Performance Assessment of a Hybrid Wave Energy Converter Integrated into a Harbor Breakwater

Tomás Cabral, Daniel Clemente, Paulo Rosa-Santos, Francisco Taveira-Pinto, Tiago Morais, Filipe Belga and Henrique Cestaro
Additional contact information
Tomás Cabral: Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Daniel Clemente: Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Paulo Rosa-Santos: Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Francisco Taveira-Pinto: Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Tiago Morais: Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Filipe Belga: Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Henrique Cestaro: Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-22

Abstract: Seaports are highly energy demanding infrastructures and are exposed to wave energy, which is an abundant resource and largely unexploited. As a result, there has been a rising interest in integrating wave energy converters (WEC) into the breakwaters of seaports. The present work analyzes the performance of an innovative hybrid WEC module combining an oscillating water column (OWC) and an overtopping device (OWEC) integrated into a rubble mound breakwater, based on results of a physical model study carried out at a geometrical scale of 1:50. Before the experimental tests, the device’s performance was numerically optimized using ANSYS Fluent and WOPSim v3.11. The wave power captured by the hybrid WEC was calculated and the performance of the two harvesting principles discussed. It was demonstrated that hybridization could lead to systems with higher efficiencies than its individual components, for a broader range of wave conditions. The chosen concepts were found to complement each other: the OWEC was more efficient for the lower wave periods tested and the OWC for the higher. Consequently, the power production of the hybrid WEC was found to be less dependent on the wave’s characteristics.

Keywords: hybrid WEC; oscillating water column; overtopping device; physical modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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