Experimental Study of the Weptos Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pecher, Arthur; Kofoed, Jens Peter; Larsen, Tommy

2012-01-01

This paper presents the power performance results of the experimental study of the WEPTOS wave energy converter (WEC). This novel device combines an established and efficient wave energy absorbing mechanism with an adjustable structure that can regulate the amount of incoming wave energy and reduce...... loads in extreme wave conditions. This A-shaped floating structure absorbs the energy in the waves through a multitude of rotors, the shape of which is based on the renowned Salter’s Duck. These rotors pivot around a common axle, one for each leg of the structure, to which the rotors transfer...... the absorbed wave energy and which is connected to a common power take off system (one for each leg). The study investigates the performance of the device in a large range of wave states and estimates the performance in terms of mechanical power available to the power take off system of the WEPTOS WEC for two...

Wave-actuated power take-off device for electricity generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chertok, Allan

2013-01-31

Since 2008, Resolute Marine Energy, Inc. (RME) has been engaged in the development of a rigidly moored shallow-water point absorber wave energy converter, the "3D-WEC". RME anticipated that the 3D-WEC configuration with a fully buoyant point absorber buoy coupled to three power take off (PTO) units by a tripod array of tethers would achieve higher power capture than a more conventional 1-D configuration with a single tether and PTO. The investigation conducted under this program and documented herein addressed the following principal research question regarding RME's power take off (PTO) concept for its 3D-WEC: Is RME's winch-driven generator PTO concept, previously implemented at sub-scale and tested at the Ohmsett wave tank facility, scalable in a cost-effective manner to significant power levels e.g., 10 to 100kW?

Hydraulic Evaluation of the Crest Wing Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofoed, Jens Peter; Antonishen, Michael Patrick

This report presents the results of an experimental study of the wave energy converting abilities of the Crest Wing wave energy converter (WEC). The Crest Wing is a WEC that uses its movement in matching the shape of an oncoming wave to generate power. Model tests have been performed using a scale...... model (length scale 1:30), provided by WaveEnergyFyn, in regular and irregular wave states that can be found in Assessment of Wave Energy Devices. Best Practice as used in Denmark (Frigaard et al., 2008). The tests were carried out at Dept. of Civil Engineering, Aalborg (Frigaard et al., 2008......). The tests were carried out at Dept. of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University (AAU) in the 3D deep water wave tank. The displacement and force applied to a power take off system, provided by WaveEnergyFyn, were measured and used to calculate total power take off....

Design of a non-linear power take-off simulator for model testing of rotating wave energy devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopes, M.F.P.; Henriques, J.C.C.; Lopes, Miguel C.; Gato, L.M.C. [IDMEC - Instituto de Engenharia Mecanica, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, Lisboa (Portugal); Dente Antonio [CIE3 - Center for Innovation in Electrical and Energy Engineering, Lisboa (Portugal)

2009-07-01

Eddy current brakes provide a versatile way of simulating the power take-off system (PTO) in the model testing of wave energy converters at small scale. These are based on the principle that a conductive material moving perpendicularly to a magnetic field generates a braking force proportional to its velocity. This was applied in the design of the PTO simulator of a bottom-hinged flap wave energy converter model, at 1/16 scale. The efforts put into the accurate dynamic simulation of the device led to the development of a controllable PTO simulator, which can be applied to other small scale rotating wave energy device models. A special power source was built to provide the required controllable current intensity to feed the magnetic field generating coils. Different non-linear damping PTO characteristic curves can be simulated by basing the current control on real-time velocity measurement. The calibration of the system was done by connecting the device to a constant rotating speed motor and measuring the resistent torque produced by the PTO with a torquemeter for different values of current intensity through the coils.

Experimental Modelling of the Overtopping Flow on the Wave Dragon Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Parmeggiani, Stefano; Kofoed, Jens Peter

The Wave Dragon is a floating slack-moored Wave Energy Converter (WEC) of the overtopping type. Oncoming waves are focused by two wing reflectors towards the ramp of the device, surge-up and overtop into a reservoir placed at a higher level than the surface of the sea. The energy production takes...

Preliminary Load Estimations for DEXA Wave Energy Device - Hanstholm, Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofoed, Jens Peter

by DEXA Wave Energy ApS, in regular and irregular wave states, as described in Assessment of Wave Energy Devices. Best Practice as used in Denmark (Frigaard et al., 2008). The length scale of the model was 1:20 compared to a full scale device suitable fro the Danish part of the North Sea, according...... to DEXA Wave Energy ApS. The tests were carried out at Dept. of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University (AAU) in the 3D deep water wave tank. The displacement and force applied to a power take off system, provided by DEXA Wave Energy ApS, were measured and used for calculation of power available...... to the power take-off....

Investigating the adaptability of the multi-pump multi-piston power take-off system for a novel wave energy converter

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wei, Y.; Barradas Berglind, J.J; van Rooij, M.; Prins, WA; Jayawardhana, B.; Vakis, A. I.

2017-01-01

In this work, a numerical model is developed in order to investigate the adaptability of the multi-pump multi-piston power take-off ((MPPTO)-P-2) system of a novel wave energy converter (WEC). This model is realized in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment, using the multi-body dynamics solver Multibody

Turbine Control Strategy using Wave Prediction to Optimise Power Take Off of Overtopping Wave Energy Converters

OpenAIRE

Tedd, James; Knapp, Wilfried; Frigaard, Peter; Kofoed, Jens Peter

2005-01-01

This paper presents the control strategy used on Wave Dragon overtopping wave energy converter. The nature of overtopping requires that for optimum performance the water level in the reservoir must be controlled by controlling the turbine outflows. A history of the simulations performed is included. The concept of including an element of prediction, based on wave records a short distance in front of the Wave Dragon, is introduced. Initial simulations indicate a possibility to increase product...

Energy balance of plasma with wave taking the nonpotential nature of the waves into consideration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gel'berg, M.G.; Volosevich, A.V.

1986-01-01

It is shown that in the ionospheric plasma the potential electric field of low-frequency plasma waves is shifted in phase with respect to fluctuations of current by approximately -π/2 and the rotational field is almost in phase with the current. Therefore, the energy transfer between the plasma and the wave occurs mainly with the participation of rotational field

Turbine Control Strategy using Wave Prediction to Optimise Power Take Off of Overtopping Wave Energy Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tedd, James; Knapp, Wilfried; Frigaard, Peter

2005-01-01

This paper presents the control strategy used on Wave Dragon overtopping wave energy converter. The nature of overtopping requires that for optimum performance the water level in the reservoir must be controlled by controlling the turbine outflows. A history of the simulations performed is included...

Wave energy potential in Galicia (NW Spain)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iglesias, G.; Lopez, M.; Carballo, R.; Castro, A. [University of Santiago de Compostela, Hydraulic Engineering, E.P.S., Campus Universitario s/n, 27002 Lugo (Spain); Fraguela, J.A. [University of A Coruna, E.P.S., Campus de Esteiro s/n, Ferrol (Spain); Frigaard, P. [University of Aalborg, Sohngaardsholmsvej 57, DK 9000 (Denmark)

2009-11-15

Wave power presents significant advantages with regard to other CO{sub 2}-free energy sources, among which the predictability, high load factor and low visual and environmental impact stand out. Galicia, facing the Atlantic on the north-western corner of the Iberian Peninsula, is subjected to a very harsh wave climate; in this work its potential for energy production is assessed based on three-hourly data from a third generation ocean wave model (WAM) covering the period 1996-2005. Taking into account the results of this assessment along with other relevant considerations such as the location of ports, navigation routes, and fishing and aquaculture zones, an area is selected for wave energy exploitation. The transformation of the offshore wave field as it propagates into this area is computed by means of a nearshore wave model (SWAN) in order to select the optimum locations for a wave farm. Two zones emerge as those with the highest potential for wave energy exploitation. The large modifications in the available wave power resulting from relatively small changes of position are made apparent in the process. (author)

Balancing the Power-to-Load Ratio for a Novel Variable Geometry Wave Energy Converter with Nonideal Power Take-Off in Regular Waves: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tom, Nathan M [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Yu, Yi-Hsiang [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Wright, Alan D [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2017-09-28

This work attempts to balance power absorption against structural loading for a novel variable geometry wave energy converter. The variable geometry consists of four identical flaps that will be opened in ascending order starting with the flap closest to the seafloor and moving to the free surface. The influence of a pitch motion constraint on power absorption when utilizing a nonideal power take-off (PTO) is examined and found to reduce the losses associated with bidirectional energy flow. The power-to-load ratio is evaluated using pseudo-spectral control to determine the optimum PTO torque based on a multiterm objective function. The pseudo-spectral optimal control problem is extended to include load metrics in the objective function, which may now consist of competing terms. Separate penalty weights are attached to the surge-foundation force and PTO control torque to tune the optimizer performance to emphasize either power absorption or load shedding. PTO efficiency is not included in the objective function, but the penalty weights are utilized to limit the force and torque amplitudes, thereby reducing losses associated with bidirectional energy flow. Results from pseudo-spectral control demonstrate that shedding a portion of the available wave energy can provide greater reductions in structural loads and reactive power.

The Wave Energy Device

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frigaard, Peter; Kofoed, Jens Peter; Tedd, James William

2006-01-01

's first offshore wave energy converter. During this period an extensive measuring program has established the background for optimal design of the structure and regulation of the power take off system. Planning for full scale deployment of a 7 MW unit within the next 2 years is in progress. The prototype...

Wave energy potential in Galicia (NW Spain)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iglesias, Gregorio; López, Mario; Carballo, Rodrigo

2009-01-01

Wave power presents significant advantages with regard to other CO2-free energy sources, among which the predictability, high load factor and low visual and environmental impact stand out. Galicia, facing the Atlantic on the north-western corner of the Iberian Peninsula, is subjected to a very...... harsh wave climate; in this work its potential for energy production is assessed based on three-hourly data from a third generation ocean wave model (WAM) covering the period 1996 - 2005. Taking into account the results of this assessment along with other relevant considerations such as the location...

Gyroscopic power take-off wave energy point absorber in irregular sea states

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Zili; Chen, Bei; Nielsen, Søren R.K.

2017-01-01

Highlights •A GyroPTO wave energy point absorber with magnetic coupling mechanism is proposed. •A 4DOF nonlinear model of the GyroPTO absorber has been derived. •Rational approximations are performed on the radiation damping moments. •Synchronization of the device is more easily maintained...... in narrow-banded sea waves. •The generator gain and the magnetic coupling constant influence the performance of the device....

Nonlinear Passive Control of a Wave Energy Converter Subject to Constraints in Irregular Waves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liguo Wang

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates a passive control method of a point absorbing wave energy converter by considering the displacement and velocity constraints under irregular waves in the time domain. A linear generator is used as a power take-off unit, and the equivalent damping force is optimized to improve the power production of the wave energy converter. The results from nonlinear and linear passive control methods are compared, and indicate that the nonlinear passive control method leads to the excitation force in phase with the velocity of the converter that can significantly improve the energy production of the converter.

Wave Tank Testing and Model Validation of an Autonomous Wave Energy Converter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bret Bosma

2015-08-01

Full Text Available A key component in bringing ocean wave energy converters from concept to commercialization is the building and testing of scaled prototypes to provide model validation. A one quarter scale prototype of an autonomous two body heaving point absorber was modeled, built, and tested for this work. Wave tank testing results are compared with two hydrodynamic and system models—implemented in both ANSYS AQWA and MATLAB/Simulink—and show model validation over certain regions of operation. This work will serve as a guide for future developers of wave energy converter devices, providing insight in taking their design from concept to prototype stage.

Power from the seas - Wave energy has a big future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schenler, W.

2008-01-01

This article takes a look at how the energy of the oceans' waves can become an important source of energy. The generation of the energy contained in waves as an indirect form of solar energy is described. The energy potential offered is quoted as being high in the Atlantic near England and Scotland. The article goes on the discuss the technical potential of this form of renewable energy and provides a map showing this. Financial aspects and economic potentials are discussed. Effects on the environment are also discussed. The on-shore and off-shore technologies that can be used to capture wave energy are described and discussed, as is the combination of power production from wind and waves

Balancing Power Absorption and Structural Loading for a Novel Fixed-Bottom Wave Energy Converter with Nonideal Power Take-Off in Regular Waves: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tom, Nathan M [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Yu, Yi-Hsiang [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Wright, Alan D [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2017-06-08

In this work, the net power delivered to the grid from a nonideal power take-off (PTO) is introduced followed by a review of the pseudo-spectral control theory. A power-to-load ratio, used to evaluate the pseudo-spectral controller performance, is discussed, and the results obtained from optimizing a multiterm objective function are compared against results obtained from maximizing the net output power to the grid. Simulation results are then presented for four different oscillating wave energy converter geometries to highlight the potential of combing both geometry and PTO control to maximize power while minimizing loads.

Cycloidal Wave Energy Converter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stefan G. Siegel, Ph.D.

2012-11-30

This program allowed further advancing the development of a novel type of wave energy converter, a Cycloidal Wave Energy Converter or CycWEC. A CycWEC consists of one or more hydrofoils rotating around a central shaft, and operates fully submerged beneath the water surface. It operates under feedback control sensing the incoming waves, and converts wave power to shaft power directly without any intermediate power take off system. Previous research consisting of numerical simulations and two dimensional small 1:300 scale wave flume experiments had indicated wave cancellation efficiencies beyond 95%. The present work was centered on construction and testing of a 1:10 scale model and conducting two testing campaigns in a three dimensional wave basin. These experiments allowed for the first time for direct measurement of electrical power generated as well as the interaction of the CycWEC in a three dimensional environment. The Atargis team successfully conducted two testing campaigns at the Texas A&M Offshore Technology Research Center and was able to demonstrate electricity generation. In addition, three dimensional wave diffraction results show the ability to achieve wave focusing, thus increasing the amount of wave power that can be extracted beyond what was expected from earlier two dimensional investigations. Numerical results showed wave cancellation efficiencies for irregular waves to be on par with results for regular waves over a wide range of wave lengths. Using the results from previous simulations and experiments a full scale prototype was designed and its performance in a North Atlantic wave climate of average 30kW/m of wave crest was estimated. A full scale WEC with a blade span of 150m will deliver a design power of 5MW at an estimated levelized cost of energy (LCOE) in the range of 10-17 US cents per kWh. Based on the new results achieved in the 1:10 scale experiments these estimates appear conservative and the likely performance at full scale will

Design Specifications for the Hanstholm WEPTOS Wave Energy Converter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tommy Larsen

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The WEPTOS wave energy converter (WEC is a novel device that combines an established and efficient wave energy absorbing mechanism with a smart structure, which can regulate the amount of incoming wave energy and reduce loads in extreme wave conditions. This adjustable A-shaped slack-moored and floating structure absorbs the energy of the waves through a multitude of rotors. The shape of the rotors is based on the renowned Salter’s Duck. On each leg, the rotors pivot around a common axle, through which the rotors transfer the absorbed power to a common power take off system. The study investigates the required capacity of the power take off (PTO system and the structural forces on a WEPTOS WEC prototype, intended for installation at Hanstholm (Denmark, based on large scale experimental tests using a highly realistic laboratory model of the complete device. The results hereof includes the rotational speed and transmitted torque (and hereby power to the PTO system using different PTO control strategies, the impact of fluctuations of the available mechanical power and the effect of limiting the PTO capacity on the annual energy production. Acquisition of structural forces includes mooring forces and structural bending moments in both production and extreme wave conditions, illustrating that the regulation of the angle in the A shape ensures that extreme forces on the structure can be kept in the same order of magnitude as in production conditions.

Selection of Design Power of Wave Energy Converters Based on Wave Basin Experiments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martinelli, L.; Zanuttigh, B.; Kofoed, Jens Peter

2011-01-01

of the measured efficiency; description of the energy production by means of a function of the design capacity; application of a simple formula for cost benefit analysis. The analyses here proposed are based on the experimental results of 3D tests on two floating wave energy devices, named LEANCON and DEXA......Aim of this paper is to develop a method for selecting the optimal power generation capacity for which a wave energy converter (WEC) should be rated. This method is suitable for the earliest stages of development, when several studies are missing, including design of the Power Take Off (PTO) system...

Coordinated Control of Wave Energy Converters Subject to Motion Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liguo Wang

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a generic coordinated control method for wave energy converters is proposed, and the constraints on motion amplitudes and the hydrodynamic interaction between converters are considered. The objective of the control problem is to maximize the energy converted from ocean waves, and this is achieved by coordinating the power take-off (PTO damping of each wave energy converter in the frequency domain in each sea state. In a case study, a wave energy farm consisting of four converters based on the concept developed by Uppsala University is studied. In the solution, motion constraints, including constraints on the amplitudes of displacement and velocity, are included. Twelve months of sea states, based on measured wave data at the Lysekil test site on the Swedish west coast, are used in the simulation to evaluate the performance of the wave energy farm using the new method. Results from the new coordinated control method and traditional control method are compared, indicating that the coordinated control of wave energy converters is an effective way to improve the energy production of wave energy farm in harmonic waves.

Wave Energy Converters based on Dielectric Elastomer generators: Status and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fontana, Marco; Vertechy, Rocco

2015-01-01

Dielectric Elastomers (DEs) are a very promising technology for the development of energy harvesting devices based on the variable-capacitance electrostatic generator principle. This paper discusses the potentialities of DE technology for advancing the ocean wave energy sector. In particular, three innovative concepts of wave energy converters with DE-based power take-off system are introduced and described.

Transport of energy and momentum due to spatial Landau damping and growth of electrostatic waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lacina, J.

1994-01-01

It is shown that Landau damping in space (LDS), occuring for time-periodic electrostatic waves, does not lead to any deposition of energy in plasmas. A steady-state balance and a steady-state transport of energy, momentum and particles take place both for damped and growing waves. Because of the phase interference of coherent free and forced particle oscillations, the oscillatory energy of particles increases in the direction of wave propagation; the time-averaged flow of plasma kinetic energy being constant in space for these waves, the LDS must take place for a Maxwellian plasma in order to compensate for the growth of the particle oscillatory energy in space. (Author)

Efficient Wave Energy Amplification with Wave Reflectors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kramer, Morten Mejlhede; Frigaard, Peter Bak

2002-01-01

Wave Energy Converters (WEC's) extract wave energy from a limited area, often a single point or line even though the wave energy is generally spread out along the wave crest. By the use of wave reflectors (reflecting walls) the wave energy is effectively focused and increased to approximately 130......-140%. In the paper a procedure for calculating the efficiency and optimizing the geometry of wave reflectors are described, this by use of a 3D boundary element method. The calculations are verified by laboratory experiments and a very good agreement is found. The paper gives estimates of possible power benifit...... for different geometries of the wave reflectors and optimal geometrical design parameters are specified. On this basis inventors of WEC's can evaluate whether a specific WEC possible could benefit from wave reflectors....

Interaction of two walkers: wave-mediated energy and force.

Science.gov (United States)

Borghesi, Christian; Moukhtar, Julien; Labousse, Matthieu; Eddi, Antonin; Fort, Emmanuel; Couder, Yves

2014-12-01

A bouncing droplet, self-propelled by its interaction with the waves it generates, forms a classical wave-particle association called a "walker." Previous works have demonstrated that the dynamics of a single walker is driven by its global surface wave field that retains information on its past trajectory. Here we investigate the energy stored in this wave field for two coupled walkers and how it conveys an interaction between them. For this purpose, we characterize experimentally the "promenade modes" where two walkers are bound and propagate together. Their possible binding distances take discrete values, and the velocity of the pair depends on their mutual binding. The mean parallel motion can be either rectilinear or oscillating. The experimental results are recovered analytically with a simple theoretical framework. A relation between the kinetic energy of the droplets and the total energy of the standing waves is established.

BSATOM - package of programs for calculating the energy levels and wave functions of helium-like systems taking into account isotope effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abrashkevich, A.G.; Abrashkevich, D.G.; Vinitskij, S.I.; Puzynin, I.V.

1989-01-01

Description of package BCATOM for calculating the energy levels and wave functions of helium-like systems in the hyperspherical adiabatic approach taking into account the isotopic effects is given. The corresponding Sturm-Liouville problems are approximated by the difference method and the high order accuracy finite element method. The obtained generalized algebraic eigenvalue problems are solved by subspace iteration method. Possibilities of the package are demonstrated by calculating the ground state characteristics of a negative hydrogen ion. 33 refs.; 1 fig

Impacts of wave energy conversion devices on local wave climate: observations and modelling from the Perth Wave Energy Project

Science.gov (United States)

Hoeke, Ron; Hemer, Mark; Contardo, Stephanie; Symonds, Graham; Mcinnes, Kathy

2016-04-01

As demonstrated by the Australian Wave Energy Atlas (AWavEA), the southern and western margins of the country possess considerable wave energy resources. The Australia Government has made notable investments in pre-commercial wave energy developments in these areas, however little is known about how this technology may impact local wave climate and subsequently affect neighbouring coastal environments, e.g. altering sediment transport, causing shoreline erosion or accretion. In this study, a network of in-situ wave measurement devices have been deployed surrounding the 3 wave energy converters of the Carnegie Wave Energy Limited's Perth Wave Energy Project. This data is being used to develop, calibrate and validate numerical simulations of the project site. Early stage results will be presented and potential simulation strategies for scaling-up the findings to larger arrays of wave energy converters will be discussed. The intended project outcomes are to establish zones of impact defined in terms of changes in local wave energy spectra and to initiate best practice guidelines for the establishment of wave energy conversion sites.

Power Take-Off Systems for WECs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tetu, Amelie

2017-01-01

The power take-off (PTO) of a wave energy converter is defined as the mechanism with which the absorbed energy by the primary converter is transformed into useable electricity.......The power take-off (PTO) of a wave energy converter is defined as the mechanism with which the absorbed energy by the primary converter is transformed into useable electricity....

Reflectors to Focus Wave Energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kramer, Morten; Frigaard, Peter

2005-01-01

Wave Energy Converters (WEC’s) extract wave energy from a limited area, often a single point or line even though the wave energy is generally spread out along the wave crest. By the use of wave reflectors (reflecting walls) the wave energy is effectively focused and increased by approximately 30......-50%. Clearly longer wave reflectors will focus more wave energy than shorter wave reflectors. Thus the draw back is the increased wave forces for the longer wave reflectors. In the paper a procedure for calculating the energy efficiency and the wave forces on the reflectors are described, this by use of a 3D...... boundary element method. The calculations are verified by laboratory experiments and a very good agreement is found. The paper gives estimates of possible power benefit for different wave reflector geometries and optimal geometrical design parameters are specified. On this basis inventors of WEC’s can...

Introducing wave energy into the renewable energy marketplace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petroncini, S.; Yemm, R.W.

2001-01-01

The energy sector in Europe is going through a dynamic evolution that sees the introduction and development of renewable energy and the re-emergence of a wave energy industry. Although wave energy is currently not economically competitive with mature technologies such as wind energy, the wave energy world-wide resource of 2 TW has a potential contribution in the electricity market of 2000TWh/year. Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Norway and the UK have been analysed in terms of wave energy resources, renewable energy market structure and political and economic support for the introduction of wave energy into the marketplace. The results have been used together with Ocean Power Delivery Ltd to develop an initial market survey for the wave energy converter Pelamis. (au)

Experimental investigation on the hydrodynamic performance of a wave energy converter

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Xiong-bo; Ma, Yong; Zhang, Liang; Jiang, Jin; Liu, Heng-xu

2017-06-01

Wave energy is an important type of marine renewable energy. A wave energy converter (WEC) moored with two floating bodies was developed in the present study. To analyze the dynamic performance of the WEC, an experimental device was designed and tested in a tank. The experiment focused on the factors which impact the motion and energy conversion performance of the WEC. Dynamic performance was evaluated by the relative displacements and velocities of the oscillator and carrier which served as the floating bodies of WEC. Four factors were tested, i.e. wave height, wave period, power take-off (PTO) damping, and mass ratio ( R M) of the oscillator and carrier. Experimental results show that these factors greatly affect the energy conversion performance, especially when the wave period matches R M and PTO damping. According to the results, we conclude that: (a) the maximization of the relative displacements and velocities leads to the maximization of the energy conversion efficiency; (b) the larger the wave height, the higher the energy conversion efficiency will be; (c) the relationships of energy conversion efficiency with wave period, PTO damping, and R M are nonlinear, but the maximum efficiency is obtained when these three factors are optimally matched. Experimental results demonstrated that the energy conversion efficiency reached the peak at 28.62% when the wave height was 120 mm, wave period was 1.0 s, R M was 0.21, and the PTO damping was corresponding to the resistance of 100 Ω.

Analysis of a Wave Energy Converter with Particular Focus on the Effects of Power Take-Off Forces on the Structural Responses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zurkinden, Andrew Stephen

to evaluate the electrical power generated by a given wave energy device from a given wave condition. The first part of this work focuses on the development of such a numerical model. An important task is to quantify the wave-induced load effects to ensure that the input is correct and a safe and robust......Wave energy is regarded as a major and promising renewable energy resource. The most critical factor to the success of deploying a wave energy converter in an ocean environment is the cost. The key factors affecting the costs include the performance, capital costs, operation and maintenance costs...

Risk-based Operation and Maintenance Approach for Wave Energy Converters Taking Weather Forecast Uncertainties into Account

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ambühl, Simon; Kramer, Morten Mejlhede; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2016-01-01

Inspection and maintenance costs are significant contributors to the cost of energy for wave energy converters. Maintenance can be performed after failure (corrective) or before a breakdown (preventive) occurs. Furthermore, helicopter and boat can be used to transport equipment and personnel to t...

The Wave Energy Sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofoed, Jens Peter

2017-01-01

This Handbook for Ocean Wave Energy aims at providing a guide into the field of ocean wave energy utilization. The handbook offers a concise yet comprehensive overview of the main aspects and disciplines involved in the development of wave energy converters (WECs). The idea for the book has been...... shaped by the development, research, and teaching that we have carried out at the Wave Energy Research Group at Aalborg University over the past decades. It is our belief and experience that it would be useful writing and compiling such a handbook in order to enhance the understanding of the sector...

Assessing wave energy effects on biodiversity: the wave hub experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Witt, M J; Sheehan, E V; Bearhop, S; Broderick, A C; Conley, D C; Cotterell, S P; Crow, E; Grecian, W J; Halsband, C; Hodgson, D J; Hosegood, P; Inger, R; Miller, P I; Sims, D W; Thompson, R C; Vanstaen, K; Votier, S C; Attrill, M J; Godley, B J

2012-01-28

Marine renewable energy installations harnessing energy from wind, wave and tidal resources are likely to become a large part of the future energy mix worldwide. The potential to gather energy from waves has recently seen increasing interest, with pilot developments in several nations. Although technology to harness wave energy lags behind that of wind and tidal generation, it has the potential to contribute significantly to energy production. As wave energy technology matures and becomes more widespread, it is likely to result in further transformation of our coastal seas. Such changes are accompanied by uncertainty regarding their impacts on biodiversity. To date, impacts have not been assessed, as wave energy converters have yet to be fully developed. Therefore, there is a pressing need to build a framework of understanding regarding the potential impacts of these technologies, underpinned by methodologies that are transferable and scalable across sites to facilitate formal meta-analysis. We first review the potential positive and negative effects of wave energy generation, and then, with specific reference to our work at the Wave Hub (a wave energy test site in southwest England, UK), we set out the methodological approaches needed to assess possible effects of wave energy on biodiversity. We highlight the need for national and international research clusters to accelerate the implementation of wave energy, within a coherent understanding of potential effects-both positive and negative.

Coherent Wave Measurement Buoy Arrays to Support Wave Energy Extraction

Science.gov (United States)

Spada, F.; Chang, G.; Jones, C.; Janssen, T. T.; Barney, P.; Roberts, J.

2016-02-01

Wave energy is the most abundant form of hydrokinetic energy in the United States and wave energy converters (WECs) are being developed to extract the maximum possible power from the prevailing wave climate. However, maximum wave energy capture is currently limited by the narrow banded frequency response of WECs as well as extended protective shutdown requirements during periods of large waves. These limitations must be overcome in order to maximize energy extraction, thus significantly decreasing the cost of wave energy and making it a viable energy source. Techno-economic studies of several WEC devices have shown significant potential to improve wave energy capture efficiency through operational control strategies that incorporate real-time information about local surface wave motions. Integral Consulting Inc., with ARPA-E support, is partnering with Sandia National Laboratories and Spoondrift LLC to develop a coherent array of wave-measuring devices to relay and enable the prediction of wave-resolved surface dynamics at a WEC location ahead of real time. This capability will provide necessary information to optimize power production of WECs through control strategies, thereby allowing for a single WEC design to perform more effectively across a wide range of wave environments. The information, data, or work presented herein was funded in part by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), U.S. Department of Energy, under Award Number DE-AR0000514.

Experimental Testing of the Langlee Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lavelle, John; Kofoed, Jens Peter

2011-01-01

Aalborg University carried out wave tank testing a 1:20 scale model of Langlee, an oscillating wave-surge type of Wave Energy Converter (WEC). Langlee is designed to operate in deep water, with the hinged flaps attached to a, moored, semi-submerged reference frame. Langlee has a novel flap...... arrangement, with the flaps placed symmetrically opposing each other on a floating reference structure. This minimises the net force on the reference frame and increases the stability of the reference frame under optimal wave conditions. This paper presents the results and analysis from the wave tanks, which...... addressed the following: The Power Take Offs (PTOs) were simulated using a motor to resist the motion of the wings, according to the damping profile. Torque and velocity measurements were used to predict the wave- to mechanical-power conversion efficiency of the device. A number of wing types...

Optimal Configurations of Wave Energy Converter Arrays with a Floating Body

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Wanchao

2016-10-01

Full Text Available An array of floating point-absorbing wave energy converters (WECs is usually employed for extracting efficiently ocean wave energy. For deep water environment, it is more feasible and convenient to connect the absorbers array with a floating body, such as a semi-submersible bottom-moored disk, whose function is to act as the virtual seabed. In the present work, an array of identical floating symmetrically distributed cylinders in a coaxial moored disk as a wave energy device is proposed The power take-off (PTO system in the wave energy device is assumed to be composed of a linear/nonlinear damper activated by the buoys heaving motion. Hydrodynamic analysis of the examined floating system is implemented in frequency domain. Hydrodynamic interferences between the oscillating bodies are accounted for in the corresponding coupled equations. The array layouts under the constraint of the disk, incidence wave directions, separating distance between the absorbers and the PTO damping are considered to optimize this kind of WECs. Numerical results with regular waves are presented and discussed for the axisymmetric system utilizing heave mode with these interaction factors, in terms of a specific numbers of cylinders and expected power production.

Impact of Tidal Level Variations on Wave Energy Absorption at Wave Hub

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valeria Castellucci

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The energy absorption of the wave energy converters (WEC characterized by a limited stroke length —like the point absorbers developed at Uppsala University—depends on the sea level variation at the deployment site. In coastal areas characterized by high tidal ranges, the daily energy production of the generators is not optimal. The study presented in this paper quantifies the effects of the changing sea level at the Wave Hub test site, located at the south-west coast of England. This area is strongly affected by tides: the tidal height calculated as the difference between the Mean High Water Spring and the Mean Low Water Spring in 2014 was about 6.6 m. The results are obtained from a hydro-mechanic model that analyzes the behaviour of the point absorber at the Wave Hub, taking into account the sea state occurrence scatter diagram and the tidal time series at the site. It turns out that the impact of the tide decreases the energy absorption by 53%. For this reason, the need for a tidal compensation system to be included in the design of the WEC becomes compelling. The economic advantages are evaluated for different scenarios: the economic analysis proposed within the paper allows an educated guess to be made on the profits. The alternative of extending the stroke length of the WEC is investigated, and the gain in energy absorption is estimated.

Wave Dragon Wave Energy Converters Used as Coastal Protection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørgaard, Jørgen Harck; Andersen, Thomas Lykke; Kofoed, Jens Peter

2011-01-01

This paper deals with wave energy converters used to reduce the wave height along shorelines. For this study the Wave Dragon wave energy converter is chosen. The wave height reduction from a single device has been evaluated from physical model tests in scale 1:51.8 of the 260 x 150 m, 24 kW/m model...... Spain, to evaluate the potential for reducing wave heights close the shore by means of Wave Dragons....

Handbook of Ocean Wave Energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This book offers a concise, practice-oriented reference-guide to the field of ocean wave energy. The ten chapters highlight the key rules of thumb, address all the main technical engineering aspects and describe in detail all the key aspects to be considered in the techno-economic assessment...... in the wave energy sector. •Offers a practice-oriented reference guide to the field of ocean wave energy •Presents an overview as well as a deeper insight into wave energy converters •Covers both the economic and engineering aspects related to ocean wave energy conversion...... of wave energy converters. Written in an easy-to-understand style, the book answers questions relevant to readers of different backgrounds, from developers, private and public investors, to students and researchers. It is thereby a valuable resource for both newcomers and experienced practitioners...

Handbook of Ocean Wave Energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This book offers a concise, practice-oriented reference-guide to the field of ocean wave energy. The ten chapters highlight the key rules of thumb, address all the main technical engineering aspects and describe in detail all the key aspects to be considered in the techno-economic assessment...... of wave energy converters. Written in an easy-to-understand style, the book answers questions relevant to readers of different backgrounds, from developers, private and public investors, to students and researchers. It is thereby a valuable resource for both newcomers and experienced practitioners...... in the wave energy sector. •Offers a practice-oriented reference guide to the field of ocean wave energy •Presents an overview as well as a deeper insight into wave energy converters •Covers both the economic and engineering aspects related to ocean wave energy conversion...

Statistical Analysis of Power Production from OWC Type Wave Energy Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martinelli, L.; Zanuttigh, B.; Kofoed, Jens Peter

2009-01-01

Oscillating Water Column based wave energy plants built so far have experienced a low efficiency in the conversion of the bidirectional oscillating flow. A new concept is considered here, the LeanCon Wave Energy Converter (WEC), that unifies the flow direction by use of non-return valves...... (wave period, wave height). Average performance and stochastic variability is thus obtained for any sea state and therefore also for the annual wave climate of interest. An example application of a LeanCon unit is carried out for a location off-shore Cagliari (Italy). Conclusions provide economic......, into a unidirectional flow, making the use of more efficient air turbines possible. Hereby, a more steady flow is also obtained. The general objective of this note is to examine, the power take off (PTO) efficiency under irregular wave conditions, for WECs with flow redirection. Final practical aim is to identify...

Wave energy converter effects on wave propagation: A sensitivity study in Monterey Bay, CA

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, G.; Jones, C. A.; Roberts, J.; Magalen, J.; Ruehl, K.; Chartrand, C.

2014-12-01

The development of renewable offshore energy in the United States is growing rapidly and wave energy is one of the largest resources currently being evaluated. The deployment of wave energy converter (WEC) arrays required to harness this resource could feasibly number in the hundreds of individual devices. The WEC arrays have the potential to alter nearshore wave propagation and circulation patterns and ecosystem processes. As the industry progresses from pilot- to commercial-scale it is important to understand and quantify the effects of WECs on the natural nearshore processes that support a local, healthy ecosystem. To help accelerate the realization of commercial-scale wave power, predictive modeling tools have been developed and utilized to evaluate the likelihood of environmental impact. At present, direct measurements of the effects of different types of WEC arrays on nearshore wave propagation are not available; therefore wave model simulations provide the groundwork for investigations of the sensitivity of model results to prescribed WEC characteristics over a range of anticipated wave conditions. The present study incorporates a modified version of an industry standard wave modeling tool, SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore), to simulate wave propagation through a hypothetical WEC array deployment site on the California coast. The modified SWAN, referred to as SNL-SWAN, incorporates device-specific WEC power take-off characteristics to more accurately evaluate a WEC device's effects on wave propagation. The primary objectives were to investigate the effects of a range of WEC devices and device and array characteristics (e.g., device spacing, number of WECs in an array) on nearshore wave propagation using SNL-SWAN model simulations. Results showed that significant wave height was most sensitive to variations in WEC device type and size and the number of WEC devices in an array. Locations in the lee centerline of the arrays in each modeled scenario showed the

Wave loadings acting on Overtopping Breakwater for Energy Conversion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vicinanza, Diego; Nørgaard, Jørgen Harck; Contestabile, Pasquale

2013-01-01

distributions. Load measurements were compared with the most used prediction method for traditional breakwaters, available in the Coastal Engineering Manual (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2002). These results suggest to use the experimental data as design loadings since the design criteria for the innovative......Any kind of Wave Energy Converter (WEC) requires information on reliability of technology and on time required for the return of the investment (reasonable payback). The structural response is one of the most important parameters to take in to account for a consistent assessment on innovative...... devices. This paper presents results on wave loading acting on an hybrid WEC named Overtopping BReakwater for Energy Conversion (OBREC). The new design is based on the concept of an integration between a traditional rubble mound breakwater and a front reservoir designed to store the wave overtopping from...

