Basic Characteristics of the Primary Conversion of an OWC Type WEC Installed on a Wave Dissipating Double-Caisson

Author(s):  
Tomoki Ikoma ◽  
Koichi Masuda ◽  
Hiroaki Eto ◽  
Shogo Shibuya

Several types of oscillating water column (OWC) type wave energy converters (WECs) are researched and developed in the world. They are floating types and fixed types. In case of a fixed type, wave dissipating caissons could be replaced to WECs of an OWC type. On OWC types, installation of the projecting-walls (PWs) is useful in order to improve PTO performance. In this study, it was considered that a double dissipating caisson was used as an OWC type WEC with PWs. A front caisson of the double caisson seems the area surrounded by PWs and a back caisson can be seen as an OWC. The paper studied basic property of the primary conversion from wave power to power of air from model tests in a wave tank. As a result, wave height strongly effects on behaviours of OWC motion as well as air pressure. Finally, the primary conversion was affected by wave height. Besides, the concept of use of a double caisson was useful from the primary conversion over 80 % evaluated using test data.

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoki Ikoma ◽  
Koichi Masuda ◽  
Hiroaki Eto ◽  
Shogo Shibuya

Several types of oscillating water column (OWC) type wave energy converters (WECs) are researched and developed in the world. They are floating types and fixed types. In case of a fixed type, wave-dissipating caissons could be replaced by WECs of an OWC type. In OWC types, installation of the projecting walls (PWs) is useful in order to improve power take-off (PTO) performance. In this study, a double-dissipating caisson was used as an OWC type WEC with PWs. A front caisson of the double caisson seems to be the area surrounded by PWs and a back caisson can be seen as an OWC. The paper studied the basic property of the primary conversion from wave power to pneumatic power from model tests in a wave tank. It was found that the wave height strongly affects the behaviors of OWC motion and air pressure. Finally, the primary conversion was affected by wave height. Besides, the concept of use of a double caisson was useful for the primary conversion over 80% evaluated using test data.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (13) ◽  
pp. 1950168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianlong Xu ◽  
Ye Li ◽  
Yingkai Xia ◽  
Weixing Chen ◽  
Feng Gao

Fully submerged sphere and cylinder point absorber (PA), wave energy converters (WECs) are analyzed numerically based on linearized potential flow theory. A boundary element method (BEM) (a radiation–diffraction panel program for wave-body interactions) is used for the basic wave-structure interaction analysis. In the present numerical model, the viscous damping is modeled by an equivalent linearized damping which extracts the same amount of wave energy over one cycle as the conventional quadratic damping term. The wave power capture width in each case is predicted. Comparisons are also made between the sphere and cylinder PAs which have identical geometrical scales and submerged depths. The results show that: (i) viscous damping has a greater influence on wave power performance of the cylinder PA than that of the sphere PA; (ii) the increasing wave height reduces wave power performance of PAs; (iii) the cylinder PA has a better wave power performance compared to the sphere PA in larger wave height scenarios, which indicates that fully submerged cylinder PA is a preferable prototype of WEC.


Author(s):  
Teruhisa Ogata ◽  
Yukihisa Washio ◽  
Hiroyuki Osawa ◽  
Yasushi Tsuritani ◽  
Seiya Yamashita ◽  
...  

This paper presents the characteristics of wave conditions, wave energy absorption, response of hull-motion and wave height dissipation based on the results of the open sea tests. 0.5–1.0m of significant wave height and 6–7 seconds of significant wave period appear the most predominant, and average wave energy is estimated 4.88kW/m around the test site. Average power output for the test is approximately 6kWh and the maximum total energy efficiency is around 15% that is ranging from 6–7 seconds of significant wave period. Slow drift oscillation of hull was observed motion in surge, sway and yaw and the value of its amplitude almost equal to estimated values in design stage. Then the mean value of transmission coefficient is about 0.8 under 8.0 seconds of significant wave period. We are considering that the results of the tests should be useful for optimum design of an offshore floating type wave power device.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3482
Author(s):  
Ruth Branch ◽  
Gabriel García-Medina ◽  
Zhaoqing Yang ◽  
Taiping Wang ◽  
Fadia Ticona Rollano ◽  
...  

