Extreme Responses of An Integrated System with A Semi-Submersible Wind Turbine and Four Torus-Shaped Wave Energy Converters in Different Survival Modes

Offshore wind power is a kind of important clean renewable energy and has attracted increasing attention due to the rapid consumption of non-renewable energy.To reduce the high cost of energy,a possible try is to utilize the combination of wind and wave energy considering their natural correlation.A combined concept consisting of a semi-submersible wind turbine and four torus-shaped wave energy converters was proposed and numerically studied under normal operating conditions.However,the dynamic behavior of the integrated system under extreme sea conditions has not been studied yet.In the present work,extreme responses of the integrated system under two different survival modes are evaluated.Fully coupled time-domain simulations with consideration of interactions between the semi-submersible wind turbine and the torus-shaped wave energy converters are performed to investigate dynamic responses of the integrated system,including mooring tensions,tower bending moments,end stop forces,and contact forces at the Column-Torus interface.It is found that the addition of four tori will reduce the mean motions of the yaw,pitch and surge.When the tori are locked at the still water line,the whole integrated system is more suitable for the survival modes.

Negative Stiffness Mechanism on An Asymmetric Wave Energy Converter by Using A Weakly Nonlinear Potential Model

Salter's duck,an asymmetrical wave energy converter(WEC)device,showed high efficiency in extracting energy from 2D regular waves in the past;yet,challenges remain for fluctuating wave conditions.These can potentially be addressed by adopting a negative stiffness mechanism(NSM)in WEC devices to enhance system efficiency,even in highly nonlinear and steep 3D waves.A weakly nonlinear model was developed which incorporated a nonlinear restoring moment and NSM into the linear formulations and was applied to an asymmetric WEC using a time domain potential flow model.The model was initially validated by comparing it with published experimental and numerical computational fluid dynamics results.The current results were in good agreement with the published results.It was found that the energy extraction increased in the range of 6%to 17%during the evaluation of the effectiveness of the NSM in regular waves.Under irregular wave conditions,specifically at the design wave conditions for the selected test site,the energy extraction increased by 2.4%,with annual energy production increments of approximately 0.8MWh.The findings highlight the potential of NSM in enhancing the performance of asymmetric WEC devices,indicating more efficient energy extraction under various wave conditions.

Hydrodynamic Performance of An Integrated System of Breakwater and A Multi-Chamber OWC Wave Energy Converter

A multi-chamber oscillating water column wave energy converter(OWC-WEC)integrated to a breakwater is investigated.The hydrodynamic characteristics of the device are analyzed using an analytical model based on the linear potential flow theory.A pneumatic model is employed to investigate the relationship between the air mass flux in the chamber and the turbine characteristics.The effects of chamber width,wall draft and wall thickness on the hydrodynamic performance of a dual-chamber OWC-WEC are investigated.The results demonstrate that the device,with a smaller front wall draft and a wider rear chamber exhibits a broader effective frequency bandwidth.The device with a chamber-width-ratio of 1:3 performs better in terms of power absorption.Additionally,results from the analysis of a triplechamber OWC-WEC demonstrate that reducing the front chamber width and increasing the rearward chamber width can improve the total performance of the device.Increasing the number of chambers from 1 to 2 or 3 can widen the effective frequency bandwidth.

An assessment of global ocean wave energy resources over the last 45 a

Against the background of the current world facing an energy crisis,and human beings puzzled by the problems of environment and resources,developing clean energy sources becomes the inevitable choice to deal with a climate change and an energy shortage.A global ocean wave energy resource was reanalyzed by using ERA-40 wave reanalysis data 1957–2002 from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts（ECMWF）.An effective significant wave height is defined in the development of wave energy resources（short as effective SWH）,and the total potential of wave energy is exploratively calculated.Synthetically considering a wave energy density,a wave energy level probability,the frequency of the effective SWH,the stability and long-term trend of wave energy density,a swell index and a wave energy storage,global ocean wave energy resources were reanalyzed and regionalized,providing reference to the development of wave energy resources such as wave power plant location,seawater desalination,heating,pumping.

