Download or read book Computational Fluid Dynamics Study of a Cross Flow Marine Hydrokinetic Turbine and the Combined Influence of Struts and Helical Blades Preprint written by and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A computational fluid dynamics study was performed for a cross-flow marine hydro-kinetic turbine. The analysis was done in three dimensions and used the unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes solver in the commercial code STAR-CCM+. The base turbine configuration is the RivGen® Turbine, designed by the Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC). A convergence and uncertainty analysis was performed for both the spatial and temporal discretization; this was done using the base configuration which features support struts and helical foils. The proposed study aims to compare the impact of the struts on both power performance and blade loading for helical and straight blades.

Download or read book Numerical Simulation of a Cross Flow Marine Hydrokinetic Turbine written by Taylor Jessica Hall and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the search for clean, renewable energy, the kinetic energy of water currents in oceans, rivers, and estuaries is being studied as a predictable and environmentally benign source. We investigate the flow past a cross flow hydrokinetic turbine (CFHT) in which a helical blade turns around a shaft perpendicular to the free stream under the hydrodynamic forces exerted by the flow. This type of turbine, while very different from the classical horizontal axis turbine commonly used in the wind energy field, presents advantages in the context of hydrokinetic energy harvesting, such as independence from current direction, including reversibility, stacking, and self-starting without complex pitch mechanisms. This thesis develops a numerical simulation methodology that applies the Reynolds Average Navier Stokes equations and the three-dimensional sliding mesh technique to model CFHTs. The methodology is validated against small scale experiments, available within NNMREC at the University of Washington and is used to investigate the efficiency of the energy capture and the hydrodynamic forces acting on the blades. First, we study the stationary turbine and conclude that the developed methodology accurately models the starting torque of a turbine initially in static conditions; some limitations are found, however, in predicting separated flow. The dynamic performance of the rotating turbine is predicted with reasonable accuracy using the sliding mesh technique. Excellent qualitative agreement with experimental trends is found in the results, and the actual predicted values from the simulations show good agreement with measurements. Though limitations in accurately modeling dynamic stall for the rotating turbine are confirmed, the good qualitative agreement suggests this methodology can be used to support turbine design and performance over a wide range of parameters, minimizing the number of prototypes to build and experiments to run in the pursuit of an optimized turbine. This methodology can also provide a cost-effective way of evaluating detailed full scale effects, such as mooring lines or local bottom bathymetry features, on both turbine performance and environmental assessment.

Download or read book Vertical Axis Hydrokinetic Turbines Numerical and Experimental Analyses written by Mabrouk Mosbahi and published by Bentham Science Publishers. This book was released on 2021-12-14 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook is a guide to numerical and experimental processes that are used to analyze and improve the efficiency of vertical axis rotors. Chapters present information that is required to optimize the geometrical parameters of rotors or understand how to augment upstream water velocity. The authors of this volume present a numerical model to characterize the water flow around the vertical axis rotors using commercial CFD code in Ansys Fluent®. The software has been used to select adequate parameters and perform computational simulations of spiral Darrieus turbines. The contents of the volume explain the experimental procedure carried out to evaluate the performance of the spiral Darrieus turbine, how to characterize the water flow in the vicinity of the tested turbine and the method to assess the spiral angle influence on the turbine performance parameters. Results for different spiral angles (ranging from 10° to 40°) are presented. This volume is a useful handbook for engineers involved in power plant design and renewable energy sectors who are studying the computational fluid dynamics of vertical axis turbines (such as Darrieus turbines) that are used in hydropower projects. Key features: - 4 chapters that cover the numerical and experimental analysis of vertical axis rotors and hydrokinetic turbines - Simple structured layout for easy reading (methodology, models and results) - Bibliographic study to introduce the reader to the subject - A wide range of parameters included in experiments - A comprehensive appendix of tables for mechanical parameters, statistical models, rotor parameters and geometric details.

