Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Toward wave energy in Oregon : predicting wave conditions and extracted power

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/r781wj043

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  • Knowledge of wave conditions in nearshore regions supports the development of ocean wave energy technology by providing wave climatology for device design considerations, and power output estimates. By modeling wave transformation over the continental shelf, wave conditions were predicted in nearshore regions where potential wave energy conversion sites are located. Subsequently, a wave-structure interaction model was implemented, and power output estimates were made for a simplified wave energy converter operating in measured spectral wave conditions. For the purpose of modeling wave transformation, the SWAN spectral wave model was applied to three domains on Oregon's continental shelf. The purpose was to assess the skill of the SWAN model in this application (highly energetic waves on a narrow continental shelf). By comparing results with in situ data collected near the coast, it was found that the model had substantial skill, predicting in situ wave heights with RMS percent errors of 11%. The characterization of the transformation across the shelf was not improved by including bottom friction and wind wave generation, suggesting that these physical processes are not important for a model of Oregon's continental shelf considering depths less than 150m. When basin scale wave model output was used to force the outer shelf boundary, the model remained skillful, with RMS percent errors of 17-20%. In order to estimate power output from a wave energy converter, device response to hydrodynamic forces was computed using the WAMIT boundary element method, potential ow model. A method was outlined for using the hydrodynamic response to estimate power output. This method was demonstrated by considering an idealized non-resonating wave energy converter with one year of measured spectral wave conditions from the Oregon coast. The power calculation was performed in the frequency domain, with a passive tuning system which was tuned at time scales ranging from hourly to annually. It was found that there was only a 3.2% gain in productivity by tuning hourly over tuning annually, suggesting that for a non-resonating wave energy converter, power output is not very sensitive to power take off damping. Interaction between wave energy converters in arrays was considered also, along with a discussion of associated limitations of multiple body interaction analysis within WAMIT.
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