Abstract
Wave and current energy can be harnessed in the East China Sea and South China Sea; however, both areas are subject to high frequencies of typhoon events. To improve the safety of the ocean energy conversion device, a Floating Ocean Energy Conversion Device (FOECD) with a single mooring system is proposed, which can be towed to avoid severe ocean conditions or for regular maintenance. In this paper, the structure of the FOECD is introduced, and it includes a catamaran platform, an oscillating buoy part, a current turbine blade, hydraulic energy storage and an electrical generation part. The numerical study models the large catamaran platform as a single, large buoy, while the four floating buoys were modeled simply as small buoys. Theoretical models on wave energy power capture and efficiency were established. To improve the suitability of the buoy for use in the FOECD and its power harvesting capability, a numerical simulation of the four buoy geometries was undertaken. The shape profiles examined in this paper are cylindrical, turbinate (V-shaped and U-shaped cone with cylinder), and combined cylinder-hemisphere buoys. Simulation results reveal that the suitability of a turbinate buoy is the best of the four types. Further simulation models were carried out by adjusting the tip radius of the turbinate buoy. Three performance criteria including suitability, power harvesting capability and energy capture efficiency were analyzed. It reveals that the turbinate buoy has almost the same power harvesting capabilities and energy capture efficiency, while its suitability is far better than that of a cylindrical buoy.
Highlights
As a type of sustainable and renewable energy, ocean wave energy is widely distributed in the world
Many devices have been developed for ocean energy conversion, and numerous ocean energy generation systems have emerged [2,3,4,5,6,7]
This paper focuses on the latter solution and proposes a Floating Ocean Energy Conversion Device (FOECD) capable of both wave and current energy capture
Summary
As a type of sustainable and renewable energy, ocean wave energy is widely distributed in the world. Wave energy in China is distributed in the East China Sea and South China Sea; most wave energy convertors (including test devices) are deployed in these two areas [8,9]. Salter’s Ducks with rigid structures move like “ducks” to improve the wave energy capture efficiency and decrease the wave impact. The other concept, where the wave energy conversion system is movable, is convenient because it can be towed into bays to avoid possible damage caused by typhoons or other severe seas. This paper focuses on the latter solution and proposes a Floating Ocean Energy Conversion Device (FOECD) capable of both wave and current energy capture. The design of the FOECD is introduced, and the performance criteria including capture power, efficiency and the suitability of the oscillating buoy are discussed
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