Download or read book Experimental Investigation of Helical Cross flow Axis Hydrokinetic Turbines Including Effects of Waves and Turbulence written by Peter Bachant and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Vertical Axis Hydrokinetic Turbines written by Mabrouk Mosbahi; Ahmed and published by . This book was released on 2021-12-14 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook is a guide to numerical and experimental processes that are used to analyze and improve the efficiency of vertical axis rotors. Chapters present information that is required to optimize the geometrical parameters of rotors or understand how to augment upstream water velocity. The authors of this volume present a numerical model to characterize the water flow around the vertical axis rotors using commercial CFD code in Ansys Fluent®. The software has been used to select adequate parameters and perform computational simulations of spiral Darrieus turbines. The contents of the volume explain the experimental procedure carried out to evaluate the performance of the spiral Darrieus turbine, how to characterize the water flow in the vicinity of the tested turbine and the method to assess the spiral angle influence on the turbine performance parameters. Results for different spiral angles (ranging from 10° to 40°) are presented. This volume is a useful handbook for engineers involved in power plant design and renewable energy sectors who are studying the computational fluid dynamics of vertical axis turbines (such as Darrieus turbines) that are used in hydropower projects. Key features: - 4 chapters that cover the numerical and experimental analysis of vertical axis rotors and hydrokinetic turbines - Simple structured layout for easy reading (methodology, models and results) - Bibliographic study to introduce the reader to the subject - A wide range of parameters included in experiments - A comprehensive appendix of tables for mechanical parameters, statistical models, rotor parameters and geometric details.

Download or read book Development of Horizontal Axis Hydrokinetic Turbine Using Experimental and Numerical Approaches written by Abdulaziz Mohammed Abutunis and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Hydrokinetic energy conversion systems (HECSs) are emerging as viable solutions for harnessing the kinetic energy in river streams and tidal currents due to their low operating head and flexible mobility. This study is focused on the experimental and numerical aspects of developing an axial HECS for applications with low head ranges and limited operational space. In Part I, blade element momentum (BEM) and neural network (NN) models were developed and coupled to overcome the BEM's inherent convergence issues which hinder the blade design process. The NNs were also used as a multivariate interpolation tool to estimate the blade hydrodynamic characteristics required by the BEM model. The BEM-NN model was able to operate without convergence problems and provide accurate results even at high tip speed ratios. In Part II, an experimental setup was developed and tested in a water tunnel. The effects of flow velocity, pitch angle, number of blades, number of rotors, and duct reducer were investigated. The performance was improved as rotors were added to the system. However, as rotors added, their contribution was less. Significant performance improvement was observed after incorporating a duct reducer. In Part III, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was conducted to derive the optimum design criteria for the multi-turbine system. Solidity, blockage, and their interactive effects were studied. The system configuration was altered, then its performance and flow characteristics were investigated. The experimental setup was upgraded to allow for blockage correction. Particle image velocimetry was used to investigate the wake velocity profiles and validate the CFD model. The flow characteristics and their effects on the turbines performance were analyzed"--Abstract, page iv.

Download or read book Hydrodynamic Analysis of a Tidal Cross flow Turbine written by Claudio A. Consul and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study presents a numerical investigation of a generic horizontal axis cross-flow ma- rine turbine. The numerical tool used is the commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics package ANSYS FLUENT 12.0. The numerical model, using the SST k - w turbulence model, is validated against static, dynamic pitching blade and rotating turbine data. The work embodies two main investigations. The first is concerned with the influence of turbine solidity (ratio of net blade chord to circumference) on turbine performance, and the second with the influence of blockage (ratio of device frontal area to channel cross- section area) and free surface deformation on the hydrodynamics of energy extraction in a constrained channel. Turbine solidity was investigated by simulating flows through two-, three- and four- bladed turbines, resulting in solidities of 0.019, 0.029 and 0.038, respectively. The investigation was conducted for two Reynolds numbers, Re = 0(105) & 0(106), to reflect laboratory and field scales. Increasing the number of blades from two to four led to an increase in the maximum power coefficient from 0.43 to 0.53 for the lower Re and from 0.49 to 0.56 for the higher Re computations. Furthermore, the power curve was found to shift to a lower range of tip speed ratios when increasing solidity. The effects of flow confinement and free surface deformation were investigated by sim- ulating flows through a three-bladed turbine with solidity 0.125 at Re = 0(106) for channels that resulted in cross-stream blockages of 12.5% to 50%. Increasing the block- age led to a substantial increase in the power and basin efficiency; when approximating the free surface as a rigid lid, the highest power coefficient and basin efficiency com- puted were 1.18 and 0.54, respectively. Comparisons between the corresponding rigid lid and free surface simulations, where Froude number, Fr = 0.082, rendered similar results at the lower blockages, but at the highest blockage an increase in power and basin efficiency of up to 7% for the free surface simulations over that achieved with a rigid lid boundary condition. For the free surface simulations with Fr = 0.082, the energy extraction resulted in a drop in water depth of up to 0.7%. An increase in Fr from 0.082 to 0.131 resulted in an increase maximum power of 3%, but a drop in basin efficiency of 21 %.