Exploitable wave energy assessment based on ERA-Interim reanalysis data—A case study in the East China Sea and the South China Sea

Wave energy resources assessment is a very important process before the exploitation and utilization of the wave energy. At present, the existing wave energy assessment is focused on theoretical wave energy conditions for interesting areas. While the evaluation for exploitable wave energy conditions is scarcely ever performed. Generally speaking, the wave energy are non-exploitable under a high sea state and a lower sea state which must be ignored when assessing wave energy. Aiming at this situation, a case study of the East China Sea and the South China Sea is performed. First, a division basis between the theoretical wave energy and the exploitable wave energy is studied. Next, based on recent 20 a ERA-Interim wave field data, some indexes including the spatial and temporal distribution of wave power density, a wave energy exploitable ratio, a wave energy level, a wave energy stability, a total wave energy density, the seasonal variation of the total wave energy and a high sea condition frequency are calculated. And then the theoretical wave energy and the exploitable wave energy are compared each other; the distributions of the exploitable wave energy are assessed and a regional division for exploitable wave energy resources is carried out; the influence of the high sea state is evaluated. The results show that considering collapsing force of the high sea state and the utilization efficiency for wave energy, it is determined that the energy by wave with a significant wave height being not less 1 m or not greater than 4 m is the exploitable wave energy. Compared with the theoretical wave energy, the average wave power density, energy level, total wave energy density and total wave energy of the exploitable wave energy decrease obviously and the stability enhances somewhat. Pronounced differences between the theoretical wave energy and the exploitable wave energy are present. In the East China Sea and the South China Sea, the areas of an abundant and stable exploitable wave energy are primarily located in the north-central part of the South China Sea, the Luzon Strait, east of Taiwan, China and north of Ryukyu Islands; annual average exploitable wave power density values in these areas are approximately 10-15 kW/m; the exploitable coefficient of variation （COV） and seasonal variation （SV） values in these areas are less than 1.2 and 1, respectively. Some coastal areas of the Beibu Gulf, the Changjiang Estuary, the Hangzhou Bay and the Zhujiang Estuary are the poor areas of the wave energy. The areas of the high wave energy exploitable ratio is primarily in nearshore waters. The influence of the high sea state for the wave energy in nearshore waters is less than that in offshore waters. In the areas of the abundant wave energy, the influence of the high sea state for the wave energy is prominent and the utilization of wave energy is relatively difficult. The developed evaluation method may give some references for an exploitable wave energy assessment and is valuable for practical applications.

Wave Energy Study in China: Advancements and Perspectives

The history and current status of research and development of wave energy in the world is briefly introduced. The main problems existing in these studies are pointed out. The description is focused on the current status and the advancements achieved in China. After analysis of the wave energy resources and practical situations in China, it is pointed out that the studies on wave energy should be not only concentrated on the conversion efficiency and costs of wave energy devices, but also focused on the technology of independent operation and stable output of electricity. Finally, the perspectives of application of wave energy in China are discussed.

The Assessment of Ocean Wave Energy Along the Coasts of Taiwan

The wave energy resource around the coasts of Taiwan is investigated with wave buoy data covering a 3-year period （2007-2009）. Eleven study sites within the region bounded by the 21.5^°N-25.5°N latitudes and 118°E-122°E longitudes are selected for analysis. The monthly moving-average filter is used to obtain the low-frequency trend based on the available hourly data. After quantifying the wave power and annual wave energy, the substantial resource is the result of Penghu buoy station, which is at the northeastern side of Penghu Island in the Taiwan Strait. it is investigated that the Penghu sea area is determined to be the optimal place for wave energy production according to its abundant resource of northeasterly monsoon waves, sheltering of the Taiwan Island, operation and maintenance in terms of seasonal conditions, and constructability of wave power devices.