A Frequency-Domain Model for a Novel Wave Energy Converter

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wei, Yanji; Yu, Zhiheng; Barradas Berglind, Jose de Jesus; van Rooij, Marijn; Prins, Wouter; Jayawardhana, Bayu; Vakis, Antonis I.

In this work, we develop a frequency-domain model for the novel Ocean Grazer (OG) wave energy converter (WEC), with the intention to study the hydrodynamic behavior of its array of floater elements individually connected to power take-off (PTO) systems. To investigate these hydrodynamic

Development of the Wave Energy Converter -Wave Dragon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofoed, Jens Peter; Frigaard, Peter; Sørensen, Hans Christian

2000-01-01

2Over the years wave energy has gradually been brought into focus, as it has become clear that the fossil energy resources are limited, and cause large environmental problems, e.g. CO2 pollution. On this background a number of different wave energy converters have been proposed. In Denmark the go...

Variations of wave energy power in shoaling zone of Benin coastal zone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mathias A. Houekpoheha

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Today, we observe at the population level, that the improvement in comfort is accompanied by an increase in the electrical energy required. The predicted exhaustion of fossil energy resources maintains some speculation. Their unequal geographical distribution justifies the energy dependence of Benin overlooked from outside. So it is urgent to explore the various sources of renewable energy available to Benin. In this work, using measurements made ​​by the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA-Benin as part of the extension of the port of Cotonou, with Boussinesq equations (Peregrine and Stokes waves dispersion relation, we characterized the variations of various swell parameters (height, wavelength, velocities in the shoaling zone on the study site and proceeded to estimate variations in wave energy power from deep waters to the bathymetric breaking point. Finally, the zone with high energy power (where the conversion of this energy into electrical energy would be profitable of these waves is highlighted on the site, the local water depth at the point of breaking waves is evaluated and results obtained allowed to justify the very energetic character take by these swells on this coast when they are close to the beach.

Wave energy : from demonstration to commercialization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-07-01

The Wave Energy Centre is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and marketing of ocean wave energy devices through technical and strategic support to companies and research and development institutions. WEC provides access to researchers to associated test infrastructures for testing and demonstration of wave energy structures. This presentation described the current status of wave energy. Public policies that support wave energy were also highlighted. Wave energy technology is currently in the demonstration phase, with several pilot plants and prototypes in service around the world. The first 2 offshore shoreline ocean wave current pilot plants were constructed in 2000. This presentation identified the 12 near or offshore pilot plants that were in operation by 2007. The pilot plants represent 5 basic different concepts with many different designs. The world's first commercial park was launched in 2007 in Portugal. The Pelamis wave farm uses three Pelamis P-750 machines with a capacity of 2.25 megawatts. figs.

Evolution Strategies with Optimal Covariance Matrix Update Applied to Sustainable Wave Energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rodríguez Arbonès, Dídac

plants requires large financial investments. A common type of wave energy plants are buoy farms. These farms consist of a group of buoys moored to the sea floor. The buoys capture the movement of the waves and pump hydraulic fluid onshore, where a turbine generates power. Constructive and destructive...... power modelling, gradient information is not available and one has to resort to derivative-free optimization methods. Furthermore, not all possible buoy configurations can be implemented. The daily operation of wave energy plants introduces constraints on the layouts that can be achieved in practice......Modern society depends heavily on fossil fuels. We rely on this source of energy for everything, from food and clothing production to daily transportation. Even the Internet is mostly powered by these sources of energy. This reliance has led us to a high-risk situation where all that we take...

Experimental Measurement of Wave Field Variations around Wave Energy Converter Arrays

OpenAIRE

O'Boyle, Louise; Elsäßer, Björn; Whittaker, Trevor

2017-01-01

Wave energy converters (WECs) inherently extract energy from incident waves. For wave energy to become a significant power provider in the future, large farms of WECs will be required. This scale of energy extraction will increase the potential for changes in the local wave field and coastal environment. Assessment of these effects is necessary to inform decisions on the layout of wave farms for optimum power output and minimum environmental impact, as well as on potential site selection. An ...

Experiments on the WavePiston, Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Angelelli, E.; Zanuttigh, B.; Kofoed, Jens Peter

2011-01-01

This paper analyses the performance of a new Wave Energy Converter (WEC) of the Oscillating Water Column type (OWC), named WavePiston. This near-shore floating device is composed of plates (i.e. energy collectors) sliding around a cylinder, that is placed perpendicular to the shore. Tests...... in the wave basin at Aalborg University allowed to investigate power production in the North Sea typical wave climate, with varying design parameters such as plate dimensions and their mutual distance. The power produced per meter by each collector is about the 5% of the available wave power. Experimental...... results and survivability considerations suggest that the WavePiston would be particularly suited for installations in milder seas. An example application is therefore presented in the Mediterranean Sea, off-shore the island of Sicily. In this case, each collector harvests the 10% of the available wave...

Wave energy: a Pacific perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Paasch, Robert; Ruehl, Kelley; Hovland, Justin; Meicke, Stephen

2012-01-28

This paper illustrates the status of wave energy development in Pacific rim countries by characterizing the available resource and introducing the region's current and potential future leaders in wave energy converter development. It also describes the existing licensing and permitting process as well as potential environmental concerns. Capabilities of Pacific Ocean testing facilities are described in addition to the region's vision of the future of wave energy.

Experimental Measurement of Wave Field Variations around Wave Energy Converter Arrays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Louise O’Boyle

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Wave energy converters (WECs inherently extract energy from incident waves. For wave energy to become a significant power provider in the future, large farms of WECs will be required. This scale of energy extraction will increase the potential for changes in the local wave field and coastal environment. Assessment of these effects is necessary to inform decisions on the layout of wave farms for optimum power output and minimum environmental impact, as well as on potential site selection. An experimental campaign to map, at high resolution, the wave field variation around arrays of 5 oscillating water column WECs and a methodology for extracting scattered and radiated waves is presented. The results highlight the importance of accounting for the full extent of the WEC behavior when assessing impacts on the wave field. The effect of radiated waves on the wave field is not immediately apparent when considering changes to the entire wave spectrum, nor when observing changes in wave climate due to scattered and radiated waves superimposed together. The results show that radiated waves may account for up to 50% of the effects on wave climate in the near field in particular operating conditions.

Preliminary Analysis of an Oscillating Surge Wave Energy Converter with Controlled Geometry: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tom, Nathan; Lawson, Michael; Yu, Yi-Hsiang; Wright, Alan

2015-09-09

The aim of this paper is to present a novel wave energy converter device concept that is being developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The proposed concept combines an oscillating surge wave energy converter with active control surfaces. These active control surfaces allow for the device geometry to be altered, which leads to changes in the hydrodynamic properties. The device geometry will be controlled on a sea state time scale and combined with wave-to-wave power-take-off control to maximize power capture, increase capacity factor, and reduce design loads. The paper begins with a traditional linear frequency domain analysis of the device performance. Performance sensitivity to foil pitch angle, the number of activated foils, and foil cross section geometry is presented to illustrate the current design decisions; however, it is understood from previous studies that modeling of current oscillating wave energy converter designs requires the consideration of nonlinear hydrodynamics and viscous drag forces. In response, a nonlinear model is presented that highlights the shortcomings of the linear frequency domain analysis and increases the precision in predicted performance.

Wave energy input into the Ekman layer

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2008-01-01

This paper is concerned with the wave energy input into the Ekman layer, based on 3 observational facts that surface waves could significantly affect the profile of the Ekman layer. Under the assumption of constant vertical diffusivity, the analytical form of wave energy input into the Ekman layer is derived. Analysis of the energy balance shows that the energy input to the Ekman layer through the wind stress and the interaction of the Stokes-drift with planetary vorticity can be divided into two kinds. One is the wind energy input, and the other is the wave energy input which is dependent on wind speed, wave characteristics and the wind direction relative to the wave direction. Estimates of wave energy input show that wave energy input can be up to 10% in high-latitude and high-wind speed areas and higher than 20% in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, compared with the wind energy input into the classical Ekman layer. Results of this paper are of significance to the study of wave-induced large scale effects.

SSG Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Margheritini, Lucia; Vicinanza, Diego; Frigaard, Peter

2008-01-01

The SSG (Sea Slot-cone Generator) is a wave energy converter of the overtopping type. The structure consists of a number of reservoirs one on the top of each others above the mean water level, in which the water of incoming waves is stored temporary. In each reservoir, expressively designed low...... head hydroturbines are converting the potential energy of the stored water into power. A key to success for the SSG will be the low cost of the structure and its robustness. The construction of the pilot plant is scheduled and this paper aims to describe the concept of the SSG wave energy converter...

Mathematical Modeling of Oscillating Water Columns Wave-Structure Interaction in Ocean Energy Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aitor J. Garrido

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Oscillating Water Column (OWC-based power take-off systems are one of the potential solutions to the current energy problems arising from the use of nuclear fission and the consumption of fossil fuels. This kind of energy converter turns wave energy into electric power by means of three different stages: firstly wave energy is transformed into pneumatic energy in the OWC chamber, and then a turbine turns it into mechanical energy and finally the turbogenerator module attached to the turbine creates electric power from the rotational mechanical energy. To date, capture chambers have been the least studied part. In this context, this paper presents an analytical model describing the dynamic behavior of the capture chamber, encompassing the wave motion and its interaction with the OWC structure and turbogenerator module. The model is tested for the case of the Mutriku wave power plant by means of experimental results. For this purpose, representative case studies are selected from wave and pressure drop input-output data. The results show an excellent matching rate between the values predicted by the model and the experimental measured data with a small bounded error in all cases, so that the validity of the proposed model is proven.

Wave energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whittaker, T.J.T. (Queen' s Univ., Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)); White, P.R.S. (Lanchester Polytechnic, Coventry (UK)); Baker, A.C.J. (Binnie and Partners, London (UK))

1988-10-01

An informal discussion on various wave energy converters is reported. These included a prototype oscillating water column (OWC) device being built on the Isle of Islay in Scotland; the SEA Clam; a tapering channel device (Tapchan) raising incoming waves into a lagoon on a Norwegian island and an OWC device on the same island. The Norwegian devices are delivering electricity at about 5.5p/KWh and 4p/KWh respectively with possibilities for reduction to 2.5-3p/KWh and 3p/KWh under favourable circumstances. The discussion ranged over comparisons with progress in wind power, engineering aspects, differences between inshore and offshore devices, tidal range and energy storage. (UK).

Tunnel effect wave energy detection

Science.gov (United States)

Kaiser, William J. (Inventor); Waltman, Steven B. (Inventor); Kenny, Thomas W. (Inventor)

1995-01-01

Methods and apparatus for measuring gravitational and inertial forces, magnetic fields, or wave or radiant energy acting on an object or fluid in space provide an electric tunneling current through a gap between an electrode and that object or fluid in space and vary that gap with any selected one of such forces, magnetic fields, or wave or radiant energy acting on that object or fluid. These methods and apparatus sense a corresponding variation in an electric property of that gap and determine the latter force, magnetic fields, or wave or radiant energy in response to that corresponding variation, and thereby sense or measure such parameters as acceleration, position, particle mass, velocity, magnetic field strength, presence or direction, or wave or radiant energy intensity, presence or direction.

Prototype Testing of the Wave Energy Converter Wave Dragon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofoed, Jens Peter; Frigaard, Peter; Friis-Madsen, Erik

2006-01-01

The Wave Dragon is an offshore wave energy converter of the overtopping type. It consists of two wave reflectors focusing the incoming waves towards a ramp, a reservoir for collecting the overtopping water and a number of hydro turbines for converting the pressure head into power. In the period...... from 1998 to 2001 extensive wave tank testing on a scale model was carried at Aalborg University. Then, a 57!27 m wide and 237 tonnes heavy (incl. ballast) prototype of the Wave Dragon, placed in Nissum Bredning, Denmark, was grid connected in May 2003 as the world’s first offshore wave energy...... converter. The prototype is fully equipped with hydro turbines and automatic control systems, and is instrumented in order to monitor power production, wave climate, forces in mooring lines, stresses in the structure and movements of the Wave Dragon. In the period May 2003 to January 2005 an extensive...

Prototype Testing of the Wave Energy Converter Wave Dragon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofoed, Jens Peter; Frigaard, Peter Bak; Friis-Madsen, Erik

2004-01-01

The Wave Dragon is an offshore wave energy converter of the overtopping type. It consists of two wave reflectors focusing the incoming waves towards a ramp, a reservoir for collecting the overtopping water and a number of hydro turbines for converting the pressure head into power. In the period...... from 1998 to 2001 extensive wave tank testing on a scale model was carried at Aalborg University. Then, a 57 x 27 m wide and 237 tonnes heavy (incl. ballast) prototype of the Wave Dragon, placed in Nissum Bredning, Denmark, was grid connected in May 2003 as the world's first offshore wave energy...... converter. The prototype is fully equipped with hydro turbines and automatic control systems, and is instrumented in order to monitor power production, wave climate, forces in mooring lines, stresses in the structure and movements of the Wave Dragon. During the last months, extensive testing has started...

Balancing Power Absorption and Fatigue Loads in Irregular Waves for an Oscillating Surge Wave Energy Converter: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tom, Nathan M.; Yu, Yi-Hsiang; Wright, Alan D.; Lawson, Michael

2016-06-01

The aim of this paper is to describe how to control the power-to-load ratio of a novel wave energy converter (WEC) in irregular waves. The novel WEC that is being developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory combines an oscillating surge wave energy converter (OSWEC) with control surfaces as part of the structure; however, this work only considers one fixed geometric configuration. This work extends the optimal control problem so as to not solely maximize the time-averaged power, but to also consider the power-take-off (PTO) torque and foundation forces that arise because of WEC motion. The objective function of the controller will include competing terms that force the controller to balance power capture with structural loading. Separate penalty weights were placed on the surge-foundation force and PTO torque magnitude, which allows the controller to be tuned to emphasize either power absorption or load shedding. Results of this study found that, with proper selection of penalty weights, gains in time-averaged power would exceed the gains in structural loading while minimizing the reactive power requirement.

Investigation of Wave Transmission from a Floating Wave Dragon Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørgaard, Jørgen Harck; Andersen, Thomas Lykke

2012-01-01

This paper focuses on the calibration of the MIKE21BW model against the measured wave height reduction behind a 24 kW/m Wave Dragon (WD) wave energy converter. A numerical model is used to determine the wave transmission through the floating WD in varying wave conditions. The transmission obtained...

Ocean wave energy conversion

CERN Document Server

McCormick, Michael E

2007-01-01

This volume will prove of vital interest to those studying the use of renewable resources. Scientists, engineers, and inventors will find it a valuable review of ocean wave mechanics as well as an introduction to wave energy conversion. It presents physical and mathematical descriptions of the nine generic wave energy conversion techniques, along with their uses and performance characteristics.Author Michael E. McCormick is the Corbin A. McNeill Professor of Naval Engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy. In addition to his timely and significant coverage of possible environmental effects associa

Wave Induced Loads on the LEANCON Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frigaard, Peter; Kofoed, Jens Peter; Beserra, Eliab Ricarte

This report is a product of the co-operation agreement between Aalborg University and LEANCON (by Kurt Due Rasmussen) on the evaluation and development of the LEANCON wave energy converter (WEC). The work reported here has focused on evaluation of the wave induced loads on the device, based...... in the laboratory, all under the supervision of the personnel of the Wave Energy Research Group at Department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University....

Enhancing Wave Energy Competitiveness through Co-Located Wind and Wave Energy Farms. A Review on the Shadow Effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharay Astariz

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Wave energy is one of the most promising alternatives to fossil fuels due to the enormous available resource; however, its development may be slowed as it is often regarded as uneconomical. The largest cost reductions are expected to be obtained through economies of scale and technological progress. In this sense, the incorporation of wave energy systems into offshore wind energy farms is an opportunity to foster the development of wave energy. The synergies between both renewables can be realised through these co-located energy farms and, thus, some challenges of offshore wind energy can be met. Among them, this paper focuses on the longer non-operational periods of offshore wind turbines—relative to their onshore counterparts—typically caused by delays in maintenance due to the harsh marine conditions. Co-located wave energy converters would act as a barrier extracting energy from the waves and resulting in a shielding effect over the wind farm. On this basis, the aim of this paper is to analyse wave energy economics in a holistic way, as well as the synergies between wave and offshore wind energy, focusing on the shadow effect and the associated increase in the accessibility to the wind turbines.

Problems of application of wave energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'yakov, A.F.; Morozkina, M.V.

1993-01-01

Technical solutions of using the energy both sea waves and lake ones are analyzed. Mathematical description of wave processes and phenomena as well as techniques of selection and conversion of the wave energy are given. Wave energy electromechanical converters are considered. Great attention is paid to linear generators of electromechanical converters eddy currents in massive sections of these generators and features of their calculation. Techniques for optimization of the linear generator parameters are shown. 60 refs

Hydraulic Response of the Wave Energy Converter Wave Dragon in Nissum Bredning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofoed, Jens Peter; Frigaard, Peter

This report deals with the hydraulic performance of the wave energy converter Wave Dragon, Nissum Bredning prototype.......This report deals with the hydraulic performance of the wave energy converter Wave Dragon, Nissum Bredning prototype....

Design and Control of Full Scale Wave Energy Simulator System

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Henrik C.; Hansen, Anders Hedegaard; Hansen, Rico Hjerm

2012-01-01

For wave energy to become feasible it is a requirement that the efficiency and reliability of the power take-off (PTO) systems are significantly improved. The cost of installing and testing PTO-systems at sea are however very high, and the focus of the current paper is therefore on the design...... of a full scale wave simulator for testing PTO-systems for point absorbers. The main challenge is here to design a system, which mimics the behavior of a wave when interacting with a given PTO-system. The paper includes a description of the developed system, located at Aalborg University......, and the considerations behind the design. Based on the description a model of the system is presented, which, along with a description of the wave theory applied, makes the foundation for the control strategy. The objective of the control strategy is to emulate not only the wave behavior, but also the dynamic wave...

Extended wave-packet model to calculate energy-loss moments of protons in matter

Science.gov (United States)

Archubi, C. D.; Arista, N. R.

2017-12-01

In this work we introduce modifications to the wave-packet method proposed by Kaneko to calculate the energy-loss moments of a projectile traversing a target which is represented in terms of Gaussian functions for the momentum distributions of electrons in the atomic shells. These modifications are introduced using the Levine and Louie technique to take into account the energy gaps corresponding to the different atomic levels of the target. We use the extended wave-packet model to evaluate the stopping power, the energy straggling, the inverse mean free path, and the ionization cross sections for protons in several targets, obtaining good agreements for all these quantities on an extensive energy range that covers low-, intermediate-, and high-energy regions. The extended wave-packet model proposed here provides a method to calculate in a very straightforward way all the significant terms of the inelastic interaction of light ions with any element of the periodic table.

Wave power - Sustainable energy or environmentally costly? A review with special emphasis on linear wave energy converters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Langhamer, Olivia [Dept. of Animal Ecology, UU, Norbyvaegen 18D, S-75236 Uppsala (Sweden); Swedish Centre for Renewable Electric Energy Conversion, Division for Electricity, Aangstroem Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 534, S-75121 Uppsala (Sweden); Haikonen, Kalle; Sundberg, Jan [Swedish Centre for Renewable Electric Energy Conversion, Division for Electricity, Aangstroem Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 534, S-75121 Uppsala (Sweden)

2010-05-15

Generating electricity from waves is predicted to be a new source of renewable energy conversion expanding significantly, with a global potential in the range of wind and hydropower. Several wave power techniques are on the merge of commercialisation, and thus evoke questions of environmental concern. Conservation matters are to some extent valid independent of technique but we mainly focus on point absorbing linear generators. By giving examples from the Lysekil project, run by Uppsala University and situated on the Swedish west coast, we demonstrate ongoing and future environmental studies to be performed along with technical research and development. We describe general environmental aspects generated by wave power projects; issues also likely to appear in Environmental Impact Assessment studies. Colonisation patterns and biofouling are discussed with particular reference to changes of the seabed and alterations due to new substrates. A purposeful artificial reef design to specially cater for economically important or threatened species is also discussed. Questions related to fish, fishery and marine mammals are other examples of topics where, e.g. no-take zones, marine bioacoustics and electromagnetic fields are important areas. In this review we point out areas in which studies likely will be needed, as ventures out in the oceans also will give ample opportunities for marine environmental research in general and in areas not previously studied. Marine environmental and ecological aspects appear to be unavoidable for application processes and in post-deployment studies concerning renewable energy extraction. Still, all large-scale renewable energy conversion will cause some impact mainly by being area demanding. An early incorporation of multidisciplinary and high quality research might be a key for new ocean-based techniques. (author)

Control Strategies for Arrays of Wave Energy Devices

OpenAIRE

Westphalen, J; Bacelli, G; Balitsky, P; Ringwood, John

2011-01-01

In this paper, we investigate the differences between two control strategies for a two-device linear array of wave energy converters (WEC) for device spacings of 4 to 80 times the device diameter. The WECs operate in heave only and are controlled in real time. The control strategies, called the independent device and global array control, estimate the excitation forces and calculate the optimum vertical velocity trajectory and reactive power take off force to achieve the ...

Harnessing Alternative Energy Sources to Enhance the Design of a Wave Generator

Science.gov (United States)

Bravo, A.

2017-12-01

Wave energy has the power to replace a non-renewable source of electricity for a home near the ocean. I built a small-scale wave generator capable of producing approximately 5 volts of electricity. The generator is an array of 16 small generators, each consisting of 200 feet of copper wire, 12 magnets, and a buoy. I tested my design in the Pacific Ocean and was able to power a string of lights I had attached to the generator. While the waves in the ocean moved my buoys, my design was powered by the vertical motion of the waves. My generator was hit with significant horizontal wave motion, and I realized I wasn't taking advantage of that direction of motion. To make my generator produce more electricity, I experimented with capturing the energy of the horizontal motion of water and incorporated that into my generator design. My generator, installed in the ocean, is also exposed to sun and wind, and I am exploring the potential of solar and wind energy collection in my design to increase the electricity output. Once I have maximized my electricity output, I would like to explore scaling up my design.

Dynamics and control of the GyroPTO wave energy point absorber under sea waves

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Zili; Nielsen, Søren R.K.; Basu, Biswajit

2017-01-01

The Gyroscopic Power Take-Off (GyroPTO) wave energy point absorber has the operational principle somewhat similar to the so-called gyroscopic hand wrist exerciser. Inside the float of GyroPTO, there is a mechanical system made up of a spinning flywheel with its spin axis in rolling contact...... to a ring. At certain conditions, the ring starts to rotate at a frequency equal to the excitation angular frequency. In this synchronized state, the generator is running at almost constant speed and the generated power becomes constant. In this paper, theoretical modeling of the GyroPTO device is carried...... out based on analytical rigid body dynamics, and a 3-DOF nonlinear model is established. Simulation results show that synchronization of the device is maintained under harmonic sea wave, but is lost easily under non-harmonic sea waves.To overcome this problem, a magnetic coupling mechanism is added...

Gravitational Waves and Dark Energy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter L. Biermann

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The idea that dark energy is gravitational waves may explain its strength and its time-evolution. A possible concept is that dark energy is the ensemble of coherent bursts (solitons of gravitational waves originally produced when the first generation of super-massive black holes was formed. These solitons get their initial energy as well as keep up their energy density throughout the evolution of the universe by stimulating emission from a background, a process which we model by working out this energy transfer in a Boltzmann equation approach. New Planck data suggest that dark energy has increased in strength over cosmic time, supporting the concept here. The transit of these gravitational wave solitons may be detectable. Key tests include pulsar timing, clock jitter and the radio background.

Ocean Wave Energy: Underwater Substation System for Wave Energy Converters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahm, Magnus

2010-01-01

This thesis deals with a system for operation of directly driven offshore wave energy converters. The work that has been carried out includes laboratory testing of a permanent magnet linear generator, wave energy converter mechanical design and offshore testing, and finally design, implementation, and offshore testing of an underwater collector substation. Long-term testing of a single point absorber, which was installed in March 2006, has been performed in real ocean waves in linear and in non-linear damping mode. The two different damping modes were realized by, first, a resistive load, and second, a rectifier with voltage smoothing capacitors and a resistive load in the DC-link. The loads are placed on land about 2 km east of the Lysekil wave energy research site, where the offshore experiments have been conducted. In the spring of 2009, another two wave energy converter prototypes were installed. Records of array operation were taken with two and three devices in the array. With two units, non-linear damping was used, and with three units, linear damping was employed. The point absorbers in the array are connected to the underwater substation, which is based on a 3 m3 pressure vessel standing on the seabed. In the substation, rectification of the frequency and amplitude modulated voltages from the linear generators is made. The DC voltage is smoothened by capacitors and inverted to 50 Hz electrical frequency, transformed and finally transmitted to the on-shore measuring station. Results show that the absorption is heavily dependent on the damping. It has also been shown that by increasing the damping, the standard deviation of electrical power can be reduced. The standard deviation of electrical power is reduced by array operation compared to single unit operation. Ongoing and future work include the construction and installation of a second underwater substation, which will connect the first substation and seven new WECs

Energy supply technologies. Hydro, ocean, wave and tidal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fenhann, J.; Larsen, Hans [Risoe National Lab. - DTU (Denmark)

2007-11-15

This chapter presents an overview of current hydro, ocean, wave and tidal initiatives. Large hydro remains one of the lowest-cost generating technologies, although environmental constraints, resettlement impacts and the limited availability of sites have restricted further growth in many countries. Large hydro supplied 16 % of global electricity in 2004, down from 19 % a decade ago. Large hydro capacity totalled about 720 GW worldwide in 2004 and has grown historically at slightly more than 2 % annually. China installed nearly 8 GW of large hydro in 2004, taking the country to number one in terms of installed capacity (74 GW). With the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, China will add some 18.2 GW of hydro capacity in 2009. The socio-economic benefits of hydro include improved flood control and water supply. The socio-economic benefits of hydro include improved flood control and water supply. The socio-economic cost of hydro includes displacements and submergence. Further hydro can improve peak-capacity management. Ocean currents, some of which runs close to European coasts, carry a lot of kinetic energy. Part of this energy can be captured by sub-marine windmills and converted into electricity. These are more compact than the wind turbines used on land, simply because water is much denser than air. The main European countries with useful current power potential are France and the UK. Ocean tides are driven by the gravitational pull of the moon. With one high tide every 12 hours, a tidal power plant can operate for only four or five hours per cycle, so power from a single plant is intermittent. A suitably-designed tidal plant can, however, operate as a pimped storage system, using electricity during periods of low demand to store energy that can be recovered later. The only large, modern example of a tidal power plant is the 240 MW La Rance plant, built in France in the 1960s, which represents 91 % of the world tidal power capacity. Wave energy can be seen as

Benefits of up-wave measurements in linear short-term wave forecasting for wave energy applications

OpenAIRE

Paparella, Francesco; Monk, Kieran; Winands, Victor; Lopes, Miguel; Conley, Daniel; Ringwood, John

2014-01-01

The real-time control of wave energy converters requires the prediction of the wave elevation at the location of the device in order to maximize the power extracted from the waves. One possibility is to predict the future wave elevation by combining its past history with the spatial information coming from a sensor which measures the free surface elevation upwave of the wave energy converter. As an application example, the paper focuses on the prediction of the wave eleva...

Intra-annual wave resource characterization for energy exploitation: A new decision-aid tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carballo, R.; Sánchez, M.; Ramos, V.; Fraguela, J.A.; Iglesias, G.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A decision-aid tool is developed for computing the monthly performance of WECs. • It allows the generation of high-resolution monthly characterization matrices. • The decision-aid tool is implemented to the Death Coast (N Spain). • The monthly matrices can be obtained at any coastal location within the Death Coast. • The tool is applied to a coastal location of a proposed wave farm. - Abstract: The wave energy resource is usually characterized by a significant variability throughout the year. In estimating the power performance of a Wave Energy Converter (WEC) it is fundamental to take into account this variability; indeed, an estimate based on mean annual values may well result in a wrong decision making. In this work, a novel decision-aid tool, iWEDGE (intra-annual Wave Energy Diagram GEnerator) is developed and implemented to a coastal region of interest, the Death Coast (Spain), one of the regions in Europe with the largest wave resource. Following a comprehensive procedure, and based on deep water wave data and high-resolution numerical modelling, this tool provides the monthly high-resolution characterization matrices (or energy diagrams) for any location of interest. In other words, the information required for the accurate computation of the intra-annual performance of any WEC at any location within the region covered is made available. Finally, an application of iWEDGE to the site of a proposed wave farm is presented. The results obtained highlight the importance of the decision-aid tool herein provided for wave energy exploitation

Modeling and Simulation of a Wave Energy Converter INWAVE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seung Kwan Song

2017-01-01

Full Text Available INGINE Inc. developed its own wave energy converter (WEC named INWAVE and has currently installed three prototype modules in Jeju Island, Korea. This device is an on-shore-type WEC that consists of a buoy, pulleys fixed to the sea-floor and a power take off module (PTO. Three ropes are moored tightly on the bottom of the buoy and connected to the PTO via the pulleys, which are moving back and forth according to the motion of the buoy. Since the device can harness wave energy from all six degrees of movement of the buoy, it is possible to extract energy efficiently even under low energy density conditions provided in the coastal areas. In the PTO module, the ratchet gears convert the reciprocating movement of the rope drum into a uni-directional rotation and determine the transmission of power from the relation of the angular velocities between the rope drum and the generator. In this process, the discontinuity of the power transmission occurs and causes the modeling divergence. Therefore, we introduce the concept of the virtual torsion spring in order to prevent the impact error in the ratchet gear module, thereby completing the PTO modeling. In this paper, we deal with dynamic analysis in the time domain, based on Newtonian mechanics and linear wave theory. We derive the combined dynamics of the buoy and PTO modules via geometric relation between the buoy and mooring ropes, then suggest the ratchet gear mechanism with the virtual torsion spring element to reduce the dynamic errors during the phase transitions. Time domain simulation is carried out under irregular waves that reflect the actual wave states of the installation area, and we evaluate the theoretical performance using the capture width ratio.

Wave Resource Characterization at US Wave Energy Converter (WEC) Test Sites

Science.gov (United States)

Dallman, A.; Neary, V. S.

2016-02-01

The US Department of Energy's (DOE) Marine and Hydrokinetic energy (MHK) Program is supporting a diverse research and development portfolio intended to accelerate commercialization of the marine renewable industry by improving technology performance, reducing market barriers, and lowering the cost of energy. Wave resource characterization at potential and existing wave energy converter (WEC) test sites and deployment locations contributes to this DOE goal by providing a catalogue of wave energy resource characteristics, met-ocean data, and site infrastructure information, developed utilizing a consistent methodology. The purpose of the catalogue is to enable the comparison of resource characteristics among sites to facilitate the selection of test sites that are most suitable for a developer's device and that best meet their testing needs and objectives. It also provides inputs for the design of WEC test devices and planning WEC tests, including the planning of deployment and operations and maintenance. The first edition included three sites: the Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC) North Energy Test Site (NETS) offshore of Newport, Oregon, the Kaneohe Bay Naval Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) offshore of Oahu, HI, and a potential site offshore of Humboldt Bay, CA (Eureka, CA). The second edition was recently finished, which includes five additional sites: the Jennette's Pier Wave Energy Converter Test Site in North Carolina, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Field Research Facility (FRF), the PMEC Lake Washington site, the proposed PMEC South Energy Test Site (SETS), and the proposed CalWave Central Coast WEC Test Site. The operational sea states are included according to the IEC Technical Specification on wave energy resource assessment and characterization, with additional information on extreme sea states, weather windows, and representative spectra. The methodology and a summary of results will be discussed.

Strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (Swot) of wave energy industry in Portugal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

La regina, Veronica; Neumann, Frank; Russell, Iain; Sarmento, Antonio J. N. A.

2006-01-01

Energy policy-makers in countries are facing the daunting challenge of achieving energy security environmental protection and economic efficie16ncy. Renewable are considered by many policy-makers to contribute to improving energy security and protecting the environment. On an average cost basis, some renewables in the best locations are still not competitive. Supportive policies are still needed to encourage the further development and deployment especially of 'new' renewables in energy markets. Wave energy (WE) is front-runner of Marine Renewable Energies, as its technologies are not yet mature for a complete commercial status. Thus, a new a potential wave energy industry requires strong policy support from all stakeholders involved in it. We, like most other forms of renewable energy (RE), has a significant potential to mitigate global climate change, address regional and local environmental concerne, reduce poverty and increase energy security. The challenge is to provide the right policy frameworks and financial tools that will enable RE to achieve its market potential and move from marginal significance for the energy supply into the mainstream. Policy-makers thus have a mandate to take action and, since most of the capital for these green-actions will not come from public treasuries, most of these actions will need to focus on creating enabling frameworks and finance mechanisms for technology R and D, commercialisation and investment. For this form of RE to achieve its market potential, policy frameworks and financial instruments are necessary that give financiers the necessary assurance and incentives to shift investment away from oil technologies to large-scale investment in a clean energy systems. The paper assesses how Portugal should result attractive for wave energy industry according with geographical position, wave motions' power and policies' ability to attract finance. It describes present financing instruments for wave energy plant development and

Worlds Largest Wave Energy Project 2007 in Wales

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Lars; Friis-Madsen, Erik; Kofoed, Jens Peter

2006-01-01

This paper introduces world largest wave energy project being developed in Wales and based on one of the leading wave energy technologies. The background for the development of wave energy, the total resource ands its distribution around the world is described. In contrast to wind energy turbines...... Dragon has to be scaled in accordance with the wave climate at the deployment site, which makes the Welch demonstrator device the worlds largest WEC so far with a total width of 300 meters. The project budget, the construction methods and the deployment site are also given....... a large number of fundamentally different technologies are utilised to harvest wave energy. The Wave Dragon belongs to the wave overtopping class of converters and the paper describes the fundamentals and the technical solutions used in this wave energy converter. An offshore floating WEC like the Wave...

Performance Evaluation of Wave Energy Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pecher, Arthur

Ocean waves provide a sustainable, power-dense, predictable and widely available source of energy that could provide about 10 % of worlds energy needs. While research into waveenergy has been undertaken for decades, a significant increase in related activities has been seen in the recent years......, with more than 150 concepts currently being developed worldwide. Wave energy conversion concepts can be of many kinds, as the energy in the waves can be absorbed in many different ways. However, each concept is expected to require a thorough development process, involving different phases and prototypes....... Guidelines for the development of wave energy converters recommend the use of different prototypes, having different sizes, which have to perform tank tests or sea trials. Thisimplicates the need of different testing environment, which shifts from being controllable to uncontrollable with the development...