Download or read book Performance Evaluation Emulation and Control of Cross flow Hydrokinetic Turbines written by Robert J. Cavagnaro and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cross-flow hydrokinetic turbines are a promising option for effectively harvesting energy from fast-flowing streams or currents. This work describes the dynamics of such turbines, analyzes techniques used to scale turbine properties for prototyping, determines and demonstrates the limits of stability for cross-flow rotors, and discusses means and objectives of turbine control. This involves a progression from the analysis of a laboratory-scale prototype turbine to the emulation of a field-scale commercial turbine under realistic control. Understanding of turbine and system component dynamics and performance is leveraged at each phase, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the efficacy of prototype testing and enabling safer, more advanced control techniques. Novel control strategies are under development to utilize low-speed operation (slower than at maximum power point) as a means of shedding power under rated conditions. However, operation in this regime may be unstable. An experiment designed to characterize the stability of a laboratory-scale cross-flow turbine operating near a critically low speed yields evidence that system stall (complete loss of ability to rotate) occurs due, in part, to interactions with turbulent decreases in flow speed. The turbine is capable of maintaining 'stable' operation at critical speed for short duration (typically less than 10 s), as described by exponential decay. The presence of accelerated 'bypass' flow around the rotor and decelerated 'induction' region directly upstream of the rotor, both predicted by linear momentum theory, are observed and quantified with particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements conducted upstream of the turbine. Additionally, general agreement is seen between PIV inflow measurements and those obtained by an advection-corrected acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) further upstream. Definitive evidence linking observable flow events to the onset of system stall is not found. However, a link between turbulent kinetic energy of the flow, the system time constant, and the turbine's dynamic response to turbulence indicates changes in the flow occurring over a horizon of several seconds create the conditions under which system stall is likely. Performance of a turbine at small (prototype) geometric scale may be prone to undesirable effects due to operation at low Reynolds number and in the presence of high channel blockage. Therefore, testing at larger scale, in open water is desirable. A cross-flow hydrokinetic turbine with a projected area (product of blade span and rotor diameter) of 0.7 m^2 is evaluated in open-water tow trials at three inflow speeds ranging from 1.0 m/s to 2.1 m/s. Measurements of the inflow velocity, the rotor mechanical power, and electrical power output of a complete power take-off (PTO) system are utilized to determine the rotor hydrodynamic efficiency (maximum of 17%) and total system efficiency (maximum of 9%). A lab-based dynamometry method yields individual component and total PTO efficiencies, shown to have high variability and strong influence on total system efficiency. The method of tow-testing is found effective, and when combined with PTO characterization, steady-state performance can be inferred solely from inflow velocity and turbine rotation rate. Dynamic efficiencies of PTO components can effect the overall efficiency of a turbine system, a result from field characterization. Thus, the ability to evaluate such components and their potential effects on turbine performance prior to field deployment is desirable. Before attempting control experiments with actual turbines, hardware-in-the-loop testing on controllable motor-generator sets or electromechanical emulation machines (EEMs) are explored to better understand power take-off response. The emulator control dynamic equations are presented, methods for scaling turbine parameters are developed and evaluated, and experimental results are presented from three EEMs programmed to emulate the same cross-flow turbine. Although hardware platforms and control implementations varied, results show that each EEM is successful in emulating the turbine model at different power levels, thus demonstrating the general feasibility of the approach. However, performance of motor control under torque command, current command, or speed command differed; torque methods required accurate characterization of the motors while speed methods utilized encoder feedback and more accurately tracked turbine dynamics. In a demonstration of an EEM for evaluating a hydrokinetic turbine implementation, a controller is used to track the maximum power-point of the turbine in response to turbulence. Utilizing realistic inflow conditions and control laws, the emulator dynamic speed response is shown to agree well at low frequencies with simulation but to deviate at high frequencies. The efficacy of an electromechanical emulator as an accurate representation of a fielded turbine is evaluated. A commercial horizontally-oriented cross-flow turbine is dynamically emulated on hardware to investigate control strategies and grid integration. A representative inflow time-series with a mean of 2 m/s is generated from high-resolution flow measurements of a riverine site and is used to drive emulation. Power output during emulation under similar input and loading conditions yields agreement with field measurements to within 3% at high power, near-optimal levels. Constant tip-speed ratio and constant speed proportional plus integral control schemes are compared to optimal nonlinear control and constant resistance regulation. All controllers yield similar results in terms of overall system efficiency. The emulated turbine is more responsive to turbulent inflow than the field turbine, as the model utilized to drive emulation does not account for a smoothing effect of turbulent fluctuations over the span of the fielded turbine's rotors. The turbine has a lower inertia than the demand of an isolated grid, indicating a secondary source of power with a similar frequency response is necessary if a single turbine cannot meet the entire demand. Major contributions of this work include exploration of the system time constant as an indicator of turbine dynamic response, evidence a turbine experiences system stall probabilistically, a reduced-complexity field performance characterization methodology, and demonstration of the effectiveness of electromechanical emulators at replicating turbine dynamics.