Wave Extraction and Attenuation Performance of An Edinburgh Duck Wave Energy Converter

Edinburgh Duck wave energy converter(ED WEC)has excellent energy extraction performance and shows a great potential to integrate with other marine structures.This paper aims to investigate its wave energy extraction performance as a WEC and wave attenuation performance as a protection method for shoreline or marine structures.The wave and ED WEC interactions in regular waves are modeled using the Star-CCM+software and verified by comparisons with published experimental results.The motion response,energy conversion efficiency,and transmission coefficient of the ED WEC with different attack angles,rotation center,and incident wave heights are investigated.Results indicate that the ED WEC with an attack angle of 42°and a rotation center of 0.55 m below the mean water line can achieve both good wave energy extraction and wave attenuation performances.The wave energy extraction and wave attenuation performance of the ED WEC decrease significantly with the increase of wave nonlinearity characterized by the wave steepness.This paper can guide the practical application of the ED WEC at the early stage of design.

Wave Energy Resource Availability Assessment in the Philippines Based on 30-Year Hindcast Data

With the goal of evaluating the wave and wave energy conditions in the Philippines,the simulated wave nearshore(SWAN)model was used to estimate the wavefield using 30 years of cross-calibrated multi-platform(CCMP)wind field data(1987-2016).The spatiotemporal patterns of annual and monthly averaged significant wave heights and wave energy in the Philippines were analyzed based on the simulated data.Results showed that they had similar values;in particular,significant wave heights and wave energy were smaller in the south and southwest and higher in the north and northeast.A total of 12 representative points along the Philippine coast were selected to draw wave and wave energy roses.A directional analysis showed that the dominant wave was in the north north-east(NNE),northeast(NE),and east north-east(ENE)directions.Wave energy was mainly distributed in regions with an energy period between 1 and 10 s and significant wave heights between 0 and 4 m.To better utilize wave energy data in the Philippines,this paper studied the available and rich area of wave energy and analyzed the annual and monthly variability index of wave energy in the country.Moreover,the available significant wave heights of wave energy conversion devices(WECs)were set as 0.5-4 m,and the maximum annual average available wave energy occurred in the eastern Philippine Sea area,reaching 13 kW m^(-1).For the safety of WECs,extreme typhoon-induced wave conditions must be considered.Furthermore,the results showed that the maximum significant wave height and mean period over the 50-year return period reached 18 m and 15 s,respectively.

Width effects on hydrodynamics of pendulum wave energy converter

Based on two- and three-dimensional potential flow theories, the width effects on the hydrodynamics of a bottom-hinged trapezoidal pendulum wave energy converter are discussed. The two-dimensional eigenfunction expansion method is used to obtain the diffraction and radiation solutions when the converter width tends to be infinity. The trapezoidal section of the converter is approximated by a rectangular section for simplification. The nonlinear viscous damping effects are accounted for by including a drag term in the two- and three-dimensional methods. It is found that the three- dimensional results are in good agreement with the two-dimensional results when the converter width becomes larger, especially when the converter width is infinity, which shows that both of the methods are reasonable. Meantime, it is also found that the peak value of the conversion efficiency decreases as the converter width increases in short wave periods while increases when the converter width increases in long wave periods.

Performance Evaluation of Advanced Wave Energy Converters in the Nearshore Areas of the North Indian Ocean

The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is a profound measure for mankind,whilst its development is severely restricted by the energy shortage of surrounding countries.As the core construction area of Maritime Silk Road,the North Indian Ocean is rich in wave energy.The development and utilization of wave energy not only can overcome energy shortage,but also promote communication between peripheral countries.However,previous researchers often focused on wave energy itself,without combining devices to analyze wave energy resources.Therefore,we conducted an overall assessment of wave energy resources using 20-year ERA5 data and determined the sites considered as superior for the construction of Wave Energy Farm(WEF)in the coastal areas.In order to point out which type of Wave Energy Converter(WEC)is best suited for the sites,we carried out the performance evaluation of eight advanced WECs using three parameters:the mean power output,the capacity factor and the capture width ratio.The results show that the performance of Wave Star is superior to other devices,which is supposed to be the primary consideration of the Wave Energy Farms(WEFs)in the future.