Energy conversion of orbital motions in gravitational waves: Simulation and test of the Seaspoon wave energy converter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Fresco, L.; Traverso, A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We investigate an innovative wave energy converter. • We study a robust technology derived from wind power sector. • We increased the performance of a drag type rotor exploiting the motion of ocean waves and a simple flat plate component. • We proved the working principle with a numerical model first and with experimental test in wave flume later. • We aim to obtain a robust large energy harvester able to operate in mild energy sea and with an extended operating range. - Abstract: The conversion of ocean wave power into sustainable electrical power represents a major opportunity to Nations endowed with such a kind of resource. At the present time the most of the technological innovations aiming at converting such resources are at early stage of development, with only a handful of devices close to be at the commercial demonstration stage. The Seaspoon device, thought as a large energy harvester, catches the kinetic energy of ocean waves with promising conversion efficiency, and robust technology, according to specific “wave-motion climate”. University of Genoa aims to develop a prototype to be deployed in medium average energy content seas (i.e. Mediterranean or Eastern Asia seas). This paper presents the first simulation and experimental results carried out on a reduced scale proof-of-concept model tested in the laboratory wave flume

Take-or-Pay under Japanese energy policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Namikawa, Ryoichi

2003-01-01

Japan has tried to increase the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) because of the nation's fragile energy supply structure. In Japan, almost all LNG is imported under long-term contracts with a Take-or-Pay clause, although buyers assume considerable risk under such a clause. This paper tries to determine why the Take-or-Pay clause has been retained in LNG import contracts in Japan, focusing on the relation between Take-or-Pay and energy security policy. It is found that the government has not pursued a consistent, consecutive policy on Take-or-Pay under the changing energy situation after oil crises. On the one hand, the government has accepted Take-or-Pay because it secures a stable supply of LNG, but on the other hand, it has tried to scrap Take-or-Pay in order to reduce buyers' risk. Furthermore, it was not until the middle/late 1990s that the government implemented deregulation. It is concluded that the government's energy security policy has played an important role in keeping Take-or-Pay in Japan

Handbook of ocean wave energy

CERN Document Server

Kofoed, Jens

2017-01-01

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license. This book offers a concise, practice-oriented reference-guide to the field of ocean wave energy. The ten chapters highlight the key rules of thumb, address all the main technical engineering aspects and describe in detail all the key aspects to be considered in the techno-economic assessment of wave energy converters. Written in an easy-to-understand style, the book answers questions relevant to readers of different backgrounds, from developers, private and public investors, to students and researchers. It is thereby a valuable resource for both newcomers and experienced practitioners in the wave energy sector.

Design Specifications for the Hanstholm WEPTOS Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pecher, Arthur; Kofoed, Jens Peter; Larsen, Tommy

2012-01-01

The WEPTOS wave energy converter (WEC) is a novel device that combines an established and efficient wave energy absorbing mechanism with a smart structure, which can regulate the amount of incoming wave energy and reduce loads in extreme wave conditions. This adjustable A-shaped slack-moored and ......The WEPTOS wave energy converter (WEC) is a novel device that combines an established and efficient wave energy absorbing mechanism with a smart structure, which can regulate the amount of incoming wave energy and reduce loads in extreme wave conditions. This adjustable A-shaped slack...

Numerical study of hydrodynamic behavior and conversion efficiency of a two-buoy wave energy converter

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Cen; Zhang, Yong-liang

2018-04-01

In this paper we propose a two-buoy wave energy converter composed of a heaving semi-submerged cylindrical buoy, a fixed submerged cylindrical buoy and a power take-off (PTO) system, and investigate the effect of the fixed submerged buoy on the hydrodynamics of the heaving semi-submerged buoy based on the three-dimensional potential theory. And the dynamic response of the semi-submerged buoy and the wave energy conversion efficiency of the converter are analyzed. The difference of the hydrodynamics and the wave energy conversion efficiency of a semi-submerged buoy converter with and without a fixed submerged buoy is discussed. It is revealed that the influence of the fixed submerged buoy on the exciting wave force, the added mass, the radiation damping coefficient and the wave energy conversion efficiency can be significant with a considerable variation, depending on the vertical distance between the heaving semi-submerged buoy and the fixed submerged buoy, the diameter ratio of the fixed submerged buoy to the heaving semi-submerged buoy and the water depth.

Wave-current interactions at the FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility

Science.gov (United States)

Noble, Donald; Davey, Thomas; Steynor, Jeffrey; Bruce, Tom; Smith, Helen; Kaklis, Panagiotis

2015-04-01

Physical scale model testing is an important part of the marine renewable energy development process, allowing the study of forces and device behaviour in a controlled environment prior to deployment at sea. FloWave is a new state-of-the-art ocean energy research facility, designed to provide large scale physical modelling services to the tidal and wave sector. It has the unique ability to provide complex multi-directional waves that can be combined with currents from any direction in the 25m diameter circular tank. The facility is optimised for waves around 2s period and 0.4m height, and is capable of generating currents upwards of 1.6m/s. This offers the ability to model metocean conditions suitable for most renewable energy devices at a typical scale of between 1:10 and 1:40. The test section is 2m deep, which can be classed as intermediate-depth for most waves of interest, thus the full dispersion equation must be solved as the asymptotic simplifications do not apply. The interaction between waves and currents has been studied in the tank. This has involved producing in the tank sets of regular waves, focussed wave groups, and random sea spectra including multi-directional sea states. These waves have been both inline-with and opposing the current, as well as investigating waves at arbitrary angles to the current. Changes in wave height and wavelength have been measured, and compared with theoretical results. Using theoretical wave-current interaction models, methods have been explored to "correct" the wave height in the central test area of the tank when combined with a steady current. This allows the wave height with current to be set equal to that without a current. Thus permitting, for example, direct comparison of device motion response between tests with and without current. Alternatively, this would also permit a specific wave height and current combination to be produced in the tank, reproducing recorded conditions at a particular site of interest. The

Energy dissipation through wind-generated breaking waves

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHANG Shuwen; CAO Ruixue; XIE Lingling

2012-01-01

Wave breaking is an important process that controls turbulence properties and fluxes of heat and mass in the upper oceanic layer.A model is described for energy dissipation per unit area at the ocean surface attributed to wind-generated breaking waves,in terms of ratio of energy dissipation to energy input,windgenerated wave spectrum,and wave growth rate.Also advanced is a vertical distribution model of turbulent kinetic energy,based on an exponential distribution method.The result shows that energy dissipation rate depends heavily on wind speed and sea state.Our results agree well with predictions of previous works.

Wave Energy Potential in the Latvian EEZ

Science.gov (United States)

Beriņš, J.; Beriņš, J.; Kalnačs, J.; Kalnačs, A.

2016-06-01

The present article deals with one of the alternative forms of energy - sea wave energy potential in the Latvian Exclusice Economic Zone (EEZ). Results have been achieved using a new method - VEVPP. Calculations have been performed using the data on wave parameters over the past five years (2010-2014). We have also considered wave energy potential in the Gulf of Riga. The conclusions have been drawn on the recommended methodology for the sea wave potential and power calculations for wave-power plant pre-design stage.

A wave model test bed study for wave energy resource characterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Zhaoqing; Neary, Vincent S.; Wang, Taiping; Gunawan, Budi; Dallman, Annie R.; Wu, Wei-Cheng

2017-12-01

This paper presents a test bed study conducted to evaluate best practices in wave modeling to characterize energy resources. The model test bed off the central Oregon Coast was selected because of the high wave energy and available measured data at the site. Two third-generation spectral wave models, SWAN and WWIII, were evaluated. A four-level nested-grid approach—from global to test bed scale—was employed. Model skills were assessed using a set of model performance metrics based on comparing six simulated wave resource parameters to observations from a wave buoy inside the test bed. Both WWIII and SWAN performed well at the test bed site and exhibited similar modeling skills. The ST4 package with WWIII, which represents better physics for wave growth and dissipation, out-performed ST2 physics and improved wave power density and significant wave height predictions. However, ST4 physics tended to overpredict the wave energy period. The newly developed ST6 physics did not improve the overall model skill for predicting the six wave resource parameters. Sensitivity analysis using different wave frequencies and direction resolutions indicated the model results were not sensitive to spectral resolutions at the test bed site, likely due to the absence of complex bathymetric and geometric features.

Clam wave energy converter. Report for period July 1979 to December 1980

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1981-02-01

Work by the Sea Energy Asociates Ltd - Lanchester Polytechnic Wave Energy Group on the Clam device since the April 1979 feasibility study has shown it to be a well developed and viable device capable of extracting energy economically from sea waves. The experience of the team includes mooring, structural and device tests from 1/100th to 1/10th scale in narrow and wide tanks, Draycote Reservoir and on Loch Ness. Theoretical and semi-empirical modelling has become increasingly important. Recently a test rig to assess a 1/10th scale power take off system, based on a Wells turbine, has been completed. The philosophy of the project team has been to aim for a device as simple as possible, with a small number of moving parts in order to minimise maintenance problems.

Single-wave-number representation of nonlinear energy spectrum in elastic-wave turbulence of the Föppl-von Kármán equation: energy decomposition analysis and energy budget.

Science.gov (United States)

Yokoyama, Naoto; Takaoka, Masanori

2014-12-01

A single-wave-number representation of a nonlinear energy spectrum, i.e., a stretching-energy spectrum, is found in elastic-wave turbulence governed by the Föppl-von Kármán (FvK) equation. The representation enables energy decomposition analysis in the wave-number space and analytical expressions of detailed energy budgets in the nonlinear interactions. We numerically solved the FvK equation and observed the following facts. Kinetic energy and bending energy are comparable with each other at large wave numbers as the weak turbulence theory suggests. On the other hand, stretching energy is larger than the bending energy at small wave numbers, i.e., the nonlinearity is relatively strong. The strong correlation between a mode a(k) and its companion mode a(-k) is observed at the small wave numbers. The energy is input into the wave field through stretching-energy transfer at the small wave numbers, and dissipated through the quartic part of kinetic-energy transfer at the large wave numbers. Total-energy flux consistent with energy conservation is calculated directly by using the analytical expression of the total-energy transfer, and the forward energy cascade is observed clearly.

A performance study on a direct drive hydro turbine for wave energy converter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Young Do; Kim, Chang Goo; Kim, You Taek; Lee, Young Ho; Song, Jung Il

2010-01-01

Clean and renewable energy technologies using ocean energy give us non-polluting alternatives to fossil-fueled power plants as a countermeasure against global warming and growing demand for electrical energy. Among the ocean energy resources, wave power takes a growing interest because of its enormous amount of potential energy in the world. Therefore, various types of wave power systems to capture the energy of ocean waves have been developed. However, a suitable turbine type is not yet normalized because of relatively low efficiency of the turbine systems. The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of a newly developed direct drive hydro turbine (DDT), which will be built in a caisson for a wave power plant. Experiment and CFD analysis are conducted to clarify the turbine performance and internal flow characteristics. The results show that the DDT obtains fairly good turbine efficiency in cases with and without wave conditions. Most of the output power is generated at the runner passage of Stage 2. Relatively larger amount of the decreased tangential velocity at Stage 2 produces more angular momentum than that at Stage 1 and thus, the larger angular momentum at the Stage 2 makes a greater contribution to the generation of total output power in comparison with that at Stage 1. Large vortex existing in the upper-left region of the runner passage forms a large recirculation region in the runner passage, and the recirculating flow consumes the output power at Region 2

A performance study on a direct drive hydro turbine for wave energy converter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Young Do [Mokpo National University, Muan (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Chang Goo; Kim, You Taek; Lee, Young Ho [Korea Maritime University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Song, Jung Il [Changwon National University, Changwon (Korea, Republic of)

2010-11-15

Clean and renewable energy technologies using ocean energy give us non-polluting alternatives to fossil-fueled power plants as a countermeasure against global warming and growing demand for electrical energy. Among the ocean energy resources, wave power takes a growing interest because of its enormous amount of potential energy in the world. Therefore, various types of wave power systems to capture the energy of ocean waves have been developed. However, a suitable turbine type is not yet normalized because of relatively low efficiency of the turbine systems. The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of a newly developed direct drive hydro turbine (DDT), which will be built in a caisson for a wave power plant. Experiment and CFD analysis are conducted to clarify the turbine performance and internal flow characteristics. The results show that the DDT obtains fairly good turbine efficiency in cases with and without wave conditions. Most of the output power is generated at the runner passage of Stage 2. Relatively larger amount of the decreased tangential velocity at Stage 2 produces more angular momentum than that at Stage 1 and thus, the larger angular momentum at the Stage 2 makes a greater contribution to the generation of total output power in comparison with that at Stage 1. Large vortex existing in the upper-left region of the runner passage forms a large recirculation region in the runner passage, and the recirculating flow consumes the output power at Region 2

Enhancing Wave Energy Competitiveness through Co-Located Wind and Wave Energy Farms. A Review on the Shadow Effect

OpenAIRE

Sharay Astariz; Gregorio Iglesias

2015-01-01

Wave energy is one of the most promising alternatives to fossil fuels due to the enormous available resource; however, its development may be slowed as it is often regarded as uneconomical. The largest cost reductions are expected to be obtained through economies of scale and technological progress. In this sense, the incorporation of wave energy systems into offshore wind energy farms is an opportunity to foster the development of wave energy. The synergies between both renewables can be rea...

Teaching on ocean-wave-energy conversion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Falnes, J. [Norges teknisk-naturvitskaplege univ., Inst. for fysikk, Trondheim (Norway)

2001-07-01

Ocean-wave energy utilisation has for 27 years been a university research subject, in which the author has been active from the first year. In this paper he presents some information related to his teaching on the subject during many of these years. This includes teaching on the pre-university level and, in particular, development of the wave-energy module for an educational CD-ROM on sustainable technology and renewable energy. Education of the general public is very important. On the other hand teaching of doctor students and other wave-energy researchers is also a subject of the paper. (au)

Probabilistic Design of Wave Energy Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Kofoed, Jens Peter; Ferreira, C.B.

2011-01-01

Wave energy has a large potential for contributing significantly to production of renewable energy. However, the wave energy sector is still not able to deliver cost competitive and reliable solutions. But the sector has already demonstrated several proofs of concepts. The design of wave energy...... devices is a new and expanding technical area where there is no tradition for probabilistic design—in fact very little full scale devices has been build to date, so it can be said that no design tradition really exists in this area. For this reason it is considered to be of great importance to develop...... and advocate for a probabilistic design approach, as it is assumed (in other areas this has been demonstrated) that this leads to more economical designs compared to designs based on deterministic methods. In the present paper a general framework for probabilistic design and reliability analysis of wave energy...

Experimental Study on the WavePiston Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pecher, Arthur; Kofoed, Jens Peter; Angelelli, E.

This report presents the results of an experimental study of the power performance of the WavePiston wave energy converter. It focuses mainly on evaluating the power generating capabilities of the device and the effect of the following issues: Scaling ratios PTO loading Wave height and wave period...... dependency Oblique incoming waves Distance between plates During the study, the model supplied by the client, WavePiston, has been rigorously tested as all the anticipated tests have been done thoroughly and during all tests, good quality data has been obtained from all the sensors....

Design of full scale wave simulator for testing Power Take Off systems for wave energy converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, H. C.; Hansen, R. H.; Hansen, Anders Hedegaard

2016-01-01

is therefore on the design and commissioning of a full scale wave simulator for testing PTO-systems for point absorbers. The challenge is to be able to design a system, which mimics the behavior of a wave when interacting with a given PTO-system – especially when considering discrete type PTO...

Wave energy devices with compressible volumes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurniawan, Adi; Greaves, Deborah; Chaplin, John

2014-12-08

We present an analysis of wave energy devices with air-filled compressible submerged volumes, where variability of volume is achieved by means of a horizontal surface free to move up and down relative to the body. An analysis of bodies without power take-off (PTO) systems is first presented to demonstrate the positive effects a compressible volume could have on the body response. Subsequently, two compressible device variations are analysed. In the first variation, the compressible volume is connected to a fixed volume via an air turbine for PTO. In the second variation, a water column separates the compressible volume from another volume, which is fitted with an air turbine open to the atmosphere. Both floating and bottom-fixed, axisymmetric, configurations are considered, and linear analysis is employed throughout. Advantages and disadvantages of each device are examined in detail. Some configurations with displaced volumes less than 2000 m 3 and with constant turbine coefficients are shown to be capable of achieving 80% of the theoretical maximum absorbed power over a wave period range of about 4 s.

Short-Term Wave Forecasting for Real-Time Control of Wave Energy Converters

OpenAIRE

Fusco, Francesco; Ringwood, John

2010-01-01

Real-time control of wave energy converters requires knowledge of future incident wave elevation in order to approach optimal efficiency of wave energy extraction. We present an approach where the wave elevation is treated as a time series and it is predicted only from its past history. A comparison of a range of forecasting methodologies on real wave observations from two different locations shows how the relatively simple linear autoregressive model, which implicitly models the cyclical beh...

Clustering of cycloidal wave energy converters

Science.gov (United States)

Siegel, Stefan G.

2016-03-29

A wave energy conversion system uses a pair of wave energy converters (WECs) on respective active mountings on a floating platform, so that the separation of the WECs from each other or from a central WEC can be actively adjusted according to the wavelength of incident waves. The adjustable separation facilitates operation of the system to cancel reactive forces, which may be generated during wave energy conversion. Modules on which such pairs of WECs are mounted can be assembled with one or more central WECs to form large clusters in which reactive forces and torques can be made to cancel. WECs of different sizes can be employed to facilitate cancelation of reactive forces and torques.

Energy in one-dimensional linear waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Repetto, C E; Roatta, A; Welti, R J

2011-01-01

This work is based on propagation phenomena that conform to the classical wave equation. General expressions of power, the energy conservation equation in continuous media and densities of the kinetic and potential energies are presented. As an example, we study the waves in a string and focused attention on the case of standing waves. The treatment is applicable to introductory science textbooks. (letters and comment)

Performance Evaluation of Wave Energy Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pecher, Arthur

. Guidelines for the development of wave energy converters recommend the use of different prototypes, having different sizes, which have to perform tank tests or sea trials. This implicates the need of different testing environment, which shifts from being controllable to uncontrollable with the development......, with more than 150 concepts currently being developed worldwide. Wave energy conversion concepts can be of many kinds, as the energy in the waves can be absorbed in many different ways. However, each concept is expected to require a thorough development process, involving different phases and prototypes...

Frequency-Domain Hydrodynamic Modelling of Dense and Sparse Arrays of Wave Energy Converters

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wei, Yanji; Barradas Berglind, Jose de Jesus; Yu, Zhiheng; van Rooij, Marijn; Prins, Wouter; Jayawardhana, Bayu; Vakis, Antonis I.

2018-01-01

In this work, we develop a frequency-domain model to study the hydrodynamic behaviour of a floater blanket (FB), i.e., an array of floater elements individually connected to power take-off (PTO) systems, which constitutes the core technology of the novel Ocean Grazer (OG) wave energy converter

Electromagnetic wave energy converter

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, R. L. (Inventor)

1973-01-01

Electromagnetic wave energy is converted into electric power with an array of mutually insulated electromagnetic wave absorber elements each responsive to an electric field component of the wave as it impinges thereon. Each element includes a portion tapered in the direction of wave propagation to provide a relatively wideband response spectrum. Each element includes an output for deriving a voltage replica of the electric field variations intercepted by it. Adjacent elements are positioned relative to each other so that an electric field subsists between adjacent elements in response to the impinging wave. The electric field results in a voltage difference between adjacent elements that is fed to a rectifier to derive dc output power.

Study of the potential of wave energy in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Wan Ching; Chan, Keng Wai; Ooi, Heivin

2017-07-01

Renewable energy is generally defined as energy harnessed from resources which are naturally replenished. It is an alternative to the current conventional energy sources such as natural gas, oil and coal, which are nonrenewable. Besides being nonrenewable, the harnessing of these resources generally produce by-products which could be potentially harmful to the environment. On the contrary, the generation from renewable energy does not pose environmental degradation. Some examples of renewable energy sources are sunlight, wind, tides, waves and geothermal heat. Wave energy is considered as one of the most promising marine renewable resources and is becoming commercially viable quicker than other renewable technologies at an astonishing growth rate. This paper illustrates the working principle of wave energy converter (WEC) and the availability of wave energy in Malaysia oceans. A good understanding of the behaviour of ocean waves is important for designing an efficient WEC as the characteristics of the waves in shallow and deep water are different. Consequently, wave energy converters are categorized into three categories on shore, near shore and offshore. Therefore, the objectives of this study is ought to be carried out by focusing on the formation of waves and wave characteristics in shallow as well as in deep water. The potential sites for implementation of wave energy harvesting technology in Malaysia and the wave energy available in the respective area were analysed. The potential of wave energy in Malaysia were tabulated and presented with theoretical data. The interaction between motion of waves and heave buoys for optimum phase condition by using the mass and diameter as the variables were investigated.

Levelized Cost of Energy of the Weptos wave energy converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pecher, Arthur; Kofoed, Jens Peter

This report presents the cost of energy calculations of a wave energy array of 90 MW, consisting of 25 x 3.6 MW Weptos wave energy converters. The calculation has been made in analogy with a publically available document presented by the UK government, covering the case of a similar size wind...

Predictability of Wave Energy and Electricity Markets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chozas, Julia Fernandez

2012-01-01

The articlw addresses an important challenge ahead the integration of the electricity generated by wave energy conversion technologies into the electric grid. Particularly, it looks into the role of wave energy within the day-ahead electricity market. For that the predictability of the theoretical...... power outputs of three wave energy technologies in the Danish North Sea are examined. The simultaneous and co-located forecast and buoy-measured wave parameters at Hanstholm, Denmark, during a non-consecutive autumn and winter 3-month period form the basis of the investigation. The objective...

Marine Planning for Potential Wave Energy Facility Placement Amongst a Crowded Sea of Existing Resource Uses

Science.gov (United States)

Feist, B. E.; Fuller, E.; Plummer, M. L.

2016-12-01

Conversion to renewable energy sources is a logical response to increasing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ocean wave energy is the least developed renewable energy source, despite having the highest energy per unit area. While many hurdles remain in developing wave energy, assessing potential conflicts and evaluating tradeoffs with existing uses is essential. Marine planning encompasses a broad array of activities that take place in and affect large marine ecosystems, making it an ideal tool for evaluating wave energy resource use conflicts. In this study, we focus on the potential conflicts between wave energy conversion (WEC) facilities and existing marine uses in the context of marine planning, within the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. First, we evaluated wave energy facility development using the Wave Energy Model (WEM) of the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) toolkit. Second, we ran spatial analyses on model output to identify conflicts with existing marine uses including AIS based vessel traffic, VMS and observer based measures of commercial fishing effort, and marine conservation areas. We found that regions with the highest wave energy potential were distant from major cities and that infrastructure limitations (cable landing sites) restrict integration with existing power grids. We identified multiple spatial conflicts with existing marine uses; especially shipping vessels and various commercial fishing fleets, and overlap with marine conservation areas varied by conservation designation. While wave energy generation facilities may be economically viable in the California Current, this viability must be considered within the context of the costs associated with conflicts that arise with existing marine uses. Our analyses can be used to better inform placement of WEC devices (as well as other types of renewable energy facilities) in the context of marine planning by accounting for economic tradeoffs

Wave energy budget analysis in the Earth's radiation belts uncovers a missing energy.

Science.gov (United States)

Artemyev, A V; Agapitov, O V; Mourenas, D; Krasnoselskikh, V V; Mozer, F S

2015-05-15

Whistler-mode emissions are important electromagnetic waves pervasive in the Earth's magnetosphere, where they continuously remove or energize electrons trapped by the geomagnetic field, controlling radiation hazards to satellites and astronauts and the upper-atmosphere ionization or chemical composition. Here, we report an analysis of 10-year Cluster data, statistically evaluating the full wave energy budget in the Earth's magnetosphere, revealing that a significant fraction of the energy corresponds to hitherto generally neglected very oblique waves. Such waves, with 10 times smaller magnetic power than parallel waves, typically have similar total energy. Moreover, they carry up to 80% of the wave energy involved in wave-particle resonant interactions. It implies that electron heating and precipitation into the atmosphere may have been significantly under/over-valued in past studies considering only conventional quasi-parallel waves. Very oblique waves may turn out to be a crucial agent of energy redistribution in the Earth's radiation belts, controlled by solar activity.

Catching the Right Wave: Evaluating Wave Energy Resources and Potential Compatibility with Existing Marine and Coastal Uses

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Choong-Ki; Toft, Jodie E.; Papenfus, Michael; Verutes, Gregory; Guerry, Anne D.; Ruckelshaus, Marry H.; Arkema, Katie K.; Guannel, Gregory; Wood, Spencer A.; Bernhardt, Joanna R.; Tallis, Heather; Plummer, Mark L.; Halpern, Benjamin S.; Pinsky, Malin L.; Beck, Michael W.; Chan, Francis; Chan, Kai M. A.; Levin, Phil S.; Polasky, Stephen

2012-01-01

Many hope that ocean waves will be a source for clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy, yet wave energy conversion facilities may affect marine ecosystems through a variety of mechanisms, including competition with other human uses. We developed a decision-support tool to assist siting wave energy facilities, which allows the user to balance the need for profitability of the facilities with the need to minimize conflicts with other ocean uses. Our wave energy model quantifies harvestable wave energy and evaluates the net present value (NPV) of a wave energy facility based on a capital investment analysis. The model has a flexible framework and can be easily applied to wave energy projects at local, regional, and global scales. We applied the model and compatibility analysis on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada to provide information for ongoing marine spatial planning, including potential wave energy projects. In particular, we conducted a spatial overlap analysis with a variety of existing uses and ecological characteristics, and a quantitative compatibility analysis with commercial fisheries data. We found that wave power and harvestable wave energy gradually increase offshore as wave conditions intensify. However, areas with high economic potential for wave energy facilities were closer to cable landing points because of the cost of bringing energy ashore and thus in nearshore areas that support a number of different human uses. We show that the maximum combined economic benefit from wave energy and other uses is likely to be realized if wave energy facilities are sited in areas that maximize wave energy NPV and minimize conflict with existing ocean uses. Our tools will help decision-makers explore alternative locations for wave energy facilities by mapping expected wave energy NPV and helping to identify sites that provide maximal returns yet avoid spatial competition with existing ocean uses. PMID:23144824

Catching the right wave: evaluating wave energy resources and potential compatibility with existing marine and coastal uses.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Choong-Ki; Toft, Jodie E; Papenfus, Michael; Verutes, Gregory; Guerry, Anne D; Ruckelshaus, Marry H; Arkema, Katie K; Guannel, Gregory; Wood, Spencer A; Bernhardt, Joanna R; Tallis, Heather; Plummer, Mark L; Halpern, Benjamin S; Pinsky, Malin L; Beck, Michael W; Chan, Francis; Chan, Kai M A; Levin, Phil S; Polasky, Stephen

2012-01-01

Many hope that ocean waves will be a source for clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy, yet wave energy conversion facilities may affect marine ecosystems through a variety of mechanisms, including competition with other human uses. We developed a decision-support tool to assist siting wave energy facilities, which allows the user to balance the need for profitability of the facilities with the need to minimize conflicts with other ocean uses. Our wave energy model quantifies harvestable wave energy and evaluates the net present value (NPV) of a wave energy facility based on a capital investment analysis. The model has a flexible framework and can be easily applied to wave energy projects at local, regional, and global scales. We applied the model and compatibility analysis on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada to provide information for ongoing marine spatial planning, including potential wave energy projects. In particular, we conducted a spatial overlap analysis with a variety of existing uses and ecological characteristics, and a quantitative compatibility analysis with commercial fisheries data. We found that wave power and harvestable wave energy gradually increase offshore as wave conditions intensify. However, areas with high economic potential for wave energy facilities were closer to cable landing points because of the cost of bringing energy ashore and thus in nearshore areas that support a number of different human uses. We show that the maximum combined economic benefit from wave energy and other uses is likely to be realized if wave energy facilities are sited in areas that maximize wave energy NPV and minimize conflict with existing ocean uses. Our tools will help decision-makers explore alternative locations for wave energy facilities by mapping expected wave energy NPV and helping to identify sites that provide maximal returns yet avoid spatial competition with existing ocean uses.

Statistical investigation of expected wave energy and its reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ozger, M.; Altunkaynak, A.; Sen, Z.

2004-01-01

The statistical behavior of wave energy at a single site is derived by considering simultaneous variations in the period and wave height. In this paper, the general wave power formulation is derived by using the theory of perturbation. This method leads to a general formulation of the wave power expectation and other statistical parameter expressions, such as standard deviation and coefficient of variation. The statistical parameters, namely the mean value and variance of wave energy, are found in terms of the simple statistical parameters of period, significant wave height and zero up-crossing period. The elegance of these parameters is that they are distribution free. These parameters provide a means for defining the wave energy distribution function by employing the Chebyschev's inequality. Subsequently, an approximate probability distribution function of the wave energy is also derived for assessment of risk and reliability associated with wave energy. Necessary simple charts are given for risk and reliability assessments. Two procedures are presented for such assessments in wave energy calculations and the applications of these procedures are provided for wave energy potential assessment in the regions of the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of U.S. (author)

Statistical investigation of expected wave energy and its reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oezger, Mehmet; Altunkaynak, Abduesselam; Sen, Zekai

2004-01-01

The statistical behavior of wave energy at a single site is derived by considering simultaneous variations in the period and wave height. In this paper, the general wave power formulation is derived by using the theory of perturbation. This method leads to a general formulation of the wave power expectation and other statistical parameter expressions, such as standard deviation and coefficient of variation. The statistical parameters, namely the mean value and variance of wave energy, are found in terms of the simple statistical parameters of period, significant wave height and zero up-crossing period. The elegance of these parameters is that they are distribution free. These parameters provide a means for defining the wave energy distribution function by employing the Chebyschev's inequality. Subsequently, an approximate probability distribution function of the wave energy is also derived for assessment of risk and reliability associated with wave energy. Necessary simple charts are given for risk and reliability assessments. Two procedures are presented for such assessments in wave energy calculations and the applications of these procedures are provided for wave energy potential assessment in the regions of the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of U.S

Small amplitude transverse waves on taut strings: exploring the significant effects of longitudinal motion on wave energy location and propagation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowland, David R

2013-01-01

Introductory discussions of energy transport due to transverse waves on taut strings universally assume that the effects of longitudinal motion can be neglected, but this assumption is not even approximately valid unless the string is idealized to have a zero relaxed length, a requirement approximately met by the slinky spring. While making this additional idealization is probably the best approach to take when discussing waves on strings at the introductory level, for intermediate to advanced undergraduate classes in continuum mechanics and general wave phenomena where somewhat more realistic models of strings can be investigated, this paper makes the following contributions. First, various approaches to deriving the general energy continuity equation are critiqued and it is argued that the standard continuum mechanics approach to deriving such equations is the best because it leads to a conceptually clear, relatively simple derivation which provides a unique answer of greatest generality. In addition, a straightforward algorithm for calculating the transverse and longitudinal waves generated when a string is driven at one end is presented and used to investigate a cos 2 transverse pulse. This example illustrates much important physics regarding energy transport in strings and allows the ‘attack waves’ observed when strings in musical instruments are struck or plucked to be approximately modelled and analysed algebraically. Regarding the ongoing debate as to whether the potential energy density in a string can be uniquely defined, it is shown by coupling an external energy source to a string that a suggested alternative formula for potential energy density requires an unphysical potential energy to be ascribed to the source for overall energy to be conserved and so cannot be considered to be physically valid. (paper)

Fluctuation and thermal energy balance for drift-wave turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Chang-Bae; Horton, W.

1990-05-01

Energy conservation for the drift-wave system is shown to be separated into the wave-energy power balance equation and an ambient thermal-energy transport equation containing the anomalous transport fluxes produced by the fluctuations. The wave energy equation relates the wave energy density and wave energy flux to the anomalous transport flux and the dissipation of the fluctuations. The thermal balance equation determines the evolution of the temperature profiles from the divergence of the anomalous heat flux, the collisional heating and cooling mechanisms and the toroidal pumping effect. 16 refs., 1 tab

Fluctuation and thermal energy balance for drift-wave turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Changbae Kim; Horton, W.

1991-01-01

Energy conservation for the drift-wave system is shown to be separated into the wave-energy power balance equation and an ambient thermal-energy transport equation containing the anomalous transport fluxes produced by the fluctuations. The wave energy equation relates the wave energy density and wave energy flux to the anomalous transport flux and the dissipation of the fluctuations. The thermal balance equation determines the evolution of the temperature profiles from the divergence of the anomalous heat flux, the collisional heating and cooling mechanisms and the toroidal pumping effect. (author)

Waves energy comes to surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guezel, J.Ch.

2006-01-01

The wave- or thalasso-energy, potentially as promising as wind energy, have started to develop in Europe. Great Britain has already a good experience in this domain but France shows also ambitions in this beginning industry with several projects in progress. This article makes an overview of the existing tide-, current- and wave-powered generators: tide mills, underwater hydro-turbines, immersed linear generators, air-compression systems, buoy systems, etc. (J.S.)

Near-Shore Floating Wave Energy Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ruol, Piero; Zanuttigh, Barbara; Martinelli, Luca

2011-01-01

and transmission characteristics are approximated to functions of wave height, period and obliquity. Their order of magnitude are 20% and 80%, respectively. It is imagined that an array of DEXA is deployed in front of Marina di Ravenna beach (IT), a highly touristic site of the Adriatic Coast. Based on the CERC......Aim of this note is to analyse the possible application of a Wave Energy Converter (WEC) as a combined tool to protect the coast and harvest energy. Physical model tests are used to evaluate wave transmission past a near-shore floating WEC of the wave activated body type, named DEXA. Efficiency...

Preliminary Analysis of a Submerged Wave Energy Device

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, J. R.; Wagner, J. J.; Hayatdavoodi, M.; Ertekin, R. C.

2016-02-01

Preliminary analysis of a submerged wave energy harvesting device is presented. The device is composed of a thin, horizontally submerged plate that is restricted to heave oscillations under the influence of surface waves. The submerged plate is oscillating, and it can be attached to a fixed rotor, or a piston, to harvest the wave energy. A fully submerged wave energy converter is preferred over a surface energy convertor due to its durability and less visual and physical distractions it presents. In this study, the device is subject to nonlinear shallow-water waves. Wave loads on the submerged oscillating plate are obtained via the Level I Green-Naghdi equations. The unsteady motion of the plate is obtained by solving the nonlinear equations of motion. The results are obtained for a range of waves with varying heights and periods. The amplitude and period of plate oscillations are analyzed as functions of the wave parameters and plate width. Particular attention is given to the selection of the site of desired wave field. Initial estimation on the amount of energy extraction from the device, located near shore at a given site, is provided.

Ocean floor mounting of wave energy converters

Science.gov (United States)

Siegel, Stefan G

2015-01-20

A system for mounting a set of wave energy converters in the ocean includes a pole attached to a floor of an ocean and a slider mounted on the pole in a manner that permits the slider to move vertically along the pole and rotate about the pole. The wave energy converters can then be mounted on the slider to allow adjustment of the depth and orientation of the wave energy converters.

Power Take-Off with Integrated Resonator for Energy Extraction from Linear Motions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2014-01-01

The invention relates to a magnetic gear for converting linear motion into rotational motion and vice versa. The present invention converts slow linear irregular oscillating motion of wave energy devices into torque on a high speed shaft for powering a generator while making the wave energy device...... of sea or ocean waves into useful energy, such as electricity. The invention relates to the control and operation of a magnetic gear based motor/generator system. The invention provides a high force density electric powered linear actuator....... resonate with the waves. The invention relates to the field of energy-harvesting from energy sources, where the energy-harvesting requires the extraction of energy from slow and often irregular reciprocating motion of bodies. The present invention relates to a wave power apparatus for converting power...

Reliability-Based Structural Optimization of Wave Energy Converters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Ambühl

2014-12-01

Full Text Available More and more wave energy converter (WEC concepts are reaching prototypelevel. Once the prototype level is reached, the next step in order to further decrease thelevelized cost of energy (LCOE is optimizing the overall system with a focus on structuraland maintenance (inspection costs, as well as on the harvested power from the waves.The target of a fully-developed WEC technology is not maximizing its power output,but minimizing the resulting LCOE. This paper presents a methodology to optimize thestructural design of WECs based on a reliability-based optimization problem and the intentto maximize the investor’s benefits by maximizing the difference between income (e.g., fromselling electricity and the expected expenses (e.g., structural building costs or failure costs.Furthermore, different development levels, like prototype or commercial devices, may havedifferent main objectives and will be located at different locations, as well as receive varioussubsidies. These points should be accounted for when performing structural optimizationsof WECs. An illustrative example on the gravity-based foundation of the Wavestar deviceis performed showing how structural design can be optimized taking target reliability levelsand different structural failure modes due to extreme loads into account.

