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When it comes to renewable energy, the tides of the Bay of Fundy offer enormous potential.

“Nova Scotia has the largest tidal range along the Bay of Fundy,” says Abiola Akinnibosun. But harnessing all that power, isn’t easy. Beneath the surface, powerful currents, shifting seabeds and complex environmental conditions make tidal turbines one of the most challenging forms of renewable energy to design and deploy.

That hasn’t stopped Abiola and fellow researcher Kenzie Lewis from tackling the challenge. Both PhD students in Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the two are using advanced computer models to study how tidal turbines perform in the Bay of Fundy, how they interact with the surrounding environment and they how they can make tidal energy more efficient and cost-effective.

Tidal Travels

With so much potential at his fingertips, Abiola had no trouble leaving his home country of Nigeria to explore tidal energy in the Bay of Fundy.

“It was my first time traveling to North America and Canada,” he says. “As a kid I was always an open-minded person, very inquisitive and always intrigued by how things worked and how I could make them better. That curiosity naturally drew me to engineering.” His research now focuses on risk and cost mitigation for tidal turbines under real turbulent tidal flow.

Originally from Ontario, Kenzie developed a deep passion for climate change at the age of six. “I joined a club where we were sorting recycling for the school. And ever since then I really just wanted to work with people who had the same passion that I did.”

Although she pursued a minor in sustainability alongside her engineering studies at McMaster University, she was immediately drawn to the research at Dalhousie Engineering after reading about Abiola’s early work.

“The project was full of ongoing research and opportunities to make a difference,” she says. “And it inspired me to join the research group and to reach out to Dr. Dominic Groulx (research lead)”

Underwater Engineering

Although the two students arrived in Halifax at different times, they now work closely together.

Tidal turbines, they explain, are similar to wind turbines but operate underwater, and spin to generate electricity. Abiola focuses on the turbines themselves. He uses computational models to simulate turbulent tidal flow and to study how the turbines handle forces, how much power they can produce, and how the flow behaves behind them.

“If you don’t understand the wake, you can’t properly design an array of turbines,” he says. “You might end up over- or under-designing blades, which can be costly or cause premature failure. Our research guides material selection and array placement to maximize efficiency and reduce risk.”

Kenzie's simulations focus on how the ocean environment can impact the turbine performance. By adding the impact of the seabed, she is also hoping to investigate how the turbine impacts sediment transport and marine life.

“Water is almost 1,000 times denser than air, and the channels in the Bay are constantly shifting,” she says. “We need to understand not only if the turbines can withstand the flow, but how the turbines impact the environment around them. Can fish tolerate changes in flow? Will sediment patterns be altered? These are the questions we try to answer with our models before deploying turbines in the water.”

Future Impact

Although their work does not involve turbines in the Bay of Fundy yet, Kenzie and Abiola say they love seeing the potential impact of their simulations.

I can watch how the equations I’ve learned in class come to life and see exactly how changes in my model affect the turbine in a real-world context.” For Abiola, the appeal is the combination of challenge and opportunity. “Tidal energy in this region hasn’t been widely developed yet, so there’s a lot of room to make an impact. Nova Scotia has huge potential, and because it’s renewable, it causes less harm to the climate.”

And they say knowing their research could one day power the Bay of Fundy makes them even more proud to be part of the research team at Dalhousie Engineering.