An Experimental Study on A Trapezoidal Pendulum Wave Energy Converter in Regular Waves

Experimental studies were conducted on a trapezoidal pendulum wave energy converter in regular waves. To obtain the incident wave height, the analytical method （AM） was used to separate the incident and reflected waves propagating in a wave flume by analysing wave records measured at two locations. The response amplitude operator （RAO）, primary conversion efficiency and the total conversion efficiency of the wave energy converter were studied; furthermore, the power take-off damping coefficients corresponding to the load resistances in the experiment were also obtained. The findings demonstrate that the natural period for a pendulum wave energy converter is relatively large. A lower load resistance gives rise to a larger damping coefficient. The model shows relatively higher wave energy conversion efficiency in the range of 1.0-1.2 s for the incident wave period. The maximum primary conversion efficiency achieved was 55.5%, and the maximum overall conversion efficiency was 39.4%.

Design of A Hydraulic Power Take-off System for the Wave Energy Device with An Inverse Pendulum

This paper describes a dual-stroke acting hydraulic power take-off （PTO） system employed in the wave energy converter （WEC） with an inverse pendulum. The hydraulic PTO converts slow irregular reciprocating wave motions to relatively smooth, fast rotation of an electrical generator. The design of the hydraulic PTO system and its control are critical to maximize the generated power. A time domain simulation study and the laboratory experiment of the full-scale beach test are presented. The results of the simulation and laboratory experiments including their comparison at full-scale are also presented, which have validated the rationality of the design and the reliability of some key components of the prototype of the WEC with an inverse pendulum with the dual-stroke acting hydraulic PTO system.

A wave energy resource assessment in the China's seas based on multi-satellite merged radar altimeter data

Wave energy resources are abundant in both offshore and nearshore areas of the China＇s seas. A reliable assessment of the wave energy resources must be performed before they can be exploited. First, for a water depth in offshore waters of China, a parameterized wave power density model that considers the effects of the water depth is introduced to improve the calculating accuracy of the wave power density. Second, wave heights and wind speeds on the surface of the China＇s seas are retrieved from an AVISO multi-satellite altim-eter data set for the period from 2009 to 2013. Three mean wave period inversion models are developed and used to calculate the wave energy period. Third, a practical application value for developing the wave energy is analyzed based on buoy data. Finally, the wave power density is then calculated using the wave field data. Using the distribution of wave power density, the energy level frequency, the time variability indexes, the to-tal wave energy and the distribution of total wave energy density according to a wave state, the offshore wave energy in the China＇s seas is assessed. The results show that the areas of abundant and stable wave energy are primarily located in the north-central part of the South China Sea, the Luzon Strait, southeast of Taiwan in the China＇s seas; the wave power density values in these areas are approximately 14.0–18.5 kW/m. The wave energy in the China’s seas presents obvious seasonal variations and optimal seasons for a wave energy utilization are in winter and autumn. Except for very coastal waters, in other sea areas in the China＇s seas, the energy is primarily from the wave state with 0.5 m≤Hs≤4 m, 4 s≤Te≤10 s whereHs is a significant wave height andTe is an energy period; within this wave state, the wave energy accounts for 80% above of the total wave energy. This characteristic is advantageous to designing wave energy convertors （WECs）. The practical application value of the wave energy is higher which can be as an effective supplement for an energy con-sumption in some areas. The above results are consistent with the wave model which indicates fully that this new microwave remote sensing method altimeter is effective and feasible for the wave energy assessment.

An Oscillating Wave Energy Converter with Nonlinear Snap-Through Power-Take-Off Systems in Regular Waves

Floating oscillating bodies constitute a large class of wave energy converters, especially for offshore deployment. Usually the Power-Take-Off（PTO） system is a directly linear electric generator or a hydraulic motor that drives an electric generator. The PTO system is simplified as a linear spring and a linear damper. However the conversion is less powerful with wave periods off resonance. Thus, a nonlinear snap-through mechanism with two symmetrically oblique springs and a linear damper is applied in the PTO system. The nonlinear snap-through mechanism is characteristics of negative stiffness and double-well potential. An important nonlinear parameter γ is defined as the ratio of half of the horizontal distance between the two springs to the original length of both springs. Time domain method is applied to the dynamics of wave energy converter in regular waves. And the state space model is used to replace the convolution terms in the time domain equation. The results show that the energy harvested by the nonlinear PTO system is larger than that by linear system for low frequency input. While the power captured by nonlinear converters is slightly smaller than that by linear converters for high frequency input. The wave amplitude, damping coefficient of PTO systems and the nonlinear parameter γ affect power capture performance of nonlinear converters. The oscillation of nonlinear wave energy converters may be local or periodically inter well for certain values of the incident wave frequency and the nonlinear parameter γ, which is different from linear converters characteristics of sinusoidal response in regular waves.