Practical performances of MPC for wave energy converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ferri, Francesco; Tetu, Amelie; Hals, J.

2016-01-01

Maximising the efficiency of Wave Energy Converter (WEC) is one of the important tasks toward the exploitation of the wave energy resource. Along with a proper design of the device, an important way to achieve better energy performances is to improve the wave-body interaction by applying an appro...

Assessment of wave energy resources in Hawaii

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stopa, Justin E.; Cheung, Kwok Fai; Chen, Yi-Leng

2011-01-01

Hawaii is subject to direct approach of swells from distant storms as well as seas generated by trade winds passing through the islands. The archipelago creates a localized weather system that modifies the wave energy resources from the far field. We implement a nested computational grid along the major Hawaiian Islands in the global WaveWatch3 (WW3) model and utilize the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model to provide high-resolution mesoscale wind forcing over the Hawaii region. Two hindcast case studies representative of the year-round conditions provide a quantitative assessment of the regional wind and wave patterns as well as the wave energy resources along the Hawaiian Island chain. These events of approximately two weeks each have a range of wind speeds, ground swells, and wind waves for validation of the model system with satellite and buoy measurements. The results demonstrate the wave energy potential in Hawaii waters. While the episodic swell events have enormous power reaching 60 kW/m, the wind waves, augmented by the local weather, provide a consistent energy resource of 15-25 kW/m throughout the year. (author)

Image processing to optimize wave energy converters

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Kyle Marc-Anthony

The world is turning to renewable energies as a means of ensuring the planet's future and well-being. There have been a few attempts in the past to utilize wave power as a means of generating electricity through the use of Wave Energy Converters (WEC), but only recently are they becoming a focal point in the renewable energy field. Over the past few years there has been a global drive to advance the efficiency of WEC. Placing a mechanical device either onshore or offshore that captures the energy within ocean surface waves to drive a mechanical device is how wave power is produced. This paper seeks to provide a novel and innovative way to estimate ocean wave frequency through the use of image processing. This will be achieved by applying a complex modulated lapped orthogonal transform filter bank to satellite images of ocean waves. The complex modulated lapped orthogonal transform filterbank provides an equal subband decomposition of the Nyquist bounded discrete time Fourier Transform spectrum. The maximum energy of the 2D complex modulated lapped transform subband is used to determine the horizontal and vertical frequency, which subsequently can be used to determine the wave frequency in the direction of the WEC by a simple trigonometric scaling. The robustness of the proposed method is provided by the applications to simulated and real satellite images where the frequency is known.

Specification of Instrumentation of Multi MW Wave Dragon Offshore Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gilling, Lasse; Kofoed, Jens Peter

Wave Dragon is a wave energy converter of the overtopping type and is described e.g. in Tedd et. al. (2006). The device has been thoroughly tested on a 1:51.8 scale model in wave laboratories and a 1:4.5 scale model deployed in Nissum Bredning, a large inland waterway in Denmark. Based on the exp......Wave Dragon is a wave energy converter of the overtopping type and is described e.g. in Tedd et. al. (2006). The device has been thoroughly tested on a 1:51.8 scale model in wave laboratories and a 1:4.5 scale model deployed in Nissum Bredning, a large inland waterway in Denmark. Based...

Study of hydrodynamic characteristics of a Sharp Eagle wave energy converter

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ya-qun; Sheng, Song-wei; You, Ya-ge; Huang, Zhen-xin; Wang, Wen-sheng

2017-06-01

According to Newton's Second Law and the microwave theory, mechanical analysis of multiple buoys which form Sharp Eagle wave energy converter (WEC) is carried out. The movements of every buoy in three modes couple each other when they are affected with incident waves. Based on the above, mechanical models of the WEC are established, which are concerned with fluid forces, damping forces, hinge forces, and so on. Hydrodynamic parameters of one buoy are obtained by taking the other moving buoy as boundary conditions. Then, by taking those hydrodynamic parameters into the mechanical models, the optimum external damping and optimal capture width ratio are calculated out. Under the condition of the optimum external damping, a plenty of data are obtained, such as the displacements amplitude of each buoy in three modes (sway, heave, pitch), damping forces, hinge forces, and speed of the hydraulic cylinder. Research results provide theoretical references and basis for Sharp Eagle WECs in the design and manufacture.

Experimental Research of a New Wave Energy Conversion Device

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Zhongyue; Shang, Jianzhong; Luo, Zirong; Sun, Chongfei; Chen, Gewei

2018-01-01

With the increasing tension of contemporary social energy, the development and utilization of renewable energy has become an important development direction. As an important part of renewable energy, wave energy has the characteristics of green environmental protection and abundant reserves, attracting more investment and research. For small marine equipment energy supply problem, this paper puts forward a micro wave energy conversion device as the basic of heaving motion of waves in the ocean. This paper designed a new type of power output device can solve the micro wave energy conversion problem.

Resonant Wave Energy Converters: Concept development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arena, Felice; Barbaro, Giuseppe; Fiamma, Vincenzo; Laface, Valentina; Malara, Giovanni; Romolo, Alessandra; Strati, Federica Mara

2015-01-01

The Resonant Wave Energy Converter (REWEC) is a device for converting sea wave energy to electrical energy. It belongs to the family of Oscillating Water Columns and is composed by an absorbing chamber connected to the open sea via a vertical duct. The paper gives a holistic view on the concept development of the device, starting from its implementation in the context of submerged breakwaters to the recently developed vertical breakwaters. [it

Wave Dissipation on Low- to Super-Energy Coral Reefs

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, D. L.

2016-02-01

Coral reefs are valuable, complex and bio-diverse ecosystems and are also known to be one of the most effective barriers to swell events in coastal environments. Previous research has found coral reefs to be remarkably efficient in removing most of the wave energy during the initial breaking and transformation on the reef flats. The rate of dissipation is so rapid that coral reefs have been referred to as rougher than any known coastal barrier. The dissipation of wave energy across reef flats is crucial in maintaining the relatively low-energy conditions in the back reef and lagoonal environments providing vital protection to adjacent beach or coastal regions from cyclone and storm events. A shift in the regulation of wave energy by reef flats could have catastrophic consequences ecologically, socially, and economically. This study examined the dissipation of wave energy during two swell events in Tahiti and Moorea, French Polyesia. Field sites were chosen in varying degrees of exposure and geomorphology from low-energy protected sites (Tiahura, Moorea) to super-energy sites (Teahupo'o, Tahiti). Waves were measured during two moderate to large swell events in cross reef transects using short-term high-resolution pressure transducers. Wave conditions were found to be similar in all back reef locations despite the very different wave exposure at each reef site. However, wave conditions on the reef flats were different and mirrored the variation in wave exposure with depth over the reef flat the primary regulator of reef flat wave height. These results indicate that coral reef flats evolve morphodynamically with the wave climate, which creates coral reef geomorphologies capable of dissipating wave energy that results in similar back reef wave conditions regardless of the offshore wave climate.

Sensitivity of wave energy to climate change

OpenAIRE

Harrison, Gareth; Wallace, Robin

2005-01-01

Wave energy will have a key role in meeting renewable energy targets en route to a low carbon economy. However, in common with other renewables, it may be sensitive to changes in climate resulting from rising carbon emissions. Changes in wind patterns are widely anticipated and this will ultimately alter wave regimes. Indeed, evidence indicates that wave heights have been changing over the last 40 years, although there is no proven link to global warming. Changes in the wave climate will impa...

Modelling of the Overtopping Flow on the Wave Dragon Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Parmeggiani, Stefano; Pecher, Arthur; Kofoed, Jens Peter

2010-01-01

The Wave Dragon is a floating slack-moored Wave Energy Converter of the overtopping type, which is facing now the last phase of development before the commercial exploitation: the deployment of a full-scale demonstrator. In this phase a modelling tool allowing for accurate predictions of the perf......The Wave Dragon is a floating slack-moored Wave Energy Converter of the overtopping type, which is facing now the last phase of development before the commercial exploitation: the deployment of a full-scale demonstrator. In this phase a modelling tool allowing for accurate predictions...

Physical measurements of breaking wave impact on a floating wave energy converter

Science.gov (United States)

Hann, Martyn R.; Greaves, Deborah M.; Raby, Alison

2013-04-01

Marine energy converter must both efficiently extract energy in small to moderate seas and also successfully survive storms and potential collisions. Extreme loads on devices are therefore an important consideration in their design process. X-MED is a SuperGen UKCMER project and is a collaboration between the Universities of Manchester, Edinburgh and Plymouth and the Scottish Association for Marine Sciences. Its objective is to extend the knowledge of extreme loads due to waves, currents, flotsam and mammal impacts. Plymouth Universities contribution to the X-MED project involves measuring the loading and response of a taut moored floating body due to steep and breaking wave impacts, in both long crested and directional sea states. These measurements are then to be reproduced in STAR-CCM+, a commercial volume of fluid CFD solver, so as to develop techniques to predict the wave loading on wave energy converters. The measurements presented here were conducted in Plymouth Universities newly opened COAST laboratories 35m long, 15.5m wide and 3m deep ocean basin. A 0.5m diameter taut moored hemispherical buoy was used to represent a floating wave energy device or support structure. The changes in the buoys 6 degree of freedom motion and mooring loads are presented due to focused breaking wave impacts, with the breaking point of the wave changed relative to the buoy.

The Indian wave energy programme- an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravindran, M.; Jayashankar, V.; Jalihal, P.; Pathak, A.G.

1997-01-01

The Indian wave energy plant at Vizhinjam, Kerala has demonstrated that energy from a random source such as waves can be harnessed as electrical energy and exported via the local grid. This plant is based on the oscillating water column (OWC) principle. The research on wave energy in India has achieved a commendable status within a decade. A caisson was constructed in December 1990 at Vizhinjam and two generations of power modules have been tested as of today. The physical processes in the energy conversion are understood to a much greater extent, leading to a threefold increase in absolute power from the plant. Efforts are on to make the technology cost-effective

Development of the Second-Generation Oscillating Surge Wave Energy Converter with Variable Geometry: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tom, Nathan M [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Yu, Yi-Hsiang [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Thresher, Robert W [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Kelly, Michael [South Dakota School of Mines

2017-07-25

This study investigates the effect of design changes on the hydrodynamics of a novel oscillating surge wave energy converter being developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The design utilizes controllable geometry features to shed structural loads while maintaining a rated power over a greater number of sea states. The second-generation design will seek to provide a more refined control of performance because the first-generation design demonstrated performance reductions considered too large for smooth power output. Performance is evaluated using frequency domain analysis with consideration of a nonideal power-take-off system, with respect to power absorption, foundation loads, and power-take-off torque.

Energy Capture Optimization for an Adaptive Wave Energy Converter

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Barradas Berglind, Jose de Jesus; Meijer, Harmen; van Rooij, Marijn; Clemente Pinol, Silvia; Galvan Garcia, Bruno; Prins, Wouter; Vakis, Antonis I.; Jayawardhana, Bayu

2016-01-01

Wave energy has great potential as a renewable energy source, and can therefore contribute significantly to the proportion of renewable energy in the global energy mix. This is especially important since energy mixes with high renewable penetration have become a worldwide priority. One solution to

Wave energy resource assessment and review of the technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wan Nik, W.B.: Sulaiman, O.O. [Maritime Technology Department, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Terengganu (Malaysia); Rosliza, R. [TATI University College, Teluk Kalong, 24000 Kemaman, Terengganu, (Malaysia); Prawoto, Y. [Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM, Skudai, Johor (Malaysia); Muzathik, A.M. [Institute of Technology, University of Moratuwa (Sri Lanka)

2011-07-01

Increase in human population has increased the demand for more energy. Technical improvement in transport and electrical appliances gives a lot of facilities to our life nowadays. Still we need to generate or convert this energy. Energy generation based on conventional technologies is always accompanied by environmental pollution. It gives overheating and greenhouse effects that later result in biosphere degradation. Nowadays sea wave energy is being increasingly regarded in many countries as a major and promising resource. It is renewable and environmentally friendly. In this paper wave parameters related to wave energy is analyzed. Then the paper describes the development of many different types of wave-energy converters. Several topics are addressed; the characterization of the wave energy resource, range of devices and how such devices can be organized into classes.

Wave energy budget analysis in the Earth’s radiation belts uncovers a missing energy

Science.gov (United States)

Artemyev, A.V.; Agapitov, O.V.; Mourenas, D.; Krasnoselskikh, V.V.; Mozer, F.S.

2015-01-01

Whistler-mode emissions are important electromagnetic waves pervasive in the Earth’s magnetosphere, where they continuously remove or energize electrons trapped by the geomagnetic field, controlling radiation hazards to satellites and astronauts and the upper-atmosphere ionization or chemical composition. Here, we report an analysis of 10-year Cluster data, statistically evaluating the full wave energy budget in the Earth’s magnetosphere, revealing that a significant fraction of the energy corresponds to hitherto generally neglected very oblique waves. Such waves, with 10 times smaller magnetic power than parallel waves, typically have similar total energy. Moreover, they carry up to 80% of the wave energy involved in wave–particle resonant interactions. It implies that electron heating and precipitation into the atmosphere may have been significantly under/over-valued in past studies considering only conventional quasi-parallel waves. Very oblique waves may turn out to be a crucial agent of energy redistribution in the Earth’s radiation belts, controlled by solar activity. PMID:25975615

Fundamental formulae for wave-energy conversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Falnes, Johannes; Kurniawan, Adi

2015-03-01

The time-average wave power that is absorbed from an incident wave by means of a wave-energy conversion (WEC) unit, or by an array of WEC units-i.e. oscillating immersed bodies and/or oscillating water columns (OWCs)-may be mathematically expressed in terms of the WEC units' complex oscillation amplitudes, or in terms of the generated outgoing (diffracted plus radiated) waves, or alternatively, in terms of the radiated waves alone. Following recent controversy, the corresponding three optional expressions are derived, compared and discussed in this paper. They all provide the correct time-average absorbed power. However, only the first-mentioned expression is applicable to quantify the instantaneous absorbed wave power and the associated reactive power. In this connection, new formulae are derived that relate the 'added-mass' matrix, as well as a couple of additional reactive radiation-parameter matrices, to the difference between kinetic energy and potential energy in the water surrounding the immersed oscillating WEC array. Further, a complex collective oscillation amplitude is introduced, which makes it possible to derive, by a very simple algebraic method, various simple expressions for the maximum time-average wave power that may be absorbed by the WEC array. The real-valued time-average absorbed power is illustrated as an axisymmetric paraboloid defined on the complex collective-amplitude plane. This is a simple illustration of the so-called 'fundamental theorem for wave power'. Finally, the paper also presents a new derivation that extends a recently published result on the direction-average maximum absorbed wave power to cases where the WEC array's radiation damping matrix may be singular and where the WEC array may contain OWCs in addition to oscillating bodies.

Direct Drive Wave Energy Buoy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rhinefrank, Kenneth [Columbia Power Technologies, Inc., Charlottesville, VA (United States); Lamb, Bradford [Columbia Power Technologies, Inc., Charlottesville, VA (United States); Prudell, Joseph [Columbia Power Technologies, Inc., Charlottesville, VA (United States); Hammagren, Erik [Columbia Power Technologies, Inc., Charlottesville, VA (United States); Lenee-Bluhm, Pukha [Columbia Power Technologies, Inc., Charlottesville, VA (United States)

2016-08-22

This Project aims to satisfy objectives of the DOE’s Water Power Program by completing a system detailed design (SDD) and other important activities in the first phase of a utility-scale grid-connected ocean wave energy demonstration. In early 2012, Columbia Power (CPwr) had determined that further cost and performance optimization was necessary in order to commercialize its StingRAY wave energy converter (WEC). CPwr’s progress toward commercialization, and the requisite technology development path, were focused on transitioning toward a commercial-scale demonstration. This path required significant investment to be successful, and the justification for this investment required improved annual energy production (AEP) and lower capital costs. Engineering solutions were developed to address these technical and cost challenges, incorporated into a proposal to the US Department of Energy (DOE), and then adapted to form the technical content and statement of project objectives of the resulting Project (DE-EE0005930). Through Project cost-sharing and technical collaboration between DOE and CPwr, and technical collaboration with Oregon State University (OSU), National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and other Project partners, we have demonstrated experimentally that these conceptual improvements have merit and made significant progress towards a certified WEC system design at a selected and contracted deployment site at the Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) at the Marine Corps Base in Oahu, HI (MCBH).

Wave energy absorption by ducks

OpenAIRE

Kurniawan, Adi

2017-01-01

We study the absorption of wave energy by a single and multiple cam-shaped bodies referred to as ducks. Numerical models are developed under the assumptions of linear theory. We consider wave absorption by a single duck as well as by two lines of ducks meeting at an angle.

Wave energy absorption by ducks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kurniawan, Adi

2018-01-01

We study the absorption of wave energy by a single and multiple cam-shaped bodies referred to as ducks. Numerical models are developed under the assumptions of linear theory. We consider wave absorption by a single duck as well as by two lines of ducks meeting at an angle....

Developments in the design of the PS Frog Mk 5 wave energy converter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McCabe, A.P.; Bradshaw, A.; Meadowcroft, J.A.C.; Aggidis, G. [Department of Engineering, Lancaster University Renewable Energy Group, Lancaster LA1 4YR (United Kingdom)

2006-02-01

This paper describes one of the innovative wave energy converters under development by the Lancaster University Renewable Energy Group. An offshore point-absorber wave energy converter, PS Frog Mk 5 consists of a large buoyant paddle with an integral ballasted 'handle' hanging below it. The waves act on the blade of the paddle and the ballast beneath provides the necessary reaction. When the WEC is pitching, power is extracted by partially resisting the sliding of a power-take-off mass, which moves in guides above sea level. Totally enclosed in a steel hull, with no external moving parts, PS Frog Mk. 5 is at least as robust as a ship and the survivability of the device is currently under investigation, though such work is beyond the scope of this paper. Such a device could be very economic in terms of power output per unit of capital cost. New inventive steps with experimental results and computer studies have led to promising improvements to the hull shape. The WEC is maintained in a resonant state by the use of special means to maintain a high dynamic magnifier in irregular seas. A robust feedback control system has been developed to ensure stability and maintain efficient power take-off. Some of these developments are described and illustrated with the results of computer simulations that show power outputs and device motion over a range of conditions. It is shown that useful advances have been made, with the power capture bordering on 2MW in an increasing proportion of sea states. (author)

Air Turbines for Wave Energy Conversion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manabu Takao

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the present status of the art on air turbines, which could be used for wave energy conversion. The air turbines included in the paper are as follows: Wells type turbines, impulse turbines, radial turbines, cross-flow turbine, and Savonius turbine. The overall performances of the turbines under irregular wave conditions, which typically occur in the sea, have been compared by numerical simulation and sea trial. As a result, under irregular wave conditions it is found that the running and starting characteristics of the impulse type turbines could be superior to those of the Wells turbine. Moreover, as the current challenge on turbine technology, the authors explain a twin-impulse turbine topology for wave energy conversion.

An innovative approach for energy generation from waves

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Habaibeh, A. [Advanced Design and Manufacturing Engineering Centre, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, Nottingham Trent University (United Kingdom); Su, D. [School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, Nottingham Trent University (United Kingdom); McCague, J. [Technical Director, Ocean Navitas Ltd., Lincolnshire (United Kingdom); Knight, A. [Marketing and Communications Manager, Ocean Navitas Ltd., Lincolnshire (United Kingdom)

2010-08-15

Sustainable energy generation is becoming increasingly important due to the expected limitations in current energy resources and to reduce pollution. Wave energy generation has seen significant development in recent years. This paper describes an innovative system for generating energy from wave power. A complete description of the system is presented including the general concept, configurations, mechanical design, electrical system, simulation techniques and expected power output of the system. The results from the hydraulic linear wave simulator, using a real wave profiles captured at a location in the UK using an ultrasound system, it was seen that a {+-}0.8 m wave at 10 s time period, produced a conditioned power output of approximately 22 kW at optimum load conditions for the tested 3-phase 44 kW permanent magnet generator type STK500. The results indicate that this new technology could provide an efficient and low cost method of generating electricity from waves. (author)

An innovative approach for energy generation from waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Habaibeh, A.; Su, D.; McCague, J.; Knight, A.

2010-01-01

Sustainable energy generation is becoming increasingly important due to the expected limitations in current energy resources and to reduce pollution. Wave energy generation has seen significant development in recent years. This paper describes an innovative system for generating energy from wave power. A complete description of the system is presented including the general concept, configurations, mechanical design, electrical system, simulation techniques and expected power output of the system. The results from the hydraulic linear wave simulator, using a real wave profiles captured at a location in the UK using an ultrasound system, it was seen that a ±0.8 m wave at 10 s time period, produced a conditioned power output of approximately 22 kW at optimum load conditions for the tested 3-phase 44 kW permanent magnet generator type STK500. The results indicate that this new technology could provide an efficient and low cost method of generating electricity from waves.

Experimental Study on the Langlee Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lavelle, John; Kofoed, Jens Peter

This report concerns the experimental study of the 1:20 scale model of the Langlee Wave Energy Converter (WEC) carried out at Aalborg University’s wave basin during the summer of 2010.......This report concerns the experimental study of the 1:20 scale model of the Langlee Wave Energy Converter (WEC) carried out at Aalborg University’s wave basin during the summer of 2010....

Power Generation Using Mechanical Wave Energy Converter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Srinivasan Chandrasekaran

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Ocean wave energy plays a significant role in meeting the growing demand of electric power. Economic, environmental, and technical advantages of wave energy set it apart from other renewable energy resources. Present study describes a newly proposed Mechanical Wave Energy Converter (MEWC that is employed to harness heave motion of floating buoy to generate power. Focus is on the conceptual development of the device, illustrating details of component level analysis. Employed methodology has many advantages such as i simple and easy fabrication; ii easy to control the operations during rough weather; and iii low failure rate during normal sea conditions. Experimental investigations carried out on the scaled model of MWEC show better performance and its capability to generate power at higher efficiency in regular wave fields. Design Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA shows rare failure rates for all components except the floating buoy.

Reliability Study of Energy Harvesting from Sea Waves by Piezoelectric Patches Consideraing Random JONSWAP Wave Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Ettefagh

2018-03-01

Full Text Available One of the new methods for powering low-power electronic devices employed in the sea, is using of mechanical energies of sea waves. In this method, piezoelectric material is employed to convert the mechanical energy of sea waves into electrical energy. The advantage of this method is based on not implementing the battery charging system. Although, many studies have been done about energy harvesting from sea waves, energy harvesting with considering random JONWSAP wave theory is not fully studied up to now. The random JONSWAP wave model is a more realistic approximation of sea waves in comparison of Airy wave model. Therefore, in this paper a vertical beam with the piezoelectric patches, which is fixed to the seabed, is considered as energy harvester system. The energy harvesting system is simulated by MATLAB software, and then the vibration response of the beam and consequently the generated power is obtained considering the JONWSAP wave theory. In addition, the reliability of the system and the effect of piezoelectric patches uncertainties on the generated power are studied by statistical method. Furthermore, the failure possibility of harvester based on violation criteria is investigated.  

ENERGY CONTENT AND PROPAGATION IN TRANSVERSE SOLAR ATMOSPHERIC WAVES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goossens, M.; Van Doorsselaere, T. [Centre for mathematical Plasma Astrophysics, Mathematics Department, Celestijnenlaan 200B bus 2400, B-3001 Heverlee (Belgium); Soler, R. [Solar Physics Group, Departament de Fisica, Universitat de les Illes Balears, E-07122 Palma de Mallorca (Spain); Verth, G., E-mail: tom.vandoorsselaere@wis.kuleuven.be [Solar Physics and Space Plasma Research Centre (SP2RC), School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sheffield, Hounsfield Road, Hicks Building, Sheffield S3 7RH (United Kingdom)

2013-05-10

Recently, a significant amount of transverse wave energy has been estimated propagating along solar atmospheric magnetic fields. However, these estimates have been made with the classic bulk Alfven wave model which assumes a homogeneous plasma. In this paper, the kinetic, magnetic, and total energy densities and the flux of energy are computed for transverse MHD waves in one-dimensional cylindrical flux tube models with a piecewise constant or continuous radial density profile. There are fundamental deviations from the properties for classic bulk Alfven waves. (1) There is no local equipartition between kinetic and magnetic energy. (2) The flux of energy and the velocity of energy transfer have, in addition to a component parallel to the magnetic field, components in the planes normal to the magnetic field. (3) The energy densities and the flux of energy vary spatially, contrary to the case of classic bulk Alfven waves. This last property has the important consequence that the energy flux computed with the well known expression for bulk Alfven waves could overestimate the real flux by a factor in the range 10-50, depending on the flux tube equilibrium properties.

Wave-Particle Energy Exchange Directly Observed in a Kinetic Alfven-Branch Wave

Science.gov (United States)

Gershman, Daniel J.; F-Vinas, Adolfo; Dorelli, John C.; Boardsen, Scott A. (Inventor); Avanov, Levon A.; Bellan, Paul M.; Schwartz, Steven J.; Lavraud, Benoit; Coffey, Victoria N.; Chandler, Michael O.;

Energy of linear quasi-neutral electrostatic drift waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfirsch, D.; Correa-Restrepo, D.

1992-01-01

An exact energy expression for linear quasi-neutral electrostatic perturbations is derived within the framework of dissipationless multi-fluid theory, valid for any geometry. Taking the mass as a tensor with, in general, different masses parallel and perpendicular to an ambient magnetic field allows one to treat the full dynamics and also to restrict consideration to parallel dynamics or to the completely adiabatic case. Application to slab configurations yields the result that in plane geometry the adiabatic approximation does not allow negative-energy perturbations, whereas inclusion of the parallel dynamics does. This is in agreement with a numerical study of drift-wave turbulence within the framework of collisional two-fluid theory by B. Scott. Unlike Scott, we consider a dissipationless theory. Whereas the nonlinear energy is just kinetic plus potential plus thermal energy, the energy of perturbations depends on constraints. In a multi-fluid quasi-neutral electrostatic theory, from which we start, such constraints are mass conservation and entropy conservation. The latter is violated if heat conduction, heat sources (e.g. Joule heating) and heat sinks play a role. Hence, the energy expressions obtained are, valid only when situations where this is not the case or where these phenomena do not influence the entropy constraint. The latter is the case if the heat conduction is infinitely large such that the equilibrium temperature profiles T ν (x) of the various particle species ν are independent of x and δT ν =0. A vanishing temperature perturbation results in an entropy-conserving theory if one takes the adiabatic coefficients γ ν =1. This is possible, however, only for the perturbations; the equilibrium energy would diverge. When we consider this case, we do it in the way that the γs are put equal to 1 only after having obtained the perturbed energy for general γs. (author) 7 refs

Prospects and applicability of wave energy for South Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Lavidas, George; Venugopal, Vengatesan

2018-03-01

Renewable energy offers significant opportunities for electricity diversification. South Africa belongs to the group of developing nations and encompasses a lot of potential for renewable energy developments. Currently, the majority of its electricity production originates from fossil fuels; however, incorporation of clean coal technologies will aid in reaching the assigned targets. This study offers a long-term wave power quantification analysis with a numerical wave model. The investigation includes long-term resource assessment in the region, variability, seasonal and monthly wave energy content. Locations with high-energy content but low variability pose an opportunity that can contribute in the alleviation of energy poverty. Application of wave converters depends on the combination of complex terms. The study presents resource levels and the joint distributions, which indicate suitability for converter selection. Depending on the region of interest, these characteristics change. Thus, this resource assessment adds knowledge on wave power and optimal consideration for wave energy applicability.

Numerical study on design for wave energy generation of a floater for energy absorption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Kui Ming; Parthasarathy, Nanjundan; Choi, Yoon Hwan; Lee, Yeon Won

2012-01-01

In order to design a wave energy generating system of a floater type, a 6 DOF motion technique was applied to the three Dimensional CFD analysis on a floating body and the behavior was interpreted according to the nature of the incoming waves. Waves in a tank model were generated using a single floater comparing with that of a Pelamis wave energy converter. In this paper, we focus on four variables, namely the wave height, angular velocity, diameter and length of the floater. The process was carried out in three stages and it was found that there are energy absorption differences in different parameters of wave height, length and the diameter of a floater during simulation, thus leading for the necessity of an optimal design for wave energy generation

Power performance measurements on Wave Star in Nissum Bredning. Final report; Wave energy converter; Effektmaalinger paa Wave Star i Nissum Bredning. Afsluttende rapport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frigaard, P.; Lykke Andersen, T.

2009-04-15

The Wave Star test machine in Nissum Bredning was put in continuous operation on 24 July 2006. Over the past 2 1/2 years the produced power was measured continuously and with only minor interruptions. The measurements cover operation for all seasons in a very changeable climate. There is thus gaining operational experience under different wave conditions. In the period the machine has been running with a simple form of control and Power Take Off system (PTO), which form the background for effect measurements with the existing control strategy. Calculations have shown that the use of more advanced forms of control can increase the efficiency of Wave Star significantly. New control systems are therefore still under development with the primary objective to increase performance from the wave energy plant. To test and develop the methods, a new mini-hydraulic station with associated second generation PTO was developed and constructed for testing in Nissum Bredning. The mini-hydraulic station is coupled to a single float, while the other machine's 39 floats are still connected to the existing PTO system. As the existing PTO system can be applied to the 39 floats simultaneously with the new PTO used on 1 float, effect can be measured on the two systems simultaneously. The first tentative experiments with the new second generation PTO seem very promising. During the first measurements made in March 2009 the new system achieved an average yield of 3.1 times the average output from a float on the existing machine. In the coming period more experiments will be performed with the mini-hydraulic station to test the new PTO in various sea conditions. Since the mini-hydraulic station can simulate various forms of control, they also will be tested under real wave conditions in Nissum Bredning. The effect optimization should continue to be subject to a greater targeted effort, as improvements in this area can increase energy production and thus reduce the kWh cost of energy

Experimental Study on the Langlee Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pecher, Arthur; Kofoed, Jens Peter; Weisz, A.

This report presents the results of an experimental study of the wave energy converting abilities of the Langlee wave energy converter (WEC). It focused mainly on evaluating the power generating capabilities of the device, including investigations of the following issues: Scaling ratiosPTO loadingWave...... height and wave period dependencyOblique incoming waves and directional spreading of waves (3D waves)Damping platesMooring forces and fixed structure setupPitch, surge and heave motion During the study the model supplied by the client (Langlee Wave Power AS) has been heavily instrumented - up to 23...... different instruments was deployed to measure and record data. Tests were performed at scales of 1:30 and 1:20 based on the realized reference wave states....

Initial Sea Trails of the DEXA D05 Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lavelle, John; Kofoed, Jens Peter

This report presents an analysis of sensors data leading to an initial assessment of the power performance from sea trails of the DEXA D05 Wave Energy Converter (WEC). The sea trails where performed approx. 1 nautical mile offshore from Hanstholm, Denmark during 2011. The converter was 1:5 scale....... The DEXA D05 WEC was built, deployed and operated by the client DEXAWAVE ApS and the analysis of the sensor data, given here, has been carried out by John Lavelle under supervision by Jens Peter Kofoed in the Wave Energy Research Group at the department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University (AAU)....... model of the planned full scale DEXA WEC with a hydraulic Power Take Off (PTO). The converter had sensors to measure mooring forces, motions, as well as pressure and displacement sensors in the PTOs. The report gives the calculated power production efficiency and an analysis of the mooring forces...

Parametric pendulum based wave energy converter

Science.gov (United States)

Yurchenko, Daniil; Alevras, Panagiotis

2018-01-01

The paper investigates the dynamics of a novel wave energy converter based on the parametrically excited pendulum. The herein developed concept of the parametric pendulum allows reducing the influence of the gravity force thereby significantly improving the device performance at a regular sea state, which could not be achieved in the earlier proposed original point-absorber design. The suggested design of a wave energy converter achieves a dominant rotational motion without any additional mechanisms, like a gearbox, or any active control involvement. Presented numerical results of deterministic and stochastic modeling clearly reflect the advantage of the proposed design. A set of experimental results confirms the numerical findings and validates the new design of a parametric pendulum based wave energy converter. Power harvesting potential of the novel device is also presented.

Research status of wave energy conversion (WEC) device of raft structure

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Jianguo; Gao, Jingwei; Tao, Liang; Zheng, Peng

2017-10-01

This paper has briefly described the concept of wave energy generation and six typical conversion devices. As for raft structure, detailed analysis is provided from its development process to typical devices. Taking the design process and working principle of Plamis as an example, the general principle of raft structure is briefly described. After that, a variety of raft structure models are introduced. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages, and development trend of raft structure are pointed out.

Integrated analysis of energy transfers in elastic-wave turbulence.

Science.gov (United States)

Yokoyama, Naoto; Takaoka, Masanori

2017-08-01

In elastic-wave turbulence, strong turbulence appears in small wave numbers while weak turbulence does in large wave numbers. Energy transfers in the coexistence of these turbulent states are numerically investigated in both the Fourier space and the real space. An analytical expression of a detailed energy balance reveals from which mode to which mode energy is transferred in the triad interaction. Stretching energy excited by external force is transferred nonlocally and intermittently to large wave numbers as the kinetic energy in the strong turbulence. In the weak turbulence, the resonant interactions according to the weak turbulence theory produce cascading net energy transfer to large wave numbers. Because the system's nonlinearity shows strong temporal intermittency, the energy transfers are investigated at active and moderate phases separately. The nonlocal interactions in the Fourier space are characterized by the intermittent bundles of fibrous structures in the real space.

Underwater noise from a wave energy converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tougaard, Jakob

A recent addition to the anthropogenic sources of underwater noise is offshore wave energy converters. Underwater noise was recorded from the Wavestar wave energy converter located at Hastholm, Denmark (57°7.73´N, 8°37.23´E). The Wavestar is a full-scale test and demonstration converter...... in full operation and start and stop of the converter. Median broad band (10 Hz – 20 kHz) sound pressure level (Leq) was 123 dB re. 1 Pa, irrespective of status of the wave energy converter (stopped, running or starting/stopping). The most pronounced peak in the third-octave spectrum was in the 160 Hz...... significant noise above ambient could be detected above the 250 Hz band. The absolute increase in noise above ambient was very small. L50 third-octave levels in the four bands with the converter running were thus only 1-2 dB above ambient L50 levels. The noise recorded 25 m from the wave energy converter...

Buoy and Generator Interaction with Ocean Waves: Studies of a Wave Energy Conversion System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindroth, Simon

2011-07-01

On March 13th, 2006, the Div. of Electricity at Uppsala Univ. deployed its first wave energy converter, L1, in the ocean southwest of Lysekil. L1 consisted of a buoy at the surface, connected through a line to a linear generator on the seabed. Since the deployment, continuous investigations of how L1 works in the waves have been conducted, and several additional wave energy converters have been deployed. This thesis is based on ten publications, which focus on different aspects of the interaction between wave, buoy, and generator. In order to evaluate different measurement systems, the motion of the buoy was measured optically and using accelerometers, and compared to measurements of the motion of the movable part of the generator - the translator. These measurements were found to correlate well. Simulations of buoy and translator motion were found to match the measured values. The variation of performance of L1 with changing water levels, wave heights, and spectral shapes was also investigated. Performance is here defined as the ratio of absorbed power to incoming power. It was found that the performance decreases for large wave heights. This is in accordance with the theoretical predictions, since the area for which the stator and the translator overlap decreases for large translator motions. Shifting water levels were predicted to have the same effect, but this could not be seen as clearly. The width of the wave energy spectrum has been proposed by some as a factor that also affects the performance of a wave energy converter, for a set wave height and period. Therefore the relation between performance and several different parameters for spectral width was investigated. It was found that some of the parameters were in fact correlated to performance, but that the correlation was not very strong. As a background on ocean measurements in wave energy, a thorough literature review was conducted. It turns out that the Lysekil project is one of quite few projects that

The Draukie's Tale: Origin Myth for Wave Energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Watts, Laura

2017-01-01

Poem based on ethnographic research with people and places around the European Marine Energy Centre, the world's longest running test site for wave and tide energy, Orkney islands, Scotland.......Poem based on ethnographic research with people and places around the European Marine Energy Centre, the world's longest running test site for wave and tide energy, Orkney islands, Scotland....

