Reference Model 4 Full Scale Geometry (RM4: Ocean Current Turbine)

Contains the Reference Model 4 (RM4) full scale geometry files of the Ocean Current Turbine, developed by the Reference Model Project (RMP). These full scale geometry files are saved as SolidWorks assembly, IGS, X_T, and STEP files, and require a CAD program to view. This data was generated upon completion of the project on September 30, 2014.

The Reference Model Project (RMP), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), was a partnered effort to develop open-source MHK point designs as reference models (RMs) to benchmark MHK technology performance and costs, and an open-source methodology for design and analysis of MHK technologies, including models for estimating their capital costs, operational costs, and levelized costs of energy. The point designs also served as open-source test articles for university researchers and commercial technology developers. The RMP project team, led by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), included a partnership between DOE, three national laboratories, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the Applied Research Laboratory of Penn State University, and Re Vision Consulting.

Reference Model 4 (RM4) is a "flying-wing" ocean current turbine concept intended for deployment in the Gulf Stream off the southeast coast of Florida. The RM4 device has four rotors, with a rotorless center nacelle housing the power electronics, attached on a straight wing 120 m long. The device is designed to be submerged ~50 m below the surface and is moored to the seabed. The RM4 uses buoyancy within the wing and the five nacelles to maintain its position in the water column. Each rotor has a diameter of 33 m and has a 1-MW power rating, yielding a total device rated power of 4 MW. The rotors on the left and right side of the wing rotate in opposite directions in order to balance the torque applied to the device. The rotorless center nacelle housing the power electronics serves to condition the power generated by the rotors before it is delivered to the grid.