Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2025

Uncoupling Coriolis Force and Rotating Buoyancy Effects on Full-Field Heat Transfer Properties of a Rotating Channel
Published on: October 5, 2018
Biomimetic Design of Turbine Blades for Ocean Current Power Generation
Enrique Eduardo Hernández Montoya1,2, Edgar Mendoza2, Eize J Stamhuis1
1Biomimetic Group, Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
The enhancement of energy technology and innovation play a crucial role in order to meet the challenges related to global warming in the coming decades. Inspired by bird wings, the performance of a bio-inspired blade assembled to a marine turbine model, is examined. Following a biomimetic pathway, the aerodynamic performance of the bird wings of the species Common Guillemot (Uria aalge) was tested in a wind tunnel laboratory. Based on our results, we derived a bio-inspired blade model by following a laser scanning method. Lastly, the bio-inspired blades were assembled to a marine turbine model and tested in a large flow tank facility. We found efficiencies (Cp) up to 0.3 which is around 53% of the maximum power that can be expected from the turbine model according to the Betz approach. Our findings are analyzed in the discussion section as well as considerations for future research.
Related Concept Videos
Wind Turbine Machine Models
Induction machines interact through the rotating magnetic field generated by the stator and the rotor. The key parameter is slip, which is the difference between synchronous speed and rotor speed relative to synchronous speed. Slip is...
Turbine-Governor Control
Moment-of-Momentum Equation
Conservation of Energy in Control Volume
For steady flow systems, the time derivative of the stored energy becomes zero since there is no energy accumulation within the control volume. This simplifies the energy equation to:
Energy Considerations in Open Channel Flow
Typical Model Studies