Wave energy transmission apparatus for high-temperature environments

Science.gov (United States)

Buckley, John D. (Inventor); Edwards, William C. (Inventor); Kelliher, Warren C. (Inventor); Carlberg, Ingrid A. (Inventor)

2010-01-01

A wave energy transmission apparatus has a conduit made from a refractory oxide. A transparent, refractory ceramic window is coupled to the conduit. Wave energy passing through the window enters the conduit.

Advanced computational simulations of water waves interacting with wave energy converters

Science.gov (United States)

Pathak, Ashish; Freniere, Cole; Raessi, Mehdi

2017-03-01

Wave energy converter (WEC) devices harness the renewable ocean wave energy and convert it into useful forms of energy, e.g. mechanical or electrical. This paper presents an advanced 3D computational framework to study the interaction between water waves and WEC devices. The computational tool solves the full Navier-Stokes equations and considers all important effects impacting the device performance. To enable large-scale simulations in fast turnaround times, the computational solver was developed in an MPI parallel framework. A fast multigrid preconditioned solver is introduced to solve the computationally expensive pressure Poisson equation. The computational solver was applied to two surface-piercing WEC geometries: bottom-hinged cylinder and flap. Their numerically simulated response was validated against experimental data. Additional simulations were conducted to investigate the applicability of Froude scaling in predicting full-scale WEC response from the model experiments.

Proposed electromagnetic wave energy converter

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, R. L.

1973-01-01

Device converts wave energy into electric power through array of insulated absorber elements responsive to field of impinging electromagnetic radiation. Device could also serve as solar energy converter that is potentially less expensive and fragile than solar cells, yet substantially more efficient.

Considering linear generator copper losses on model predictive control for a point absorber wave energy converter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montoya Andrade, Dan-El; Villa Jaén, Antonio de la; García Santana, Agustín

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We considered the linear generator copper losses in the proposed MPC strategy. • We maximized the power transferred to the generator side power converter. • The proposed MPC increases the useful average power injected into the grid. • The stress level of the PTO system can be reduced by the proposed MPC. - Abstract: The amount of energy that a wave energy converter can extract depends strongly on the control strategy applied to the power take-off system. It is well known that, ideally, the reactive control allows for maximum energy extraction from waves. However, the reactive control is intrinsically noncausal in practice and requires some kind of causal approach to be applied. Moreover, this strategy does not consider physical constraints and this could be a problem because the system could achieve unacceptable dynamic values. These, and other control techniques have focused on the wave energy extraction problem in order to maximize the energy absorbed by the power take-off device without considering the possible losses in intermediate devices. In this sense, a reactive control that considers the linear generator copper losses has been recently proposed to increase the useful power injected into the grid. Among the control techniques that have emerged recently, the model predictive control represents a promising strategy. This approach performs an optimization process on a time prediction horizon incorporating dynamic constraints associated with the physical features of the power take-off system. This paper proposes a model predictive control technique that considers the copper losses in the control optimization process of point absorbers with direct drive linear generators. This proposal makes the most of reactive control as it considers the copper losses, and it makes the most of the model predictive control, as it considers the system constraints. This means that the useful power transferred from the linear generator to the power

Hanstholm phase 2B. Offshore wave energy test 1994 - 1996

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-11-01

The wave power converter consists of a float 2.5 meter in diameter, connected by a rope to a seabed-mounted piston pump, installed on 25 meter deep water 2,5 km offshore Hanstholm, Denmark. The converter is designed to absorb an average maximum power of 1 kW. Measured data in real sea conditions are compared to results based on computer simulations and previous tank testing. Losses caused by rope elasticity and hysteresis, friction in the pump and back flow through the valves are assessed. The economic perspectives of a large wave power plant are presented, based on a revised prototype incorporating the results and experience gained during the test period. The wave energy conversion test `Hanstholm phase 2B` has showed, that it it technically possible to exploit the offshore wave energy resource. This source of energy could become attractive for commercial enterprise. The wave power converter demonstrated a reliable performance over a period of nine months. It produced energy under all wave conditions and survived storm waves of 9,6 m. A 300 MW wave power plant in the Danish part of the North sea is estimated to produce electricity at a cost between 2,1 - 2,4 DKK/kWh. The electrical transmission to shore contribute to approximately 20% of the cost. New data predict a potential of 23 kW per meter wave front. The energy plan Energy 21 proposed by the Danish Department of Energy, includes a scenario incorporating wave energy in the energy system year 2030. A strategy for the development of wave energy, has been proposed as part of the project OWEC-1 supported by the European Joule R and D programme. A proposal for future Danish initiatives to develop second generation point absorber systems is outlined. (ARW) 29 refs.

Wave energy absorption by a submerged air bag connected to a rigid float.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurniawan, A; Chaplin, J R; Hann, M R; Greaves, D M; Farley, F J M

2017-04-01

A new wave energy device features a submerged ballasted air bag connected at the top to a rigid float. Under wave action, the bag expands and contracts, creating a reciprocating air flow through a turbine between the bag and another volume housed within the float. Laboratory measurements are generally in good agreement with numerical predictions. Both show that the trajectory of possible combinations of pressure and elevation at which the device is in static equilibrium takes the shape of an S. This means that statically the device can have three different draughts, and correspondingly three different bag shapes, for the same pressure. The behaviour in waves depends on where the mean pressure-elevation condition is on the static trajectory. The captured power is highest for a mean condition on the middle section.

Conversion of the energy of a high-current REB into electromagnetic wave energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurilko, V.I.; Kharchenko, I.F.

2000-01-01

Results are presented from a theoretical investigation and quantitative analysis of the physical processes that govern the efficiency of a coaxial device aimed at converting the energy of a relativistic electron beam into the energy of a TEM wave (a wave in a circular cylindrical coaxial waveguide). The key diffractional problem is solved exactly using a simplified theoretical model, which makes it possible to understand the mechanisms for the formation of a TEM wave and determine how the beam parameters and the design parameters of the converter affect the relative fractions of the kinetic energy of a relativistic electron beam and the energy of its own magnetic and electric fields that are transferred into the energy of the TEM wave field. The results obtained are analyzed quantitatively, and prospects for further theoretical and experimental research in this area are outlined

Low energy consumption vortex wave flow membrane bioreactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhiqiang; Dong, Weilong; Hu, Xiaohong; Sun, Tianyu; Wang, Tao; Sun, Youshan

2017-11-01

In order to reduce the energy consumption and membrane fouling of the conventional membrane bioreactor (MBR), a kind of low energy consumption vortex wave flow MBR was exploited based on the combination of biofilm process and membrane filtration process, as well as the vortex wave flow technique. The experimental results showed that the vortex wave flow state in the membrane module could be formed when the Reynolds number (Re) of liquid was adjusted between 450 and 1,050, and the membrane flux declined more slowly in the vortex wave flow state than those in the laminar flow state and turbulent flow state. The MBR system was used to treat domestic wastewater under the condition of vortex wave flow state for 30 days. The results showed that the removal efficiency for CODcr and NH 3 -N was 82% and 98% respectively, and the permeate quality met the requirement of 'Water quality standard for urban miscellaneous water consumption (GB/T 18920-2002)'. Analysis of the energy consumption of the MBR showed that the average energy consumption was 1.90 ± 0.55 kWh/m 3 (permeate), which was only two thirds of conventional MBR energy consumption.

Stakeholder requirements for commercially successful wave energy converter farms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Babarit, Aurélien; Bull, Diana; Dykes, Katherine; Malins, Robert; Nielsen, Kim; Costello, Ronan; Roberts, Jesse; Bittencourt Ferreira, Claudio; Kennedy, Ben; Weber, Jochem

2017-12-01

In this study, systems engineering techniques are applied to wave energy to identify and specify stakeholders' requirements for a commercially successful wave energy farm. The focus is on the continental scale utility market. Lifecycle stages and stakeholders are identified. Stakeholders' needs across the whole lifecycle of the wave energy farm are analyzed. A list of 33 stakeholder requirements are identified and specified. This list of requirements should serve as components of a technology performance level metric that could be used by investors and funding agencies to make informed decisions when allocating resources. It is hoped that the technology performance level metric will accelerate wave energy conversion technology convergence.

Design guidelines of triboelectric nanogenerator for water wave energy harvesters

KAUST Repository

Ahmed, Abdelsalam

2017-04-11

Ocean waves are one of the cleanest and most abundant energy sources on earth, and wave energy has the potential for future power generation. Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) technology has recently been proposed as a promising technology to harvest wave energy. In this paper, a theoretical study is performed on a duck-shaped TENG wave harvester recently introduced in our work. To enhance the design of the duck-shaped TENG wave harvester, the mechanical and electrical characteristics of the harvester\\'s overall structure, as well as its inner configuration, are analyzed, respectively, under different wave conditions, to optimize parameters such as duck radius and mass. Furthermore, a comprehensive hybrid 3D model is introduced to quantify the performance of the TENG wave harvester. Finally, the influence of different TENG parameters is validated by comparing the performance of several existing TENG wave harvesters. This study can be applied as a guideline for enhancing the performance of TENG wave energy harvesters.

Design guidelines of triboelectric nanogenerator for water wave energy harvesters

KAUST Repository

Ahmed, Abdelsalam; Hassan, Islam; Jiang, Tao; Youssef, Khalid; Liu, Lian; Hedaya, Mohammad; Yazid, Taher Abu; Zu, Jean; Wang, Zhong Lin

2017-01-01

Ocean waves are one of the cleanest and most abundant energy sources on earth, and wave energy has the potential for future power generation. Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) technology has recently been proposed as a promising technology to harvest wave energy. In this paper, a theoretical study is performed on a duck-shaped TENG wave harvester recently introduced in our work. To enhance the design of the duck-shaped TENG wave harvester, the mechanical and electrical characteristics of the harvester's overall structure, as well as its inner configuration, are analyzed, respectively, under different wave conditions, to optimize parameters such as duck radius and mass. Furthermore, a comprehensive hybrid 3D model is introduced to quantify the performance of the TENG wave harvester. Finally, the influence of different TENG parameters is validated by comparing the performance of several existing TENG wave harvesters. This study can be applied as a guideline for enhancing the performance of TENG wave energy harvesters.

Design guidelines of triboelectric nanogenerator for water wave energy harvesters.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Abdelsalam; Hassan, Islam; Jiang, Tao; Youssef, Khalid; Liu, Lian; Hedaya, Mohammad; Yazid, Taher Abu; Zu, Jean; Wang, Zhong Lin

2017-05-05

Ocean waves are one of the cleanest and most abundant energy sources on earth, and wave energy has the potential for future power generation. Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) technology has recently been proposed as a promising technology to harvest wave energy. In this paper, a theoretical study is performed on a duck-shaped TENG wave harvester recently introduced in our work. To enhance the design of the duck-shaped TENG wave harvester, the mechanical and electrical characteristics of the harvester's overall structure, as well as its inner configuration, are analyzed, respectively, under different wave conditions, to optimize parameters such as duck radius and mass. Furthermore, a comprehensive hybrid 3D model is introduced to quantify the performance of the TENG wave harvester. Finally, the influence of different TENG parameters is validated by comparing the performance of several existing TENG wave harvesters. This study can be applied as a guideline for enhancing the performance of TENG wave energy harvesters.

Comparative numerical and experimental study of two combined wind and wave energy concepts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhen Gao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available With a successful and rapid development of offshore wind industry and increased research activities on wave energy conversion in recent years, there is an interest in investigating the technological and economic feasibility of combining offshore wind turbines (WTs with wave energy converters (WECs. In the EU FP7 MARINA Platform project, three floating combined concepts, namely the spar torus combination (STC, the semi-submersible flap combination (SFC and the oscillating water column (OWC array with a wind turbine, were selected and studied in detail by numerical and experimental methods. This paper summarizes the numerical modeling and analysis of the two concepts: STC and SFC, the model tests at a 1:50 scale under simultaneous wave and wind excitation, as well as the comparison between the numerical and experimental results. Both operational and survival wind and wave conditions were considered. The numerical analysis was based on a time-domain global model using potential flow theory for hydrodynamics and blade element momentum theory (for SFC or simplified thrust force model (for STC for aerodynamics. Different techniques for model testing of combined wind and wave concepts were discussed with focus on modeling of wind turbines by disk or redesigned small-scale rotor and modeling of power take-off (PTO system for wave energy conversion by pneumatic damper or hydraulic rotary damper. In order to reduce the uncertainty due to scaling, the numerical analysis was performed at model scale and both the numerical and experimental results were then up-scaled to full scale for comparison. The comparison shows that the current numerical model can well predict the responses (motions, PTO forces, power production of the combined concepts for most of the cases. However, the linear hydrodynamic model is not adequate for the STC concept in extreme wave conditions with the torus fixed to the spar at the mean water level for which the wave slamming on the

Quantifying the Benefits of Combining Offshore Wind and Wave Energy

Science.gov (United States)

Stoutenburg, E.; Jacobson, M. Z.

2009-12-01

For many locations the offshore wind resource and the wave energy resource are collocated, which suggests a natural synergy if both technologies are combined into one offshore marine renewable energy plant. Initial meteorological assessments of the western coast of the United States suggest only a weak correlation in power levels of wind and wave energy at any given hour associated with the large ocean basin wave dynamics and storm systems of the North Pacific. This finding indicates that combining the two power sources could reduce the variability in electric power output from a combined wind and wave offshore plant. A combined plant is modeled with offshore wind turbines and Pelamis wave energy converters with wind and wave data from meteorological buoys operated by the US National Buoy Data Center off the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington. This study will present results of quantifying the benefits of combining wind and wave energy for the electrical power system to facilitate increased renewable energy penetration to support reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and air and water pollution associated with conventional fossil fuel power plants.

IMPORTANCE OF MANGROVE TO REDUCE THE TSUNAMI WAVE ENERGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anastasia Neni Candra Purnamasari

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Mangrove has a very important role to reduce the tsunami wave energy. It is shown that the coastal areas have no vegetation or in this case will have an impact Mangrove forests greater damage due to tsunami waves than the coastal areas of vegetation. The purpose of the Term Paper is proved the importance of Mangrove to reduce the tsunami wave energy by comparing the various methods that have been observed in some case studies on the impact of the tsunami that occurred in several Asian countries in 2004 and case studies on ocean waves on the Gulf coast of south Florida. Based on the research results that could dampen Mangrove Tsunami wave energy. Tsunami wave energy can be reduced by several factors, namely mangrove species, tree size, vast mangrove forest, nature tree structure, and the size limit Mangrove forest (as far as how much of the ocean to the surface.

Performance Analysis of Multiple Wave Energy Converters Placed on a Floating Platform in the Frequency Domain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyebin Lee

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Wind-wave hybrid power generation systems have the potential to become a significant source of affordable renewable energy. However, their strong interactions with both wind- and wave-induced forces raise a number of technical challenges for modelling. The present study undertakes a numerical investigation on multi-body hydrodynamic interaction between a wind-wave hybrid floating platform and multiple wave energy converters (WECs in a frequency domain. In addition to the exact responses of the platform and the WECs, the power take-off (PTO mechanism was taken into account for analysis. The coupled hydrodynamic coefficients and wave exciting forces were obtained from WAMIT, the 3D diffraction/radiation solver based on the boundary element method. The overall performance of the multiple WECs is presented and compared with the performance of a single isolated WEC. The analysis showed significant differences in the dynamic responses of the WECs when the multi-body interaction was considered. In addition, the PTO damping effect made a considerable difference to the responses of the WECs. However, the platform response was only minimally affected by PTO damping. With regard to energy capture, the interaction effect of the designed multiple WEC array layout is evaluated. The WEC array configuration showed both constructive and destructive effects in accordance with the incident wave frequency and direction.

Second generation wave energy device - the clam concept

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bellamy, N.W.

1981-01-01

A device concept is presented which has arisen from a system approach adopted by a research group with considerable experience in the discipline of wave energy. The Clam, which can be classified as a spine-based pneumatic terminator, is deemed to be a second generation wave energy device in that it tries to utilize system components already identified as attractive, while at the same time avoiding known problem areas. A working model of this wave power device at an engineering scale is discussed for trials in real waves. 3 refs.

Balancing Power Absorption and Structural Loading for an Assymmetric Heave Wave-Energy Converter in Regular Waves: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tom, Nathan M.; Madhi, Farshad; Yeung, Ronald W.

2016-07-01

The aim of this paper is to maximize the power-to-load ratio of the Berkeley Wedge: a one-degree-of-freedom, asymmetrical, energy-capturing, floating breakwater of high performance that is relatively free of viscosity effects. Linear hydrodynamic theory was used to calculate bounds on the expected time-averaged power (TAP) and corresponding surge restraining force, pitch restraining torque, and power take-off (PTO) control force when assuming that the heave motion of the wave energy converter remains sinusoidal. This particular device was documented to be an almost-perfect absorber if one-degree-of-freedom motion is maintained. The success of such or similar future wave energy converter technologies would require the development of control strategies that can adapt device performance to maximize energy generation in operational conditions while mitigating hydrodynamic loads in extreme waves to reduce the structural mass and overall cost. This paper formulates the optimal control problem to incorporate metrics that provide a measure of the surge restraining force, pitch restraining torque, and PTO control force. The optimizer must now handle an objective function with competing terms in an attempt to maximize power capture while minimizing structural and actuator loads. A penalty weight is placed on the surge restraining force, pitch restraining torque, and PTO actuation force, thereby allowing the control focus to be placed either on power absorption or load mitigation. Thus, in achieving these goals, a per-unit gain in TAP would not lead to a greater per-unit demand in structural strength, hence yielding a favorable benefit-to-cost ratio. Demonstrative results in the form of TAP, reactive TAP, and the amplitudes of the surge restraining force, pitch restraining torque, and PTO control force are shown for the Berkeley Wedge example.

Offshore renewable energies, offshore wind power marine currents and waves; Energies renouvelables en mer eolien en mer courants marins et vagues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paillard, M [Institut Francais de Recherche pour l' Exploitation de la Mer, 92 - Issy les Moulineaux (France); Peirano, E [Agence de Environnement et de la Maitrise de l' Energie (ADEME), 06 - Valbonne (France)

2004-07-01

This colloquium aims to take stock on the development of ocean energies, mainly exploitation of offshore wind energy, but also exploitation of marine currents and waves for energy conversion by discussing their perspectives, their constraints, and their environmental and socio-economic impacts. It proposes also a review the recent methodological and technological advances. The different subjects introduced are: state of the art and prospects; resource assessments, forecasting and short-term prediction, site conditions; technical assessments, installation,decommissioning, certification; environmental impacts, social aspects and acceptability; policies, market perspectives and constraints; project developments and feedback. (A.L.B.)

Further development of the SEA-Clam wave energy converter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bellamy, N.W.; Peatfield, A.M.

1984-04-01

The final design of the SEA-Clam as a unit for a large 2 GW scheme has been described. This is the leading wave energy device arising out of the UK National Wave Energy Program and is seen as having the greatest potential for further development particularly for smaller scale applications. The small scale market for wave energy is examined and the design and cost parameters evaluated for the 250 kW to 1000 kW range of SEA-Clam units. Building a demonstration prototype rated at 650 kW and producing an annual average output of 250 kW is identified as the next step towards the commercial exploitation of wave energy.

Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Site Identification and Ranking Methodology Part I: Wave Energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kilcher, Levi [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Thresher, Robert [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2016-10-01

Marine hydrokinetic energy is a promising and growing piece of the renewable energy sector that offers high predictability and additional energy sources for a diversified energy economy. This report investigates the market opportunities for wave energy along the U.S. coastlines. It is part one of a two-part investigation into the United State's two largest marine hydrokinetic resources (wave and tidal). Wave energy technology is still an emerging form of renewable energy for which large-scale, grid-connected project costs are currently poorly defined. Ideally, device designers would like to know the resource conditions at economical project sites so they can optimize device designs. On the other hand, project developers need detailed device cost data to identify sites where projects are economical. That is, device design and siting are, to some extent, a coupled problem. This work describes a methodology for identifying likely deployment locations based on a set of criteria that wave energy experts in industry, academia, and national laboratories agree are likely to be important factors for all technology types. This work groups the data for the six criteria into 'locales' that are defined as the smaller of either the local transmission grid or a state boundary. The former applies to U.S. islands (e.g., Hawaii, American Samoa) and rural villages (e.g., in Alaska); the latter applies to states in the contiguous United States. These data are then scored from 0 to 10 according to scoring functions that were developed with input from wave energy industry and academic experts. The scores are aggregated using a simple product method that includes a weighting factor for each criterion. This work presents two weighting scenarios: a long-term scenario that does not include energy price (weighted zero) and a near term scenario that includes energy price. The aggregated scores are then used to produce ranked lists of likely deployment locales. In both scenarios

Short-Term Wave Forecasting with AR models in Real-Time Optimal Control of Wave Energy Converters

OpenAIRE

Fusco, Francesco; Ringwood, John

2010-01-01

Time domain control of wave energy converters requires knowledge of future incident wave elevation in order to approach conditions for optimal energy extraction. Autoregressive models revealed to be a promising approach to the prediction of future values of the wave elevation only from its past history. Results on real wave observations from different ocean locations show that AR models allow to achieve very good predictions for more than one wave period in the future if ...

Designing and Testing Composite Energy Storage Systems for Regulating the Outputs of Linear Wave Energy Converters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zanxiang Nie

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Linear wave energy converters generate intrinsically intermittent power with variable frequency and amplitude. A composite energy storage system consisting of batteries and super capacitors has been developed and controlled by buck-boost converters. The purpose of the composite energy storage system is to handle the fluctuations and intermittent characteristics of the renewable source, and hence provide a steady output power. Linear wave energy converters working in conjunction with a system composed of various energy storage devices, is considered as a microsystem, which can function in a stand-alone or a grid connected mode. Simulation results have shown that by applying a boost H-bridge and a composite energy storage system more power could be extracted from linear wave energy converters. Simulation results have shown that the super capacitors charge and discharge often to handle the frequent power fluctuations, and the batteries charge and discharge slowly for handling the intermittent power of wave energy converters. Hardware systems have been constructed to control the linear wave energy converter and the composite energy storage system. The performance of the composite energy storage system has been verified in experiments by using electronics-based wave energy emulators.

Hydraulic evaluation of the Crest Wing wave energy converter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kofoed, J.P.; Antonishen, M.

2008-09-15

The Crest Wing Wave Energy Converter is currently being developed by Henning Pilgaard, of WaveEnergyFyn, Denmark. It is meant to act like a carpet on the water, conforming to the shape of each wave and using that movement to generate power. The thought of making a WEC that acts like a carpet on top of the waves is not new; ongoing or past projects such as the Pelamis and Cockerel Raft were designed with this thought in mind. The real difference with the Crest Wing is that it has skirt drafts, that extend down into the water and create suction; this increases the effective mass of the WEC while minimizing the material use. Special attention was given to the design of the first and last floaters as they are meant to act as a smooth transition between wave and machine. Their purpose is to make sure that no air gets under the two middle floaters so that suction is not broken and the device continues to function well. In summary the Crest Wing functions and is able to produce power with a good overall efficiency. The configuration with relative reference PTO (Power Take Off) is superior. It has not been proven that the idea of mounting skirts on the floaters is leading to a better performance. Thus, the study leads to the conclusion that the idea of making a simple hinged raft type device is good, and it is likely that the construction cost for a device of this type can be kept down. However, the study also leaves the chance that some limited draft of skirts in combination with inlet/outlet devices, could prove beneficial. In case of further testing on this device, an effort should be made to design and construct a more easily and accurately controlled PTO model in the test setup. This could greatly improve the quality of the output of such tests. (ln)

The energy density of a Landau damped plasma wave

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Best, R. W. B.

1999-01-01

In this paper some theories about the energy of a Landau damped plasma wave are discussed and new initial conditions are proposed. Analysis of a wave packet, rather than an infinite wave, gives a clear picture of the energy transport from field to particles. Initial conditions are found which excite

Key features of wave energy.

Science.gov (United States)

Rainey, R C T

2012-01-28

For a weak point source or dipole, or a small body operating as either, we show that the power from a wave energy converter (WEC) is the product of the particle velocity in the waves, and the wave force (suitably defined). There is a thus a strong analogy with a wind or tidal turbine, where the power is the product of the fluid velocity through the turbine, and the force on it. As a first approximation, the cost of a structure is controlled by the force it has to carry, which governs its strength, and the distance it has to be carried, which governs its size. Thus, WECs are at a disadvantage compared with wind and tidal turbines because the fluid velocities are lower, and hence the forces are higher. On the other hand, the distances involved are lower. As with turbines, the implication is also that a WEC must make the most of its force-carrying ability-ideally, to carry its maximum force all the time, the '100% sweating WEC'. It must be able to limit the wave force on it in larger waves, ultimately becoming near-transparent to them in the survival condition-just like a turbine in extreme conditions, which can stop and feather its blades. A turbine of any force rating can achieve its maximum force in low wind speeds, if its diameter is sufficiently large. This is not possible with a simple monopole or dipole WEC, however, because of the 'nλ/2π' capture width limits. To achieve reasonable 'sweating' in typical wave climates, the force is limited to about 1 MN for a monopole device, or 2 MN for a dipole. The conclusion is that the future of wave energy is in devices that are not simple monopoles or dipoles, but multi-body devices or other shapes equivalent to arrays.

Wave energy and its possibilities in the Danish power supplies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Traeholt Madsen, N.; Lorenzen, S.; Haunstrup Christensen, T.

1997-06-01

Mathematical theory of wave forces (wave height, spectrua, energy distribution and effect) is summarized. An attempt to estimate the Danish wave power potential on the basis of previous investigations og wave effect in various regions is presented. A brief review of wave energy applications and research constitutes basis for two scenarios of wave power adjustment into the 'Green society'. Power quality, environment, economics and supply reliability are estimated. (EG) 42 refs

Development of the Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofoed, Jens Peter; Frigaard, Peter; Sørensen, Hans Christian

2000-01-01

The development of the wave energy converter Wave Dragon (WD) is presented. The WD is based on the overtopping principle. Initially a description of the WD is given. Then the development over time in terms of the various research and development projects working with the concept is described. Thi...

Assessment of wave energy potential along the south coast of Java Island

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Qingyang; Mayerle, Roberto

2018-04-01

The south coast of Java Island has a great potential for wave energy. A long-term analysis of a 10-year wave dataset obtained from the ERA-Interim database is performed for preliminary wave energy assessment in this area, and it was seen that the annual median power is expected to exceed 20kW/m along the coast. A coastal wave model with an unstructured grid was run to reveal the wave conditions and to assess the wave energy potential along the coast in detail. The effect of swells and local wind on the wave conditions is investigated. Annual median wave power, water depth and distance from the coast are selected as criteria for the identification of suitable locations for wave energy conversion. Two zones within the study area emerge to be suitable for wave energy extraction. Swells from the southwest turned out to be the major source of wave energy and highest monthly median wave power reached about 33kW/m.

Energy from the waves

CERN Document Server

Ross, D

2012-01-01

Revised and substantially expanded to include the latest developments in the field, the second edition of this popular book provides a concise, non-technical account of the historical background and current research and development in the field of wave energy and its planned utilisation. It explains in simple terms the technology involved and describes the new inventions, devices and discoveries which led wave energy to be regarded as a significant future source of alternative power. The author recounts the major events leading up to today's development; the roles played by the principal characters involved, inventors, engineers and politicians and the inevitable struggle which all pioneers must face. The book concludes by discussing the environmental implications, the political conflicts and the problems which lie ahead. Also included, is a useful glossary of terms and a selected bibliography of important technical reports and further sources of information.

Dissipation of Wave Energy by Cohesive Sediments

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Kaihatu, James M; Sheremet, Alexandru

2004-01-01

Wave energy dissipation by bottom muds is studied. A dissipation mechanism which contains explicit expressions of wavenumber modification due to a viscous bottom fluid is incorporated into a nonlinear wave shoaling model...

Analytical and computational modelling for wave energy systems: the example of oscillating wave surge converters

Science.gov (United States)

Dias, Frédéric; Renzi, Emiliano; Gallagher, Sarah; Sarkar, Dripta; Wei, Yanji; Abadie, Thomas; Cummins, Cathal; Rafiee, Ashkan

2017-08-01

The development of new wave energy converters has shed light on a number of unanswered questions in fluid mechanics, but has also identified a number of new issues of importance for their future deployment. The main concerns relevant to the practical use of wave energy converters are sustainability, survivability, and maintainability. Of course, it is also necessary to maximize the capture per unit area of the structure as well as to minimize the cost. In this review, we consider some of the questions related to the topics of sustainability, survivability, and maintenance access, with respect to sea conditions, for generic wave energy converters with an emphasis on the oscillating wave surge converter. New analytical models that have been developed are a topic of particular discussion. It is also shown how existing numerical models have been pushed to their limits to provide answers to open questions relating to the operation and characteristics of wave energy converters.

Analytical and computational modelling for wave energy systems: the example of oscillating wave surge converters.

Science.gov (United States)

Dias, Frédéric; Renzi, Emiliano; Gallagher, Sarah; Sarkar, Dripta; Wei, Yanji; Abadie, Thomas; Cummins, Cathal; Rafiee, Ashkan

2017-01-01

The development of new wave energy converters has shed light on a number of unanswered questions in fluid mechanics, but has also identified a number of new issues of importance for their future deployment. The main concerns relevant to the practical use of wave energy converters are sustainability, survivability, and maintainability. Of course, it is also necessary to maximize the capture per unit area of the structure as well as to minimize the cost. In this review, we consider some of the questions related to the topics of sustainability, survivability, and maintenance access, with respect to sea conditions, for generic wave energy converters with an emphasis on the oscillating wave surge converter. New analytical models that have been developed are a topic of particular discussion. It is also shown how existing numerical models have been pushed to their limits to provide answers to open questions relating to the operation and characteristics of wave energy converters.

Wave Energy Resource along the Coast of Santa Catarina (Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pasquale Contestabile

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Brazil has one of the largest electricity markets in South America, which needs to add 6000 MW of capacity every year in order to satisfy growing the demand from an increasing and more prosperous population. Apart from biomass, no other renewable energy sources, besides hydroelectricity, play a relevant role in the energy mix. The potential for wind and wave energy is very large. Brazil's Santa Catarina state government is starting a clean energy program in the state, which is expected to bring more than 1 GW of capacity. Assessment of wave energy resources is needed along the coastline. This work studied the potential wave energy along the north-central coasts of Santa Catarina, in Southern Brazil, by analysis of the hindcast data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF. The annual offshore wave power was found to be equal to 15.25 kW/m, the bulk of which is provided by southeastern waves. The nearshore energetic patterns were studied by means of a numerical coastal propagation model (Mike21 SW. The mean wave power of 20 m isobaths is 11.43 kW/m. Supplementary considerations are drawn on realistic perspectives for wave energy converters installations.

Energy flow characteristics of vector X-Waves

KAUST Repository

Salem, Mohamed; Bagci, Hakan

2011-01-01

The vector form of X-Waves is obtained as a superposition of transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarized field components. It is shown that the signs of all components of the Poynting vector can be locally changed using carefully chosen complex amplitudes of the transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarization components. Negative energy flux density in the longitudinal direction can be observed in a bounded region around the centroid; in this region the local behavior of the wave field is similar to that of wave field with negative energy flow. This peculiar energy flux phenomenon is of essential importance for electromagnetic and optical traps and tweezers, where the location and momenta of microand nanoparticles are manipulated by changing the Poynting vector, and in detection of invisibility cloaks. © 2011 Optical Society of America.

Time- and Frequency-domain Comparisons of the Wavepiston Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Read, Robert; Bingham, Harry

Analysis of wave-energy converters is most frequently undertaken in the time-domain. This formulation allows the direct inclusion of nonlinear time-varying loads such as power take-off (PTO) reactions, mooring forces, and viscous drag. However, integrating the governing equations of motion...... forces arising from both the PTO reactions and the non-negligible viscous drag acting on the plate. Equivalent linear damping coeffcients are used to model these forces in the frequency domain, while they are included explicitly in the time domain. The main idea of this paper is to quantify...

Experimental test of a dynamically tuned wave energy converter based on inflatable dielectric elastomer generators (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Moretti, Giacomo; Vertechy, Rocco; Fontana, Marco

2017-04-01

Dielectric Elastomer Generators (DEGs) are very promising systems that are able to directly convert oscillating mechanical energy into direct electricity. Their nature and main attributes make them particularly interesting for harvesting energy form ocean waves. In this context, several efforts have been made in the last years to develop effective Wave Energy Converters based on DEG [1-4]. In this contribution, we present a novel Wave Energy Converter (WEC) based on the Oscillating Water Column principle. The device features an inflatable DEG as Power Take Off (PTO) system and collector - i.e. the part of the device that is directly interacting with waves - that possesses a coaxial-ducted shape as described in [5]. Models of the coupled behavior that consider the electro-hyperelastic response of the DEG and the hydrodynamics are presented. It is shown that the dynamic response and the effectiveness of the system can be largely improved through an appropriate dimensioning of the geometry of the device. Specifically, the dynamic response of the system can be designed to match the corresponding harmonic content of water waves achieving an effective conversion of the incoming mechanical energy. A small/intermediate scale prototype of the system is built and tested in a wave tank facility - i.e. a basin in which artificially controlled waves can be generated - available at Flowave (UK). Mathematical models are validated against experimental results for monochromatic and panchromatic tests. During the experiments, we obtained peak of estimated power output in the range of 1 W to 4 W with an energy density for the dielectric material of approximately 80-120W/kg. The achieved results represent a milestone in the study of WEC based on DEG, paving the path toward scaling up of this technology.

Quasi-static analysis of wave loadings on spine-based wave energy devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lockett, F.P.; Peatfield, A.M.; West, M.J.

1980-02-01

A report is given on the Wave Energy Research Programme at Lanchester Polytechnic. Results are presented for both theoretical and experimental scale models for wave loadings on circular and rectangular spines of various lengths. The results are in good agreement over the operational wave range for the 1/50 scale model and for the more limited data on the 1/10 scale model.

Investigation of Wave Height Reduction behind the Wave Dragon Wave Energy Converters and Application in Santander, Spain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørgaard, Jørgen Quvang Harck; Andersen, Thomas Lykke

This paper deals with a case study on the wave height reduction behind floating Wave Dragon wave energy converters in Santander Bay, Spain. The study is performed using the MIKE21 Boussinesq model from DHI. The Wave Dragon transmission characteristics in the numerical wave propagation model...... are based on previously performed physical model tests in scale 1:51. Typical winter storm conditions are considered in the case study together with different stiffness in the mooring system of the floating device. From the study it is found that if multiple Wave Dragons are positioned in a farm the wave...

What can wave energy learn from offshore oil and gas?

Science.gov (United States)

Jefferys, E R

2012-01-28

This title may appear rather presumptuous in the light of the progress made by the leading wave energy devices. However, there may still be some useful lessons to be learnt from current 'offshore' practice, and there are certainly some awful warnings from the past. Wave energy devices and the marine structures used in oil and gas exploration as well as production share a common environment and both are subject to wave, wind and current loads, which may be evaluated with well-validated, albeit imperfect, tools. Both types of structure can be designed, analysed and fabricated using similar tools and technologies. They fulfil very different missions and are subject to different economic and performance requirements; hence 'offshore' design tools must be used appropriately in wave energy project and system design, and 'offshore' cost data should be adapted for 'wave' applications. This article reviews the similarities and differences between the fields and highlights the differing economic environments; offshore structures are typically a small to moderate component of field development cost, while wave power devices will dominate overall system cost. The typical 'offshore' design process is summarized and issues such as reliability-based design and design of not normally manned structures are addressed. Lessons learned from poor design in the past are discussed to highlight areas where care is needed, and wave energy-specific design areas are reviewed. Opportunities for innovation and optimization in wave energy project and device design are discussed; wave energy projects must ultimately compete on a level playing field with other routes to low CO₂ energy and/or energy efficiency. This article is a personal viewpoint and not an expression of a ConocoPhillips position.

