WEC-透空式防波堤集成装置能量转换效率研究

基于成本共享理念的波浪能发电装置(WEC)的开发与设计为降低建设成本提供了新的研究思路,应用计算流体力学方法对在透空箱式防波堤前附加垂荡浮子的集成装置进行数值模拟研究,主要研究了流体黏性和非线性PTO系统以及浮子形状对此类集成装置能量转换效率的影响。结果表明,此类集成装置可以获得较高的波能捕获宽度比(CWR),最高可达0.7,可以较好地利用反射波波能。共振区间上受黏性影响较大,相比于线性无黏理论解,CWR下降明显;实现了2种非线性PTO系统的模拟,有待于进一步的优化未获得更高的CWR值;浮子形状优化效果明显,采用圆底形浮子受黏性影响更小,可以获得更大的CWR值。此种集成模型的模拟和研究可以为新型防波堤设计和现有防波堤的改造提供思路和参考。     

鹰式一号波浪能装置频域运动分析与优化设计

波浪能发电装置的波能转换通常分为两级能量转换:第一级能量转换是波浪作用下波浪能装置部件发生相对运动驱动PTO做功捕获波浪能;第二级能量转换为将捕获的波浪能转换为电能。其中一级波浪能转换系统的优化设计是提高波浪能装置能量转换效率的重要手段和关键技术。波浪作用下波浪能装置的运动与PTO做功运动相互耦合和影响,本文通过对不同波浪要素环境下、不同PTO阻尼下波浪能装置的频域运动模拟,以迎波宽度比为尺度对波浪能装置的一级能量转换系统进行优化设计,获得波浪能装置的最优做功阻尼,为实型装置负载加载设计提供设计依据,提高波浪能装置能量转化效率。鹰式一号波浪能装置的实海况运动证明,通过对一级能量转换系统的优化设计,能够有效提高装置的发电效率和提高装置对波浪响应频带宽度。     

集成波能转换功能的方箱—挡浪板式浮式防波堤水动力特性研究

浮式防波堤与振荡浮子式波浪能转换装置集成是一种较为合理的波浪能开发利用方式,基于方箱式浮式防波堤—波浪能转换集成系统和幕帘式防波堤的研究成果,提出了一种新型方箱—垂直挡浪板式浮式防波堤—波浪能转换集成系统,建立数学模型对该集成系统的水动力特性和能量输出特性进行研究。模型基于N-S方程,采用紧致插值曲线(CIP)方法结合浸没边界法(IBM)求解。运用数值模型探究在一定波浪条件下,动力输出系统(PTO)阻尼力的大小以及挡浪板对集成系统的水动力特性和能量转换特性的影响,得到如下结论:集成系统的俘获宽度比随PTO阻尼力的增大呈现先增大后减小的趋势,在阻尼力F_(PTO)=150 N时达到最大;相对于方箱型集成系统,增设0.1 m挡浪板后可使其最大俘获宽度比η_e提高33%左右;此外,集成系统的俘获宽度比随挡浪板长度增加而增大,增长趋势逐渐变缓,在挡浪板长度S_p=0.5 m时达到最大,此时俘获宽度比η_e=0.563 1。     

双浮子点吸收式波能转换装置参数研究

点吸收式波能转换装置是具有较好应用前景的一种波浪能开发利用装置,其参数设计直接影响到波浪能开发利用的可行性与有效性。作者针对青岛斋堂岛目标海域海况,通过数值模拟首先应用单因素敏感性分析法分析了双浮子点吸收式波能转换装置的结构尺寸、锚固形式、波流夹角、PTO阻尼、PTO刚度等参数对装置俘能功率的独立影响规律。之后考虑多参数的综合影响,通过运用稳健设计方法,以上述参数为控制因子并确定合理的变动水准,将俘能功率作为评价标准,选取合理的正交实验L矩阵,得到了不同参数组合情况下的装置俘能功率并进行统计分析。结果表明,浮子尺寸、PTO阻尼、波流夹角对装置俘能功率影响较大,而PTO刚度、锚链与铅垂线夹角、锚链与波浪在水平面内的夹角对俘能功率影响不明显。提出的参数研究方法可为其他海域点吸收式波能转换装置参数设计提供参考。     

