Experimental and numerical studies on the development of a new wave absorber

This paper proposes a new wave absorber made of flexible net structures. To test the efficiency of the proposed water absorber, experiments were done on wave absorbers of various lengths of and the thicknesses of the wave absorber. To perform a numerical modeling of the proposed wave absorber, damping terms were introduced in linearized free-surface boundary conditions. The length and the thickness of the wave absorber were modeled by the length and the coefficient of the damping zones. The boundary element method was adopted to solve the system. Series of experiments were performed to obtain the data for the coefficients of the damping term needed in numerical calculations. The predicted wave heights agreed very closely with those of experiments when the lengths of the incoming waves were within the order of the length of the wave absorber.     

On a new wave energy absorber

It is a commonly held opinion that only a forced resonance is possible between random wind-generated waves and wave energy absorbers; the forced resonance being pursued by means of devices for phase control. We show, instead, that it is possible to obtain an impressive natural resonance between random wind-generated waves and a new kind of absorber beneath the sea level. The proof is given through a small scale field experiment. This finding should enable us to defend coasts with a very low environmental impact and to use breakwaters for converting large quantities of wave energy into electric power.     

Near-shore swell estimation from a global wind-wave model: Spectral process,linear, and artificial neural network models

Estimation of swell conditions in coastal regions is important for a variety of public, government, and research applications. Driving a model of the near-shore wave transformation from an offshore global swell model such as NOAA WaveWatch3 is an economical means to arrive at swell size estimates at particular locations of interest. Recently, some work (e.g. Browne et al. [Browne, M., Strauss, D., Castelle, B., Blumenstein, M., Tomlinson, R., 2006. Local swell estimation and prediction from a global wind-wave model. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters 3 (4), 462–466.]) has examined an artificial neural network (ANN) based, empirical approach to wave estimation. Here, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of two data driven approaches to estimating waves near-shore (linear and ANN), and also contrast these with a more traditional spectral wave simulation model (SWAN). Performance was assessed on data gathered from a total of 17 near-shore locations, with heterogenous geography and bathymetry, around the continent of Australia over a 7 month period. It was found that the ANNs out-performed SWAN and the non-linear architecture consistently out-performed the linear method. Variability in performance and differential performance with regard to geographical location could largely be explained in terms of the underlying complexity of the local wave transformation.     

江苏辐射沙洲海区潮流对涌浪能量传播的影响

为研究了江苏辐射沙洲地区潮流场对涌浪能量传播的影响,本文利用双向耦合的Delft3D-FLOW和SWAN模型进行了对江苏辐射沙洲地区风-浪-潮流的整体模拟。时间尺度,是表达波能传播速率的有量纲参数。本文利用时间尺度这一物理概念来描述涌浪的波能在地理空间和谱空间中的传播规律。时间尺度越小,波能的传播速率越快。研究发现,通过计算和对比波能的时间尺度在地理空间、谱空间内的变化规律,发现在辐射沙洲地区,波能时间尺度在谱空间内变化偏大。而在潮流影响下,涌浪的频率运移表现更明显。通过理想实验的对比,发现涌浪能量的时间尺度在有潮流明显较无潮流作用时变小,这反映了潮流对于涌浪能量的传递速率有正向作用。在地理空间上,波能的时间尺度在涨潮时刻减小,落潮时刻增大。     

The sheltering effect of the Balearic Islands in the hindcast wave field

The sheltering effect of the Balearic Islands in the hindcast wave field was studied for typical Mediterranean wave situations of Llevant, Tramuntana and Mestral and for mild conditions such as the Garbí and Ponent winds. For this purpose, a third generation wave model was applied to the Mediterranean Sea and different patterns of the sheltered areas were found for the various representative situations depending on the wind variability and on the magnitude of the wind speed. From the analysis it was concluded that the sheltered zones created during storms generally persist for short periods of time of the order of 6 h, possibly reaching a maximum of 12 h. In contrast with earlier results obtained for swell dominated ocean areas, it was observed that in this area, due to the short fetches the sea states are mainly local wind seas and thus the wave field behind the islands depends on the local wind.     

