of compressive stress field. Figs. 19–22 show the envelope of
mean stress smzz and stress amplitude sazz over one revolution,
noted CsmzzD and CsazzD respectively, for hydrodynamic loading
including centrifugal force. The centrifugal force increases the
critical stress values by changing the mean stress, but don’t change
the stress amplitude.
It can be noted in Table 2 that the blades with variable chord
length (US/DCR and BS/DCR) have the most important reduction of
stress mean values and cyclic loading amplitudes. Consequently, as
predicted by a typical SN curve (Fig. 18b), the fatigue phenomenon
is reduced and the lifetime of the turbine is increased.
To evaluate the blade stiffness, the tip radial displacement is
plotted against the angular position in Fig. 23 for hydrodynamic
loading including centrifugal force. The centrifugal force contrib-
utes to the flexion toward the external radial direction. Once again,
the US/DCR and BS/DCR blades seem more rigid, with a tip radial
displacement lower than 0.3 mm. This characteristic is important
to reduce the mechanical vibrations.
Let’s note finally that the first experimental results available on
the hydrodynamic performance of the new trapezoidal-bladed
turbine are very encouraging [21]. Indeed, a trapezoidal-bladed
CFWT scale model was tested. The geometric parameters of this
turbine are: N ¼ 3, R ¼ 87.5 mm, H ¼ 175 mm, g ¼ 30 , Cu ¼ 21.3 mm
and Cl ¼ 42.7 mm (Cm ¼ 32 mm, L ¼ 0.5, S ¼ 1.1). We obtained an
a
1008 J. Zanette et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 997–1009

Fig. 22. Envelope on internal and external faces of the BS/DCR blade of mean stress sm a
zz : (a) external, (b) internal; and stress amplitude szz : (c) external, (d) internal.

efficiency peak value of 32 percent, in a hydrodynamic tunnel, 7. Concluding remarks

using water. The efficiency or power coefficient varies with the ratio
of blade tip speed to the flow speed (l ¼ uR/V0). The quoted peak A new trapezoidal-bladed turbine with variable cross-section
value is the number used to characterize the efficiency of the area is proposed. A standard definition of this turbine’s geometry is
turbine. The peak value of efficiency obtained corresponds to introduced, including the particular cases of Darrieus and Achard
incident current velocity V0 ¼ 2.89 m/s and l ¼ 1.9. The efficiency or et al. turbines. This definition enables an easier identification of
a given turbine model, allowing an automatic generation by
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Aided Manufacturing
(CAM).
Table 2
Maximal value of mean stress sm a The proposed non-coupled fluid-structure approach simplifies
zz and stress amplitude szz envelopes.
the analysis of the mechanical behavior of Cross Flow Water
US/CCR BS/CCR US/DCR BS/DCR
Turbines (CFWT). This method sufficiently accurate and relatively
CsmzzD 17 22 5 7 easy to implement is based on a CFD-macroscopic coupled 2D
CsazzD 32 36 12 13
model, supplemented by a number of basic assumptions that help
to define the 3D pressure field around a blade.
The numerical results obtained clearly show the interesting
power coefficient, denoted by Cp, defines the fraction of power
possibilities of the new trapezoidal-bladed turbine. The reduction
extracted by CFWT turbine Pu from the power available in the flow
of stress mean value and cyclic loading amplitude reduces signifi-
Pf. It can be written as:
cantly the fatigue phenomenon, improving durability and perfor-
Pu 1 mance of the turbine.
Cp ¼ with Pu ¼ CM u and Pf ¼ rð2RHÞV03 (3) A harmonious design of the blade sweep with chord length
Pf 2
variation and more generally a progressive growth of cross-section
where CM is the mean torque applied to turbine at constant rota- area may give a potential way for turbine efficiency improvement.
tional speed u. The efficiency of the new trapezoidal-bladed
turbine is in the range of values usually observed for CFWT [22].
This stimulating result will be the subject of further studies. References

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