ITTC Recommended Guidelines: Model tests for current turbines (7.5-02-07-03.9)

The purpose of this document is to offer guidance to research organisations on designing and performing model tests of current turbine devices at small, intermediate, and field-scale in a reproducible environment at a hydrodynamic test facility suitable for testing such devices. This guideline addresses testing of devices intended to extract energy from both tidal currents, which typically involve bi-directional flow, and ocean currents, which typically involve uni-directional flow. Key issues addressed are:

• Definition of the stages of a device test program – Technology Readiness Level (TRL) definition
• Summary of testing requirements / challenges for device type (ocean v tidal current, rotating v non-rotating, shallow v deep deployment, rigid mounting v flexible mooring) and device development stage;
• Coupling between model scale, choice of facility, device type, and experiment stage.
• Identification of common error sources associated with small to field-scale testing with guidelines on impact on test success, interpretation of test results and how to quantify and report measurement error.