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A material model based on the Puck phenomenological failure criteria for fibre and inter-fibre failure of glass-fibre and carbon-fibre reinforced polymer composites is presented. The model is applied through a user-defined material subroutine for 3D shell elements. Sub-modelling is used for detailed analysis of the highest stressed regions in the blades. The material model is incorporated into a methodology for the design and analysis of composite tidal current turbine blades. The methodology employs an iterative design process with respect to a number of failure criteria to ensure optimal structural and material performance of the blade. The methodology is automated using the Python programming language to enable efficient variation of model parameters for various design conditions. The forces acting on the blades are determined from blade element momentum theory for a number of turbine operating conditions. The results of a design case study for a typical horizontal axis device are presented to demonstrate the methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A multiaxial fatigue damage model for fibre reinforced polymer composite materials is presented. The model combines (i) fatigue-induced fibre strength and modulus degradation, (ii) irrecoverable cyclic strain effects and (iii) inter-fibre fatigue. The inter-fibre fatigue aspect is based on a fatigue-modified version of the Puck multiaxial failure criterion for static failure. The model is implemented in a user material finite element subroutine and calibrated against fatigue test data for unidirectional glass fibre epoxy. A programme of uniaxial fatigue tests on quasi-isotropic glass fibre epoxy laminates is presented for validation of the novel fatigue damage methodology. The latter is successfully validated across a range of stress levels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recently, tidal energy has gained attention as an attractive renewable source of power generation. In this context, tidal turbine foils must operate in harsh conditions and extremely variable dynamic loads. Considering the expensive dynamic tests required for these large structures, developing validated dynamic models could be valuable for failure prediction and design purposes. In this paper, the free and forced vibration behaviour of the cantilevered part of a non-uniform helical tidal turbine foil made from the composite material is investigated theoretically and experimentally. In this regard, governing vibration equations of the foil with related boundary conditions are presented. The free vibration analysis of the foil is performed by solving a boundary-value problem, where a closed-form solution, based on the mode summation method, for the forced vibration of the foil is employed. Finally, the obtained numerical results (natural frequency and dynamic displacements) are compared with the corresponding results from experiments to validate the vibration equations and the employed solution. Acceptable agreement between numerical and experimental data confirms that the vibration model presented in this study can be employed to predict the dynamic response, parametric study, optimization, and design of the tidal foil without performing costly experiments. • A mathematical model for vibration behaviour of a tidal turbine foil is presented. • The foil has non-uniform helical geometry from fibre-reinforced composite material. • The vibration model is validated against the experimental outputs. • The validated model predicts dynamic response and is useful for design optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]