Download or read book Hydrokinetic Turbine Composite Blades and Sandwich Structures written by Mokhtar Fal and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Composite materials are gaining interest due to their high strength to weight ratio. This study deals with both experimental and numerical approaches to cover the aspects of the failure of composite materials in hydrokinetic turbine applications. In Part I, the location and magnitude of failure in the horizontal axis water turbine carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite blades with different laminate stacking sequences were investigated. Two lay-up orientations were adopted for this work ([0°]4 and [0°/90°][sub 2S]). A finite element analysis model was generated to examine the stresses along the blade. Five angles were introduced to study the effect of pitch angle on the CFRP blades. The numerical results showed very good agreement with the experimental results. In Part II, an experimental setup was developed to test the delamination progression in CFRP blades under hydrodynamic loads in a water tunnel. Thermography analysis was employed to scrutinize the propagation of delamination. In addition, a computational fluid dynamics and one-way fluid-structure interaction were developed to predict the stresses along the blade. The unidirectional ([0°]4) blades showed the best performance while the cross-ply blades ([0°/90°][sub 2S]) are prone to delamination. In Part III, the effect of increasing the contact area between the core and facesheet was studied. Two tests (impact and flat-wise tension) were carried out to examine the integrity of the structure. A finite element model was developed to study the damage due to localized load, such as impact load. The results obtained from both the tests (impact and flatwise tension) showed that increasing surface area had improved the structural integrity in regards to damage resistance due to impact, and delamination resistance between the facesheet and the core due to tension"--Abstract, page iv.

Download or read book Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulation of Vertical Axis Hydrokinetic Turbines written by Edwin Lenin Chica Arrieta and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hydrokinetic turbines are one of the technological alternatives to generate and supply electricity for rural communities isolated from the national electrical grid with almost zero emission. These technologies may appear suitable to convert kinetic energy of canal, river, tidal, or ocean water currents into electricity. Nevertheless, they are in an early stage of development; therefore, studying the hydrokinetic system is an active topic of academic research. In order to improve their efficiencies and understand their performance, several works focusing on both experimental and numerical studies have been reported. For the particular case of flow behavior simulation of hydrokinetic turbines with complex geometries, the use of computational fluids dynamics (CFD) nowadays is still suffering from a high computational cost and time; thus, in the first instance, the analysis of the problem is required for defining the computational domain, the mesh characteristics, and the model of turbulence to be used. In this chapter, CFD analysis of a H-Darrieus vertical axis hydrokinetic turbines is carried out for a rated power output of 0.5 kW at a designed water speed of 1.5 m/s, a tip speed ratio of 1.75, a chord length of 0.33 m, a swept area of 0.636 m2, 3 blades, and NACA 0025 hydrofoil profile.