Characteristic analysis of wind field and sea wave field over the NW Pacific Ocean

The NW Pacific Ocean is not onIy the only transportation way between America andAsia, but also the source influencing on inIand climate and marine variability of adjacentseas in China. Based on ship observation data during l950 - l995 in the NW Pacific,with data from several hundreds to 30 thousand in every 5"x5" grid network, throughanalyzing the monthly mean directions of prevailing wind, wave and swelI, wind speed,pressure, wave height and frequencies of gaIe of 6 and 8 sca1e, high sea…     

A note on nearshore wave features: Implications for wave generation

This paper analyses 10 years of wave data from the Mediterranean Spanish (Catalan) coast considering the mean wave climate and storm events from the standpoint of wind-wave momentum transfer and wave prediction. The data, registered by a buoy at about 12 km from the coastline, revealed two main groups of wave storms, with NW and E directions. NW storms correspond to a fetch-limited situation since the intense wind blows from land. Low-pressure centres located over the Mediterranean Sea produce easterly storms. Near the coast the eastern winds from the sea are replaced by NW winds coming from meteorological patterns over northern Spain and south-western France. Wave storms are classified and studied to obtain their main features (including spectral width, wave length, wave age and bimodality) and discussed in terms of wind-wave momentum transfer for operational wave predictions. Observations show a complex coastal wave climate. Fetch-limited storms presented smaller spectral widths while varying wind situations presented larger widths due to the presence of bimodal spectra. These wave features are highly relevant for wind–ocean momentum transfer and, thus, for current and wave predictions. The spectral width proved to be a good indicator of sea complexity and is thus applicable for improved wind drag estimations. A new drag coefficient formulation is proposed, based on existing wind dependent drag expressions, but including also spectral wave properties (a spectral width parameter) that highlights the characteristics of wind-wave generation under pre-existing swell. Such a formulation, once properly validated with field observations, is expected to improve wind-wave predictions.     

大西洋波高成分研究

利用Topex／Poseidon卫星高度计1992年10月到1998年12月连续75个月，230个重复周期的有效波高资料对南北大西洋的波高成分进行了分析，结果显示频数密度峰值对应的波高成分因子在夏季为1．4左右。冬季为1．2左右，其他季节为1．3左右。7，8，9月份大西洋含涌浪的波高成分占频数密度累积率的比例约为90％左右，其中涌浪成分占优约为65％左右；其余各月占85％左右，其中涌浪成分占优约为60％左右，表明大西洋海域常年有涌浪场存在。     

The typhoon swell Doppler effect

The swell of a moving typhoon has the same Doppler effect as a moving sound source. Both originate from the variations in an energy flux. In a sound source this is called a frequency shift. In a typhoon it is a swell wave height change. A distant typhoon may generate very high waves through the Doppler effect as the typhoon approaches. A modification λ is proposed for engineering practice.     

Experimental hydrodynamic investigation of a fixed offshore Oscillating Water Column device

Oscillating Water Column (OWC) is one of the pioneer devices in harnessing wave energy; however, it is not fully commercialized perhaps due to the complicated hydrodynamic behavior. Previous studies are significantly devoted to OWC devices located in nearshore and coastal regions where incident wave energy would experience dissipation more than offshore. In this paper, a 1:15 scaled fixed offshore OWC model is tested in a large towing tank of National Iranian Marine Laboratory. Wave spectrum shape effect on the efficiency of the OWC model is addressed. Moreover, the paper investigates the effects of the geometric and hydrodynamic factors on OWC device efficiency and uncovers new points in nonlinear interaction occurring inside the chamber; i.e. sloshing. The results indicate that shape of the spectrum inside the chamber is affected by the type of incident wave spectrum, especially for long waves. Pierson–Moskowitz spectrum leaded to higher efficiency rather than JONSWAP spectrum at longer incident wave periods. According to efficiency analysis, increasing wave height may lead to air leakage from the chamber followed by vortex generation, which is a reason for decreasing the efficiency of the OWC device. Furthermore, no shift in the resonant period of the OWC model, due to wave height increase, was observed at the opening ratios equal or smaller than 1.28%. Spectral analysis of water fluctuation inside the OWC chamber illustrates two modes of sloshing. The first mode can be seen at short period waves while the second mode is visible at long period waves. The sloshing modes approximately vanish by increasing draft value.     

Multidirectional wave transformation around detached breakwaters

The performance of the new wave diffraction feature of the shallow-water spectral model SWAN, particularly its ability to predict the multidirectional wave transformation around shore-parallel emerged breakwaters is examined using laboratory and field data. Comparison between model predictions and field measurements of directional spectra was used to identify the importance of various wave transformation processes in the evolution of the directional wave field. First, the model was evaluated against laboratory measurements of diffracted multidirectional waves around a breakwater shoulder. Excellent agreement between the model predictions and measurements was found for broad frequency and directional spectra. The performance of the model worsened with decreasing frequency and directional spread. Next, the performance of the model with regard to diffraction–refraction was assessed for directional wave spectra around detached breakwaters. Seven different field cases were considered: three wind–sea spectra with broad frequency and directional distributions, each coming from a different direction; two swell–sea bimodal spectra; and two swell spectra with narrow frequency and directional distributions. The new diffraction functionality in SWAN improved the prediction of wave heights around shore-parallel breakwaters. Processes such as beach reflection and wave transmission through breakwaters seem to have a significant role on transformation of swell waves behind the breakwaters. Bottom friction and wave–current interactions were less important, while the difference in frequency and directional distribution might be associated with seiching.     

