E-Mail
IMAGE: Simulation of a vertical-axis tidal turbine: the flow area shows the complex dynamics in the turbine rotor (Hoerner 2020) view more
Credit: Stefan Hoerner
Tidal hydroelectric power plants of the future will be able to generate green electricity significantly more efficient by using optimized turbines. Engineers from the University Otto von Guericke of Magdeburg are developing turbine blades with built-in motors. These integrated drives ensure that during each revolution, the turbine blades adjust optimally to the water flow, and thus avoid the dangerous stall condition.
This term describes the separation of flow away from the surface of turbine blades, airplane wings or rotor blades. Stall means that lift forces that power the turbines or keep a plane in the air suddenly drop, while the drag forces increase dramatically. In turbines, this leads to a loss of efficiency, and over longer periods of time, to material failures and fatigue fractures in the