Download or read book Simulating Collisions for Hydrokinetic Turbines written by and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Analysis of a High Solidity Hydrokinetic Turbine Using Computational Fluid Dynamics written by Che-Wei Liu and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Dynamic Interaction of a Marine Hydrokinetic Turbine with Its Surrounding Environment written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A reduction in tip-depth of immersion was observed to improve the turbine performance until it reached an optimum depth beyond which a reduction in performance was observed due to free surface interaction with wake and bypass region. For low tip clearance ratios, a significant drop (up to 5 to 10% of channel depth) in free surface was observed (from both experimental investigations and transient CFD analysis) behind the turbine with complex three dimensional flow structures that lead to a skewed wake affecting its expansion and restoration process. The percent change in power coefficient (with respect to unblocked, non-free surface environment) was found to be dependent on flow velocity, rotation speed and free surface to blade tip clearance. Flow field visualization, based on SPIV, showed presence of slower wake at higher rotational velocities and increased asymmetry in wake at high free surface proximity. In addition, significant difference in flow structures was observed between upper and lower bypass regions.

Download or read book Coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics multibody Dynamics Method with Application to Wind Turbine Simulations written by Yuwei Li and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The implemented Mann wind turbulence model was validated both theoretically and statistically by comparing the generated stationary wind turbulent field with the theoretical one-point spectrum for the three components of the velocity fluctuations, and by comparing the expected statistics from the simulated turbulent field by CFD with the explicit wind turbulence inlet boundary from the Mann model. The proposed coupled CFD/MBD approach was applied to the conceptual NREL 5MW offshore wind turbine. Extensive simulations were performed in an increasing level of complexity to investigate the aerodynamic predictions, turbine performance, elastic blades, wind shear and atmospheric wind turbulence. Comparisons against the publicly available OC3 simulation results show good agreements between the CFD/MBD approach and the OC3 participants in time and frequency domains. Wind turbulence/turbine interaction was examined for the wake flow to analyze the influence of turbulent wind on wake diffusion. The Gearbox Reliability Collaborative project gearbox was up-scaled in size and added to the NREL 5MW turbine with the purpose of demonstrating drivetrain dynamics. Generator torque and blade pitch controllers were implemented to simulate realistic operational conditions of commercial wind turbines. Interactions between wind turbulence, rotor aerodynamics, elastic blades, drivetrain dynamics at the gear-level and servo-control dynamics were studied, showing the potential of the methodology to study complex aerodynamic/mechanic systems.

Download or read book Experimental and Analytical Study of Helical Cross flow Turbines for a Tidal Micropower Generation System written by Adam L. Niblick and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study investigates the feasibility of a micro-scale tidal hydrokinetic generator to power autonomous oceanographic instrumentation, with emphasis on turbine design and performance. This type of "micropower" system is intended to provide continuous power on the order of 20 Watts. System components are reviewed and include turbine, electrical generator, gearbox, controller, converter, and battery bank. A steady-state model predicts system energy storage and power output in a mixed, mainly semidiurnal tidal regime with peak currents of 1.5 m/s. Among several turbine designs reviewed, a helical cross-flow turbine is selected, due to its self-start capability, ability to accept inflow from any direction, and power performance. Parameters impacting helical turbine design include radius, blade profile and pitch, aspect ratio, helical pitch, number of blades, solidity ratio, blade wrap ratio, strut design, and shaft diameter. The performance trade-offs of each are compared. A set of three prototype-scale turbines (two three-bladed designs, with 15% and 30% solidity, and a four-bladed design with 30% solidity and higher helical pitch) and several strut and shaft configurations were fabricated and tested in a water flume capable of flow rates up to 0.8 m/s. Tests included performance characterization of the rotating turbines from freewheel to stall, static torque characterization as a function of azimuthal angle, performance degradation associated with inclination angles up to 10° from vertical, and stream-wise wake velocity profiles. A four-bladed turbine with 60° helical pitch, 30% solidity, and circular plate "end cap" provided the best performance; this design attained efficiency of 24% in 0.8 m/s flow and experienced smaller performance reductions for tilted orientations relative to other variants. Maximum turbine efficiency increased with increased flume velocity. A free-vortex model was modified to simulate the helical turbine performance. Model results were compared to experimental data for various strut design and inflow velocities, and performance was extrapolated to higher flume velocities and a full-scale turbine (0.7 m2 relative to 0.04 m2 in flume tests). The model predicts experimental trends correctly but deviates from experimental values for some conditions, indicating the need for further study of secondary effects for a high chord-to-radius ratio turbine.