点吸收波浪能转换装置的非线性动力学分析

点吸收式波浪能转换系统是最有效的波浪能利用装置之一,为提高能量利用性能该装置中的能量输出系统(Power Take-Off,简称为PTO)常设计有非线性环节。本文考虑了PTO中的非线性阻尼和非线性刚度等因素,对点吸收式波浪能转换装置的动力学进行了研究。根据流体动力学软件获取了浮体在波浪作用下的水动力参数,建立了PTO中包含中非线性阻尼和非线性刚度的动力学方程,采用Runge-Kutta法对其时域响应进行了求解,并分析了波幅和不同非线性刚度系数对能量俘获宽度的影响,研究表明选择合理的立方刚度非线性系数可以增加能量俘获宽度,提高能量利用率。     

底铰摇板式波浪能装置水动力性能解析研究

对底铰摇板式波浪能装置的水动力性能进行了解析研究,基于受约束浮体线性化运动方程,获得小幅线性波作用下装置动力响应和转换性能的解析解;采用解析解计算分析了水深、厚度、密度和PTO阻尼值四个参数选取对装置转换性能的影响.研究结果表明,底铰摇板式波浪能装置具有较宽的频率响应范围;在低频区,水深较大时装置俘获效率较高,而在高频区,水深较小时装置俘获效率较高;系统性能受摇板厚度的影响非常小;密度较小的摇板在高频区性能较好,而密度较大的摇板在低频区性能较好;设置恒定PTO阻尼的情况下,装置性能受FTO阻尼值影响显著,当FTO阻尼取低频辐射阻尼时,装置的俘获效率与满足阻尼匹配条件的情况基本相同;当采用的PTO阻尼与低频辐射阻尼值差别较大时,系统的俘获效率显著降低.     

不规则波作用下岸基式振荡水柱波能装置的水动力性能研究

为了研究真实海域中振荡水柱（OWC）波能转换装置的水动力性能,本文基于势流理论和高阶边界元方法,建立了不规则波与岸基式OWC波能装置相互作用的二维非线性数值模型,不规则波基于JONSWAP谱生成。为了考虑由于水体黏性引起的能量耗散,在气室内水面边界条件中引入人工黏性阻尼。并在大连理工大学波流水槽中开展了物理模型试验,对数值模型的有效性进行了验证。研究发现,在不规则波作用下,OWC波能装置的水动力效率相较于规则波作用下有所降低,特别是在低频波区域效率差值最大。与规则波相比,不规则波浪作用下装置峰值效率对应的频率变大。气室内的相对水面高程随着有效波高的增加而降低,而气室内相对气压则随有效波高的增加而增大。OWC波能装置的水动力效率受有效波高的影响较小,其峰值效率对应的频率不受波浪非线性的影响。本文可以为OWC波能装置的设计提供参考。     

两种型式的波能装置-浮式防波堤水动力性能比较研究

波能装置-浮式防波堤是将浮式防波堤与波能转换装置集成,兼具防波消浪和捕获波浪能的集成装置,能够有效降低单一功能波能转换装置的成本。研究者们提出了许多波能装置-浮式防波堤的结构型式,其中非对称式浮体结构相比于对称式浮体结构,在单向入射波的水动力性能方面拥有一定的优势。本文针对导桩锚泊的非对称式方箱-三角形挡浪板和方箱-垂直挡浪板两种浮体结构型式,通过数值模拟的方式,对比分析其水动力特性和波能俘获特性。数值模型基于黏性流体理论,以Navier-Stokes方程为控制方程,并采用VOF方法和浸没边界法求解自由面边界和流固耦合作用,探究不同入射波周期、水深和浮体排水条件下集成装置水动力性能（消波特性、能量耗散特性和波能俘获特性）变化趋势。结果表明,在近岸波浪条件下（5～8 s）,垂直挡板型式集成装置适用于较小周期波浪（5～6 s）,而三角挡板型式集成装置适用于较大周期波浪（6～7.5 s）。随着水深增大,波能俘获比总体上呈现缓慢增长的趋势。在主浮体吃水相同的情况下（排水量不同）,两种结构的透射系数基本一致;而在排水量相同（主浮体吃水不同）的情况下,垂直挡板结构型式的防波效果更好,三角挡板结构型...     