Wave-generated power has potential as a valuable coastal resource, but the wave climate needs to be mapped for feasibility before wave energy converters are installed. Numerical models are used for wave resource assessments to quantify the amount of available power and its seasonality. Alaska is the U.S. state with the longest coastline and has extensive wave resources, but it is affected by seasonal sea ice that dampens the wave energy and the full extent of this dampening is unknown. To accurately characterize the wave resource in regions that experience seasonal sea ice, coastal wave models must account for these effects. The aim of this study is to determine how the dampening effects of sea ice change wave energy resource assessments in the nearshore. Here, we show that by combining high-resolution sea ice imagery with a sea ice/wave dampening parameterization in an unstructured grid, the Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) model improves wave height predictions and demonstrates the extent to which wave power decreases when sea ice is present. The sea ice parametrization decreases the bias and root mean square errors of wave height comparisons with two wave buoys and predicts a decrease in the wave power of up to 100 kW/m in areas around Prince William Sound, Alaska. The magnitude of the improvement of the model/buoy comparison depends on the coefficients used to parameterize the wave–ice interaction.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomás Cabral ◽  
Daniel Clemente ◽  
Paulo Rosa-Santos ◽  
Francisco Taveira-Pinto ◽  
Tiago Morais ◽  
...  

Seaports are highly energy demanding infrastructures and are exposed to wave energy, which is an abundant resource and largely unexploited. As a result, there has been a rising interest in integrating wave energy converters (WEC) into the breakwaters of seaports. The present work analyzes the performance of an innovative hybrid WEC module combining an oscillating water column (OWC) and an overtopping device (OWEC) integrated into a rubble mound breakwater, based on results of a physical model study carried out at a geometrical scale of 1:50. Before the experimental tests, the device’s performance was numerically optimized using ANSYS Fluent and WOPSim v3.11. The wave power captured by the hybrid WEC was calculated and the performance of the two harvesting principles discussed. It was demonstrated that hybridization could lead to systems with higher efficiencies than its individual components, for a broader range of wave conditions. The chosen concepts were found to complement each other: the OWEC was more efficient for the lower wave periods tested and the OWC for the higher. Consequently, the power production of the hybrid WEC was found to be less dependent on the wave’s characteristics.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 3668
Author(s):  
Anders H. Hansen ◽  
Magnus F. Asmussen ◽  
Michael M. Bech

Model predictive control based wave power extraction algorithms have been developed and found promising for wave energy converters. Although mostly proven by simulation studies, model predictive control based algorithms have shown to outperform classical wave power extraction algorithms such as linear damping and reactive control. Prediction models and objective functions have, however, often been simplified a lot by for example, excluding power take-off system losses. Furthermore, discrete fluid power forces systems has never been validated experimentally in published research. In this paper a model predictive control based wave power extraction algorithm is designed for a discrete fluid power power take-off system. The loss models included in the objective function are based on physical models of the losses associated with discrete force shifts and throttling. The developed wave power extraction algorithm directly includes the quantized force output and the losses models of the discrete fluid power system. The experimental validation of the wave power extraction algorithm developed in the paper shown an increase of 14.6% in yearly harvested energy when compared to a reactive control algorithm.


2014 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 255-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongyao Luo ◽  
Jean-Roch Nader ◽  
Paul Cooper ◽  
Song-Ping Zhu

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoki Ikoma ◽  
Shota Hirai ◽  
Yasuhiro Aida ◽  
Koichi Masuda

Abstract Wave energy converters (WECs) have been extensively researched. The behaviour of the oscillating water column (OWC) in OWC WECs is extremely complex due to the interaction of waves, air, and turbines. Several problems must be overcome before such WECs can be put to practical use. One problem is that the effect of the difference in scale between a small-scale experimental model and a full-scale model is unclear. In this study, several OWC models with different scales and geometries were used in forced oscillation tests. The wave tank was 7.0 m wide, 24.0 m long, and 1.0 m deep. In the static water experiment, we measured the air pressure and water surface fluctuations in an air chamber. For the experiments, models with a box shape with an open bottom, a manifold shape with an open bottom, and a box shape with a front opening, respectively, were fabricated. Furthermore, 1/1, 1/2, and 1/4 scale models were fabricated for each shape to investigate the effects of scale and shape on the air chamber characteristics. Numerical calculations were carried out by applying linear potential theory and the results were compared with the experimental values. The results confirmed that the air chamber shape and scale affect the air pressure fluctuation and water surface fluctuation inside the OWC system.


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