Dissertation Overview: Numerical modelling of the hydrodynamics and energy generation of an oscillating wave surge converter system

The Oscillating Wave Surge Converter (OWSC) is one of the most relevant systems for harnessing energy from ocean waves, generating energy by capturing the horizontal component of wave motion. This technology, which is on a pre-commercial development scale, presents one of the greatest potentials fo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Guilherme Fuhrmeister Vargas, Alexandre Beluco
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) 2023-05-01
Series:The Journal of Engineering and Exact Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://periodicos.ufv.br/jcec/article/view/15795
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832569743223029760
author Guilherme Fuhrmeister Vargas
Alexandre Beluco
author_facet Guilherme Fuhrmeister Vargas
Alexandre Beluco
author_sort Guilherme Fuhrmeister Vargas
collection DOAJ
description The Oscillating Wave Surge Converter (OWSC) is one of the most relevant systems for harnessing energy from ocean waves, generating energy by capturing the horizontal component of wave motion. This technology, which is on a pre-commercial development scale, presents one of the greatest potentials for electricity generation, due to its operating principle and the great improvement in design experienced over the last few years. Today, Computational numerical modelling is one of the main tools for the study and design of this and several other power generation systems from sea waves. In this context, a detailed study of a wave farm composed of several OWSCs is necessary, which represents a case closer to reality, since most renewable systems include several modules of the same converter. Considering the complexity of the existing hydrodynamics in these cases, a numerical modeling methodology based on the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) methodology is applied to correctly represent the oscillation of the structure and the observed flow fields. In order to achieve the objectives, the OpenFOAM v.4.1 computational code and the OlaFlow extension are used, together with the Wall Adapting Local Eddy Viscosity (WALE) LES model, which allows a representation of the system very close to real application cases. The proposed model demonstrated a good adherence of the results when compared to experimental studies present in the literature. Likewise, it was observed that changes in wave height and period, bottom slope, wave reflection, spacing between converters, and the wave farm layout can cause important variations in the energy generated by the system, increasing or reducing considerably its efficiency, emphasizing the importance of these parameters in the design and development of this technology.  
format Article
id doaj-art-8c0f6d097f1b4d768a1d459d8399e929
institution Kabale University
issn 2527-1075
language English
publishDate 2023-05-01
publisher Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV)
record_format Article
series The Journal of Engineering and Exact Sciences
spelling doaj-art-8c0f6d097f1b4d768a1d459d8399e9292025-02-02T19:55:10ZengUniversidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV)The Journal of Engineering and Exact Sciences2527-10752023-05-019410.18540/jcecvl9iss4pp15795-01dDissertation Overview: Numerical modelling of the hydrodynamics and energy generation of an oscillating wave surge converter systemGuilherme Fuhrmeister Vargas0Alexandre Beluco1Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), BrazilUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil The Oscillating Wave Surge Converter (OWSC) is one of the most relevant systems for harnessing energy from ocean waves, generating energy by capturing the horizontal component of wave motion. This technology, which is on a pre-commercial development scale, presents one of the greatest potentials for electricity generation, due to its operating principle and the great improvement in design experienced over the last few years. Today, Computational numerical modelling is one of the main tools for the study and design of this and several other power generation systems from sea waves. In this context, a detailed study of a wave farm composed of several OWSCs is necessary, which represents a case closer to reality, since most renewable systems include several modules of the same converter. Considering the complexity of the existing hydrodynamics in these cases, a numerical modeling methodology based on the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) methodology is applied to correctly represent the oscillation of the structure and the observed flow fields. In order to achieve the objectives, the OpenFOAM v.4.1 computational code and the OlaFlow extension are used, together with the Wall Adapting Local Eddy Viscosity (WALE) LES model, which allows a representation of the system very close to real application cases. The proposed model demonstrated a good adherence of the results when compared to experimental studies present in the literature. Likewise, it was observed that changes in wave height and period, bottom slope, wave reflection, spacing between converters, and the wave farm layout can cause important variations in the energy generated by the system, increasing or reducing considerably its efficiency, emphasizing the importance of these parameters in the design and development of this technology.   https://periodicos.ufv.br/jcec/article/view/15795Wave Renewable EnergiesOscillating Wave Surge ConvertersComputational Fluid DynamicsRANSOpenFOAMOLAFOAM
spellingShingle Guilherme Fuhrmeister Vargas
Alexandre Beluco
Dissertation Overview: Numerical modelling of the hydrodynamics and energy generation of an oscillating wave surge converter system
The Journal of Engineering and Exact Sciences
Wave Renewable Energies
Oscillating Wave Surge Converters
Computational Fluid Dynamics
RANS
OpenFOAM
OLAFOAM
title Dissertation Overview: Numerical modelling of the hydrodynamics and energy generation of an oscillating wave surge converter system
title_full Dissertation Overview: Numerical modelling of the hydrodynamics and energy generation of an oscillating wave surge converter system
title_fullStr Dissertation Overview: Numerical modelling of the hydrodynamics and energy generation of an oscillating wave surge converter system
title_full_unstemmed Dissertation Overview: Numerical modelling of the hydrodynamics and energy generation of an oscillating wave surge converter system
title_short Dissertation Overview: Numerical modelling of the hydrodynamics and energy generation of an oscillating wave surge converter system
title_sort dissertation overview numerical modelling of the hydrodynamics and energy generation of an oscillating wave surge converter system
topic Wave Renewable Energies
Oscillating Wave Surge Converters
Computational Fluid Dynamics
RANS
OpenFOAM
OLAFOAM
url https://periodicos.ufv.br/jcec/article/view/15795
work_keys_str_mv AT guilhermefuhrmeistervargas dissertationoverviewnumericalmodellingofthehydrodynamicsandenergygenerationofanoscillatingwavesurgeconvertersystem
AT alexandrebeluco dissertationoverviewnumericalmodellingofthehydrodynamicsandenergygenerationofanoscillatingwavesurgeconvertersystem