Use of advanced directional wave spectra analysis methods

Frequency-dependent cross-spectral parameters for pitch-roll buoy data and parameters that describe directional wave spectra based on a directional Fourier series are developed by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) and other organizations that collect wave data. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) specifies wave data product formats in its Wave Observation (FM 65 WAVEOB) code. Other organizations, such as the US Army Corps of Engineers Field Wave Gaging Program (FWGP), have similar specifications. A directional Fourier series has poor directional resolution compared with advanced methods such as those based on maximum likelihood and maximum entropy. Transformations are developed for applying the advanced methods and working with directional wave information stored in the WMO's FM 65 WAVEOB code, the FWGP's Wave Data Analysis Standard (WDAS) format, and similar codes and formats. Using the transformations, a directional Fourier series expansion method, a Maximum Likelihood Method (MLM), and a Maximum Entropy Method (MEM) are each applied to 115 sets of NDBC directional wave data. The MEM and MLM provide better directional resolution, but the MEM produces artificial double peaks. There are considerable differences for the three used methods. The developed transformation equations enable wave data users to apply the method that best suits their applications.     

Spectral wave data assimilation for the prediction of waves in the North Sea

Spectral observations from pitch-and-roll buoys have been assimilated in a North Sea wave model, in order to study their impact on the wave analysis and forecast. The assimilation is based on Optimal Interpolation (OI) of a limited number of characteristic spectral parameters. In a case study, the propagation of the corrections through the model domain is followed, and it is clarified for which wave conditions the data assimilation has the largest influence on the forecast: this is especially the case for swell waves with long travel times between the assimilation site and the location where validation is carried out. A 1-year test has been carried out in which an analysis and subsequent forecast were produced four times a day. From a statistical analysis of the results a modest but systematic improvement of the 12-h forecast is found. When only swell cases are selected, the impact is more pronounced. It is argued that for shelf seas like the North Sea, more progress is to be expected from extension of the ‘conventional' observations network (buoys and wave radars) than from satellite measurements.     

Heave compensation system of lifting pipeline for deep-sea mining based on combined action of vibration absorber and accumulator

ABSTRACT

A heave compensation system combined with a vibration absorber and accumulator is proposed, with regard to the requirement for poly-metallic nodule mining systems at an ocean depth of 6,000?m in China. The principle of the compensation system was analyzed, its main parameters were designed, and its mathematical model was established. The system performance was simulated and analyzed in MATLAB, and the frequency domain characteristics and compensation rate of the system with different volume accumulators, and with or without vibration absorbers, were compared. A simulation test of the compensation system was conducted. The proposed compensation system had a better compensation effect for a random wave interference under level-6 sea conditions, and the compensation rate being more than 72% with optimal system parameters.     

Hydrodynamic characteristics of semi-immersed breakwater with an attached porous plate

In the present study, wave interaction with a fixed, partially immersed breakwater of box type with a plate attached (impermeable-permeable) at the front part of the structure is investigated numerically and experimentally. The large scale laboratory experiments on the interaction of regular waves with the special breakwater were conducted in the wave flume of Laboratori d’Enginyeria Marνtima (LIM) at Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona. Experimental results are compared with numerical results obtained with the use of the Cornell breaking Wave and Structures (COBRAS) wave model. The effects of an impermeable as well as a permeable plate attached to the bottom of the breakwater on its hydrodynamic characteristics (wave transmission, reflection, dissipation, velocity and turbulence kinetic energy) are investigated. Computed velocities and turbulence kinetic energy in the vicinity of the structure indicate the effects of the breakwater with the attached (impermeable/permeable) plate on the flow pattern and the turbulence structure. The attached impermeable plate at the front part of the breakwater enhances significantly the efficiency of the structure in attenuating the incident waves. The permeable plate reduces the efficiency of the structure since wave energy is transmitted through the porous body of the plate. Based on the hydrodynamic characteristics it is inferred that the breakwater with an impermeable plate attached to its bottom is more efficient. The comparison of horizontal and vertical forces acting on the breakwater for all cases examined reveals that plate porosity influences slightly vertical force and severely horizontal force acting on the structure, reducing maximum values in both cases.     

