Trevor Whittaker

Nearshore oscillating wave surge converters and the development of Oyster

Oscillating wave surge converters (OWSCs) are a class of wave power technology that exploits the enhanced horizontal fluid particle movement of waves in the nearshore coastal zone with water depths of 10–20 m. OWSCs predominantly oscillate horizontally in surge as opposed to the majority of wave devices, which oscillate vertically in heave and usually are deployed in deeper water. The characteristics of the nearshore wave resource are described along with the hydrodynamics of OWSCs. The variables in the OWSC design space are discussed together with a presentation of some of their effects on capture width, frequency bandwidth response and power take-off characteristics. There are notable differences between the different OWSCs under development worldwide, and these are highlighted. The final section of the paper describes Aquamarine Powers 315 kW Oyster 1 prototype, which was deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre in August 2009. Its place in the OWSC design space is described along with the practical experience gained. This has led to the design of Oyster 2, which was deployed in August 2011. It is concluded that nearshore OWSCs are serious contenders in the mix of wave power technologies. The nearshore wave climate has a narrower directional spread than the offshore, the largest waves are filtered out and the exploitable resource is typically only 10–20% less in 10 m depth compared with 50 m depth. Regarding the devices, a key conclusion is that OWSCs such as Oyster primarily respond in the working frequency range to the horizontal fluid acceleration; Oyster is not a drag device responding to horizontal fluid velocity. The hydrodynamics of Oyster is dominated by inertia with added inertia being a very significant contributor. It is unlikely that individual flap modules will exceed 1 MW in installed capacity owing to wave resource, hydrodynamic and economic constraints. Generating stations will be made up of line arrays of flaps with communal secondary power conversion every 5–10 units.

AN INVESTIGATION OF BREAKING WAVE PRESSURES ON INCLINED WALLS

Shoreline structures are subjected to breaking wave loads which may reach 690 KN/m2. One possibility to reduce these loadings is to slope the exposed surface backwards. The possible amount of reduction in breaking wave loads is, however, unclear, and recent model tests indicated that sloped walls might be exposed to higher loads than are vertical walls. Within the Wave Energy Group at Queens University Belfast, tests on a 1/36 model of a shoreline wave power station were conducted in order to assess the influence of front wall inclination on the magnitude of breaking wave pressures. It was found that breaking wave pressures decrease from 100% for the vertical wall to 44% for a 32.7° backwards inclined wall and to 64% for a 32.7° forward inclined wall. From the results it was concluded that a maximum pressure of 105% can be expected for a 10° forward inclined wall. Design recommendations were found to be conservative.

Latching Control of an Oscillating Water Column Device with Air Compressibility

A linearised model of air compressibility is developed and integrated with the conventional hydrodynamic model of an OWC. This is optimised in the frequency domain and the effects of compressibility are explored. Numerical predictions are validated by experiment. A latching control strategy is described and optimised by first harmonic methods. Simulations show that the approximate frequency domain analysis is accurate and that useful gains in efficiency can be realised by latching.

Visualisation of flow conditions inside a shoreline wave power-station

The particle flow inside an oscillating water column type wave power-station varies with time and changes direction. In order to establish flow patterns and energy dissipating mechanisms, and to assess the influence of geometry changes on the hydraulic performance, flow visualisation experiments were conducted on a 1/36 two-dimensional model of the Islay prototype wave power-station. It was found that large vortices develop around the comparatively thin front wall for in- and outflow and that internal sloshing occurs during the inflow period. From the observations it could be deduced that the front lip curvature and thickness have to be increased. Previous suggestions to structure the front wall surface in order to reduce wave loads had to be revised as these obstacles would interfere with the inflow. An internal breaker was observed, indicating that the loads on the back wall might be considerably higher than assumed.

Strangford Lough and the SeaGen Tidal Turbine

The background to and outcomes of the Environmental Monitoring Programme (EMP) required by statutory regulators for the deployment of the SeaGen tidal turbine in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, an area with many conservation designations, are described. The EMP, which was set within the context of an adaptive management approach, considered possible effects of the device on local populations of seals and harbour porpoises, representative seabirds and benthic communities. The studies on seals were carried out on both local and regional scales. The ecological studies were complemented by detailed field and hydrodynamic modelling investigations together with a programme of mitigation measures designed to reduce collisions between seals and turbine rotors. In general only minor statistically significant changes in abundance, distribution and animal behaviour patterns were recorded, principally associated with small distributional shifts close to the turbine structure and with the likelihood that these changes were ecologically of little significance. The seal–rotor collision mitigation studies provided a base for the establishment of acceptable collision risk strategies. The EMP highlighted observational, methodological and statistical challenges in assessing the environmental consequences of marine energy devices. A brief review of related studies in Strangford Lough is included.

