My work seeks to study the advantages of the anisotropic nature and flexibility of composites to enable the passive morphing capabilities that improve the overall energy efficiency, structural capacity, and dynamic stability of Marine-Hydrokinetic (MHK) turbine blades used for flow kinetic energy harvesting. With the goal of establishing a comprehensive mechanical characterization of the MHK blades, careful design and testing of the blades will be carried out in order to account for the inherent load-dependent deformations and to avoid potential material failures and hydro-elastic instabilities (resonance, parametric excitations, divergence, flutter, buffeting, etc). By designing, manufacturing, modeling, testing, and analyzing these blades, my research will lead to improved health and condition monitoring of the blades, the neutralization of flow-induced vibrations, and further performance enhancements of the overall energy harvesting system.
Advisor: Richard Wiebe – Civil & Environmental Engineering