Hydrodynamic analysis and shape optimization for vertical axisymmetric wave energy converters

The absorber is known to be vertical axisymmetric for a single-point wave energy converter (WEC). The shape of the wetted surface usually has a great influence on the absorber’s hydrodynamic characteristics which are closely linked with the wave power conversion ability. For complex wetted surface, the hydrodynamic coefficients have been predicted traditionally by hydrodynamic software based on the BEM. However, for a systematic study of various parameters and geometries, they are too multifarious to generate so many models and data grids. This paper examines a semi-analytical method of decomposing the complex axisymmetric boundary into several ring-shaped and stepped surfaces based on the boundary discretization method (BDM) which overcomes the previous difficulties. In such case, by using the linear wave theory based on eigenfunction expansion matching method, the expressions of velocity potential in each domain, the added mass, radiation damping and wave excitation forces of the oscillating absorbers are obtained. The good astringency of the hydrodynamic coefficients and wave forces are obtained for various geometries when the discrete number reaches a certain value. The captured wave power for a same given draught and displacement for various geometries are calculated and compared. Numerical results show that the geometrical shape has great effect on the wave conversion performance of the absorber. For absorbers with the same outer radius and draught or displacement, the cylindrical type shows fantastic wave energy conversion ability at some given frequencies, while in the random sea wave, the parabolic and conical ones have better stabilization and applicability in wave power conversion.     

基于多层感知器的风涌浪分离方法

风涌浪分离是研究风浪、涌浪各自特性的基础,但受限于海浪谱数据的匮乏,基于海浪谱的风涌浪分离方法难以普及应用,有效的解决办法是采用波浪观测中容易获取的基本波要素进行风涌浪分离。现有方法无法利用基本波要素全面计算出风浪、涌浪的比例及其特征参数,为此本文将机器学习引入到风涌浪分离中,以多层感知器模型为基础,提出了一种利用基本波要素、风要素准确计算出风涌浪参数的方法。该方法需要每个测站提供至少466笔、建议766笔及以上的实测波浪数据作为训练样本,适用于台湾海峡3个测站,在计算精度上显著优于基于海浪频谱的传统风涌浪分离方法,可为本海域缺乏海浪谱的测站提供替代性的风涌浪计算方案,有助于扩大实测风涌浪资料的来源,进而加强风涌浪分布特性以及预警预报研究。     

Observations of wave pump efficiency

Currently available data on wave pump efficiency is reviewed. The obtainable efficiency is an important consideration in the design of practical devices for the extraction of wave energy and the analysis of natural systems (e.g., coral flats and rip currents). We find that the peak efficiency is 0.5 for very steep (∼ 40–45°) ramps where the waves break over the top of the ramp. For flatter (< 30°) ramps, the breaking process is more gradual and the peak efficiency is less than 0.1. We have identified natural atoll lagoon systems where the flushing is wave driven and successfully modeled it as driven by a wave pump. The same is the case for rip currents. For both of these natural systems, the pump efficiency is around 0.035. In addition a numerical swash model is used to estimate wave pump efficiency and is seen to match the experimental results for natural systems or breaking wave scenario.     

Large capacity multi-float configurations for the wave energy converter M4 using a time-domain linear diffraction model

The moored three-float line absorber WEC M4 has been developed to optimise power capture through experiments and linear diffraction modelling. With the progression down wave from small to medium to large floats, the device heads naturally into the wave direction. The bow and mid floats are rigidly connected by a beam and a beam from the stern float is connected to the hinge point above the mid float for power take off (PTO). Increasing the bow to mid float spacing to be more than 50% greater than the mid to stern float spacing has been found to improve power capture. To increase power capture further and potentially reduce electricity generation cost the number of mid floats and stern floats is increased while maintaining a single bow float for mooring connection. The bow and mid floats still form a rigid body while the stern floats may respond independently. A time domain linear diffraction model based on Cummins method has been applied to configurations of 121, 123, 132, 133, and 134 floats where the numbers indicate the number of floats: bow, mid, stern. This shows how power capture is increased while response remains similar. We only consider uni-directional (long-crested) waves with narrow band width typical of swell. By considering scatter diagrams for various offshore sites capacities may range from 3.7 MW to 17.3 MW for the eight float system with a capacity factor of 1/3 while the cost of electricity assuming capital cost to be a fixed multiple of steel cost is reduced from that for the three-float system.