Abstract
Heave plates are widely used for improving the sea keeping performance of ocean structures. In this paper, a novel tuned heave plate energy harvesting system (THPEH) is presented for the motion suppression and energy harvesting of a semi-submersible platform. The heave plates are connected to the platform though a power take-off system (PTO) and spring supports. The performance of the THPEH was investigated through forced oscillation tests of a 1:20 scale model. Firstly, the hydrodynamic parameters of the heave plate were experimentally studied under different excitation motion conditions, and a force model of the power take-off system was also established through a calibration test. Then, the motion performance, control performance, and energy harvesting performance of the THPEH subsystem were systematically studied. The effects of the tuned period and PTO damping on the performance of the THPEH were analyzed. Finally, a comparison between the conventional fixed heave plate system and THPEH was carried out. The results show that a properly designed THPEH could consume up to 2.5 times the energy from the platform motion compared to the fixed heave plate system, and up to 80% of the consumed energy could be captured by the PTO system. This indicates that the THPEH could significantly reduce the motion of the platform and simultaneously provide considerable renewable energy to the platform.
Highlights
Powerful waves are harmful to ocean structures and have great potential to provide clean energy
This paper presents the results of experimental investigations into the performance of a tuned heave plate energy harvesting system (THPEH), employed on a semi-submersible platform to suppress the platform’s motions and harvest energy from the wave-induced response
The motion performance, control performance, and energy harvesting performance of the THPEH were systematically studied through forced oscillation model tests on a 1:20 scale model
Summary
Powerful waves are harmful to ocean structures and have great potential to provide clean energy. For deep-water platforms, sea keeping performance plays an important role in their operation and safety. Throughout the development of deep-water platforms, improving the sea keeping performance has become the key motivation for developing novel types of platforms. As the deep-water platforms operate far away from the shore, how to utilize the wave energy and directly supply the platform is a meaningful topic. Semi-submersible platforms are widely used for oil and gas exploration because of their large deck area and payload capacity. Due to their small water plane area and draft, their heave motion is much larger than that for other types of platforms
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