Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-lrf7s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-31T04:35:09.510Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The influence of projecting sidewalls on the hydrodynamic performance of wave-energy devices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2006

B. M. Count
Affiliation:
Central Electricity Generating Board, Marchwood, U.K.
D. V. Evans
Affiliation:
School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, U.K.

Abstract

The concept of adding a harbour, consisting of two parallel projections to a wave-energy device was first brought to the attention of the wave-energy community at a Symposium in Trondheim, Norway, in June 1982. The proponents of the idea claim that the performance of the device is considerably improved by the addition of the harbour, thereby reducing costs. In this paper two theoretical techniques are described for predicting the performance of the harbour system. First, a relatively simple approximate method using the theory of long thin harbours is described. Secondly, numerical techniques used for rigid-body interaction with waves are adapted to cope with harbour systems with no restrictions on dimensions. It is shown that the simpler approach gives results that agree closely with numerical calculations over a wide range of configurations. Hydrodynamic theory is used to evaluate the performance of the device, assuming that it can absorb energy through a resistive damper. The results are encouraging, demonstrating that the addition of a harbour can be very beneficial and confirming that the concept is worthy of closer scrutiny.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1984 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ambli, N., Bønke, K., Malmo, O. & Reitan, A. 1982 The Kvaerner Multiresonant OWC. In Proc. 2nd Intl Symp. on Wave Energy Utilization, Trondheim, Norway, pp. 275297. Tapir.
Count, B. M. 1983 Theoretical hydrodynamic studies on harbour systems for wave energy absorption. CEGB Lab. Note TPRD/M/1334/N83.Google Scholar
Count, B. M., Fry, R. & Haskell, J. H. 1983 Wave power: the story so far. CEGB Res. 15.Google Scholar
Count, B. M. & Jefferys, E. R. 1980 Wave power, the primary interface. In Proc. 13th Symp. on Naval Hydrodyn., Tokyo, pp. 817828.
Evans, D. V. 1981 Power from water waves. Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 13, 157187.Google Scholar
Havelock, T. H. 1929 Forced surface waves on water. Phil. Mag. 8 (7), 51.Google Scholar
Moody, G. W. & Elliot, G. 1982 The development of the NEL breakwater wave energy converter, In Proc. 2nd Intl Symp. on Wave Energy Utilisation, Trondheim, Norway, pp. 421451. Tapir.
Newman, J. N. 1976 The interaction of stationary vessels with regular waves. In Proc. 11th Symp. on Naval Hydrodyn., London, pp. 491499.
Noble, B. 1958 Methods Based on the Weiner—Hopf Technique. Pergamon.
Shaw, R. 1982 Wave Energy: A Design Challenge. Ellis Horwood.
Stahl, A. W. 1892 The utilization of the power of ocean waves. Trans. ASME 13, 438506.Google Scholar
Wehausen, J. V. & Laitone, E. V. 1960 Surface waves. In Handbuch der Physik (ed. W. Flügge), vol. 9, pp. 446778. Springer.