Experimental Investigation on the Hydrodynamic Performance of A Wave Energy Converter

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 （RM） of the oscillator and carrier. Experimental results show that these factors greatly affect the energy conversion performance, especially when the wave period matches RM 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 RM 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, RM was 0.21, and the PTO damping was corresponding to the resistance of 100 Ω.

CFD Simulation and Experimental Study of a New Elastic Blade Wave Energy Converter

Small moving vehicles represent an important category of marine engineering tools and devices(equipment)typically used for ocean resource detection and maintenance of marine rights and interests.The lack of efficient power supply modes is one of the technical bottlenecks restricting the effective utilisation of this type of equipment.In this work,the performance characteristics of a new type of elastic-blade/wave-energy converter(EBWEC)and its core energy conversion component(named wave energy absorber)are comprehensively studied.In particular,computational fluid dynamics(CFD)simulations and experiments have been used to analyze the hydrodynamics and performance characteristics of the EBWEC.The pressure cloud diagrams relating to the surface of the elastic blade were obtained through two-way fluid-solid coupling simulations.The influence of blade thickness and relative speed on the performance characteristics of EBWEC was analyzed accordingly.A prototype of the EBWEC and its bucket test platform were also developed.The power characteristics of the EBWEC were analyzed and studied by using the blade thickness and motion cycle as control variables.The present research shows that the EBWEC can effectively overcome the performance disadvantages related to the transmission shaft torque load and power curve fluctuations of rigid blade wave energy converters(RBWEC).

Dynamic Properties and Energy Conversion Efficiency of A Floating Multi-Body Wave Energy Converter

The present study proposed a floating multi-body wave energy converter composed of a floating central platform,multiple oscillating bodies and multiple actuating arms. The relative motions between the oscillating bodies and the floating central platform capture multi-point wave energy simultaneously. The converter was simplified as a forced vibration system with three degrees of freedom, namely two heave motions and one rotational motion. The expressions of the amplitude-frequency response and the wave energy capture width were deduced from the motion equations of the converter. Based on the built mathematical model, the effects of the PTO damping coefficient, the PTO elastic coefficient, the connection length between the oscillating body and central platform, and the total number of oscillating bodies on the performance of the wave energy converter were investigated. Numerical results indicate that the dynamical properties and the energy conversion efficiency are related not only to the incident wave circle frequency but also to the converter’s physical parameters and interior PTO coefficients. By adjusting the connection length, higher wave energy absorption efficiencies can be obtained. More oscillating bodies installed result in more stable floating central platform and higher wave energy conversion efficiency.

Power Maximization of A Point Absorber Wave Energy Converter Using Improved Model Predictive Control

This paper considers controlling and maximizing the absorbed power of wave energy converters for irregular waves. With respect to physical constraints of the system, a model predictive control is applied. Irregular waves’ behavior is predicted by Kalman filter method. Owing to the great influence of controller parameters on the absorbed power, these parameters are optimized by imperialist competitive algorithm. The results illustrate the method’s efficiency in maximizing the extracted power in the presence of unknown excitation force which should be predicted by Kalman filter.

Recent advances in wave energy converters based on nonlinear stiffness mechanisms

Wave energy is one of the most abundant renewable clean energy sources,and has been widely studied because of its advantages of continuity and low seasonal variation.However,its low capture efficiency and narrow capture frequency bandwidth are still technical bottlenecks that restrict the commercial application of wave energy converters(WECs).In recent years,using a nonlinear stiffness mechanism(NSM)for passive control has provided a new way to solve these technical bottlenecks.This literature review focuses on the research performed on the use of nonlinear mechanisms in wave energy device utilization,including the conceptual design of a mechanism,hydrodynamic models,dynamic characteristics,response mechanisms,and some examples of experimental verification.Finally,future research directions are discussed and recommended.