Wave energy transfer in elastic half-spaces with soft interlayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Glushkov, Evgeny; Glushkova, Natalia; Fomenko, Sergey

2015-04-01

The paper deals with guided waves generated by a surface load in a coated elastic half-space. The analysis is based on the explicit integral and asymptotic expressions derived in terms of Green's matrix and given loads for both laminate and functionally graded substrates. To perform the energy analysis, explicit expressions for the time-averaged amount of energy transferred in the time-harmonic wave field by every excited guided or body wave through horizontal planes and lateral cylindrical surfaces have been also derived. The study is focused on the peculiarities of wave energy transmission in substrates with soft interlayers that serve as internal channels for the excited guided waves. The notable features of the source energy partitioning in such media are the domination of a single emerging mode in each consecutive frequency subrange and the appearance of reverse energy fluxes at certain frequencies. These effects as well as modal and spatial distribution of the wave energy coming from the source into the substructure are numerically analyzed and discussed.

An Appraisal of the DEXA Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pecher, Arthur; Kofoed, Jens Peter

This report has been requested by VækstFonden and aims at giving an overview of the experimental tests and a general appraisal of the DEXA wave energy converter (WEC). The reported results and findings were obtained during previously performed experimental tests by the Wave Energy Research Group...

Wave Energy Potential in the North-West of Sardinia (Italy)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vicinanza, Diego; Contestabile, P.; Ferrante, V.

2013-01-01

Sardinia (Italy) is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and its economy is penalized by high costs of electricity, which is double compared to the continental Italian regions, and triple compared to the EU average. In this research, the wave energy potential of the north......, a Wave Energy Converter with maximum efficiency in the ranges of significant wave heights between 3.5 and 4.5 m (energy periods 9.5-11 s) and 4-6 m (energy periods 9.5-11.5 s) respectively should be selected. In order to find a concrete solution to the problem of harvesting wave energy in this area......, the characterization of waves providing energy is considered along with additional considerations, such as installation and operational costs, institutional factors, environmental sensitivity and interferences with others human activities. On the basis of the information available and the identified circumstances...

Hybrid dispersive media with controllable wave propagation: A new take on smart materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bergamini, Andrea E., E-mail: andrea.bergamini@empa.ch [Empa, Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Mechanical Integrity of Energy Systems, Überlandstrasse 129, CH-8600, Dübendorf (Switzerland); Zündel, Manuel [ETH Zürich, Institute of Mechanical Systems, Leonhardstrasse 21, CH-8092 Zürich (Switzerland); Flores Parra, Edgar A.; Ermanni, Paolo [ETH Zürich, Composite Materials and Adaptive Structures Laboratory, Leonhardstrasse 21, CH-8092 Zürich (Switzerland); Delpero, Tommaso [Empa, Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Mechanical Integrity of Energy Systems, Überlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dübendorf (Switzerland); Ruzzene, Massimo [Georgia Institute of Technology, G.W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, 801 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0405 (United States)

2015-10-21

In this paper, we report on the wave transmission characteristics of a hybrid one dimensional (1D) medium. The hybrid characteristic is the result of the coupling between a 1D mechanical waveguide in the form of an elastic beam, supporting the propagation of transverse waves and a discrete electrical transmission line, consisting of a series of inductors connected to ground through capacitors. The capacitors correspond to a periodic array of piezoelectric patches that are bonded to the beam and that couple the two waveguides. The coupling leads to a hybrid medium that is characterized by a coincidence condition for the frequency/wavenumber value corresponding to the intersection of the branches of the two waveguides. In the frequency range centered at coincidence, the hybrid medium features strong attenuation of wave motion as a result of the energy transfer towards the electrical transmission line. This energy transfer, and the ensuing attenuation of wave motion, is alike the one obtained through internal resonating units of the kind commonly used in metamaterials. However, the distinct shape of the dispersion curves suggests how this energy transfer is not the result of a resonance and is therefore fundamentally different. This paper presents the numerical investigation of the wave propagation in the considered media, it illustrates experimental evidence of wave transmission characteristics and compares the performance of the considered configuration with that of internal resonating metamaterials. In addition, the ability to conveniently tune the dispersion properties of the electrical transmission line is exploited to adapt the periodicity of the domain and to investigate diatomic periodic configurations that are characterized by a richer dispersion spectrum and broader bandwidth of wave attenuation at coincidence. The medium consisting of mechanical, piezoelectric, and analog electronic elements can be easily interfaced to digital devices to offer a novel

Direct Drive Wave Energy Buoy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rhinefrank, Kenneth E. [Columbia Power Technologies, Inc.; Lenee-Bluhm, Pukha [Columbia Power Technologies, Inc.; Prudell, Joseph H. [Columbia Power Technologies, Inc.; Schacher, Alphonse A. [Columbia Power Technologies, Inc.; Hammagren, Erik J. [Columbia Power Technologies, Inc.; Zhang, Zhe [Columbia Power Technologies, Inc.

2013-07-29

The most prudent path to a full-scale design, build and deployment of a wave energy conversion (WEC) system involves establishment of validated numerical models using physical experiments in a methodical scaling program. This Project provides essential additional rounds of wave tank testing at 1:33 scale and ocean/bay testing at a 1:7 scale, necessary to validate numerical modeling that is essential to a utility-scale WEC design and associated certification.

Communicating Wave Energy: An Active Learning Experience for Students

Science.gov (United States)

Huynh, Trongnghia; Hou, Gene; Wang, Jin

2016-01-01

We have conducted an education project to communicate the wave energy concept to high school students. A virtual reality system that combines both hardware and software is developed in this project to simulate the buoy-wave interaction. This first-of-its-kind wave energy unit is portable and physics-based, allowing students to conduct a number of…

Numerical Forecasting Experiment of the Wave Energy Resource in the China Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chong Wei Zheng

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The short-term forecasting of wave energy is important to provide guidance for the electric power operation and power transmission system and to enhance the efficiency of energy capture and conversion. This study produced a numerical forecasting experiment of the China Sea wave energy using WAVEWATCH-III (WW3, the latest version 4.18 wave model driven by T213 (WW3-T213 and T639 (WW3-T639 wind data separately. Then the WW3-T213 and WW3-T639 were verified and compared to build a short-term wave energy forecasting structure suited for the China Sea. Considering the value of wave power density (WPD, “wave energy rose,” daily and weekly total storage and effective storage of wave energy, this study also designed a series of short-term wave energy forecasting productions. Results show that both the WW3-T213 and WW3-T639 exhibit a good skill on the numerical forecasting of the China Sea WPD, while the result of WW3-T639 is much better. Judging from WPD and daily and weekly total storage and effective storage of wave energy, great wave energy caused by cold airs was found. As there are relatively frequent cold airs in winter, early spring, and later autumn in the China Sea and the surrounding waters, abundant wave energy ensues.

Further Development of SNL‐Swan, a Validated Wave Energy Converter

OpenAIRE

Porter, Aaron; Ruehl, Kelley; Chartrand, Chris

2014-01-01

Commercialization of wave energy will lead to the necessary deployment of Wave Energy Converters (WECs) in arrays, or wave farms. In order for projects in the United States to be approved, regulatory agencies must perform an Environmental Assessment proving little to no environmental impact. However, little is known about the environmental impacts of such wave farms. As a result, the environmental impacts of wave farms are largely determined by numerical wave models capable of modeling large ...

On The Dynamics and Design of a Two-body Wave Energy Converter

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Changwei; Zuo, Lei

2016-09-01

A two-body wave energy converter oscillating in heave is studied in this paper. The energy is extracted through the relative motion between the floating and submerged bodies. A linearized model in the frequency domain is adopted to study the dynamics of such a two-body system with consideration of both the viscous damping and the hydrodynamic damping. The closed form solution of the maximum absorption power and corresponding power take-off parameters are obtained. The suboptimal and optimal designs for a two-body system are proposed based on the closed form solution. The physical insight of the optimal design is to have one of the damped natural frequencies of the two body system the same as, or as close as possible to, the excitation frequency. A case study is conducted to investigate the influence of the submerged body on the absorption power of a two-body system subjected to suboptimal and optimal design under regular and irregular wave excitations. It is found that the absorption power of the two-body system can be significantly higher than that of the single body system with the same floating buoy in both regular and irregular waves. In regular waves, it is found that the mass of the submerged body should be designed with an optimal value in order to achieve the maximum absorption power for the given floating buoy. The viscous damping on the submerged body should be as small as possible for a given mass in both regular and irregular waves.

Analytical Study on an Oscillating Buoy Wave Energy Converter Integrated into a Fixed Box-Type Breakwater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuanlie Zhao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available An oscillating buoy wave energy converter (WEC integrated to an existing box-type breakwater is introduced in this study. The buoy is installed on the existing breakwater and designed to be much smaller than the breakwater in scale, aiming to reduce the construction cost of the WEC. The oscillating buoy works as a heave-type WEC in front of the breakwater towards the incident waves. A power take-off (PTO system is installed on the topside of the breakwater to harvest the kinetic energy (in heave mode of the floating buoy. The hydrodynamic performance of this system is studied analytically based on linear potential-flow theory. Effects of the geometrical parameters on the reflection and transmission coefficients and the capture width ratio (CWR of the system are investigated. Results show that the maximum efficiency of the energy extraction can reach 80% or even higher. Compared with the isolated box-type breakwater, the reflection coefficient can be effectively decreased by using this oscillating buoy WEC, with unchanged transmission coefficient. Thus, the possibility of capturing the wave energy with the oscillating buoy WEC integrated into breakwaters is shown.

On Mooring Solutions for Large Wave Energy Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Jonas Bjerg; Kofoed, Jens Peter; Ferri, Francesco

2017-01-01

The present paper describes the work carried out in the project ’Mooring Solutions for Large Wave Energy Converters’, which is a Danish research project carried out in a period of three years from September 2014, with the aim of reducing cost of the moorings for four wave energy converters...

Wave energy for the 21st century: status and prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thorpe, Tom

2000-01-01

This article reviews the current technical and commercial status of wave energy, and discusses the design of near shore devices such as the 2MW OSPREY, and offshore devices including the McCabe wave pump, the Ocean Power Technology Wave Energy Converter, the Archimedes Wave Swing, the Pelamis, and wave energy schemes under development by other commercial firms. The predicted generating costs, the potential market, environmental impacts, and institution factors such as planning and consent, grid connection,and safety in design and operation are considered. The operating principles of an oscillating water column, and some promising offshore devices are illustrated

Marine Waves Energy: A spatio-temporal DSS-WebGIS to support the wave-energy potential assessment in the Mediterranean Sea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollino, Maurizio; La Porta, Luigi; Caiaffa, Emanuela

2015-01-01

GIS technologies are able to provide a useful tool for estimating the energy resource from the sea waves, assessing whether this energy flux is exploitable and evaluating the social and environmental impacts in deep water and/or in the seaboard. The DDS-WebGIS 'Energy Waves' represents a tool for displaying and sharing geo spatial data and maps, as well as a valuable support for new installations planning, forecasting system and existing infrastructure management. [it

Wave Energy, Lever Operated Pivoting Float LOPF Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Margheritini, Lucia

The fully instrumented Resen Waves Lever Operated Pivoting Float LOPF wave energy buoy model has gone through the first stage of testing in regular waves in scale 1:25 of the North Sea wave conditions, in the 3D deep wave basin at the Hydraulic and Coastal Engineering Laboratory of Aalborg...... University in Denmark. The model size was 60cm W x 90cm L x 21cm H. The 60 cm width pointed towards the wave front. The LOPF buoy is characterized by a simple mechanical design with few moving parts and direct electrical output and it is taut moored to the sea bed, so all forces are referenced to the seabed...... for maximum energy output in regular as well as irregular waves. During storms the buoy pivots and streamlines itself to minimize loads on the mooring line. A conservative estimate shows that a full scale system for North Sea conditions has a float size width of 15 m that will, with 60% generator efficiency...

Spectral and Energy Efficiencies in mmWave Cellular Networks for Optimal Utilization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdulbaset M. Hamed

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Millimeter wave (mmWave spectrum has been proposed for use in commercial cellular networks to relieve the already severely congested microwave spectrum. Thus, the design of an efficient mmWave cellular network has gained considerable importance and has to take into account regulations imposed by government agencies with regard to global warming and sustainable development. In this paper, a dense mmWave hexagonal cellular network with each cell consisting of a number of smaller cells with their own Base Stations (BSs is presented as a solution to meet the increasing demand for a variety of high data rate services and growing number of users of cellular networks. Since spectrum and power are critical resources in the design of such a network, a framework is presented that addresses efficient utilization of these resources in mmWave cellular networks in the 28 and 73 GHz bands. These bands are already an integral part of well-known standards such as IEEE 802.15.3c, IEEE 802.11ad, and IEEE 802.16.1. In the analysis, a well-known accurate mmWave channel model for Line of Sight (LOS and Non-Line of Sight (NLOS links is used. The cellular network is analyzed in terms of spectral efficiency, bit/s, energy efficiency, bit/J, area spectral efficiency, bit/s/m2, area energy efficiency, bit/J/m2, and network latency, s/bit. These efficiency metrics are illustrated, using Monte Carlo simulation, as a function of Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR, channel model parameters, user distance from BS, and BS transmission power. The efficiency metrics for optimum deployment of cellular networks in 28 and 73 GHz bands are identified. Results show that 73 GHz band achieves better spectrum efficiency and the 28 GHz band is superior in terms of energy efficiency. It is observed that while the latter band is expedient for indoor networks, the former band is appropriate for outdoor networks.

Wave propagation of spectral energy content in a granular chain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shrivastava, Rohit Kumar; Luding, Stefan

2017-01-01

A mechanical wave is propagation of vibration with transfer of energy and momentum. Understanding the spectral energy characteristics of a propagating wave through disordered granular media can assist in understanding the overall properties of wave propagation through inhomogeneous materials like

Recent Developments of Wave Energy Utilization in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofoed, Jens Peter; Frigaard, Peter; Kramer, Morten

2006-01-01

by a more thorough description of three ongoing projects. These are Wave Dragon, Wave Star and Seawave Slot-cone Generator. Common for these projects are that they are being, or will soon be, tested in real sea and have benefited from the Danish Wave Energy Program. The work by the department......This paper aims at giving an overview of the developments researchers at the Department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University, Denmark (DCE), have been involved in within the field of wave energy utilization in Denmark over the past decade. At first a general introduction is given followed...... on these projects involves substantial laboratory testing, numerical simulations and real sea prototype testing....

Using GIS to evaluate the impact of exclusion zones on the connection cost of wave energy to the electricity grid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prest, Robert; Daniell, Trevor; Ostendorf, Bertram

2007-01-01

An increase in the planning and environmental restrictions associated with wind energy has led to a growth in interest towards wave energy. However, as the connection cost of a wave energy development is a driving factor in the development's feasibility, existing wind farm cable-routing techniques used by renewable energy developers may not be satisfactory. A Geographical Information System (GIS) method is presented which optimises the cable route between a wave farm and the electricity network, while taking a range of exclusion zones, such as native vegetation, into account. The optimisation is presented for a South Australian study area, which subsequently showed that exclusion zones reduce the number of suitable locations for wave energy by almost 40%. The method presented also assesses the effect that each exclusion zone applied has upon the number of suitable locations within the study area. The analysis undertaken showed that National Parks and cliffs pose a significant limitation to the potential of a wave energy industry within South Australia. Allowing the transmission route to travel through a National Park, or traverse a cliff, resulted in an increase in the number of locations from which a connection could be made to the electricity grid for less than $10 million of 33% and 50%, respectively. Conservation Parks, Wilderness Areas and native vegetation also have an effect upon the number of suitable locations for wave energy within South Australia. The GIS methods developed may be of assistance to governments in setting appropriate marine renewable energy policy, and also in identifying existing policy which may require amending if the government wishes to pursue and support the development of wave energy

Dominant wave frequency and amplitude estimation for adaptive control of wave energy converters

OpenAIRE

Nguyen , Hoai-Nam; Tona , Paolino; Sabiron , Guillaume

2017-01-01

International audience; Adaptive control is of great interest for wave energy converters (WEC) due to the inherent time-varying nature of sea conditions. Robust and accurate estimation algorithms are required to improve the knowledge of the current sea state on a wave-to-wave basis in order to ensure power harvesting as close as possible to optimal behavior. In this paper, we present a simple but innovative approach for estimating the wave force dominant frequency and wave force dominant ampl...

Simulation of breaking waves using the high-order spectral method with laboratory experiments: wave-breaking energy dissipation

Science.gov (United States)

Seiffert, Betsy R.; Ducrozet, Guillaume

2018-01-01

We examine the implementation of a wave-breaking mechanism into a nonlinear potential flow solver. The success of the mechanism will be studied by implementing it into the numerical model HOS-NWT, which is a computationally efficient, open source code that solves for the free surface in a numerical wave tank using the high-order spectral (HOS) method. Once the breaking mechanism is validated, it can be implemented into other nonlinear potential flow models. To solve for wave-breaking, first a wave-breaking onset parameter is identified, and then a method for computing wave-breaking associated energy loss is determined. Wave-breaking onset is calculated using a breaking criteria introduced by Barthelemy et al. (J Fluid Mech https://arxiv.org/pdf/1508.06002.pdf, submitted) and validated with the experiments of Saket et al. (J Fluid Mech 811:642-658, 2017). Wave-breaking energy dissipation is calculated by adding a viscous diffusion term computed using an eddy viscosity parameter introduced by Tian et al. (Phys Fluids 20(6): 066,604, 2008, Phys Fluids 24(3), 2012), which is estimated based on the pre-breaking wave geometry. A set of two-dimensional experiments is conducted to validate the implemented wave breaking mechanism at a large scale. Breaking waves are generated by using traditional methods of evolution of focused waves and modulational instability, as well as irregular breaking waves with a range of primary frequencies, providing a wide range of breaking conditions to validate the solver. Furthermore, adjustments are made to the method of application and coefficient of the viscous diffusion term with negligible difference, supporting the robustness of the eddy viscosity parameter. The model is able to accurately predict surface elevation and corresponding frequency/amplitude spectrum, as well as energy dissipation when compared with the experimental measurements. This suggests the model is capable of calculating wave-breaking onset and energy dissipation

Optimized Latching Control of Floating Point Absorber Wave Energy Converter

Science.gov (United States)

Gadodia, Chaitanya; Shandilya, Shubham; Bansal, Hari Om

2018-03-01

There is an increasing demand for energy in today’s world. Currently main energy resources are fossil fuels, which will eventually drain out, also the emissions produced from them contribute to global warming. For a sustainable future, these fossil fuels should be replaced with renewable and green energy sources. Sea waves are a gigantic and undiscovered vitality asset. The potential for extricating energy from waves is extensive. To trap this energy, wave energy converters (WEC) are needed. There is a need for increasing the energy output and decreasing the cost requirement of these existing WECs. This paper presents a method which uses prediction as a part of the control scheme to increase the energy efficiency of the floating-point absorber WECs. Kalman Filter is used for estimation, coupled with latching control in regular as well as irregular sea waves. Modelling and Simulation results for the same are also included.

Transformation of Elastic Wave Energy to the Energy of Motion of Bodies

Science.gov (United States)

Vesnitskiĭ, A. I.; Lisenkova, E. E.

2002-01-01

The motion of a body along an elastic guide under the effect of an incident wave is considered. An equation describing the longitudinal motion of a body along an arbitrary guide is derived from the laws governing the energy and momentum variations for the case when the incident wave generates a single reflected wave. The equations that describe the motion of a body along a string and along a beam corresponding to the Bernoulli-Euler model are considered as examples. The process of the body acceleration along a beam of the aforementioned type is investigated. For the subcritical velocities, the law governing the motion of the body and the ratio of the kinetic energy variation to the energy supplied to the body are determined.

Maximum gravitational-wave energy emissible in magnetar flares

Science.gov (United States)

Corsi, Alessandra; Owen, Benjamin J.

2011-05-01

Recent searches of gravitational-wave data raise the question of what maximum gravitational-wave energies could be emitted during gamma-ray flares of highly magnetized neutron stars (magnetars). The highest energies (˜1049erg) predicted so far come from a model [K. Ioka, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.MNRAA40035-8711 327, 639 (2001), http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001MNRAS.327..639I] in which the internal magnetic field of a magnetar experiences a global reconfiguration, changing the hydromagnetic equilibrium structure of the star and tapping the gravitational potential energy without changing the magnetic potential energy. The largest energies in this model assume very special conditions, including a large change in moment of inertia (which was observed in at most one flare), a very high internal magnetic field, and a very soft equation of state. Here we show that energies of 1048-1049erg are possible under more generic conditions by tapping the magnetic energy, and we note that similar energies may also be available through cracking of exotic solid cores. Current observational limits on gravitational waves from magnetar fundamental modes are just reaching these energies and will beat them in the era of advanced interferometers.

Maximum gravitational-wave energy emissible in magnetar flares

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corsi, Alessandra; Owen, Benjamin J.

2011-01-01

Recent searches of gravitational-wave data raise the question of what maximum gravitational-wave energies could be emitted during gamma-ray flares of highly magnetized neutron stars (magnetars). The highest energies (∼10 49 erg) predicted so far come from a model [K. Ioka, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 327, 639 (2001), http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001MNRAS.327..639I] in which the internal magnetic field of a magnetar experiences a global reconfiguration, changing the hydromagnetic equilibrium structure of the star and tapping the gravitational potential energy without changing the magnetic potential energy. The largest energies in this model assume very special conditions, including a large change in moment of inertia (which was observed in at most one flare), a very high internal magnetic field, and a very soft equation of state. Here we show that energies of 10 48 -10 49 erg are possible under more generic conditions by tapping the magnetic energy, and we note that similar energies may also be available through cracking of exotic solid cores. Current observational limits on gravitational waves from magnetar fundamental modes are just reaching these energies and will beat them in the era of advanced interferometers.

On the concept of sloped motion for free-floating wave energy converters.

Science.gov (United States)

Payne, Grégory S; Pascal, Rémy; Vaillant, Guillaume

2015-10-08

A free-floating wave energy converter (WEC) concept whose power take-off (PTO) system reacts against water inertia is investigated herein. The main focus is the impact of inclining the PTO direction on the system performance. The study is based on a numerical model whose formulation is first derived in detail. Hydrodynamics coefficients are obtained using the linear boundary element method package WAMIT. Verification of the model is provided prior to its use for a PTO parametric study and a multi-objective optimization based on a multi-linear regression method. It is found that inclining the direction of the PTO at around 50° to the vertical is highly beneficial for the WEC performance in that it provides a high capture width ratio over a broad region of the wave period range.

Wave-particle energy exchange directly observed in a kinetic Alfvén-branch wave.

Science.gov (United States)

Gershman, Daniel J; F-Viñas, Adolfo; Dorelli, John C; Boardsen, Scott A; Avanov, Levon A; Bellan, Paul M; Schwartz, Steven J; Lavraud, Benoit; Coffey, Victoria N; Chandler, Michael O; Saito, Yoshifumi; Paterson, William R; Fuselier, Stephen A; Ergun, Robert E; Strangeway, Robert J; Russell, Christopher T; Giles, Barbara L; Pollock, Craig J; Torbert, Roy B; Burch, James L

2017-03-31

Alfvén waves are fundamental plasma wave modes that permeate the universe. At small kinetic scales, they provide a critical mechanism for the transfer of energy between electromagnetic fields and charged particles. These waves are important not only in planetary magnetospheres, heliospheres and astrophysical systems but also in laboratory plasma experiments and fusion reactors. Through measurement of charged particles and electromagnetic fields with NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, we utilize Earth's magnetosphere as a plasma physics laboratory. Here we confirm the conservative energy exchange between the electromagnetic field fluctuations and the charged particles that comprise an undamped kinetic Alfvén wave. Electrons confined between adjacent wave peaks may have contributed to saturation of damping effects via nonlinear particle trapping. The investigation of these detailed wave dynamics has been unexplored territory in experimental plasma physics and is only recently enabled by high-resolution MMS observations.

A Detailed Assessment of the Wave Energy Resource at the Atlantic Marine Energy Test Site

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reduan Atan

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Wave characteristic assessments of wave energy test sites provide a greater understanding of prevailing wave conditions and are therefore extremely important to both wave energy test site operators and clients as they can inform wave energy converter design, optimisation, deployment, operation and maintenance. This research presents an assessment of the wave resource at the Atlantic Marine Energy Test Site (AMETS on the west coast of Ireland based on 12-years of modelled data from January 2004 to December 2015. The primary aim is to provide an assessment of annual and seasonal wave characteristics and resource variability at the two deployment berths which comprise the site. A nested model has been developed using Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN to replicate wave propagations from regional to local scale with a 0.05° resolution model covering the northeast Atlantic and a 0.0027° resolution model covering AMETS. The coarse and fine models have been extensively validated against available measured data within Irish waters. 12-year model outputs from the high resolution model were analysed to determine mean and maximum conditions and operational, high and extreme event conditions for significant wave height, energy period and power. Annual and seasonal analyses are presented. The 12-year annual mean P were 68 kW/m at Berth A (BA and 57 kW/m at Berth B (BB. The resource shows strong seasonal and annual variations and the winter mean power levels were found to be strongly correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO.

AN INVESTIGATION OF WAVE ENERGY POTENTIAL IN WESTERN BLACK SEA REGION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

İlyas UYGUR

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The main energy sources which are natural, clean, environmentally friendly, and renewable are wind power, solar energy, biomass energy, hydro energy, and wave energy. The wave energy has no cost except for the first investment and maintenance. There is also no cost for input energy. Besides these, it has no pollution effect on the environment, it is cheap and there is a huge potential all around the world. Wave energy is a good opportunity to solve the energy problem for Turkey which is surrounded by seas. Concerning all these facts, it has been conducted some studies which included five years of observation in the Western Black Sea Region (Akçakoca. The wave energy potential has also been calculated. From this sutdy results, it can be concluded that the wave energy potential of this region is inefficient. It is believed that by the improvement of the new energy converter devices in future, this low potential can be used more efficiently and as a result this study might be used as a basis for the future researches.

A Methodology for Production and Cost Assessment of a Farm of Wave Energy Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beels, C.; Troch, P.; Kofoed, Jens Peter

2011-01-01

to the sea through hydro turbines. It is observed that the cable cost is relatively small compared to the cost of the WD–WECs. As a result, WD–WECs should be installed in a lay-out to increase power production rather than decrease cable cost, taking spatial and safety considerations into account. WD......To generate a substantial amount of power, Wave Energy Converters (WECs) are arranged in several rows or in a ‘farm’. Both the power production and cost of a farm are lay-out dependent. In this paper, the wave power redistribution in and around three farm lay-outs in a near shore North Sea wave...... climate, is assessed numerically using a time-dependent mild-slope equation model. The modelling of the wave power redistribution is an efficient tool to assess the power production of a farm. Further, for each lay-out an optimal (low cost) submarine cable network is designed. The methodology to assess...

Energy Relations for Plane Waves Reflected from Moving Media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Daly, P.; Gruenberg, Harry

1967-01-01

When a plane wave is obliquely incident from vacuum on a semi-infinite moving medium, the energy flow carried by the incident wave, is in general, not carried away by the reflected and transmitted waves. This is only the case when the medium velocity is parallel to its vacuum interface. Otherwise...... there is a net inflow or outflow of electromagnetic energy, which can be accounted for by the change of stored energy in the system, and the work done by the mechanical forces acting on the medium. A detailed energy balance is drawn up for two different media moving normal to their vacuum interfaces: (a...

Measurements of Overtopping Flow Time Series on the Wave Dragon, Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tedd, James; Kofoed, Jens Peter

2009-01-01

A study of overtopping flow series on the Wave Dragon prototype, a low crested device designed to maximise flow, in a real sea, is presented. This study aims to fill the gap in the literature on time series of flow overtopping low crested structures. By comparing to a simulated flow the character......A study of overtopping flow series on the Wave Dragon prototype, a low crested device designed to maximise flow, in a real sea, is presented. This study aims to fill the gap in the literature on time series of flow overtopping low crested structures. By comparing to a simulated flow...... the characteristics of the overtopping flow are discussed and the simulation algorithm is tested. Measured data is shown from a storm build up in October 2006, from theWave Dragon prototype situated in an inland sea in Northern Denmark. This wave energy converter extracts energy from the waves, by funnelling them...

Resonant wave energy harvester based on dielectric elastomer generator

Science.gov (United States)

Moretti, Giacomo; Pietro Rosati Papini, Gastone; Righi, Michele; Forehand, David; Ingram, David; Vertechy, Rocco; Fontana, Marco

2018-03-01

Dielectric elastomer generators (DEGs) are a class of capacitive solid-state devices that employ highly stretchable dielectrics and conductors to convert mechanical energy into high-voltage direct-current electricity. Their promising performance in terms of convertible energy and power density has been mostly proven in quasi-static experimental tests with prescribed deformation. However, the assessment of their ability in harvesting energy from a dynamic oscillating source of mechanical energy is crucial to demonstrate their effectiveness in practical applications. This paper reports a first demonstration of a DEG system that is able to convert the oscillating energy carried by water waves into electricity. A DEG prototype is built using a commercial polyacrylate film (VHB 4905 by 3M) and an experimental campaign is conducted in a wave-flume facility, i.e. an artificial basin that makes it possible to generate programmed small-scale waves at different frequencies and amplitudes. In resonant conditions, the designed system demonstrates the delivery of a maximum of 0.87 W of electrical power output and 0.64 J energy generated per cycle, with corresponding densities per unit mass of dielectric elastomer of 197 W kg-1 and 145 J kg-1. Additionally, a notable maximum fraction of 18% of the input wave energy is converted into electricity. The presented results provide a promising demonstration of the operation and effectiveness of ocean wave energy converters based on elastic capacitive generators.

Numerical Modeling of a Wave Energy Point Absorber

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hernandez, Lorenzo Banos; Frigaard, Peter; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning

2009-01-01

The present study deals with numerical modelling of the Wave Star Energy WSE device. Hereby, linear potential theory is applied via a BEM code on the wave hydrodynamics exciting the floaters. Time and frequency domain solutions of the floater response are determined for regular and irregular seas....... Furthermore, these results are used to estimate the power and the energy absorbed by a single oscillating floater. Finally, a latching control strategy is analysed in open-loop configuration for energy maximization....

Silicone-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Water Wave Energy Harvesting.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Tian Xiao; Jiang, Tao; Zhu, Jian Xiong; Liang, Xi; Xu, Liang; Shao, Jia Jia; Zhang, Chun Lei; Wang, Jie; Wang, Zhong Lin

2018-01-31

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has been proven to be efficient for harvesting water wave energy, which is one of the most promising renewable energy sources. In this work, a TENG with a silicone rubber/carbon black composite electrode was designed for converting the water wave energy into electricity. The silicone-based electrode with a soft texture provides a better contact with the dielectric film. Furthermore, a spring structure is introduced to transform low-frequency water wave motions into high-frequency vibrations. They together improve the output performance and efficiency of TENG. The output performances of TENGs are further enhanced by optimizing the triboelectric material pair and tribo-surface area. A spring-assisted TENG device with the segmented silicone rubber-based electrode structure was sealed into a waterproof box, which delivers a maximum power density of 2.40 W m -3 , as triggered by the water waves. The present work provides a new strategy for fabricating high-performance TENG devices by coupling flexible electrodes and spring structure for harvesting water wave energy.

Frequency and wavenumber selective excitation of spin waves through coherent energy transfer from elastic waves

OpenAIRE

Hashimoto, Yusuke; Bossini, Davide; Johansen, Tom H.; Saitoh, Eiji; Kirilyuk, Andrei; Rasing, Theo

2017-01-01

Using spin-wave tomography (SWaT), we have investigated the excitation and the propagation dynamics of optically-excited magnetoelastic waves, i.e. hybridized modes of spin waves and elastic waves, in a garnet film. By using time-resolved SWaT, we reveal the excitation dynamics of magnetoelastic waves through coherent-energy transfer between optically-excited pure-elastic waves and spin waves via magnetoelastic coupling. This process realizes frequency and wavenumber selective excitation of s...

Enhancement of particle-wave energy exchange by resonance sweeping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berk, H.L.; Breizman, B.N.

1995-10-01

It is shown that as the resonance condition of the particle-wave interaction is varied adiabatically, that the particles trapped in the wave will form phase space holes or clumps that can enhance the particle-wave energy exchange. This mechanism can cause much larger saturation levels of instabilities, and even allow the free energy associated with instability, to be tapped in a system that is linearly stable due to background dissipation

Analysis of the impacts of Wave Energy Converter arrays on the nearshore wave climate in the Pacific Northwest

Science.gov (United States)

O'Dea, A.; Haller, M. C.

2013-12-01

As concerns over the use of fossil fuels increase, more and more effort is being put into the search for renewable and reliable sources of energy. Developments in ocean technologies have made the extraction of wave energy a promising alternative. Commercial exploitation of wave energy would require the deployment of arrays of Wave Energy Converters (WECs) that include several to hundreds of individual devices. Interactions between WECs and ocean waves result in both near-field and far-field changes in the incident wave field, including a significant decrease in wave height and a redirection of waves in the lee of the array, referred to as the wave shadow. Nearshore wave height and direction are directly related to the wave radiation stresses that drive longshore currents, rip currents and nearshore sediment transport, which suggests that significant far-field changes in the wave field due to WEC arrays could have an impact on littoral processes. The goal of this study is to investigate the changes in nearshore wave conditions and radiation stress forcing as a result of an offshore array of point-absorber type WECs using a nested SWAN model, and to determine how array size, configuration, spacing and distance from shore influence these changes. The two sites of interest are the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC) test sites off the coast of Newport Oregon, the North Energy Test Site (NETS) and the South Energy Test Site (SETS). NETS and SETS are permitted wave energy test sites located approximately 4 km and 10 km offshore, respectively. Twenty array configurations are simulated, including 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 devices in two and three staggered rows in both closely spaced (three times the WEC diameter) and widely spaced (ten times the WEC diameter) arrays. Daily offshore wave spectra are obtained from a regional WAVEWATCH III hindcast for 2011, which are then propagated across the continental shelf using SWAN. Arrays are represented in SWAN

Survivability Mode and Extreme Loads on the Mooring Lines of the Wave Dragon Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Parmeggiani, Stefano; Kofoed, Jens Peter

This report is a product of the cooperation agreement between Wave Dragon and Aalborg University regarding phase 2 of the development of the Wave Dragon Wave Energy Converter. The research is carried out by testing the 1:51.8 scale model of the Wave Dragon, aiming at the assessment of the surviva......This report is a product of the cooperation agreement between Wave Dragon and Aalborg University regarding phase 2 of the development of the Wave Dragon Wave Energy Converter. The research is carried out by testing the 1:51.8 scale model of the Wave Dragon, aiming at the assessment...... of the department of Civil Engineering at Aalborg University. The outcome of the research will be used as input for future research work aimed at the design of the mooring system and the certification of the structural design for the full scale Wave Dragon demonstrator....

Modeling the Buoyancy System of a Wave Energy Power Plant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Tom S.; Nielsen, Kirsten M.

2009-01-01

A nonlinear dynamic model of the buoyancy system in a wave energy power plant is presented. The plant ("Wave Dragon") is a floating device using the potential energy in overtopping waves to produce power. A water reservoir is placed on top of the WD, and hydro turbines lead the water to the sea...... producing electrical power. Through air chambers it is possible to control the level of the WD. It is important to control the level in order to maximize the power production in proportion to the wave height, here the amount of overtopping water and the amount of potential energy is conflicting...

