Wave Energy Extraction by Flexible Floaters

Simone Michele, Federica Buriani, Emiliano Renzi, Marijn van Rooij, Bayu Jayawardhana and Antonis I. Vakis
Additional contact information
Simone Michele: Department of Mathematical Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK
Federica Buriani: Department of Mathematical Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK
Emiliano Renzi: Department of Mathematical Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK
Marijn van Rooij: Ocean Grazer, Zernikepark 12, 9747 AN Groningen, The Netherlands
Bayu Jayawardhana: Discrete Technology and Production Automation, Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen, Faculty of Science & Engineering, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
Antonis I. Vakis: Computational Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen, Faculty of Science & Engineering, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 23, 1-24

Abstract: We present a novel mathematical model to investigate the extraction of wave power by flexible floaters. The model is based on the method of dry modes, coupled with a matched eigenfunction expansion. Our model results compare satisfactorily with preliminary data obtained from a demonstrator device, developed at the University of Groningen. We show that the role of elasticity is to increase the number of resonant frequencies with respect to a rigid body, which has a positive effect on wave power output. The mathematical model is then extended to irregular incident waves, described by a JONSWAP spectrum. Our results show that the peak capture factors decrease in irregular waves, as compared to the monochromatic case. However, the system becomes more efficient at non-resonant frequencies. This work highlights the need to scale-up experimental investigations on flexible wave energy converters, which are still a small minority, compared to those on rigid converters.

Keywords: fluid–structure interaction; floating elastic plate; wave energy (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 (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/23/6167/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/23/6167/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:23:p:6167-:d:450202

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().