Flume tank characterization of marine current turbine blade behaviour under current and wave loading

► This is one of the first papers to describe how wave and current conditions affect tidal turbine blade deformation. ► There are also very few published data from devices at sea so these results are very important. ► Results from flume tank tests are presented first, showing how blade deformation depends on current speed. ► Then results indicate that the wave currents combination will significantly enhance blade loads compared to currents alone.