Selecting optimum locations for co-located wave and wind energy farms. Part I: The Co-Location Feasibility index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astariz, S.; Iglesias, G.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • New approach to identifying suitable sites for co-located wave and wind farms. • A new tool, the Co-Location Feasibility (CLF) index, is defined. • Its application is analysed by means of a case study off the Danish coast. • Hindcast and measured wave and wind data from 2005 to 2015 are used. • Third-generation models of winds and waves (WAsP and SWAN) are used. - Abstract: Marine energy is poised to play a fundamental role in meeting renewable energy and carbon emission targets thanks to the abundant, and still largely untapped, wave and tidal resources. However, it is often considered difficult and uneconomical – as is usually the case of nascent technologies. Combining various renewables, such as wave and offshore wind energy, has emerged as a solution to improve their competitiveness and in the process overcome other challenges that hinder their development. The objective of this paper is to develop a new approach to identifying suitable sites for co-located wave and wind farms based on the assessment of the available resources and technical constraints, and to illustrate its application by means of a case study off the Danish coast – an area of interest for combining wave and wind energy. The method is based on an ad hoc tool, the Co-Location Feasibility (CLF) index, and is based on a joint characterisation of the wave and wind resources, which takes into account not only the available power but also the correlation between both resources and the power variability. The analysis is carried out based on hindcast data and observations from 2005 to 2015, and using third-generation models of winds and waves – WAsP and SWAN, respectively. Upon selection and ranking, it is found that a number of sites in the study region are indeed suited to realising the synergies between wave and offshore wind energy. The approach developed in this work can be applied elsewhere.

Analysis of Energy Overshoot of High Frequency Waves with Wavelet Transform

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

WEN Fan

2000-01-01

A study is made on the overshoot phenomena in wind-generated waves. The surface displace ments of time-growing waves are measured at four fetches in a wind wave channel. The evolution of high frequency waves is displayed with wavelet transform. The results are compared with Sutherland＇s. It is found that high frequency wave components experience much stronger energy overshoot in the evolution.The energy of high frequency waves decreases greatly after overshoot

Are Wave and Tidal Energy Plants New Green Technologies?

Science.gov (United States)

Douziech, Mélanie; Hellweg, Stefanie; Verones, Francesca

2016-07-19

Wave and tidal energy plants are upcoming, potentially green technologies. This study aims at quantifying their various potential environmental impacts. Three tidal stream devices, one tidal range plant and one wave energy harnessing device are analyzed over their entire life cycles, using the ReCiPe 2008 methodology at midpoint level. The impacts of the tidal range plant were on average 1.6 times higher than the ones of hydro-power plants (without considering natural land transformation). A similar ratio was found when comparing the results of the three tidal stream devices to offshore wind power plants (without considering water depletion). The wave energy harnessing device had on average 3.5 times higher impacts than offshore wind power. On the contrary, the considered plants have on average 8 (wave energy) to 20 (tidal stream), or even 115 times (tidal range) lower impact than electricity generated from coal power. Further, testing the sensitivity of the results highlighted the advantage of long lifetimes and small material requirements. Overall, this study supports the potential of wave and tidal energy plants as alternative green technologies. However, potential unknown effects, such as the impact of turbulence or noise on marine ecosystems, should be further explored in future research.

An array effect of wave energy farm buoys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyuck-Min Kweon

2012-12-01

Full Text Available An ocean buoy energy farm is considered for Green energy generation and delivery to small towns along the Korean coast. The present studypresents that the floating buoy-type energy farm appears to be sufficiently feasible fortrapping more energy compared to afixed cylinder duck array. It is also seen from the numerical resultsthat the resonated waves between spaced buoys are further trapped by floating buoy motion. Our numerical study is analyzed by a plane-wave approximation, in which evanescent mode effects are included in a modified mild-slope equation based on the scattering characteristics for a single buoy.

Double system wave energy converter for the breaker zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malavasi, Stefano; Negri; Marco

2015-01-01

In this paper a particular type of wave energy converter, namely EDS (Energy Double System) is presented. It is a two-body point absorber composed by a heaving float and a surging paddle, mounted on the same structure and aligned along the wave propagation direction. The system is designed for working in the breaker zone, where waves close to breaking can generate a considerable surging force on the paddle. A scale EDS model has been built and tested in the wave flume of the Hydraulics Laboratory of the 'Politecnico' of Milan. The power absorbed by the system, varying its configuration, position and wave, has been measured, and interesting efficiencies have been found.

Wave energy extraction by coupled resonant absorbers.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, D V; Porter, R

2012-01-28

In this article, a range of problems and theories will be introduced that will build towards a new wave energy converter (WEC) concept, with the acronym 'ROTA' standing for resonant over-topping absorber. First, classical results for wave power absorption for WECs constrained to operate in a single degree of freedom will be reviewed and the role of resonance in their operation highlighted. Emphasis will then be placed on how the introduction of further resonances can improve power take-off characteristics by extending the range of frequencies over which the efficiency is close to a theoretical maximum. Methods for doing this in different types of WECs will be demonstrated. Coupled resonant absorbers achieve this by connecting a WEC device equipped with its own resonance (determined from a hydrodynamic analysis) to a new system having separate mass/spring/damper characteristics. It is shown that a coupled resonant effect can be realized by inserting a water tank into a WEC, and this idea forms the basis of the ROTA device. In essence, the idea is to exploit the coupling between the natural sloshing frequencies of the water in the internal tank and the natural resonance of a submerged buoyant circular cylinder device that is tethered to the sea floor, allowing a rotary motion about its axis of attachment.

Building a wave energy policy focusing on innovation, manufacturing and deployment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalton, G.; Gallachoir, B.P.O.

2010-01-01

The Irish Government has set a goal to make Ireland a world leader for research, development and deployment of ocean energy technologies. Ireland has a wave energy resource of 21 TWh and an ambition is to achieve at least 500 MW installed generating capacity from ocean energy by 2020. This paper investigates what is required to move from ambition to delivery. A successful wave energy strategy will require focused policies that will stimulate innovation to develop the technologies, manufacturing to produce the devices and deployment to build the required wave power plants. The paper draws on the successful policies in Ireland that have stimulated each of these dimensions, albeit for different sectors. From 2004 to 2008, successful policies in (ICT and biotech) innovation led to an increase in Ireland's Innovation Index score from 0.48 to 0.53. The policy focus on (food and pharmaceuticals) manufacturing in Ireland resulted in high levels of economic growth over the period 1998-2002, reaching >10% GDP growth levels per annum, and full employment. Successful wind energy policies deployment has accelerated rapidly since 2003 and reached 1.2 GW installed capacity in 2009 representing 15% of Ireland's total installed capacity. The paper draws on appropriate elements of these policies to build a successful wave energy policy for Ireland. It also draws on the successful policies adopted in Denmark for innovation, manufacturing and deployment of wind energy. The Danish wind turbine manufacturers hold a world market share of approximately 40%. The paper proposes establishing a wave energy strategy group to develop an action plan to deliver the 500 MW. It also proposes a novel extension of corporate tax specifically for wave energy companies, an initial 30% capital grant scheme for wave energy developers, a grid code for wave energy devices and fast tracking of planning decisions through an amended approach to strategic infrastructure. (author)

On gravitational wave energy in Einstein gravitational theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Folomeshkin, V.N.; Vlasov, A.A.

1978-01-01

By the example of precise wave solutions for the Einstein equations it is shown that a standard commonly adopted formulation of energy-momentum problem with pseudotensors provides us either with a zero or sign-variable values for the energy of gravitational waves. It is shown that if in the Einstein gravitational theory a strict transition to the limits of weak fields is realised then the theory gives us an unambiguous zero result for weak gravitational waves. The well-known non-zero result arises due to incorrect transition to weak field approximation in the Einstein gravitation theory

Energy-flux characterization of conical and space-time coupled wave packets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lotti, A.; Couairon, A.; Faccio, D.; Trapani, P. Di

2010-01-01

We introduce the concept of energy density flux as a characterization tool for the propagation of ultrashort laser pulses with spatiotemporal coupling. In contrast with calculations for the Poynting vector, those for energy density flux are derived in the local frame moving at the velocity of the envelope of the wave packet under examination and do not need knowledge of the magnetic field. We show that the energy flux defined from a paraxial propagation equation follows specific geometrical connections with the phase front of the optical wave packet, which demonstrates that the knowledge of the phase fronts amounts to the measurement of the energy flux. We perform a detailed numerical study of the energy density flux in the particular case of conical waves, with special attention paid to stationary-envelope conical waves (X or O waves). A full characterization of linear conical waves is given in terms of their energy flux. We extend the definition of this concept to the case of nonlinear propagation in Kerr media with nonlinear losses.

Surface wave energy absorption by a partially submerged bio-inspired canopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Nové-Josserand, C; Castro Hebrero, F; Petit, L-M; Megill, W M; Godoy-Diana, R; Thiria, B

2018-03-27

Aquatic plants are known to protect coastlines and riverbeds from erosion by damping waves and fluid flow. These flexible structures absorb the fluid-borne energy of an incoming fluid by deforming mechanically. In this paper we focus on the mechanisms involved in these fluid-elasticity interactions, as an efficient energy harvesting system, using an experimental canopy model in a wave tank. We study an array of partially-submerged flexible structures that are subjected to the action of a surface wave field, investigating in particular the role of spacing between the elements of the array on the ability of our system to absorb energy from the flow. The energy absorption potential of the canopy model is examined using global wave height measurements for the wave field and local measurements of the elastic energy based on the kinematics of each element of the canopy. We study different canopy arrays and show in particular that flexibility improves wave damping by around 40%, for which half is potentially harvestable.

Building a Pre-Competitive Knowledge Base to Support Australia's Wave Energy Industry

Science.gov (United States)

Hoeke, R. K.; Hemer, M. A.; Symonds, G.; Rosebrock, U.; Kenyon, R.; Zieger, S.; Durrant, T.; Contardo, S.; O'Grady, J.; Mcinnes, K. L.

2016-02-01

A pre-competitive, query-able and openly available spatio-temporal atlas of Australia's wind-wave energy resource and marine management uses is being delivered. To provide the best representation of wave energy resource information, accounting for both spatial and temporal characteristics of the resource, a 34+yr numerical hindcast of wave conditions in the Australian region has been developed. Considerable in situ and remotely sensed data have been collected to support calibration and validation of the hindcast, resulting in a high-quality characterisation of the available wave resource in the Australian domain. Planning for wave energy projects is also subject to other spatial constraints. Spatial information on alternative uses of the marine domain including, for example, fisheries and aquaculture, oil and gas, shipping, navigation and ports, marine parks and reserves, sub-sea cables and infrastructure, shipwrecks and sites of cultural significance, have been compiled to complement the spatial characterisation of resource and support spatial planning of future wave energy projects. Both resource and spatial constraint information are being disseminated via a state-of-the-art portal, designed to meet the needs of all industry stakeholders. Another aspect currently impeding the industry in Australia is the limited evidence-base of impacts of wave energy extraction on adjacent marine and coastal environments. To build this evidence base, a network of in situ wave measurement devices have been deployed surrounding the 3 wave energy converters of Carnegie Wave Energy Limited's Perth Wave Energy Project. This data is being used to calibrate and validate numerical simulations of the project site. Early stage results will be presented.

Energy of linear quasineutral electrostatic drift waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfirsch, D.; Correa-Restrepo, D.

1993-01-01

Certain kinds of nonlinear instabilities are related to the existence of negative-energy perturbations. In this paper, an exact energy expression for linear quasineutral electrostatic perturbations is derived within the framework of dissipationless multifluid theory that is valid for any geometry. Taking the mass formally as a tensor with, in general, different masses parallel and perpendicular to an ambient magnetic field allows one to treat in a convenient way different approximations such as the full dynamics and restriction to parallel dynamics or the completely adiabatic case. Application to slab configurations yields the result that the adiabatic approximation does not allow negative energy for perturbations which are perfectly localized at a mode resonant surface, whereas inclusion of the parallel dynamics does. This is in agreement with a recent numerical study of drift-wave turbulence within the framework of collisional two-fluid theory by B. Scott [Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 3289 (1990); Phys. Fluids B 4, 2468 (1992)]. A dissipationless theory can be formulated in terms of a Lagrangian, from which the energy is immediately obtained. We start with the nonlinear theory. The theory is formulated via a Lagrangian which is written in terms of displacement vectors ξ ν (x,t) such that all constraints are taken into account. The nonlinear energy is obtained from the Lagrangian by standard methods. The procedure used is the same as that developed in a forthcoming paper by Pfirsch and Sudan [Phys. Fluids B (to be published)] for ideal nonlinear magnetohydrodynamics theory. From the exact Lagrangian one obtains the Lagrangian of the linearized theory by simple expansion to second order in ξ ν . This Lagrangian then yields the energy of the linearized theory

Internal wave energy radiated from a turbulent mixed layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Munroe, James R., E-mail: jmunroe@mun.ca [Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John' s, Newfoundland A1B 3X7 (Canada); Sutherland, Bruce R., E-mail: bsuther@ualberta.ca [Departments of Physics and Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3 (Canada)

2014-09-15

We examine mixed-layer deepening and the generation of internal waves in stratified fluid resulting from turbulence that develops in response to an applied surface stress. In laboratory experiments the stress is applied over the breadth of a finite-length tank by a moving roughened conveyor belt. The turbulence in the shear layer is characterized using particle image velocimetry to measure the kinetic energy density. The internal waves are measured using synthetic schlieren to determine their amplitudes, frequencies, and energy density. We also perform fully nonlinear numerical simulations restricted to two dimensions but in a horizontally periodic domain. These clearly demonstrate that internal waves are generated by transient eddies at the integral length scale of turbulence and which translate with the background shear along the base of the mixed layer. In both experiments and simulations we find that the energy density of the generated waves is 1%–3% of the turbulent kinetic energy density of the turbulent layer.

The influence of waves on the tidal kinetic energy resource at a tidal stream energy site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guillou, Nicolas; Chapalain, Georges; Neill, Simon P.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We model the influence of waves on tidal kinetic energy in the Fromveur Strait. • Numerical results are compared with field data of waves and currents. • The introduction of waves improve predictions of tidal stream power during storm. • Mean spring tidal stream potential is reduced by 12% during extreme wave conditions. • Potential is reduced by 7.8% with waves forces and 5.3% with enhanced friction. - Abstract: Successful deployment of tidal energy converters relies on access to accurate and high resolution numerical assessments of available tidal stream power. However, since suitable tidal stream sites are located in relatively shallow waters of the continental shelf where tidal currents are enhanced, tidal energy converters may experience effects of wind-generated surface-gravity waves. Waves may thus influence tidal currents, and associated kinetic energy, through two non-linear processes: the interaction of wave and current bottom boundary layers, and the generation of wave-induced currents. Here, we develop a three-dimensional tidal circulation model coupled with a phase-averaged wave model to quantify the impact of the waves on the tidal kinetic energy resource of the Fromveur Strait (western Brittany) - a region that has been identified with strong potential for tidal array development. Numerical results are compared with in situ observations of wave parameters (significant wave height, peak period and mean wave direction) and current amplitude and direction 10 m above the seabed (the assumed technology hub height for this region). The introduction of waves is found to improve predictions of tidal stream power at 10 m above the seabed at the measurement site in the Strait, reducing kinetic energy by up to 9% during storm conditions. Synoptic effects of wave radiation stresses and enhanced bottom friction are more specifically identified at the scale of the Strait. Waves contribute to a slight increase in the spatial gradient of

Power converter for raindrop energy harvesting application: Half-wave rectifier

Science.gov (United States)

Izrin, Izhab Muhammad; Dahari, Zuraini

2017-10-01

Harvesting raindrop energy by capturing vibration from impact of raindrop have been explored extensively. Basically, raindrop energy is generated by converting the kinetic energy of raindrop into electrical energy by using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric. In this paper, a power converter using half-wave rectifier for raindrop harvesting energy application is designed and proposed to convert damping alternating current (AC) generated by PVDF into direct current (DC). This research presents parameter analysis of raindrop simulation used in the experiment and resistive load effect on half-wave rectifier converter. The experiment is conducted by using artificial raindrop from the height of 1.3 m to simulate the effect of different resistive load on the output of half-wave rectifier converter. The results of the 0.68 MΩ resistive load showed the best performance of the half-wave rectifier converter used in raindrop harvesting energy system, which generated 3.18 Vaverage. The peak instantaneous output generated from this experiment is 15.36 µW.

Probabilistic Forecasting of the Wave Energy Flux

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pinson, Pierre; Reikard, G.; Bidlot, J.-R.

2012-01-01

Wave energy will certainly have a significant role to play in the deployment of renewable energy generation capacities. As with wind and solar, probabilistic forecasts of wave power over horizons of a few hours to a few days are required for power system operation as well as trading in electricit......% and 70% in terms of Continuous Rank Probability Score (CRPS), depending upon the test case and the lead time. It is finally shown that the log-Normal assumption can be seen as acceptable, even though it may be refined in the future....

Research on a new wave energy absorption device

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Zhongyue; Shang, Jianzhong; Luo, Zirong; Sun, Chongfei; Zhu, Yiming

2018-01-01

To reduce impact of global warming and the energy crisis problems caused by pollution of energy combustion, the research on renewable and clean energies becomes more and more important. This paper designed a new wave absorption device, and also gave an introduction on its mechanical structure. The flow tube model is analyzed, and presented the formulation of the proposed method. To verify the principle of wave absorbing device, an experiment was carried out in a laboratory environment, and the results of the experiment can be applied for optimizing the structure design of output power.

Numerical study on air turbines with enhanced techniques for OWC wave energy conversion

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Ying; Hyun, Beom-Soo; Kim, Kilwon

2017-10-01

In recent years, the oscillating water column (OWC) wave energy converter, which can capture wave energy from the ocean, has been widely applied all over the world. As the essential part of the OWC system, the impulse and Wells turbines are capable of converting the low pressure pneumatic energy into the mechanical shaft power. As an enhanced technique, the design of endplate or ring attached to the blade tip is investigated numerically in this paper. 3D numerical models based on a CFD-software FLUENT 12.0 are established and validated by the corresponding experimental results from the reports of Setoguchi et al. (2004) and Takao et al. (2001). Then the flow fields and non-dimensional evaluating coefficients are calculated and analyzed under steady conditions. Results show that the efficiency of impulse turbine with ring can reach up to 0.49 when ϕ=1, which is 4% higher than that in the cases for the endplate-type and the original one. And the ring-type Wells turbine with fixed guide vanes shows the best performance with the maximal efficiency of 0.55, which is 22% higher than that of the original one. In addition, the quasi-steady analysis is used to calculate the mean efficiency and output-work of a wave cycle under sinusoidal flow condition. Taking all together, this study provides support for structural optimization of impulse turbine and Wells turbine in the future.

Assessment of Wave Energy in the South China Sea Based on GIS Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gang Lin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available China is now the world’s largest user of coal and also has the highest greenhouse gas emissions associated with the mining and use of coal. Under today’s enormous pressures of the growing shortage of conventional energy sources and the need for emission reductions, the search for clean energy is the most effective strategy to address the energy crisis and global warming. This study utilized satellite remote sensing technology, geographic information system (GIS technology, and simulated wave data for the South China Sea. The characteristic features of the wave energy were obtained by analysis through the wave resource assessment formula and the results were stored in a GIS database. Software for the evaluation of wave energy in the South China Sea was written. The results should provide accurate, efficient references for wave energy researchers and decision-makers. Based on a 24-year WW3 model simulation wave data and GIS technology, this study presented the characteristic of the wave energy in the SCS; results demonstrated that the SCS has the feasibility and viability for wave energy farming.

Transmission of wave energy in curved ducts

Science.gov (United States)

Rostafinski, W.

1973-01-01

A formation of wave energy flow was developed for motion in curved ducts. A parametric study over a range of frequencies determined the ability of circular bends to transmit energy for the case of perfectly rigid walls.

Investigation and Optimisation of a Discrete Fluid Power PTO-system for Wave Energy Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anders Hedegaard

Patents on ocean wave energy dates back to 1799, however no wave energy converter (WEC) concept have a commercialised device. The cost of energy produced with wave energy converters is very high compared to traditional energy sources. Even when compared to energy from wind turbines wave energy...... investigation show how the wave climate naturally influence the optimal system configuration yielding maximal energy output, and how one may choose the system configuration based on the installation site. The switching manifold is the control element of the secondary controlled force system. The force...... needs cost reductions. Hence, next to political will, the main obstacle for a commercial break through of wave energy technology is the high cost of energy. Initiatives to lower costs are made in areas of minimising structural costs and increasing the energy production per device. Wave Star A/S has...

Electricity from wave and tide an introduction to marine energy

CERN Document Server

Lynn, Paul A

2014-01-01

This is a concise yet technically authoritative overview of modern marine energy devices with the goal of sustainable electricity generation. With 165 full-colour illustrations and photographs of devices at an advanced stage, the book provides inspiring case studies of today's most promising marine energy devices and developments, including full-scale grid-connected prototypes tested in sea conditions. It also covers the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland, where many of the devices are assessed. Topics discussed: global resources - drawing energy from the World's waves and tides history of wave and tidal stream systems theoretical background to modern developments conversion of marine energy into grid electricity modern wave energy converters and tidal stream energy converters. This book is aimed at a wide readership including professionals, policy makers and employees in the energy sector needing an introduction to marine energy. Its descriptive style and technical level will also appea...

International Energy Agency Ocean Energy Systems Task 10 Wave Energy Converter Modeling Verification and Validation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wendt, Fabian F.; Yu, Yi-Hsiang; Nielsen, Kim

2017-01-01

This is the first joint reference paper for the Ocean Energy Systems (OES) Task 10 Wave Energy Converter modeling verification and validation group. The group is established under the OES Energy Technology Network program under the International Energy Agency. OES was founded in 2001 and Task 10 ...

Projecting for a wave energy power plant. Stage B. Tentative model and pilot project. Projektering af et boelgekraftvaerk. Delfase B. Modelforsoeg og skitseprojekt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1988-06-15

Design and feasibility study of a wave energy power plant which could be used in the North Sea. The effects of storm wave forces on the converter and its units were measured in a water tank, and were recorded on video tapes and in table form. Measurements were also effected on the behaviour of cylinder and disc-shaped floats under varying wave forces. Computerized simulation was utilized. Energy production per square meter of water surface was measured and found to exceed expectations by 20%. Three combinations of turbines and generators were investigated. A cost benefit analysis was carried out and it was found that total investment in a wave energy power plant consisting of 4000 units, in the North Sea would cost about 7540 milliard Danish kroner. The annual energy production should reach 870 mio. kWh and annual running time 1175 hours. Taking into account the running costs of 45 mio. Danish kroner per annum, and interest rates and depreciation as 7.5%, the energy price is reckoned at roughly 70% of a Danish krone per kWh. (AB).

Energy Properties of Ion Acoustic Waves in Stable and Unstable Plasmas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Vagn Orla; Lynov, Jens-Peter

1979-01-01

Energy exchange between potential energy and ion kinetic energy in an ion acoustic wave is considered. In order to investigate the linear Landau damping or growth, the energy is calculated by use of first‐order quantities only so that nonlinear effects are not involved. It is found that for ion...... acoustic waves that are growing or damped in space the time average of the sum of the potential and the kinetic energy density is independent of position. Energy absorption spectra in particle velocity space are calculated; they are relatively broad and complicated functions. This shows that plasma ions...... of all velocities exchange energy with the wave....

Wave propagation of spectral energy content in a granular chain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shrivastava Rohit Kumar

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A mechanical wave is propagation of vibration with transfer of energy and momentum. Understanding the spectral energy characteristics of a propagating wave through disordered granular media can assist in understanding the overall properties of wave propagation through inhomogeneous materials like soil. The study of these properties is aimed at modeling wave propagation for oil, mineral or gas exploration (seismic prospecting or non-destructive testing of the internal structure of solids. The focus is on the total energy content of a pulse propagating through an idealized one-dimensional discrete particle system like a mass disordered granular chain, which allows understanding the energy attenuation due to disorder since it isolates the longitudinal P-wave from shear or rotational modes. It is observed from the signal that stronger disorder leads to faster attenuation of the signal. An ordered granular chain exhibits ballistic propagation of energy whereas, a disordered granular chain exhibits more diffusive like propagation, which eventually becomes localized at long time periods. For obtaining mean-field macroscopic/continuum properties, ensemble averaging has been used, however, such an ensemble averaged spectral energy response does not resolve multiple scattering, leading to loss of information, indicating the need for a different framework for micro-macro averaging.

Energy cascading in the beat-wave accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKinstrie, C.J.; Batha, S.H.

1987-01-01

A review is given of energy cascading in the beat-wave accelerator. The properties of the electromagnetic cascade and the corresponding plasma-wave evolution are well understood within the framework of an approximate analytic model. Based on this model, idealized laser-plasma coupling efficiencies of the order of 10% do not seem unreasonable. 28 refs

Oscillatory Energy Exchange Between Waves Coupled by a Dynamic Artificial Crystal

OpenAIRE

Karenowska, Alexy D.; Tiberkevich, Vasil S.; Chumak, Andrii V.; Serga, Alexander A.; Gregg, John F.; Slavin, Andrei N.; Hillebrands, Burkard

2011-01-01

We describe a general mechanism of controllable energy exchange between waves propagating in a dynamic artificial crystal. We show that if a spatial periodicity is temporarily imposed on the transmission properties of a wave-carrying medium whilst a wave is inside, this wave is coupled to a secondary counter-propagating wave and energy oscillates between the two. The oscillation frequency is determined by the width of the spectral band gap created by the periodicity and the frequency differen...

Stochastic control applied to the ISWEC Wave Energy System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bracco, Giovanni; Casassa, Maria; Giorcelli, Ermanno; Mattiazzo, Giuliana; Passione, Biagio; Raffero, Mattia; Vissio, Giacomo; Martini, Michele

2015-01-01

ISWEC (Inertial Sea Wave Energy Converter) is a floating marine device able to harvest sea waves energy by the interaction between the pitching motion of a floater and a spinning flywheel which can drive an electric PTO. In the ISWEC the hull dynamics is governed and controlled by the gyroscopic torque. The optimal control logic results in tuning the floater dynamics to the incoming waves in order to maximize the power transfer from the waves to the floater. In this paper the control problems of the ISWEC are stated and a control scheme based on the sub-optimal stochastic control logic is presented. The control scheme here presented has been tested using real wave records acquired at the deployment location in Pantelleria Island, which is one of the most energetic sites of the Mediterranean Sea.

Aiding Design of Wave Energy Converters via Computational Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Jebeli Aqdam, Hejar; Ahmadi, Babak; Raessi, Mehdi; Tootkaboni, Mazdak

2015-11-01

With the increasing interest in renewable energy sources, wave energy converters will continue to gain attention as a viable alternative to current electricity production methods. It is therefore crucial to develop computational tools for the design and analysis of wave energy converters. A successful design requires balance between the design performance and cost. Here an analytical solution is used for the approximate analysis of interactions between a flap-type wave energy converter (WEC) and waves. The method is verified using other flow solvers and experimental test cases. Then the model is used in conjunction with a powerful heuristic optimization engine, Charged System Search (CSS) to explore the WEC design space. CSS is inspired by charged particles behavior. It searches the design space by considering candidate answers as charged particles and moving them based on the Coulomb's laws of electrostatics and Newton's laws of motion to find the global optimum. Finally the impacts of changes in different design parameters on the power takeout of the superior WEC designs are investigated. National Science Foundation, CBET-1236462.

Benchmark Modeling of the Near-Field and Far-Field Wave Effects of Wave Energy Arrays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rhinefrank, Kenneth E; Haller, Merrick C; Ozkan-Haller, H Tuba

2013-01-26

This project is an industry-led partnership between Columbia Power Technologies and Oregon State University that will perform benchmark laboratory experiments and numerical modeling of the near-field and far-field impacts of wave scattering from an array of wave energy devices. These benchmark experimental observations will help to fill a gaping hole in our present knowledge of the near-field effects of multiple, floating wave energy converters and are a critical requirement for estimating the potential far-field environmental effects of wave energy arrays. The experiments will be performed at the Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory (Oregon State University) and will utilize an array of newly developed Buoys' that are realistic, lab-scale floating power converters. The array of Buoys will be subjected to realistic, directional wave forcing (1:33 scale) that will approximate the expected conditions (waves and water depths) to be found off the Central Oregon Coast. Experimental observations will include comprehensive in-situ wave and current measurements as well as a suite of novel optical measurements. These new optical capabilities will include imaging of the 3D wave scattering using a binocular stereo camera system, as well as 3D device motion tracking using a newly acquired LED system. These observing systems will capture the 3D motion history of individual Buoys as well as resolve the 3D scattered wave field; thus resolving the constructive and destructive wave interference patterns produced by the array at high resolution. These data combined with the device motion tracking will provide necessary information for array design in order to balance array performance with the mitigation of far-field impacts. As a benchmark data set, these data will be an important resource for testing of models for wave/buoy interactions, buoy performance, and far-field effects on wave and current patterns due to the presence of arrays. Under the proposed project we will initiate

Wave-to-wire Modelling of Wave Energy Converters : Critical Assessment, Developments and Applicability for Economical Optimisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ferri, Francesco

The idea to use the motion of a wavy sea surface to produce electricity was investigate in the seventies, in a time when the earliest wave energy converters were conceived and developed. But nowadays still none of the patented devices reached a commercial stage. Wave energy is a large, mostly unt...

Colloquium: Multimessenger astronomy with gravitational waves and high-energy neutrinos

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ando, S.; Baret, B.; Bartos, I.; Bouhou, B.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Corsi, A.; Di Palma, I.; Dietz, A.; Donzaud, C.; Eichler, D.; Finley, C.; Guetta, D.; Halzen, F.; Jones, G.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kotake, K.; Kouchner, A.; Mandic, V.; Márka, S.; Márka, Z.; Moscoso, L.; Papa, M.A.; Piran, T.; Pradier, T.; Romero, G.E.; Sutton, P.; Thrane, E.; van Elewyck, V.; Waxman, E.

2013-01-01

Many of the astrophysical sources and violent phenomena observed in our Universe are potential emitters of gravitational waves and high-energy cosmic radiation, including photons, hadrons, and presumably also neutrinos. Both gravitational waves (GW) and high-energy neutrinos (HEN) are cosmic

Dynamic analysis of floating wave energy generation system with mooring system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Gyu Seok; Sohn, Jeong Hyun

2013-01-01

In this study, dynamic behaviors of a wave energy generation system (WEGS) that converts wave energy into electric energy are analyzed using multibody dynamics techniques. Many studies have focused on reducing the effects of a mooring system on the motion of a WEGS. Several kinematic constraints and force elements are employed in the modeling stage. Three dimensional wave load equations are used to implement wave loads. The dynamic behaviors of a WEGS are analyzed under several wave conditions by using MSC/ADAMS, and the rotating speed of the generating shaft is investigated for predicting the electricity capacity. The dynamic behaviors of a WEGS with a mooring system are compared with those of a WEGS without a mooring system. Stability evaluation of a WEGS is carried out through simulation under extreme wave load

Measurements of radiated elastic wave energy from dynamic tensile cracks

Science.gov (United States)

Boler, Frances M.

1990-01-01

The role of fracture-velocity, microstructure, and fracture-energy barriers in elastic wave radiation during a dynamic fracture was investigated in experiments in which dynamic tensile cracks of two fracture cofigurations of double cantilever beam geometry were propagating in glass samples. The first, referred to as primary fracture, consisted of fractures of intact glass specimens; the second configuration, referred to as secondary fracture, consisted of a refracture of primary fracture specimens which were rebonded with an intermittent pattern of adhesive to produce variations in fracture surface energy along the crack path. For primary fracture cases, measurable elastic waves were generated in 31 percent of the 16 fracture events observed; the condition for radiation of measurable waves appears to be a local abrupt change in the fracture path direction, such as occurs when the fracture intersects a surface flaw. For secondary fractures, 100 percent of events showed measurable elastic waves; in these fractures, the ratio of radiated elastic wave energy in the measured component to fracture surface energy was 10 times greater than for primary fracture.

Wave energy, lever operated pivoting float LOPF study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Margheritini, L.

2012-11-01

The fully instrumented Resen Waves Lever Operated Pivoting Float LOPF wave energy buoy model has gone through the first stage of testing in regular waves in scale 1:25 of the North Sea wave conditions, in the 3D deep wave basin at the Hydraulic and Coastal Engineering Laboratory of Aalborg University in Denmark. The model size was 60cm W x 90cm L x 21cm H. The 60 cm width pointed towards the wave front. The LOPF buoy is characterized by a simple mechanical design with few moving parts and direct electrical output and it is taut moored to the sea bed, so all forces are referenced to the seabed for maximum energy output in regular as well as irregular waves. During storms the buoy pivots and streamlines itself to minimize loads on the mooring line. A conservative estimate shows that a full scale system for North Sea conditions has a float size width of 15 m that will, with 60% generator efficiency, produce 610 MWh/y (609.497 kWh/y) with an average power output of 69.6 kW, which requires a generator capacity of 700 kW. It is expected the generator efficiency can be increased to 90% in the future. More specific calculations (from EnergiNet) show that with one generator of 695 kW the expected power production is 585 MWh/y; with a generator of 250 kW and 100 kW, the expected power production is 481 MWh/y and 182 MWh/y respectively. In addition there are several areas for future improvements for increased power production. (Author)

Reminiscences on the study of wind waves

Science.gov (United States)

MITSUYASU, Hisashi

2015-01-01

The wind blowing over sea surface generates tiny wind waves. They develop with time and space absorbing wind energy, and become huge wind waves usually referred to ocean surface waves. The wind waves cause not only serious sea disasters but also take important roles in the local and global climate changes by affecting the fluxes of momentum, heat and gases (e.g. CO2) through the air-sea boundary. The present paper reviews the selected studies on wind waves conducted by our group in the Research Institute for Applied Mechanics (RIAM), Kyushu University. The themes discussed are interactions between water waves and winds, the energy spectrum of wind waves, nonlinear properties of wind waves, and the effects of surfactant on some air-sea interaction phenomena. PMID:25864467

Wave energy fluxes and multi-decadal shoreline changes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kabuth, Alina Kristin; Kroon, Aart

2014-01-01

Spatial patterns of multidecadal shoreline changes in two microtidal, low-energetic embayments of southern Zealand, Denmark, were investigated by using the directional distribution of wave energy fluxes. The sites include a barrier island system attached to moraine bluffs, and a recurved spit...... variability of directional distributions of wave energy fluxes furthermore outlined potential sediment sources and sinks for the evolution of the barrier island system and for the evolution of the recurved spit....... adjacent to a cliff coast. The barrier island system is characterized by cross-shore translation and by an alignment of the barrier alongshore alternating directions of barrier-spit progradation in a bidirectional wave field. The recurved spit adjacent to the cliff coast experienced shoreline rotation...

Experimental Modeling of the Overtopping Flow on the Wave Dragon Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Parmeggiani, Stefano; Kofoed, Jens Peter; Friis-Madsen, Erik

2011-01-01

The Wave Dragon Wave Energy Converter is currently facing a precommercial phase. At this stage of development a reliable overtopping model is highly required, in order to predict the performance of the device at possible deployment locations. A model formulation derived for an overtopping device...... with general geometry has been used so far. The paper presents an updated formulation drawn through the tank testing of a scaled model the Wave Dragon. The sensitivity analysis of the main features influencing the overtopping flow led to an updated model formulation which can be specifically suited...... for the Wave Dragon....

Marine Hydrokinetic Turbine Power-Take-Off Design for Optimal Performance and Low Impact on Cost-of-Energy: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beam, M.; Kline, B.; Elbing, B.; Straka, W.; Fontaine, A.; Lawson, M.; Li, Y.; Thresher, R.; Previsic, M.

2013-02-01

Marine hydrokinetic devices are becoming a popular method for generating marine renewable energy worldwide. These devices generate electricity by converting the kinetic energy of moving water, wave motion or currents, into electrical energy through the use of a power-take-off (PTO) system. Most PTO systems incorporate a mechanical or hydraulic drivetrain, power generator, and electric control/conditioning system to deliver the generated electric power to the grid at the required state. Like wind turbine applications, the PTO system must be designed for high reliability, good efficiency, and long service life with reasonable maintenance requirements, low cost, and an appropriate mechanical design for anticipated applied steady and unsteady loads. The ultimate goal of a PTO design is high efficiency and low maintenance and cost, with a low impact on the device cost-of-energy (CoE).

Marine Hydrokinetic Turbine Power-Take-Off Design for Optimal Performance and Low Impact on Cost-of-Energy: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beam, M.; Kline, B.; Elbing, B.; Straka, W.; Fontaine, A.; Lawson, M.; Li, Y.; Thresher, R.; Previsic, M.