The effect of the spectral distribution of wave energy on the performance of a bottom hinged flap type wave energy converter

The power output from a wave energy converter is typically predicted using experimental and/or numerical modelling techniques. In order to yield meaningful results the relevant characteristics of the device, together with those of the wave climate must be modelled with sufficient accuracy.The wave climate is commonly described using a scatter table of sea states defined according to parameters related to wave height and period. These sea states are traditionally modelled with the spectral distribution of energy defined according to some empirical formulation. Since the response of most wave energy converters vary at different frequencies of excitation, their performance in a particular sea state may be expected to depend on the choice of spectral shape employed rather than simply the spectral parameters. Estimates of energy production may therefore be affected if the spectral distribution of wave energy at the deployment site is not well modelled. Furthermore, validation of the model may be affected by differences between the observed full scale spectral energy distribution and the spectrum used to model it.This paper investigates the sensitivity of the performance of a bottom hinged flap type wave energy converter to the spectral energy distribution of the incident waves. This is investigated experimentally using a 1:20 scale model of Aquamarine Power’s Oyster wave energy converter, a bottom hinged flap type device situated at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in approximately 13m water depth. The performance of the model is tested in sea states defined according to the same wave height and period parameters but adhering to different spectral energy distributions.The results of these tests show that power capture is reduced with increasing spectral bandwidth. This result is explored with consideration of the spectral response of the device in irregular wave conditions. The implications of this result are discussed in the context of validation of the model against particular prototype data sets and estimation of annual energy production.Copyright

The control of wave energy converters using active bipolar damping

A novel method for controlling wave energy converters using active bipolar damping is described and compared with current control methods. The performance of active bipolar damping is modelled numerically for two distinct types of wave energy converter and it is found that in both cases the power capture can be significantly increased relative to optimal linear damping. It is shown that this is because active bipolar damping has the potential for providing a quasi-spring or quasi-inertia, which improves the wave energy converters tuning and amplitude of motion, resulting in the increase in power capture observed. The practical implementation of active bipolar damping is also discussed. It is noted that active bipolar damping does not require a reactive energy store and thereby reduces the cost and eliminates losses due to the cycling of reactive energy. It is also noted that active bipolar damping could be implemented using a single constant pressure double-acting hydraulic cylinder and so potentially represents a simple, efficient, robust and economic solution to the control of wave energy converters.

Numerical Simulation of Wave Power Devices Using a Two Fluid Free Surface Solver

A generic two-fluid (water/air) numerical model has been developed and applied for the simulation of the complex fluid flow around a wave driven rotating vane near a shoreline in the context of a novel wave energy device OWSC (Oscillating wave surge converter). The underlying scheme is based on the solution of the incompressible Euler equations for a variable density fluid system for automatically capturing the interface between water and air and the Cartesian cut cell method for tracking moving solid boundaries on a background stationary Cartesian grid. The results from the present study indicate that the method is an effective tool for modeling a wide range of free surface flow problems.

Preliminary cross-validation of wave energy converter array interactions

The development of wave energy for utility-scale electricity production requires an understanding of how wave energy converters will interact with each other when part of a wave farm. Without this understanding it is difficult to calculate the energy yield from a wave farm and consequently the optimal wave farm layout and configuration cannot be determined. In addition, the uncertainty in a wave farm’s energy yield will increase the cost of finance for the project, which ultimately increases the cost of energy.Numerical modelling of wave energy converter arrays, based on potential flow, has provided some initial indications of the strength of array interactions and optimal array configurations; however, there has been limited validation of these numerical models. Moreover, the cross-validation that has been completed has been for relatively small arrays of wave energy converters. To provide some validation for large array interactions wave basin testing of three different configurations of up to 24 wave energy converters has been completed. All tests used polychromatic (irregular) sea-states, with a range of long-crested and short-crested seas, to provide validation in realistic conditions.The physical model array interactions are compared to those predicted by a numerical model and the suitability of the numerical and physical models analysed. The results are analysed at three different levels and all provide support for the cross-validation of the two models. The differences between the physical and numerical model are also identified and the implications for improving the modelling discussed.Copyright

An Experimental Study of the Hydrodynamic Effects of Marine Growth on Wave Energy Converters

Even though the outstanding energy resource provided by ocean surface waves has long been recognized, the extraction of wave power is still in its infancy. Meanwhile, the increased interest in sustainable energy alternatives could lead to large-scale deployments of wave energy convertors (WECs) worldwide in the near future. In this context, the interaction of WECs with the marine environment is an issue that has come under increased scrutiny. In particular, the accumulation of biological deposits on the device (commonly referred to as biofouling) could lead to a modification in the behaviour and performance of the device design.For coastal devices in the North-Eastern Atlantic region, the main contributors to biofouling are likely to be the brown algae from the genus Laminaria. In the experimental study described in this paper, we have investigated the effects of algal growth on a scale model of the Oyster 800 WEC, a technology developed by Aquamarine Power. The experiments were carried out in the wave tank at Queens University Belfast. The algal growth on the device has been emulated with plastic stripes attached on the surface of the device. Several configurations with various placements and stripe dimensions were tested, in sea states typical to the targeted deployment sites. Our experiments were designed as a worst-case scenario and provide first insights into the potential effects of biofouling on the performance of a WEC. The experiments indicate that the effects of biofouling could be significant and suggest the need for further investigation.© 2013 ASME