Determining the performance characteristics of various ocean wave energy converters (OWEC) has proven to be difficult due to problems replicating a baseline motion profile in the ocean or wave tank to compare these devices. The linear test bed seeks to mechanically simulate the relative linear motion between the active components...
Ocean wave energy is rapidly becoming a field of great interest in the world of renewable energy. Significant advancements in design and technology are being made to make wave energy a viable alternative for our growing energy demands. The two major hurdles for ocean wave energy to make a significant...
With the increasing effort to identify alternative methods of energy generation, extraction of ocean energy has gathered a large interest. Research and industry have begun considering wave energy as the next new alternative energy. The unique challenges of ocean energy requires a wave energy converter to be both robust and...
Continual growth of the world's energy consumption and the demand for long-term clean renewable energy resources has led to the development of ocean-based wave energy technologies. Emerging technologies are advancing potential solutions to the complex problem of energy generation in the harsh and corrosive ocean environment. To develop these technologies,...
Recently, there has been peaked interest in developing high energy producing and optimized power take-off topologies for Wave Energy Converters (WEC). As large as the potential of the oceans may seem, harnessing that energy and effectively converting it to electricity in significant amounts is a challenge. Currently, there are no...
The performance of the power take-off (PTO) system for a wave energy converter (WEC) depends largely on its control algorithm. This paper presents an adaptive damping control algorithm that improves power capture across a range of sea states. Validation for the numerical model was performed using data from two sources;...
Ocean wave energy shows great potential as a developing form of renewable energy. However, challenges arise in maturing this technology to achieve cost-effective energy conversion. Development and testing of wave energy converters can be problematic due to the harsh environment in which they are operated. To promote development of this...
With the ever-increasing demand and competition for global energy resources among nations, it is essential to explore and tap into various energy sources to reduce dependency on global markets. Renewable energy sources offer a significant opportunity to create localized and stable energy supplies. Ocean wave energy can be a promising...
This dissertation studies the coupled fluid-structure interaction (FSI) of a wave energy converter (WEC) and evaluates the design of a WEC mooring system. The research is conducted in support of conceptual development, field test and performance evaluation of WECs as part of the mission of the Northwest National Marine Renewable...
Ocean wave energy converter technology continues to advance and new developers continue to emerge, leading to the need for a general design, modeling, and testing methodology. This work presents a development of the process of taking a wave energy converter from a concept to the prototype stage. A two body...