Design and Analysis for a Floating Oscillating Surge Wave Energy Converter

Abstract

This paper presents a recent study on the design and analysis of an oscillating surge wave energy converter (OSWEC). A successful wave energy conversion design requires balance between the design performance and cost. The cost of energy is often used as the metric to judge the design of the wave energy conversion (WEC) system, which is often determined based on the device’s power performance; the cost of manufacturing, deployment, operation, and maintenance; and environmental compliance. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the importance of a cost-driven design strategy and how it can affect a WEC design. A set of three oscillating surge wave energy converter designs was analyzed and used as examples. The power generation performance of the design was modeled using a time-domain numerical simulation tool, and the mass properties of the design were determined based on a simple structure analysis. The results of those power performance simulations, the structure analysis, and a simple economic assessment were then used to determine the cost-efficiency of selected OSWEC designs. Finally, we present a discussion on the environmental barrier, integrated design strategy, and the key areas that need further investigation.

A database of capture width ratio of wave energy converters

“…Power performance results for other OWSCs can be found in Refs. [11,44,45]. These sources are discussed in Section 3.1.6.…”

A new optimization procedure of heaving point absorber hydrodynamic performances

“…Bozzi et al (2013) investigated the feasibility of wave electricity production in Italian seas, by the deployment of a sea-based wave energy converter, considering two buoys of different radii, in order to explore the incidence of WEC dimensions on both energy conversion and device efficiency, maximizing the power output by adding a fully submerged body that, in turn, brings the system into resonance with the typical wave frequencies of candidate deployment site. Finally, Yu et al (2014) analysed a set of three surge wave energy (OSWEC) converters, with the main aim of balancing design performances and costs due to manufacturing, deployment, operation, maintenance and environmental compliance, in a cost-driven design strategy.…”

Geometric Development of Point Absorber Wave Energy Conventer

“…One of the wave energy conversion simulators is WEC-Sim developed by The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). This simulator has successfully simulated several forms such as flap [4], applying a buoyancy force and non-linear excitation forces [5], and arbitrary geometric [6]. Several studies have been conducted to study the effect of the shape of buoyancy on the energy produced [7][8][9][10].…”