CFD study on the Ocean Grazer Wave Energy Converter

Neven, E (2021) CFD study on the Ocean Grazer Wave Energy Converter. Master's Thesis / Essay, Mechanical Engineering.

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Abstract

In this study, a CFD model is developed for the analysis of the Ocean Grazer wave energy converter. The model is developed in COMSOL. In previous time and frequency domain models, the floaters have been fixed in surge, which is a big assumption. In this study, the floaters are connected by a distance joint. This distance joint is represented by a rod connecting the floaters. The motion and interactions of the bodies are computed using multibody dynamics. Besides the interactions of the bodies, the energy extraction of wave energy converters is analyzed as well. The damping coefficient, which is used to model energy extraction is optimized for a real-time wave. One of the main findings is that a more dense floater array has higher performance, caused by radiation effects. The model including multibody dynamics is compared to fixed floaters to obtain insight into the assumption to fix the floaters in surge. The result from this comparison is that the connected floaters’ energy production is slightly smaller. The decrease in produced power is caused by energy losses due to increased rotations and displacement in surge. Besides the performance, it was found that it is important to look at the floaters’ motion caused by the flow field of the wave. The motion of the connected floaters do have a big impact on each other, causing collisions in some situations.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master's Thesis / Essay)
Supervisor name:	Vakis, A. and Stamhuis, E.J.
Degree programme:	Mechanical Engineering
Thesis type:	Master's Thesis / Essay
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	11 Jun 2021 14:17
Last Modified:	11 Jun 2021 14:17
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/24550

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