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Numerical and Experimental Modelling of WECs

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Ocean Wave Energy

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology(Virtual Series) ((GREEN))

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Abstract

The design of a wave energy converter relies heavily on results from numerical simulations and experiments with scale models. Such results allow not only fun-damental design changes but also the optimisation of selected configurations. For ongoing development, and particularly at an early stage, numerical models give the flexibility of assessing a large number of versions at a relatively low cost. Physical models are then tested in wave tanks to validate the numerical simula-tions and to investigate phenomena which are not evidenced by the computational packages. This chapter provides an overview on the numerical techniques that have been used to model the hydrodynamics of wave energy converters (WECs), details on wavemaker and wave tank design, guidelines on experimental tech-niques and finally a case study related to one of the most studied concepts which reached the full-scale prototype stage.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Garrad Hassan and Partners Ltd, Bristol, UK

    João Cruz

  2. Edinburgh Designs Ltd, Edinburgh, UK

    Matthew Rea

  3. Wave Energy Centre, Lisbon, Portugal

    António Sarmento

  4. Dept. of Applied Mathematics, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Gareth Thomas

  5. Pelamis Wave Power Ltd, Edinburgh, UK

    Ross Henderson

Authors
  1. João Cruz
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  2. Matthew Rea
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  3. António Sarmento
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  4. Gareth Thomas
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  5. Ross Henderson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. St Vincent’sWorks, Garrard Hassan and Partners Limited, Silverthorne Lane, EH6 6NF BS2 0QD, Bristol, UK

    Joao Cruz

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Cruz, J., Rea, M., Sarmento, A., Thomas, G., Henderson, R. (2008). Numerical and Experimental Modelling of WECs. In: Cruz, J. (eds) Ocean Wave Energy. Green Energy and Technology(Virtual Series). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74895-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74895-3_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-74894-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-74895-3

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