非线性铰接浮体波能转换器的动力学特性研究

针对传统铰接浮体波能转换器捕获效率低、频带窄的瓶颈,提出一种新型高效波能捕获仿生非线性连接结构。该连接结构具有转动负刚度效应,可起到被动相位控制作用,提高系统的波能捕获效率。首先,基于海蛇脊柱骨结构的柔性约束机理,设计了一种高效波浪能捕获仿生连接结构,该结构由球窝结构、球头、翅状突出物和类肌肉柔性结构组成;其次,基于线性波浪理论和Cummins 方程,建立两模块非线性波能转换器的动力学模型,并采用谐波平衡法解析求解非线性控制方程;最后,开展了数值模拟研究,分析了规则波激励下该新型波能转换器的波能转换特性。结果表明：通过引入新型高效仿生连接结构,可有效降低系统的等效固有频率;当连接器的负刚度结构调整到合适参数时,系统的弹性力可以在纵摇相平面上形成一个椭圆势阱,其椭圆势阱的长轴接近铰接浮体系统相对纵摇运动的模态方向,由此驱动两个模块的相对纵摇运动趋于反相,起到被动相位控制的作用。     

不同地形下单浮子集成装置水动力性能研究

为探讨不同地形特征对单浮子集成装置水动力特性的影响,本文基于黏性计算流体动力学理论,应用Star-CCM+软件建立二维数值波浪水槽,研究了规则波作用下受不同地形影响的单浮子式防波堤与波能转换装置集成系统的水动力性能.结果表明:在低频区,不同地形下单浮子集成系统的波能转换效率均大于无地形影响下单浮子集成系统的波能转换效率...     

Performance investigation of a two-raft-type wave energy converter with hydraulic power take-off unit

Raft-type wave energy converter (WEC) is a multi-mode wave energy conversion device, using the relative pitch motion to drive its hydraulic power take-off (PTO) units for capturing energy from the ocean waves. The hydraulic PTO unit as its energy conversion module plays a significant role in storing large qualities of energy and making the output power smooth. However, most of the previous investigations on the raft-type WECs treat the hydraulic PTO unit as a linear PTO unit and do not consider the dynamics of the hydraulic circuit and components in their investigations. This paper is related to a two-raft-type WEC consisting of two hinged rafts and a hydraulic PTO unit. The aim of this paper is to make an understanding of the dynamics of the hydraulic PTO unit and how these affect the performance of the two-raft-type WEC. Therefore, a combined hydrodynamic and hydraulic PTO unit model is proposed to investigate and optimize the performance of the two-raft-type WEC; and based on the simulation of the combined model, the relationships between the optimal power capture ability, the optimal magnitude of the hydraulic PTO force and the wave states are numerically revealed. Results show that an approximately square wave type hydraulic PTO force is produced by the hydraulic PTO unit, which causes the performance of the two-raft-type WEC not to be sinusoidal and the energy capturing manner different from that of the device using a linear PTO unit; moreover, there is an optimal magnitude of the hydraulic PTO force for obtaining an optimal power capture ability, which can be achieved by adjusting the parameters of the hydraulic PTO unit; in regular waves, the optimal power capture ability as well as the optimal magnitude of the hydraulic PTO force normalized by the wave height presents little relationship with the wave height, mainly depends on the wave period; in irregular waves, the trends of the optimal power capture ability and the normalized optimal magnitude of the hydraulic PTO force against the peak wave periods at different significant wave heights are generally identical and show a good correlation. All means that the hydraulic PTO unit of the two-raft-type WEC can be tuned to the wave states, and these would provide a valuable guidance for the optimal design of its hydraulic PTO unit.     

