—The present paper is one of the first to investigate
the use of bend-twist adaptive blades on a variable-speed pitchcontrolled
tidal turbine in order to reduce hydrodynamic
loads. The realisation of the substantial unexploited
hydrokinetic energy of tides is currently driving hydrokinetic
turbine research. In contrast to wind turbines, tidal technology
has not yet reached maturity and new designs are required in
order to take into account cavitation, leading edge roughness,
and the high energy density of flowing water. In particular,
reinforced blade structures are required to deal with the high
hydrodynamic loads experienced by tidal turbines. In this
research, the potential benefit of using bend-twist adaptive
blades on tidal turbines in order to reduce hydrodynamic loads
is explored. A Tidal Turbine Hydrodynamic code (TTHydro)
capable of simulating tidal turbines equipped with adaptive
blades is developed and validated. It is found that employing
bend-twist adaptive blades on variable-speed pitch-controlled
tidal turbines reduces both power and loads. It was also
observed that a substantial reduction of hydrodynamic loads
could be achieved at the price of a small power loss