Unveiling the potential of using a spar-buoy oscillating-water-column wave energy converter for low-power stand-alone applications

Charikleia L.G. Oikonomou, Rui P.F. Gomes and Luís M.C. Gato

Applied Energy, 2021, vol. 292, issue C, No S0306261921003330

Abstract: Applications including the offshore aquaculture, remotely operated vehicles, data acquisition systems, and desalination can be either supplemented or completely powered by renewable energy. The spar-buoy oscillating-water-column wave energy converter concept, typically studied for large scale wave energy production, can be re-designed to meet the power requirements of such applications, which results in a much smaller device working outside resonance conditions under typical sea states, and therefore with a smaller energy conversion efficiency. Experimental results are presented for a 1:10th scale model of a spar-buoy oscillating-water-column, undertaken in a wave channel. Calibrated orifice plates were used to model the flow characteristic of an impulse turbine, which will be used in the full-scale system. The system performance is examined for regular and irregular wave conditions. The results show the presence of non-linear effects, caused by viscous flow and turbine damping. A capture width ratio matrix is generated through stochastic modelling using regular-wave data and the performance of the device is assessed for two locations with different wave energy resource. The device presents an annual-averaged power of approximately 1kW for an Atlantic wave climate, and an annual-averaged power of approximately 0.4kW for a Mediterranean wave climate, which makes it adequate for the supply of specific oceanographic equipment in the first location, while for the second location a larger buoy should be considered.

Keywords: Wave energy conversion; Off-grid applications; Blue economy; Spar-buoy oscillating-water-column; Stochastic analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116835

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