TECOSIM supports British hydropower company with CAE
British company Max Nicholas Renewables commissioned TECOSIM to test its pioneering Continuous Thrust Turbine Technology under real conditions. We used computer-aided engineering (CAE) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods on this project. The findings have helped the young company, based in the East Anglian town of Lowestoft, to make key adjustments during an early design concept stage, thus increasing the turbine technology’s efficiency.
Continuous Thrust Turbine Technology is the name Max Nicholas Renewables used to patent its innovative technology that converts hydropower into renewable energy. The cleantech company has developed a floating turbine that is substantially more efficient than existing technology and will first be used to generate hydropower. These turbines can be used wherever there is flowing water – at sea, near the coast and at river outlets, for example.
“Our technology has several distinct advantages over current hydro turbines,” states Robert Norfolk, Founder and Chief Technical Officer at Max Nicholas Renewables. “For one, it is ten times more efficient thanks to an innovative blade arrangement, and, secondly, it can be operated in both shallow water and turbulent conditions.” Very importantly, the enclosed turbine blades, a protective grid at the turbine entrance and a safe passage around the turbine also protect marine and river life from blade impact and acoustic harm. The rotor is silent in its operation.”
