This paper presents a parametric study on arrays of wave energy converters (WECs). Its goal is to assess the influence of interactions between bodies on the overall yearly energy production of the array. Generic WECs (heaving cylinder and surging barge) are considered. Nine to twenty-five WECs are installed along regular square and triangular grids; the influence of the separating distance between the WECs is investigated. Results show that constructive and destructive interactions compensate each other over the considered range of wave periods. The influence of the separating distance can be limited, especially if the damping of the power takeoff is tuned properly, and if the WECs have a large bandwidth. It is found that grouping the devices into arrays have generally a constructive effect. Diffracted and radiated waves in the array lead to a sufficient increase in the energy absorption which overcomes the reduction due to masking effects.
This paper synthesizes the technical feasibility study carried out for a hybrid ocean energy converter, with balanced wind and wave contributions. The solution envisaged involves a 100m diameter circular barge equipped with floating oscillating wave surge converters (OWSCs). This floating structure is mounted with a 5MW wind turbine. The present study covers power performance estimations, structural analysis and mooring design calculations. The first section describes the “Wave to Wire” model programmed in both frequency and time domain. The mathematical and hydrodynamic assumptions are highlighted together with the numerical model. The second part starts with the assessment of the performances of this device, carried out on in-house simulation codes. Based on combined wave and wind resources, the annual average absorbed power figures are compared with published results for existing ocean energy converters. The total rated power of the combined system reaches 10MW. Eventually, the last section approaches practical topics, directly related to the capital and operational costs inherent to an industrial development phase. The total steel mass is estimated first, from structural calculations carried out for a selection of 3D static loads cases. Then, a technical solution for the mooring system is presented together with the envisaged installation procedure.
In this paper, an array of two interacting wave energy converters with hydraulic PTOs is considered. A time domain model is derived by using classical linear potential theory. Numerical simulations and parametric studies are performed in order to determine the influence of the distance on the capture width of each system in the array, both in regular and irregular waves. It is shown that when the systems are close, the front system (which meets the waves first) is more affected by the wave interaction than the rear system. But the wave interactions decrease faster with the distance for the front system than for the rear system. For this latter system, it seems that the effect of wave interactions remains noticeable even far (14 diameters) from the first system.
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