Download or read book Numerical Modeling of the Effects of a Free Surface on the Operating Characteristics of Marine Hydrokinetic Turbines written by Samantha Jane Adamski and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) turbines are a growing area of research in the renewable energy field because tidal currents are a highly predictable clean energy source. The presence of a free surface may influence the flow around the turbine and in the wake, critically affecting turbine performance and environmental effects through modification of the wake physical variables. The characteristic Froude number that control these processes is still a matter of controversy, with the channel depth, the turbine's hub depth, the blade tip depth and the turbine diameter as potential candidates for a length scale. We use a Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) simulation with a Blade Element Theory (BET) model of the turbine and with a Volume of Fluid model, which is used to track the free surface dynamics, to understand the physics of the wake-free surface interactions. Pressure and flow rate boundary conditions for a channel's inlet, outlet and air side have been tested in an effort to determine the optimum set of simulation conditions for MHK turbines in rivers or shallow estuaries. Stability and accuracy in terms of power extraction and kinetic and potential energy budgets are considered. The goal of this research is to determine, quantitatively in non-dimensional parameter space, the limit between negligible and significant free surface effects on MHK turbine analysis.

Download or read book Oscillating foils Hydrokinetic Turbine Performance Prediction written by Étienne Gauthier and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 123 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This master's thesis focuses on a novel prototype of hydrokinetic turbine based on oscillating foils. This concept known as HAO, which stands for "Hydrolienne à Ailes Oscillantes", has been under development for about 10 years at Laval University and its potential in power extraction has been confirmed through numerical and experimental studies. Efforts are now focused on developing tools to predict the turbines behavior prior to its deployment in rivers or tidal streams. To achieve this goal, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to investigate the impact of different parameters on the power-extraction performance of the HAO turbine. This study describes, among other things, the influence of the turbulence modeling, the presence of the frame structure and the blockage effects. First of all, a methodological study performed on a single oscillating foil is presented which compares two different turbulence modeling approaches. This work has shown that even if the Scale-Adaptive Simulation model presents finer structures in the wake of the foil, instantaneous forces and mean performance parameters closely match the results obtained with the Spalart-Allmaras model which is thus used to simulate the complete HAO hydrokinetic turbine prototype. In a second study, the HAO hydrokinetic turbine is simulated considering two hydrofoils oscillating within the frame structure. The overset mesh technique is used to represent the relative motions of the different bodies. This methodology allows to study the impact of the frame structure on the turbine performance and to optimize its shape in order to increase the power extracted. In addition to the enhanced performances, the optimized frame shape provides an improved robustness to misaligned upstream flows. The third principal aspect addressed in this thesis is the impact of flow confinement on the performance of oscillating-foils. In fact, towing tank walls, sea and river bed topology and free surface proximity are likely to have an impact on the turbine hydrodynamic performance. Simulations of a single oscillating foil for different blockage levels have shown that the power extracted increases with the blockage ratio, but more precisely that this relation is linear for confinement of less than 40%. Finally, a technique is suggested to correlate the performance of the oscillating-foils turbines in different confined environments.