Power capture performance of an oscillating-body WEC with nonlinear snap through PTO systems in irregular waves

Compared with solar and wind energy, wave energy is a kind of renewable resource which is enormous and still under development. In order to utilize the wave energy, various types of wave energy converters (WECs) have been proposed and studied. And oscillating-body WEC is widely used for offshore deployment. For this type of WEC, the oscillating motion of the floater is converted into electricity by the power take off (PTO) system, which is usually mathematically simplified as a linear spring and a damper. The linear PTO system is characteristic of frequency-dependent response and the energy absorption is less powerful for off resonance conditions. Thus a nonlinear snap through PTO system consisting of two symmetrically oblique springs and a linear damper is applied. A nonlinear parameter γ is defined as the ratio of half of the horizontal distance between the two oblique springs to the original length of both springs. JONSWAP spectrum is utilized to generate the time series of irregular waves. Time domain method is used to establish the motion equation of the oscillating-body WEC in irregular waves. And state space model is applied to replace the convolution term in the time domain motion equation. Based on the established motion equation, the motion response of both the linear and nonlinear WEC is numerically calculated using 4th Runge–Kutta method, after which the captured power can be obtained. Then the influences of wave parameters such as peak frequency, significant wave height, damping coefficient of the PTO system and the nonlinear parameter γ on the power capture performance of the nonlinear WEC is discussed in detail. Results show that compared with linear PTO system, the nonlinear snap through PTO system can increase the power captured by the oscillating body WEC in irregular waves.     

Theoretical and Experimental Study of A Coaxial Double-Buoy Wave Energy Converter

The double-body heave wave energy converter(WEC) is one of the most conducive devices to absorb the wave energy from relative motion while the law of which is not well understood. This paper makes an in-depth study on this wave energy converter, by means of the combination of theoretical analysis and physical model experiment. The hydrodynamic characteristics and energy capture of the double-buoy under constant and linear Power Take-Off(PTO) damping are investigated. Influences of absolute mass and mass ratio are discussed in the theoretical model.Relative displacement amplitude and average power output are tested in the experiment to analyze the effect of the wave period and outer buoy's mass, while the capture width ratio(CWR) is also calculated. Results show that the wave period and mass of the buoys have a significant effect on the converter. Different forms of PTO damping have no influence on the optimal wave period and mass ratio of this device. It is recommended to select the double-buoy converter with a mass ratio of 0.80 and to place it in an area with the frequent wave period close to the natural period of the outer buoy to achieve the optimal energy capture.     

On the capture width of wave energy converters

This paper extends the theory on capture width, a commonly used performance indicator for a wave energy converter (WEC). The capture width of a linear WEC is shown to depend on two properties: the spectral power fraction (a property introduced in this paper), which depends entirely on the sea state, and the monochromatic capture width, which is determined by the geometry of the WEC and the chosen power take off (PTO) coefficients. Each of these properties is examined in detail. Capture width is shown to be a measure of how well these two properties coincide. A study of the effects of PTO control on the capture width suggests that geometry control, a form of control that has not been the focus of much academic research, despite its use in the wave energy industry, deserves more attention. The distinction between geometry control and PTO control is outlined. While capture width is a valuable design tool, its limitations must be recognised. The assumptions made in the formulation of capture width are listed, and its limitations as a tool for estimating annual power capture of a WEC are discussed.     

Design and testing of a non-linear power take-off simulator for a bottom-hinged plate wave energy converter

Eddy current brakes provide a versatile way of simulating the power take-off system (PTO) in model testing of small scale wave energy converters (WECs). This type of PTO simulator is based on the principle that a conductive material moving in a magnetic field generates a braking force proportional to its velocity. A bottom-hinged pitching plate WEC model has been designed using an eddy current brake as a PTO simulator. A dedicated electric current source unit was developed to provide a controllable and reliable level of DC current intensity to feed the magnetic field generating coils. Using a real-time data acquisition and control, this unit can be used to impose non-linear damping PTO characteristic curves in several types of WEC models based on eddy current brakes. In the present case, this current source has been used to simulate a constant damping PTO on a small scale pitching WEC model that has been tested in the IST wave flume. Two different cases were considered: one corresponding to a surface piercing plate and another to a fully submerged plate. Experimental results are presented for plate motion and for non-dimensional capture width.     

