In this study, we investigated the hydrodynamic and energy conversion performance of a double-float wave energy converter(WEC) based on the linear theory of water waves. The generator power take-off(PTO) system is mod...In this study, we investigated the hydrodynamic and energy conversion performance of a double-float wave energy converter(WEC) based on the linear theory of water waves. The generator power take-off(PTO) system is modeled as a combination of a linear viscous damping and a linear spring. Using the frequency domain method, the optimal damping coefficient of the generator PTO system is derived to achieve the optimal conversion efficiency(capture width ratio).Based on the potential flow theory and the higher-order boundary element method(HOBEM), we constructed a threedimensional model of double-float WEC to study its hydrodynamic performance and response in the time domain. Only the heave motion of the two-body system is considered and a virtual function is introduced to decouple the motions of the floats. The energy conversion character of the double-float WEC is also evaluated. The investigation is carried out over a wide range of incident wave frequency. By analyzing the effects of the incident wave frequency, we derive the PTO's damping coefficient for the double-float WEC's capture width ratio and the relationships between the capture width ratio and the natural frequencies of the lower and upper floats. In addition, it is capable to modify the natural frequencies of the two floats by changing the stiffness coefficients of the PTO and mooring systems. We found that the natural frequencies of the device can directly influence the peak frequency of the capture width, which may provide an important reference for the design of WECs.展开更多
A two-dimensional numerical Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD)model is established on the basis of viscous CFD theory to investigate the motion response and power absorption performance of a bottom-hinged flap-type wav...A two-dimensional numerical Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD)model is established on the basis of viscous CFD theory to investigate the motion response and power absorption performance of a bottom-hinged flap-type wave energy converter(WEC)under regular wave conditions.The convergence study of mesh size and time step is performed to ensure that wave height and motion response are sufficiently accurate.Wave height results reveal that the attenuation of wave height along the wave tank is less than 5%only if the suitable mesh size and time step are selected.The model proposed in this work is verified against published experimental and numerical models.The effects of mechanical damping,wave height,wave frequency,and water depth on the motion response,power generation,and energy conversion efficiency of the flap-type WEC are investigated.The selection of the appropriate mechanical damping of the WEC is crucial for the optimal extraction of wave power.The optimal mechanical damping can be readily predicted by using potential flow theory.It can then be verified by applying CFD numerical results.In addition,the motion response and the energy conversion efficiency of the WEC decrease as the incident wave height increases because the strengthened nonlinear effect of waves intensifies energy loss.Moreover,the energy conversion efficiency of theWEC decreases with increasing water depth and remains constant as the water depth reaches a critical value.Therefore,the selection of the optimal parameters during the design process is necessary to ensure that the WEC exhibits the maximum energy conversion efficiency.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51409066,51761135013)High Technology Ship Scientific Research Project from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China-Floating Security Platform Project(the second stage,201622)the Fundamental Research Fund for the Central University(HEUCFJ180104,HEUCFP1809)
文摘In this study, we investigated the hydrodynamic and energy conversion performance of a double-float wave energy converter(WEC) based on the linear theory of water waves. The generator power take-off(PTO) system is modeled as a combination of a linear viscous damping and a linear spring. Using the frequency domain method, the optimal damping coefficient of the generator PTO system is derived to achieve the optimal conversion efficiency(capture width ratio).Based on the potential flow theory and the higher-order boundary element method(HOBEM), we constructed a threedimensional model of double-float WEC to study its hydrodynamic performance and response in the time domain. Only the heave motion of the two-body system is considered and a virtual function is introduced to decouple the motions of the floats. The energy conversion character of the double-float WEC is also evaluated. The investigation is carried out over a wide range of incident wave frequency. By analyzing the effects of the incident wave frequency, we derive the PTO's damping coefficient for the double-float WEC's capture width ratio and the relationships between the capture width ratio and the natural frequencies of the lower and upper floats. In addition, it is capable to modify the natural frequencies of the two floats by changing the stiffness coefficients of the PTO and mooring systems. We found that the natural frequencies of the device can directly influence the peak frequency of the capture width, which may provide an important reference for the design of WECs.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51409066,51761135013)the High Technology Ship Scientific Research Project from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China–Floating Security Platform Project(the second stage,201622)the Fundamental Research Fund for the Central University (HEUCFJ180104,HEUCFP1809)
文摘A two-dimensional numerical Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD)model is established on the basis of viscous CFD theory to investigate the motion response and power absorption performance of a bottom-hinged flap-type wave energy converter(WEC)under regular wave conditions.The convergence study of mesh size and time step is performed to ensure that wave height and motion response are sufficiently accurate.Wave height results reveal that the attenuation of wave height along the wave tank is less than 5%only if the suitable mesh size and time step are selected.The model proposed in this work is verified against published experimental and numerical models.The effects of mechanical damping,wave height,wave frequency,and water depth on the motion response,power generation,and energy conversion efficiency of the flap-type WEC are investigated.The selection of the appropriate mechanical damping of the WEC is crucial for the optimal extraction of wave power.The optimal mechanical damping can be readily predicted by using potential flow theory.It can then be verified by applying CFD numerical results.In addition,the motion response and the energy conversion efficiency of the WEC decrease as the incident wave height increases because the strengthened nonlinear effect of waves intensifies energy loss.Moreover,the energy conversion efficiency of theWEC decreases with increasing water depth and remains constant as the water depth reaches a critical value.Therefore,the selection of the optimal parameters during the design process is necessary to ensure that the WEC exhibits the maximum energy conversion efficiency.