2012-04-01

Marine hydrokinetic devices are becoming a popular method for generating marine renewable energy worldwide. These devices generate electricity by converting the kinetic energy of moving water, wave motion or currents, into electrical energy through the use of a Power-Take-Off (PTO) system. Most PTO systems incorporate a mechanical or hydraulic drive train, power generator and electric control/conditioning system to deliver the generated electric power to the grid at the required state. Like wind turbine applications, the PTO system must be designed for high reliability, good efficiency, and long service life with reasonable maintenance requirements, low cost and an appropriate mechanical design for anticipated applied steady and unsteady loads. The ultimate goal of a PTO design is high efficiency, low maintenance and cost with a low impact on the device Cost-of-Energy (CoE).

Technological and Economic Aspects of Wave Energy Harvesting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahul Basu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The geographical regions contiguous to the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea are prone to natural disasters and poor electric supply especially in rural and hard to reach coastal regions. Utilization of ocean resources for power generation such as tidal, thermal solar and wind for energy need to be incorporated in a broad framework for the region. Development of ocean-based energy systems can be integrated with early warning networks linked by satellite which can give a few hours to days warning to help mitigate the severity of natural disasters on human life. Ocean-based electricity extraction has; however, remained elusive for various reasons. Interest in these systems resumed after the oil crisis of the 1970’s, but was uncoordinated. Extraction of ocean energy from the kinetic energy of waves and ocean currents depends on various mechanical devices with variable efficiencies. Apart from the efficiency, one must match the output phase of the feeder waveforms with that of the electrical grid. Also, the wavelengths of the typical wave are of the order of a few meters, the interception of which requires large devices. The mechanical efficiency of the turbine extraction system is further limited by the flow momentum considerations. Some applications and their implementation are looked at, specifically with reference to the difficulties of implementation in the region, and other factors like economic efficiency (rate of returns in place of mechanical efficiency. Individual wave energy harvesters are thus bound to suffer from inefficiencies and it may be beneficial to use wave farm configurations from the point of view of the randomness of wave motion, the large wavelengths, and the added advantage of averaging fluctuations from large numbers of generators.

On/off multi-poppet valve for switching manifold in discrete fluid power force system PTO in wave energy converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anders Hedegaard; Pedersen, Henrik C.; Andersen, Torben Ole

2014-01-01

Fluid power systems are the leading technology for power take off systems in ocean wave energy converters. However, fluid power systems often suffer from poor efficiency, especially in part loads. This degrades the PTO system efficiency and therefore lowers the energy production. To overcome......, the choice of pilot valve, structural mechanical issues and modelling and simulation of various valve configurations. Hence, a mechatronic design process is utilised to choose the best valve configuration....

Design of a multi-poppet on-off valve for wave energy converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anders Hedegaard; Pedersen, Henrik C.; Andersen, Torben Ole

2013-01-01

Fluid power systems are the leading technology for the power take off system in ocean wave energy converters. However, fluid power systems often suffer from poor efficiency, especially in part loads. This degrades the PTO system efficiency and therefore lower the energy production. To overcome...... the issues with poor system efficiency a discrete fluid power system is proposed as a main part of the PTO system. For the discrete system to be feasible large fluid power switching valves are needed. The current paper presents a two stage 1000 L/min@5bar multi-poppet on/off valve with a switching time less......, structural mechanical issues and modelling and simulation of various valve configurations. Hence in the design process a wide variety of topics are combined to chose the best valve configuration....

Local full-wave energy and quasilinear analysis in nonuniform plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smithe, D.N.

1989-01-01

The subject of local wave energy in plasmas is treated via quasilinear theory from the dual perspectives of the action-angle formalism and gyrokinetic analysis. An extension is presented to all orders in the gyroradius of the self-consistent wave-propagation/quasilinear-absorption problem using gyrokinetics. Questions of when and under what conditions local energy should be of definite sign are answered using the action-angle formalism. An important result is that the ''dielectric operators'' of the linearized wave equation and of the local energy are not the same, a fact which is obscured when the eikonal or WKB assumption is invoked. Even though the two dielectrics are very different in character, it is demonstrated that they are nevertheless related by a simple mathematical statement. This study was originally motivated by concern over the question of local energy for r.f.-heating of plasmas, where in certain instances, full-wave effects such as refraction, strong absorption, and mode conversion are of primary importance. Fundamentally, the r.f.-absorption must equate with the energy moment of the quasilinear term to achieve a correct energy balance. This fact governs the derivation (as opposed to postulation) of the local absorption. The troublesome ''kinetic flux'' may then be chosen (it is not unique) to satisfy a wave-energy balance relation with the Poynting flux and local absorption. It is shown that at least one such choice reduces asymptotically to the Stix form away from nonuniformities. (author)

State estimation for wave energy converters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bacelli, Giorgio; Coe, Ryan Geoffrey

2017-04-01

This report gives a brief discussion and examples on the topic of state estimation for wave energy converters (WECs). These methods are intended for use to enable real-time closed loop control of WECs.

Short term wave forecasting, using digital filters, for improved control of Wave Energy Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tedd, James; Frigaard, Peter

2007-01-01

This paper presents a Digital Filter method for real time prediction of waves incident upon a Wave Energy device. The method transforms waves measured at a point ahead of the device, to expected waves incident on the device. The relationship between these incident waves and power capture is derived...... experimentally. Results are shown form measurements taken on the Wave Dragon prototype device, a floating overtopping device situated in Northern Denmark. In this case the method is able to accurately predict the surface elevation at the device 11.2 seconds before the measurement is made. This is sufficient...... to allow advanced control systems to be developed using this knowledge to significantly improve power capture....

Short term wave forecasting, using digital filters, for improved control of Wave Energy Converters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tedd, J.; Frigaard, P. [Department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University, Aalborg (Denmark)

2007-07-01

This paper presents a Digital Filter method for real time prediction of waves incident upon a Wave Energy device. The method transforms waves measured at a point ahead of the device, to expected waves incident on the device. The relationship between these incident waves and power capture is derived experimentally. Results are shown form measurements taken on the Wave Dragon prototype device, a floating overtopping device situated in Northern Denmark. In this case the method is able to accurately predict the surface elevation at the device 11.2 seconds before the measurement is made. This is sufficient to allow advanced control systems to be developed using this knowledge to significantly improve power capture.

Evaluation of the Wave Energy Conversion Efficiency in Various Coastal Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eugen Rusu

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The main objective of the present work was to assess and compare the wave power resources in various offshore and nearshore areas. From this perspective, three different groups of coastal environments were considered: the western Iberian nearshore, islands and an enclosed environment with sea waves, respectively. Some of the most representative existent wave converters were evaluated in the analysis and a second objective was to compare their performances at the considered locations, and in this way to determine which is better suited for potential commercial exploitation. In order to estimate the electric power production expected in a certain location, the bivariate distributions of the occurrences corresponding to the sea states, defined by the significant wave height and the energy period, were constructed in each coastal area. The wave data were provided by hindcast studies performed with numerical wave models or based on measurements. The transformation efficiency of the wave energy into electricity is evaluated via the load factor and also through the capture width, defined as the ratio between the electric power estimated to be produced by each specific wave energy converters (WEC and the expected wave power corresponding to the location considered. Finally, by evaluating these two different indicators, comparisons of the performances of three WEC types (Aqua Buoy, Pelamis and Wave Dragon in the three different groups of coastal environments considered have been also carried out. The work provides valuable information related to the effectiveness of various technologies for the wave energy extraction that would operate in different coastal environments.

Transmission of wave energy through an offshore wind turbine farm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Erik Damgaard; Johnson, Martin; Sørensen, Ole Rene

2013-01-01

condition at infinity. From airborne and Satellite SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) a model has been derived for the change of the water surface friction C) inside and on the lee side of the offshore wind farm. The effects have been implemented in a spectral wind wave model,MIKE21 SW, and a parametric study......The transmission of wave energy passing an offshore wind farm is studied. Three effects that can change the wave field are analysed, which is the A) energy dissipation due to drag resistance, B) wave reflection/diffraction from structures, and C) the effect of a modified wind field inside...... and on the lee side of the wind farm. The drag dissipation, A), is quantified by a quadratic resistance law. The effect of B) is parameterised based on 1st order potential theory. A method to find the amount of reflected and transmitted wave energy is developed based on the panel method WAMIT™ and a radiation...

Experimental investigation of rubble mound breakwaters for wave energy conversion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Luppa, C.; Contestabile, P.; Cavallaro, L.

2015-01-01

The paper describes recent laboratory investigation on the breakwater integrated device named “OBREC” (Overtopping BReakwater for Energy Conversion). This technology recently appeared on the wave energy converter scene as an executive outcome of improving composite seawalls by including overtoppi......-by-wave measurement of couples of hydraulic head-flow rate acting on a virtual turbine inlet. Finally, the influence of draft length on overtopping discharge has been identified....... type wave energy converters [1]. Two complementary experimental campaigns were carried out, in 2012 and in 2014. Several geometries and wave conditions were examined. Preliminary comparison of hydraulic behaviour has been summarized, focusing on reflection analysis and overtopping flow rate....... Preliminary design formulae are presented to predict overtopping at the rear side of the structure and in to the front reservoir based on both datasets. Moreover, some important results have been presented on hydraulic behaviour of OBREC with saturated reservoir. Particularly attention is paid to wave...

Dark Energy and Inflation from Gravitational Waves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonid Marochnik

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In this seven-part paper, we show that gravitational waves (classical and quantum produce the accelerated de Sitter expansion at the start and at the end of the cosmological evolution of the Universe. In these periods, the Universe contains no matter fields but contains classical and quantum metric fluctuations, i.e., it is filled with classical and quantum gravitational waves. In such evolution of the Universe, dominated by gravitational waves, the de Sitter state is the exact solution to the self-consistent equations for classical and quantum gravitational waves and background geometry for the empty space-time with FLRW metric. In both classical and quantum cases, this solution is of the instanton origin since it is obtained in the Euclidean space of imaginary time with the subsequent analytic continuation to real time. The cosmological acceleration from gravitational waves provides a transparent physical explanation to the coincidence, threshold and “old cosmological constant” paradoxes of dark energy avoiding recourse to the anthropic principle. The cosmological acceleration from virtual gravitons at the start of the Universe evolution produces inflation, which is consistent with the observational data on CMB anisotropy. Section 1 is devoted to cosmological acceleration from classical gravitational waves. Section 2 is devoted to the theory of virtual gravitons in the Universe. Section 3 is devoted to cosmological acceleration from virtual gravitons. Section 4 discusses the consistency of the theory with observational data on dark energy and inflation. The discussion of mechanism of acceleration and cosmological scenario are contained in Sections 5 and 6. Appendix contains the theory of stochastic nonlinear gravitational waves of arbitrary wavelength and amplitude in an isotropic Universe.

Morphodynamic modeling of low energy beaches under waves, tides and currents

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz, G.; Marino-Tapia, I.

2013-05-01

sections was determined to quantify the morphodynamic changes. As a result of the comparison of volumetric changes, between the different scenarios, the mixed effect of waves and tides was found to be the most relevant force dominating the global beach morphodynamics. This result is relevant because future projects involving coastal protection structures, at Progreso, Yucatán, could be focused on using semi submerged structures that take into account the interaction between the variation of water levels and the structure to dissipate the wave energy. Despite identifying the relationship of waves and tides with coastal erosion, when the partial accretion processes occurred in some sections, the wave-current forcing became more relevant. Alternative shore protection schemes, such as the use of seagrasses is also evaluated by spatially varying the bed roughness in the whole domain. The results show the efficiency of sea grasses as energy dissipaters.

Ocean Wave Energy Regimes of the Circumpolar Coastal Zones

Science.gov (United States)

Atkinson, D. E.

2004-12-01

Ocean wave activity is a major enviromental forcing agent of the ice-rich sediments that comprise large sections of the arctic coastal margins. While it is instructive to possess information about the wind regimes in these regions, direct application to geomorphological and engineering needs requires knowledge of the resultant wave-energy regimes. Wave energy information has been calculated at the regional scale using adjusted reanalysis model windfield data. Calculations at this scale are not designed to account for local-scale coastline/bathymetric irregularities and variability. Results will be presented for the circumpolar zones specified by the Arctic Coastal Dynamics Project.

Optimal control of a wave energy converter

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hendrikx, R.W.M.; Leth, J.; Andersen, P; Heemels, W.P.M.H.

2017-01-01

The optimal control strategy for a wave energy converter (WEC) with constraints on the control torque is investigated. The goal is to optimize the total energy delivered to the electricity grid. Using Pontryagin's maximum principle, the solution is found to be singular-bang. Using higher order

Investigation on the possibility of extracting wave energy from the Texas coast

Science.gov (United States)

Haces-Fernandez, Francisco

Due to the great and growing demand of energy consumption in the Texas Coast area, the generation of electricity from ocean waves is considered very important. The combination of the wave energy with offshore wind power is explored as a way to increase power output, obtain synergies, maximize the utilization of assigned marine zones and reduce variability. Previously literature has assessed the wave energy generation, combined with wind in different geographic locations such as California, Ireland and the Azores Island. In this research project, the electric power generation from ocean waves on the Texas Coast was investigated, assessing its potential from the meteorological data provided by five buoys from National Data Buoy Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, considering the Pelamis 750 kW Wave Energy Converter (WEC) and the Vesta V90 3 MW Wind Turbine. The power output from wave energy was calculated for the year 2006 using Matlab, and the results in several locations were considered acceptable in terms of total power output, but with a high temporal variability. To reduce its variability, wave energy was combined with wind energy, obtaining a significant reduction on the coefficient of variation on the power output. A Matlab based interface was created to calculate power output and its variability considering data from longer periods of time.

Wave Energy Converter Annual Energy Production Uncertainty Using Simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clayton E. Hiles

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Critical to evaluating the economic viability of a wave energy project is: (1 a robust estimate of the electricity production throughout the project lifetime and (2 an understanding of the uncertainty associated with said estimate. Standardization efforts have established mean annual energy production (MAEP as the metric for quantification of wave energy converter (WEC electricity production and the performance matrix approach as the appropriate method for calculation. General acceptance of a method for calculating the MAEP uncertainty has not yet been achieved. Several authors have proposed methods based on the standard engineering approach to error propagation, however, a lack of available WEC deployment data has restricted testing of these methods. In this work the magnitude and sensitivity of MAEP uncertainty is investigated. The analysis is driven by data from simulated deployments of 2 WECs of different operating principle at 4 different locations. A Monte Carlo simulation approach is proposed for calculating the variability of MAEP estimates and is used to explore the sensitivity of the calculation. The uncertainty of MAEP ranged from 2%–20% of the mean value. Of the contributing uncertainties studied, the variability in the wave climate was found responsible for most of the uncertainty in MAEP. Uncertainty in MAEP differs considerably between WEC types and between deployment locations and is sensitive to the length of the input data-sets. This implies that if a certain maximum level of uncertainty in MAEP is targeted, the minimum required lengths of the input data-sets will be different for every WEC-location combination.

Aquabuoy Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vicinanza, Diego; Margheritini, Lucia; Frigaard, Peter

The work reported here is part of the contract agreement between the Finavera Renewables Ocean Energy Ltd. and the Department of Civil Engineering Hydraulics and Coastal Engineering Laboratory to instrument a model in scale 1:10 to prototype of the AquaBuOY (AB) wave energy converter and to analyse...... its performances in real sea testing in Nissum Bredning, Denmark. This report is part of Fineveras contribution to ForskEl project no 6435 “AquaBuOY skala 1:10 forsøg I Nissum Bredning”....

Methodology for reliability, economic and environmental assessment of wave energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thorpe, T.W.; Muirhead, S.

1994-01-01

As part of the Preliminary Actions in Wave Energy R and D for DG XII's Joule programme, methodologies were developed to facilitate assessment of the reliability, economics and environmental impact of wave energy. This paper outlines these methodologies, their limitations and areas requiring further R and D. (author)

Cost Optimization of Mooring Solutions for Large Floating Wave Energy Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Jonas Bjerg; Ferri, Francesco; Kofoed, Jens Peter

2018-01-01

The increasing desire for using renewable energy sources throughout the world has resulted in a considerable amount of research into and development of concepts for wave energy converters. By now, many different concepts exist, but still, the wave energy sector is not at a stage that is considere...

Optimization of bottom-hinged flap-type wave energy converter for a specific wave rose

Science.gov (United States)

Behzad, Hamed; Panahi, Roozbeh

2017-06-01

In this paper, we conducted a numerical analysis on the bottom-hinged flap-type Wave Energy Convertor (WEC). The basic model, implemented through the study using ANSYS-AQWA, has been validated by a three-dimensional physical model of a pitching vertical cylinder. Then, a systematic parametric assessment has been performed on stiffness, damping, and WEC direction against an incoming wave rose, resulting in an optimized flap-type WEC for a specific spot in the Persian Gulf. Here, stiffness is tuned to have a near-resonance condition considering the wave rose, while damping is modified to capture the highest energy for each device direction. Moreover, such sets of specifications have been checked at different directions to present the best combination of stiffness, damping, and device heading. It has been shown that for a real condition, including different wave heights, periods, and directions, it is very important to implement the methodology introduced here to guarantee device performance.

Electrical Systems for Wave Energy Conversion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bostroem, Cecilia

2011-07-01

Wave energy is a renewable energy source with a large potential to contribute to the world's electricity production. There exist several technologies on how to convert the energy in the ocean waves into electric energy. The wave energy converter (WEC) presented in this thesis is based on a linear synchronous generator. The generator is placed on the seabed and driven by a point absorbing buoy on the ocean surface. Instead of having one large unit, several smaller units are interconnected to increase the total installed power. To convert and interconnect the power from the generators, marine substations are used. The marine substations are placed on the seabed and convert the fluctuating AC from the generators into an AC suitable for grid connection. The work presented in the thesis focuses on the first steps in the electric energy conversion, converting the voltage out from the generators into DC, which have an impact on the WEC's ability to absorb and produce power. The purpose has been to investigate how the generator will operate when it is subjected to different load cases and to obtain guidelines on how future systems could be improved. Offshore experiments and simulations have been done on full scale generators connected to four different loads, i.e. one linear resistive load and three different non-linear loads representing different cases for grid connected WECs. The results show that the power can be controlled and optimized by choosing a suitable system for the WEC. It is not obvious which kind of system is the most preferable, since there are many different parameters that have an impact on the system performance, such as the size of the buoy, how the generator is designed, the number of WECs, the highest allowed complexity of the system, costs and so on. Therefore, the design of the electrical system should preferably be carried out in parallel with the design of the WEC in order to achieve an efficient system

Wave Energy from the North Sea: Experiences from the Lysekil Research Site

Science.gov (United States)

Leijon, Mats; Boström, Cecilia; Danielsson, Oskar; Gustafsson, Stefan; Haikonen, Kalle; Langhamer, Olivia; Strömstedt, Erland; Stålberg, Magnus; Sundberg, Jan; Svensson, Olle; Tyrberg, Simon; Waters, Rafael

2008-05-01

This paper provides a status update on the development of the Swedish wave energy research area located close to Lysekil on the Swedish West coast. The Lysekil project is run by the Centre for Renewable Electric Energy Conversion at Uppsala University. The project was started in 2004 and currently has permission to run until the end of 2013. During this time period 10 grid-connected wave energy converters, 30 buoys for studies on environmental impact, and a surveillance tower for monitoring the interaction between waves and converters will be installed and studied. To date the research area holds one complete wave energy converter connected to a measuring station on shore via a sea cable, a Wave Rider™ buoy for wave measurements, 25 buoys for studies on environmental impact, and a surveillance tower. The wave energy converter is based on a linear synchronous generator which is placed on the sea bed and driven by a heaving point absorber at the ocean surface. The converter is directly driven, i.e. it has no gearbox or other mechanical or hydraulic conversion system. This results in a simple and robust mechanical system, but also in a somewhat more complicated electrical system.

Spectral energy transfer of atmospheric gravity waves through sum and difference nonlinear interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, K.M. [Wuhan Univ. (China). School of Electronic Information; Chinese Academey of Sciences, Hefei (China). Key Lab. of Geospace Environment; Embry Riddle Aeronautical Univ., Daytona Beach, FL (United States). Dept. of Physical Science; Ministry of Education, Wuhan (China). Key Lab. of Geospace Environment and Geodesy; State Observatory for Atmospheric Remote Sensing, Wuhan (China); Liu, A.Z.; Li, Z. [Embry Riddle Aeronautical Univ., Daytona Beach, FL (United States). Dept. of Physical Science; Zhang, S.D.; Yi, F. [Wuhan Univ. (China). School of Electronic Information; Ministry of Education, Wuhan (China). Key Lab. of Geospace Environment and Geodesy; State Observatory for Atmospheric Remote Sensing, Wuhan (China)

2012-07-01

Nonlinear interactions of gravity waves are studied with a two-dimensional, fully nonlinear model. The energy exchanges among resonant and near-resonant triads are examined in order to understand the spectral energy transfer through interactions. The results show that in both resonant and near-resonant interactions, the energy exchange between two high frequency waves is strong, but the energy transfer from large to small vertical scale waves is rather weak. This suggests that the energy cascade toward large vertical wavenumbers through nonlinear interaction is inefficient, which is different from the rapid turbulence cascade. Because of considerable energy exchange, nonlinear interactions can effectively spread high frequency spectrum, and play a significant role in limiting wave amplitude growth and transferring energy into higher altitudes. In resonant interaction, the interacting waves obey the resonant matching conditions, and resonant excitation is reversible, while near-resonant excitation is not so. Although near-resonant interaction shows the complexity of match relation, numerical experiments show an interesting result that when sum and difference near-resonant interactions occur between high and low frequency waves, the wave vectors tend to approximately match in horizontal direction, and the frequency of the excited waves is also close to the matching value. (orig.)

Wave energy absorption by a floating air bag

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kurniawan, Adi; Chaplin, John; Greaves, Deborah

2017-01-01

A floating air bag, ballasted in water, expands and contracts as it heaves under wave action. Connecting the bag to a secondary volume via a turbine transforms the bag into a device capable of generating useful energy from the waves. Small-scale measurements of the device reveal some interesting...

Wave energy potential: A forecasting system for the Mediterranean basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carillo, Adriana; Sannino, Gianmaria; Lombardi, Emanuele

2015-01-01

ENEA is performing ocean wave modeling activities with the aim of both characterizing the Italian sea energy resource and providing the information necessary for the experimental at sea and operational phases of energy converters. Therefore a forecast system of sea waves and of the associated energy available has been developed and has been operatively running since June 2013. The forecasts are performed over the entire Mediterranean basin and, at a higher resolution, over ten sub-basins around the Italian coasts. The forecast system is here described along with the validation of the wave heights, performed by comparing them with the measurements from satellite sensors. [it

Efficiency of a gyroscopic device for conversion of mechanical wave energy to electrical energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carlsen, Martin; Darula, Radoslav; Gravesen, Jens

2011-01-01

We consider a recently proposed gyroscopic device for conversion of mechanical ocean wave energy to electrical energy. Two models of the device derived from standard engineering mechanics from the literature are analysed, and a model is derived from analytical mechanics considerations. From...... these models, estimates of the power production, eciency, forces and moments are made. We nd that it is possible to extract a signicant amount of energy from an ocean wave using the described device. Further studies are required for a full treatment of the device....

Dispersion and energy conservation relations of surface waves in semi-infinite plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atanassov, V.

1981-01-01

The hydrodynamic theory of surface wave propagation in semi-infinite homogeneous isotropic plasma is considered. Explicit linear surface wave solutions are given for the electric and magnetic fields, charge and current densities. These solutions are used to obtain the well-known dispersion relations and, together with the general energy conservation equation, to find appropriate definitions for the energy and the energy flow densities of surface waves. These densities are associated with the dispersion relation and the group velocity by formulae similar to those for bulk waves in infinite plasmas. Both cases of high-frequency (HF) and low-frequency (LF) surface waves are considered. (author)

Validation of Hydrodynamic Numerical Model of a Pitching Wave Energy Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

López, Maria del Pilar Heras; Thomas, Sarah; Kramer, Morten Mejlhede

2017-01-01

Validation of numerical model is essential in the development of new technologies. Commercial software and codes available simulating wave energy converters (WECs) have not been proved to work for all the available and upcoming technologies yet. The present paper presents the first stages...... of the validation process of a hydrodynamic numerical model for a pitching wave energy converter. The development of dry tests, wave flume and wave basin experiments are going to be explained, lessons learned shared and results presented....

The Potential for Wave Energy in the North Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, H. C.; Chozas, Julia Fernandez

2010-01-01

The North Sea has not yet been regarded as prime area for wave energy development in Europe except in Denmark, Benelux and Germany. The reason is the relatively low intensity of waves (12-17kW/m) compared to the Atlantic with a wave climate of 24-48kW/m. Further on the design wave load is almost ...... is resulting in a prediction of a yearly production of 23TWh; the latter is estimating a yearly production of 77TWh. This equals to 6% of the electricity demand around the North Sea, where the annual electricity consumption is about 1,300TWh.......The North Sea has not yet been regarded as prime area for wave energy development in Europe except in Denmark, Benelux and Germany. The reason is the relatively low intensity of waves (12-17kW/m) compared to the Atlantic with a wave climate of 24-48kW/m. Further on the design wave load is almost...... as in the Atlantic and the distance to shore relatively long compared to sites with good wave climate like Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the west coast of UK. The increasing activities within offshore wind in the North Sea and the attempt to build a super grid connecting the wind sites with the major consumers around...

Control of runaway electron energy using externally injected whistler waves

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Zehua; McDevitt, Christopher J.; Tang, Xian-Zhu

2018-03-01

One way of mitigating runaway damage of the plasma-facing components in a tokamak fusion reactor is by limiting the runaway electron energy under a few MeV, while not necessarily reducing the runaway current appreciably. Here, we describe a physics mechanism by which such momentum space engineering of the runaway distribution can be facilitated by externally injected high-frequency electromagnetic waves such as whistler waves. The drastic impact that wave-induced scattering can have on the runaway energy distribution is fundamentally the result of its ability to control the runaway vortex in the momentum space. The runaway vortex, which is a local circulation of runaways in momentum space, is the outcome of the competition between Coulomb collisions, synchrotron radiation damping, and runaway acceleration by the parallel electric field. By introducing a wave that resonantly interacts with runaways in a particular range of energies which is mildly relativistic, the enhanced scattering would reshape the vortex by cutting off the part that is highly relativistic. The efficiency of resonant scattering accentuates the requirement that the wave amplitude can be small so the power requirement from external wave injection is practical for the mitigation scheme.

Toward Best Practices for Public Acceptability in Wave Energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stefanovichu, M. A.; Chozas, Julia Fernandez

2010-01-01

At this initial stage of development, opinion toward wave energy is mainly positive. Interviews with developers, presentations about wave energy at local community meetings, and the literature show that there are four main types of issues developers need to address when discussing their projects ...... Ocean illustrate that despite similarities in the types of issues developers typically address at each site, the way of approaching the issues and the priorities given vary....

Energy in one-dimensional linear waves in a string

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burko, Lior M

2010-01-01

We consider the energy density and energy transfer in small amplitude, one-dimensional waves on a string and find that the common expressions used in textbooks for the introductory physics with calculus course give wrong results for some cases, including standing waves. We discuss the origin of the problem, and how it can be corrected in a way appropriate for the introductory calculus-based physics course. (letters and comments)

Acceleration of low energy charged particles by gravitational waves

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Voyatzis, G. [University of Thessaloniki, Department of Physics, 54124 Thessaloniki (Greece)]. E-mail: voyatzis@auth.gr; Vlahos, L. [University of Thessaloniki, Department of Physics, 54124 Thessaloniki (Greece); Ichtiaroglou, S. [University of Thessaloniki, Department of Physics, 54124 Thessaloniki (Greece); Papadopoulos, D. [University of Thessaloniki, Department of Physics, 54124 Thessaloniki (Greece)

2006-04-03

The acceleration of charged particles in the presence of a magnetic field and gravitational waves is under consideration. It is shown that the weak gravitational waves can cause the acceleration of low energy particles under appropriate conditions. Such conditions may be satisfied close to the source of the gravitational waves if the magnetized plasma is in a turbulent state.

Acceleration of low energy charged particles by gravitational waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voyatzis, G.; Vlahos, L.; Ichtiaroglou, S.; Papadopoulos, D.

2006-01-01

The acceleration of charged particles in the presence of a magnetic field and gravitational waves is under consideration. It is shown that the weak gravitational waves can cause the acceleration of low energy particles under appropriate conditions. Such conditions may be satisfied close to the source of the gravitational waves if the magnetized plasma is in a turbulent state

Key Aspects of Wave Energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Margheritini, Lucia; Nørgaard, Jørgen Harck

2012-01-01

Diversification of renewable energy sources is fundamental to ensure sustainability. In this contest, wave energy can provide a substantial contribution as soon as the sector breaks into the market. In order to accelerate shift from a technology to a market focus and reduce technical and non...... versatility into account can improve their overall performance and the value of investments. The way installation of devices can be perceived also by local communities can also benefit from this prospective thus providing and additional tool to overcome the sector´s setbacks....

Reliability-Based Structural Optimization of Wave Energy Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ambühl, Simon; Kramer, Morten; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2014-01-01

More and more wave energy converter (WEC) concepts are reaching prototype level. Once the prototype level is reached, the next step in order to further decrease the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is optimizing the overall system with a focus on structural and maintenance (inspection) costs......, as well as on the harvested power from the waves. The target of a fully-developed WEC technology is not maximizing its power output, but minimizing the resulting LCOE. This paper presents a methodology to optimize the structural design of WECs based on a reliability-based optimization problem...

Resolution enhancement of slam using transverse wave

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ko, Dae Sik; Moon, Gun; Kim, Young H.

1997-01-01

We studied the resolution enhancement of a novel scanning laser acoustic microscope (SLAM) using transverse waves. Mode conversion of the ultrasonic wave takes place at the liquid-solid interface and some energy of the insonifying longitudinal waves in the water will convert to transverse wave energy within the solid specimen. The resolution of SLAM depends on the size of detecting laser spot and the wavelength of the insonifying ultrasonic waves. Since the wavelength of the transverse wave is shorter than that of the longitudinal wave, we are able to achieve the high resolution by using transverse waves. In order to operate SLAM in the transverse wave mode, we made wedge for changing the incident angle. Our experimental results with model 2140 SLAM and an aluminum specimen showed higher contrast of the SLAM Image In the transverse wave mode than that in the longitudinal wave mode.

On the unstable mode merging of gravity-inertial waves with Rossby waves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. F. McKenzie

2011-08-01

Full Text Available We recapitulate the results of the combined theory of gravity-inertial-Rossby waves in a rotating, stratified atmosphere. The system is shown to exhibit a "local" (JWKB instability whenever the phase speed of the low-frequency-long wavelength westward propagating Rossby wave exceeds the phase speed ("Kelvin" speed of the high frequency-short wavelength gravity-inertial wave. This condition ensures that mode merging, leading to instability, takes place in some intermediate band of frequencies and wave numbers. The contention that such an instability is "spurious" is not convincing. The energy source of the instability resides in the background enthalpy which can be released by the action of the gravitational buoyancy force, through the combined wave modes.

Reserve Requirement Impacts of Microgrid Integration of Wind, Solar, and Ocean Wave Power Generation

OpenAIRE

Ortego Trujillo, Patxi

2016-01-01

The ocean wave energy is a free and abundant resource which has led to exploring new methods to take advantage of the energy in an efficient and profitable way. The wave energy harnessing techniques are not as mature as other renewable energy resources ones such as wind or solar. Nevertheless, in recent years wave energy converters (WECs) have been gaining attention and restoring confidence worldwide in their role to meet the increasing demands and strict environmental standards Ocean wave po...

A high-resolution assessment of wind and wave energy potentials in the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Langodan, Sabique

2016-08-24

This study presents an assessment of the potential for harvesting wind and wave energy from the Red Sea based on an 18-year high-resolution regional atmospheric reanalysis recently generated using the Advanced Weather Research Forecasting model. This model was initialized with ERA-Interim global data and the Red Sea reanalysis was generated using a cyclic three-dimensional variational approach assimilating available data in the region. The wave hindcast was generated using WAVEWATCH III on a 5 km resolution grid, forced by the Red Sea reanalysis surface winds. The wind and wave products were validated against data from buoys, scatterometers and altimeters. Our analysis suggests that the distribution of wind and wave energy in the Red Sea is inhomogeneous and is concentrated in specific areas, characterized by various meteorological conditions including weather fronts, mesoscale vortices, land and sea breezes and mountain jets. A detailed analysis of wind and wave energy variation was performed at three hotspots representing the northern, central and southern parts of the Red Sea. Although there are potential sites for harvesting wind energy from the Red Sea, there are no potential sites for harvesting wave energy because wave energy in the Red Sea is not strong enough for currently available wave energy converters. Wave energy should not be completely ignored, however, at least from the perspective of hybrid wind-wave projects. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Networks of triboelectric nanogenerators for harvesting water wave energy: a potential approach toward blue energy.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jun; Yang, Jin; Li, Zhaoling; Fan, Xing; Zi, Yunlong; Jing, Qingshen; Guo, Hengyu; Wen, Zhen; Pradel, Ken C; Niu, Simiao; Wang, Zhong Lin

2015-03-24

With 70% of the earth's surface covered with water, wave energy is abundant and has the potential to be one of the most environmentally benign forms of electric energy. However, owing to lack of effective technology, water wave energy harvesting is almost unexplored as an energy source. Here, we report a network design made of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) for large-scale harvesting of kinetic water energy. Relying on surface charging effect between the conventional polymers and very thin layer of metal as electrodes for each TENG, the TENG networks (TENG-NW) that naturally float on the water surface convert the slow, random, and high-force oscillatory wave energy into electricity. On the basis of the measured output of a single TENG, the TENG-NW is expected to give an average power output of 1.15 MW from 1 km(2) surface area. Given the compelling features, such as being lightweight, extremely cost-effective, environmentally friendly, easily implemented, and capable of floating on the water surface, the TENG-NW renders an innovative and effective approach toward large-scale blue energy harvesting from the ocean.

Wave power integration with a renewable hydrogen energy system. Paper no. IGEC-1-085

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

St. Germain, L.; Wild, P.; Rowe, A.

2005-01-01

In British Columbia, approximately 90% of the electricity generated comes from hydroelectric facilities while another abundant and renewable resource, ocean wave energy, is not being utilized at all. Technologies exist that can capture and convert wave energy but there are few studies examining systemic integration of wave energy devices. This work examines the potential to use wave energy as an input into a hydrogen-based renewable energy system. A model of an oscillating water column (OWC) was developed as a module within TRNSYS where it can be coupled to other existing hydrogen-specific components such as an electrolyser, storage device, and fuel cell. The OWC model accounts for device geometry, dynamics, and generator efficiency. For this particular study, wave profiles generated from hourly average data for a location on the west coast of Vancouver Island are used as a resource input. An analysis of the potential to utilise wave energy is carried out with an emphasis on overall system efficiency and resulting device scaling. The results of the integration of wave energy with other renewable energy inputs into a hydrogen-based system are used to make recommendations regarding technical feasibility of wave power projects on Vancouver Island. (author)

Modeling of MeV alpha particle energy transfer to lower hybrid waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schivell, J.; Monticello, D.A.; Fisch, N.; Rax, J.M.

1993-10-01

The interaction between a lower hybrid wave and a fusion alpha particle displaces the alpha particle simultaneously in space and energy. This results in coupled diffusion. Diffusion of alphas down the density gradient could lead to their transferring energy to the wave. This could, in turn, put energy into current drive. An initial analytic study was done by Fisch and Rax. Here the authors calculate numerical solutions for the alpha energy transfer and study a range of conditions that are favorable for wave amplification from alpha energy. They find that it is possible for fusion alpha particles to transfer a large fraction of their energy to the lower hybrid wave. The numerical calculation shows that the net energy transfer is not sensitive to the value of the diffusion coefficient over a wide range of practical values. An extension of this idea, the use of a lossy boundary to enhance the energy transfer, is investigated. This technique is shown to offer a large potential benefit