Numerical modeling on hydrodynamic performance of a bottom-hinged flap wave energy converter

The hydrodynamic performance of a bottom-hinged flap wave energy converter(WEC) is investigated through a frequency domain numerical model.The numerical model is verified through a two-dimensional analytic solution,as well as the qualitative analysis on the dynamic response of avibrating system.The concept of "optimum density" of the bottom-hinged flap is proposed,and its analytic expression is derived as well.The frequency interval in which the optimum density exists is also obtained.The analytic expression of the optimum linear damping coefficient is obtained by a bottom-hinged WEC.Some basic dynamic properties involving natural period,excitation moment,pitch amplitude,and optimum damping coefficient are analyzed and discussed in detail.In addition,this paper highlights the analysis of effects on the conversion performance of the device exerted by some important parameters.The results indicate that "the optimum linear damping period of 5.0 s" is the most ideal option in the short wave sea states with the wave period below 6.0 s.Shallow water depth,large flap thickness and low flap density are advised in the practical design of the device in short wave sea states in order to maximize power capture.In the sea state with water depth of 5.0 m and wave period of 5.0 s,the results of parametric optimization suggest a flap with the width of 8.0 m,thickness of 1.6 m,and with the density as little as possible when the optimum power take-off(PTO) damping coefficient is adopted.     

Optimal causal control of a wave energy converter in a random sea

This paper concerns the design of feedback control systems to maximize power generation of a wave energy converter (WEC) in a random sea. In the literature on WEC control, most of the proposed feedback controllers fall into three categories. Many are static; i.e., they extract power by imposing an equivalent damping or resistive load on the power take-off (PTO) devices. Others are dynamic and are designed to maximize power generation at all frequencies, which results in an anticausal feedback law. Other dynamic control design methods are causal, and are tuned to achieve the anticausal performance at only a single frequency. By contrast, this paper illustrates that the determination of the true optimal causal dynamic controller for a WEC can be found as the solution to a nonstandard linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) optimal control problem. The theory assumes that the control system must make power generation decisions based only on present and past measurements of the generator voltages and/or velocities. It is shown that unlike optimal anticausal control, optimal causal control requires knowledge of the stationary spectral characteristics of the random sea state. Additionally, it is shown that the efficiency of the generator factors into the feedback synthesis. The theory is illustrated on a linear dynamical model for a buoy-type WEC with significant resonant modes in surge and pitch, and equipped with three spatially-distributed generators.     

摆式波能转换装置水动力特性频域分析

基于势流理论,建立波浪与摆式波能转换装置作用的三维频域分析模型。应用数值模型对两种质量的摆式波能转换装置进行水动力分析,在考虑粘性阻尼作用的条件下,计算传动系统的最优扭阻系数。在最佳工况下,开展了波浪频率对摆板运动响应和俘获能量影响的系统研究,给出了波浪最佳频率范围、摆板振幅、能量俘获效率以及摆板表面的波动压强。     

Declutching control of a wave energy converter

When hydraulic power take off (PTO) is used to convert the mechanical energy of a wave energy converter (WEC) into a more useful form of energy, the PTO force needs to be controlled. Continuous controlled variation of the PTO force can be approximated by a set of discrete values. This can be implemented using either variable displacement pumps or several hydraulic cylinders or several high pressure accumulators with different pressure levels. This pseudo-continuous control could lead to a complex PTO with a lot of components. A simpler way for controlling this hydraulic PTO is declutching control, which consists in switching on and off alternatively the wave energy converter's PTO. This can be achieved practically using a simple by-pass valve. In this paper, the control law of the valve is determined by using the optimal command theory. It is shown that, theoretically when considering a wave activated body type of WEC, declutching control can lead to energy absorption performance at least equivalent to that of pseudo-continuous control. The method is then applied to the case of the SEAREV wave energy converter, and it is shown than declutching control can even lead to a higher energy absorption, both in regular and irregular waves.